School refuses to give levels at consultation

[Millie13]

Hi I am a parent of a local school and we have just had a parent consultation . For each child I asked what level including sublevels the children were on ( for English and maths) and what their targets were for the end of the year . I was informed that the school will not give this information out to parents. They will only receive an end of year report with levels . However I would like to see how much progress has been made since the beginning of the academic year and I don't understand why this information is top secret and being kept from me .

I have asked before and had a meeting with the head which proved fruitless as she refused to give me the levels and it turned into an interrogation about why I had an interest in levels . I had to justify my reasons for asking and never received them! .
Could anyone please elaborate on this and how I can obtain them? Are they within their rights to withhold this information ?

I don't get it; if Oxford University is locked in a dispute with the rest of the universe about the use of the Oxford Comma, how the F is the dispute supposed to be settled by a seven year old?

WTF is this?

Thankfully the Oxford comma isn't part of the current curriculum or included in the next but grammar teaching is and always has been. Doesn't your child's school teach grammar CG?

The serial comma is the Oxford Comma and it's in the framework linked to above as a KS1 question!

Did you actually read what it says CG?

The mark will not be awarded if a serial comma is used in a list of simple items,

So the Oxford or serial comma is not taught then?

That is a list of fruit would be punctuated "Oranges, apples and pears", not "Oranges, apples, and pears".

I can appreciate this is argued over but makes sense to teach it one way, rather than both, when introducing commas.

No it isn't taught capsium. In Y2 commas to separate items in a list are taught.

New English curric

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/260491/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_English_RS2.pdf

By drawing attention to the distinction you have included it in the curriculum. Children who are observant enough to notice that there are different methods of using commas will now have to be instructed on which method counts. And, moreover, there are times when the conjunction is part of the list item.

But if you do not draw attention to the distinction, that is if you are not very specific about how to use the comma in lists, a child has to decide for themselves how to punctuate the list with commas...something which adults argue over....

But CG no one would need to draw the distinction because in Y2 the teacher would never mention a serial/Oxford comma.

I think it's terrible that the school are refusing to give you the information when you have requested it. That being said, I can understand their thinking behind it. We often get so caught up with levels and sub-levels and reading ages and blah blah blah blah blah, that we fail to take into consideration the progress that our child/ren is/are making. We end up comparing them to a standard 'norm' and not looking at their improvements as individuals.

Well, indeed. But the examiner should know that in some cases it is preferred if the writer adds a conjunction within the final element and in other cases it is not. By mandating that this is never done the examiner is actually perpetuating a mistake.

In Y2 the child would be taught in a list

eggs and bread and milk and butter and jam

the comma replaces all but the final and
eggs, bread, milk, butter and jam

Possible mixtures for twisted rock are: red, blue, yellow, pink, and white.

All twisted rock is white and one additional colour.

Even without the levels I would expect something similar to an APP grid or something, so I know where to focus support at home.

Ihave how do you ascertain progress without some form of levelling though?

If schools have collected the attainment data for my child, I want it. If they haven't this affects what they can say concerning my child's attainment.

capsium there are clear expectations for each year group - if a Y1 child is achieving all of the Y1 curriculum and some of the Y2 then they are making above expected progress, if they are still working on the reception criteria they are below and a concern

As I said CG the teacher wouldn't teach the Oxford comma in KS1 and as the assessment criteria says if they wrote the list your way they wouldn't get the mark.

Well, I know that they wouldn't get the mark. But unfortunately writing the list the official way means that some people also won't understand the menu.

Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne, fish and chips.

What you're going to serve is different from what I'm going to order.

Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne, fish and chips.

but that's incorrect CG

Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne and fish and chips. would be correct as fish and chips is a single item on the menu

Pizza & chips?

To serve your selection you'd have needed to have written

Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne and fish and chips.

Otherwise you're actually offering

pizza & chips, bolognaise & chips, chilli & chips, fish & chips.

My list Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne and fish and chips
Your correction Pizza, spaghetti bolognaise, chilli con carne and fish and chips

they are identical CG

Your correction is the same, true enough.
Next time I'm out and about I'll have a look and see if anyone actually writes menus that way. It's the fasted way in the world to screw up a perfectly clear menu.

actually it's your correction

Strangely I never see menus written in list format

Pizza
spaghetti bolognaise
Chilli con carne
Fish and chips

seems to be the format

The ones on the tables, maybe. But have a look at flyers from restaurants which get scattered around. They list options too and so far I'm only seeing the format I suggested.

Vegetarian Pizza
Mushroom, red onion, green pepper, sweetcorn & tomato

I've only just started looking, but I don't expect to come across your version. In fact I don't think I've ever seen it.