So what happens if they don't manage to reach level 4 by the end of KS2?

[MandMand]

My son still has a few more years of primary to go, but what happens if he doesn't reach meet the minimum expected levels in all areas by the end of year 6?

If the Government have defined a level they need to achieve to be able to access the secondary curriculum, how are they supposed to manage if they are still only at level 3 for writing, for example?

Would the bottom set in a large comprehensive just be going over primary school level work again, or do they get some kind of special intervention?

Have you spoken to your son's primary school if you are worried that he will not be ready for secondary school. A primary school should be moving hell and high water to make sure that children are literate and numerate enough to cope with secondary. Achieving level 4 is not just about league tables.

"Would the bottom set in a large comprehensive just be going over primary school level work again, or do they get some kind of special intervention?"

They would have be a lot lower than a level 3 to get any kind of intervention. Yes, a child who does not achieve a level 4 problably would find themselves in one of the lower sets at a large comprehensive. A lot depend on the intake of the school and how low the national curriculum levels of the child are.

At my son school the bottom sets have just 12 children in with a teacher and a TA. One of my son's friends who achieved a level 2 for literacy does have some one to one sessions with the SENCO. He is disapplied from MFL so that he can concentrate on the basics.

My understanding is that they need a 4b to be able to access the curriculum in secondary. If they haven't reached 4b then they will need additional support.

My son is currently at 2b for writing at the end of year 3.

If the national expectation is to be at least a 3b by the end of year 4, moving to at least a 4b by the end of year 6, I just don't think he's going to be able to catch up fast enough to achieve it.

He would have progress a sub level each term just to catch up by the end of year 4, when he's only managed one sub level per year for each of the last two years.

I think it's just a blanket level 4 at the end of year 6. Sub levels are not reported. He should just about get there.

The whole bottom set in a big comp comprises kids who for various reasons got 3 or below in their SATs.
They are taught at a pace and a level appropriate to them.
No, they do not chew over the KS2 curriculum. They start KS3 but work at it very gently working towards their individual goals in year 11 which hopefully will include Core English, Core Science, Core Maths GCSEs and some other stuff.

MandMand

Has your teacher told you what is holding him back with his writing. Working on sentence structure, increasing vocabulary, using punctuation would give him easier marks than working on spelling. Sometimes chidren become so obcessed with perfect spelling that they don't use exciting wow words.

If they can't read or write or don't get a level 4 the same thing happens to them that happens to every other Y6 kid - they move up to Y7.

In Y7 they'll either be put in the bottom set and baby sat for 5 years.

Or they'll be put in a mixed ability class which is designed so you don't need to be able to read or write.

In fact this is the same for all kids. Expect endless 'create a poster' type hw in Y7.

If primary has failed to teach him to read and write there's not a hope in he'll that secondary will be able to.

And when he's 16 he'll leave Y11 either with or without suitable qualifications.

Either way nobody cares about your child.

BucksKid

I think you are talking bollux. There is a world difference between a child who has level 3 writing skills and a child who really can't read and write. In either case a good school will not baby sit them for five years. If a school didn't care about progress of low ablity children then why would they have 12 children in the bottom set with a very experienced teacher and TA? Its exactly the same ratio that you would find at the local Moderate learning difficulty special school.

Different schools have different approaches for making sure a child makes progress. If a child was simply baby sat and allowed to leave school with no qualifications then quite rightly a school would find itself in special measures.

Most secondary schools have a mixture of mixed ablity teaching in forms and teaching in sets. For example setting in Maths is essential, but there is little benefit in setting children for Art. Children have different strengths and weaknesses. A profoundly dyslexic child might be disapplied from MFL to do extra literacy but be in a decent maths set.

hear hear

Thanks for your responses. His handwriting, spelling and punctuation are all really poor. If he could tidy up his writing to make it legible and start using capital letters and full stops, could he realistically aim to scrape a 3c by the end of year 4?

There aren't actually that many marks for handwriting, spelling or punctuation. I know the gove makes a huge song and dance about it, but it only accounts for 5% of the marks.

To get a level 3 he needs to use interesting adjectives and connectives. Sentence work can do wonders to improve his grade. For example take a dull level 2 sentence.

"I went to the park."

It can be made more interesting by adding and adjective.

"I went to the new park."

and maybe a connective

"I went to the new park inspite of bad weather being forcasted."

Or perhaps change some of the boring words for "wow" words.

"I visited the new park inspite of the maligent weather being forcasted".

Its well worth getting your son to play games on BBC bite size to learn about different sentence structure and how to use words for affect.

Do you think he's dyslexic ? Either way, I'd be inclined to do say, 1/2 hr work on his handwriting & ask his teachers for a list of key words he needs to learn to catch up.

Colouring in is good for pen control, have him read to you each night as well - but choose proper books, rather than Wimpy kid etc.

I'll tell you in September. Ds2 has just had his SATS results. We are delighted. He has 3 in maths, 4 in literacy and 5 in SPAG. Great results? Probably not for anyone else but for him, yes!! I am confident that his next school will do their best for him and I have already approached the senco with regard to getting something in place for his maths. She's on the case.

"forecasted"? Really?

Don't use that sentence about maligner weather being forecasted op

'Maligent'

Mintyy

I'm tired.

Yes, my spelling is crap. However if you want to get decent marks in english you need to take risks. Having simple sentences with easy to spell vocabulary will never get a child to level 4. It is better to mispell ambitious words than to stick with really simple words.

The obcession that Gove has with perfect spelling, grammar and punctuation is preventing children being adventurous with language.

The SPAG test is a tick box exercise. Ds got a level 5 in SPAG inspite of having questionable writing skills. Its much easier to pass a grammar test than use correct grammar in writing. The SPAG test is a matter of sitting down and learning a load of grammar rules. There are plenty of books in WHSmiths to help a child. Its matter of persauding a child to do the work.

First, my DD2 has just gone from 2b end y3 to 3b end y4 in writing, so that level of improvement is possible. her punctuation and spelling have taken a definite step forward this year. She's just been slow to get it.

Second, my DD1 (now y10) went up to secondary with a (high) L3 for writing, but a L5 for reading.
She did have problems in the first years at secondary as she generally just didn't write enough both in terms of volume and detail. This impacted all written subjects, including science (e.g. writing up experiments).
I think a L3 writing skill does impact across the board in the way that a L3 maths does not. With hindsight I would have stressed more at primary about her writing, and less about her maths.

I agree with other posters who have said that the spelling and punctuation, though important, are not as essential as having the words to get your ideas across well.