Resits for SATs? 😱

[mrz]

www.theguardian.com/education/2015/apr/07/tories-resits-pupils-fail-end-primary-school-exams-key-stage-2

I think dim might be a bit harsh. I don't think most have thought about it in those terms. Years of being told that you can't read using phonics and all children need different methods because they are all different combined with poor quality LA training, presumably by people who aren't that well informed is a bit of a disaster waiting to happen.

Really tired, I don't think the problem is with schools being obsessed by data so much as it is with schools being determined not to look at the evidence of how other, more successful schools, teach phonics. Often this is because they have a prejudice against phonics, and in favour of the unsupported whole word/multicueing methods they were taught about in their training. Education academics have been distorting the evidence that supports phonics teaching for years.

Gutrotwein, there is no reason why any child shouldn't be able to pass the phonics screening check if they are well-taught, unless they have very serious SEN. Given the improved results in reading comprehension as measured at Key Stage 1 SATs since phonics was introduced, particularly for children with SEN, it is highly irresponsible of schools not to ensure that they are teaching phonics well.

My daughter's school got into major trouble with OFSTED because only 29% of children passed the phonics check. My daughter has had very good phonics teaching as a result of the school being put into special measures. Some of the changes have been brutal though. For example 13/15 teachers have been replaced. Other changes like the sounds write reading scheme have been good.

I think it's important to seperate out phonics from other issues. The narrowing of the primary school curriculum is a wider issue than phonics. I am sure that even the most ardent on phonics campaigners do not advocate cancelling the navity play or end of term Christmas party to focus on phonics.

Absolutely not. And tbf I don't think ofsted do either. But I think this goes back to subject knowledge again though. If you get the main phonics teaching right, you don't need to narrow the curriculum of cancel extra curricula stuff. You especially don't need to do that to improve results from a baseline of 29%. The psc is simple enough that even something like about 30 a day mins of JP starting from the beginning could probably have made a big difference to that figure.

I agree there should be no narrowing of the curriculum but not everyone thinks the same. There's a thread at the moment where a parent is unhappy that the school isn't focusing solely on English and Maths and has had music, art and forest skills!

mrz, teachers are dammned if they do and dammned if they don't.

I feel that young children need a balance between work, rest and play. I know that most sane teachers would agree with me.

I am in favour of a phonics check, but not the way it has been implemented at my daughter's school. I feel that children who are ready should have an opportunity to get the phonics check out of the way by the end of reception. There could be a more advanced phonics check in year 4 to ensure that phonics teaching still happens for children who have already passed the year 1 check.

"You especially don't need to do that to improve results from a baseline of 29%. The psc is simple enough that even something like about 30 a day mins of JP starting from the beginning could probably have made a big difference to that figure."

And what's important to remember is that getting phonics right at the beginning is one of the keys to getting literacy right all the way up the school, so that there is no need to cram for Year 6 SATS, and so that most children will be able to pass the reading/writing component. Like I said in my earlier post, the rise in reading comprehension passes at Key Stage 1 is very impressive but it could be so much better if all the schools that are only getting 36% had been doing phonics properly from the start in 2007.