Primary school teachers please.

[NickiFury]

In your opinions, which years are years of less importance during primary school? If any.

I ask this on the back of a conversation with another parent who referred to Year 4 as being a "meh year where not much happens". Obviously year one important as moving from EY, year 2 again another "meh year" year 3 important as moving to KS2, year 4 - meh, year 5 important because of SATS, year 6 important because preparing to move to KS3.

This parent is not a teacher but has four dc that have gone through primary and she does work in a job related to education to a certain extent.

Just wondering what teachers might think of this razor sharp analysis of the primary education years?

They are all equally important

Thère was a belief among some heads years ago that you could put your weakest teachers in Y1 and Y3 but most now realise there isn't a place for weak teachers much too high stakes.

"Obviously year one important as moving from EY, year 2 again another "meh year" year 3 important as moving to KS2, year 4 - meh, year 5 important because of SATS, year 6 important because preparing to move to KS3." - my counter argument would be to add:-
Year 2 - End of KS1 = SATs = important
Year 4 - End of Lower KS2 = half way point between KS1 results and End of KS2/ SATs = important.

Just put the question to my Head wife and she says absolutely EVERY year is of equal importance.
As already said, one upon a time weak teachers were hidden away in years 1 and 3 but these days it's rightly accepted weak teachers should not be teaching. Part of a heads job is to ensure weaknesses are identified and dealt with.

There simply isn't time to revisit previous years work and plug gaps.

Some parents have the misconception it's ok to miss time during primary for holidays. You hear parents saying things like "we're going to have one last holiday before kids go up to high school" Fact is any time missed is missed learning which may never be caught up on and impact on future learning.

Thanks for your replies. Interesting about the Year 1 and Year 3 thing, I honestly would have thought they would be the important ones because of the change to the next stage up.

Round here weakest teachers were put in Y4 - as everyone else says, there's really nowhere to hide now

That's interesting as both my sister and I had really crap teachers in year 3 (mine also disrupted with mat leave leading to three teachers over the year ). And now I think about y3 were taught for years afterwards by the 'soft ' teacher.

Some year groups do have more importance placed upon them at certain times of the school year. For example the rest of the Y6 team and I are very much aware that we only have just over a week until the SATS.

The rest of the faculty are aware of this too since we currently have the highest priority on all resources, the ICT suite and intervention rooms etc. Including myself, we currently have two teachers, one HLTA and two TAs working in Y6 at the moment, all of this is to ensure we get as many children to level six and five as possible.

With the exception of Y6 though I don't think any year group is any more important than another. The progress made by a child in one year will directly effect the next year and the year after that.

For example if 80% of the children are where they should be in Y4, then next year the Y5 teacher will have to ensure the remaining 20% catch up to where they should be, before they then teach them what they need to know in order to reach their targets for that year.

So you can't afford to have a weak teacher in any year, because if a child misses the foundations in the early years then they won't learn the more advanced material later, not without some serious catching up anyway and we really can't afford to be playing catch up.

You might feel that in Y6 but if the teachers in previous years have/haven't done their job then that will make your job easier or more difficult.

Teachers in reception feel pressure for profile results, teachers in Y1 feel pressure to have all children reading and teachers in Y2 feel pressure for end of Key Stage results

What a load of tosh. Maybe 10 years ago but now every year is vital, even more so under the new national curriculum.

The rest of the faculty are aware of this too since we currently have the highest priority on all resources, the ICT suite and intervention rooms etc. Including myself, we currently have two teachers, one HLTA and two TAs working in Y6 at the moment, all of this is to ensure we get as many children to level six and five as possible.

My class have...well, me...and an LSA for two mornings a week. We don't have any higher priority on anything.

Every year is equally important.

I agree with mrz. Some do see Y6 as being the most important. Mainly because SLT perceive it as the year that they are judged on.

Personally, I would say those results are a result of 7 years of equally important schooling!

I agree about year 1 and 2 and many years ago reception was pretty much the cushy number. Now they are all equally pressurised. Reception and Y6 maybe slightly more so as they are either end of the school but really there is no place to hide now.

Y6 only needs to be prioritised when there has been poor teaching in previous years. Pressure can be on then to fill gaps and all resources thrown at y6 to do this.

This is not necessary when all years are given equal importance, no year is seen as a 'meh' year and high standards expected throughout.

I say this as a y6 teacher in a school needing to throw absolutely everything at our current y6 due to previous poor teaching (new head has made changes but cannot turn back time for these children).

The importance of every year group is now stressed by him and hopefully in future y6 will be of equal importance to every other year as every year is crucial for progress. That way you don't have to play catch up.

How funny that some people view Y2 as been a 'meh' year, despite the KS1 SATs?!

If the previous teachers haven't done their jobs Y6 is too late to start prioritising!

I'm a TA in a year 2 class, and it's an important year in so many ways. Of course the sats, and the pressure to have most children at a 2c. I am doing extra reading, maths interventions, spare minutes are used to chant multiplication tables, number bonds etc. It's all very busy at the moment.

Nowhere near as busy as year 6, who have had all PE , ICT , art cancelled to focus on the sats. My DS11 is in year 6 there, he is one of the targeted level 5 kids. He goes to after school /before school booster lessons.

Do agree about year 3 though, my DS8 is in a class with a long term supply, they just don't seem to be able to get teachers for this phase. I am trying to make sure all gaps are plugged myself. Not as happy as I could be

Also year 1 is important for the phonics test coming up, and it sets the level for all important year 2 sats.
My year 2 teacher is a dream teacher and extremely strong. She needs to be as the pressure is on from SML. Who only care about the results and what we are both doing to achieve them.

Why would a school cancel the Y6 curriculum?

I find it quite sad that people are saying that certain years are important solely because of SATs/phonics tests/etc. The curriculum in Scotland is so much more balanced because we don't have those things. Each year is treated as equally important and focuses on learning rather than passing a test.

I think you've missed the point posters are making letsghostdance which is that all year groups are important even though people could put forward the argument of tests etc they aren't actually what matters.

I'd be seriously displeased if my child was in a Y6 class and they cancelled the curriculum, to focus on the SATs.

These things have been 'postponed' for the last two /three weeks now, and PE mad DS11 is not too happy. I just make sure he does plenty of sport outside of school, and try to think about all the learning he's doing. Couldn't care less about sats results, and he knows this. It's all for the school. He won't care about his results in two months from now, he is my fourth child to do them , so I know this for sure.
Teachers are being so pressured for bloody results, I see it from both sides.
I'm glad I'm a TA, without all this responsibility. We start our pupil progress meetings next week, where we discuss who has made/not made the required progress -and why, and what are you going to do about it. Lots of needed this term.

As a Y6 teacher who has had to work unbelievably hard to fill the gaps left by at least three years of inadequate teaching, I would say that every year is important.

Interesting thread. Ds1 is in Y4 and has had 'meh' teachers for the first time at the school. We are just hoping things pick up a lot bit next year and letting him concentrate on extra curricular stuff this year.

Ds2 has an excellent teacher but SATs are definately stuffing up his education this year, which is kind of ironic