Ks2 sats week 2015

[Catbat77]

I have a very nervous dd this morning, wanted to hear other parents thoughts or experiences this week!

I think our service might collapse if it tried to allow every primary school to inject some flexibility. They'd have to try and work together to be flexible.

Either that or they'd have to restrict different schools to certain instruments.

DS (now in yr6) was on previous not new Yr6 curriculum (I think??)

How is pulling a small number out of usual math class for L6 session very different from common setting practices? Are you against all setting for math?

ps: impressed @ schools that have enough kids taking an instrument to keep 1-2 music teachers busy a full single day 8:45-3:10pm.

Our school (350 pupils) has maybe 9 kids on violin (who make minimal progress, takes up 1-1.5 hours one afternoon a week), that's thru LA Schools music service. & a small number on other instruments (? might be hourly contracts direct with the school), those kids are taught in short small group sessions mostly during the school day, one afternoon a week.

Thank you Teacher with kids, that is very interesting.

Teacherwith2kids we have 3 peripatetic music teachers so it hasn't been easy to organise but we made the decision that we didn't want pupils missing other subjects in order to participate.

Lljkk I don't agree with pupils being withdrawn from normal lessons for ANY reason.

Not even for sports fixtures Mrs?
Mine have missed loads of whole and partial days due athletics,football,rugby and swimming and now cricket.Its a massively sporty state primary and wins many fixtures.I actually don't mind in Dd2's case - very bright and put in for level 6's but in ds1's case - dyslexic and behind I worry.But then in school confidence comes from being good at something and Dyslexic children really need to find something they're good at in order to thrive.

We have 5 - 1 works 2 full days with us, 1 works a day and a half, 2 work 1 full day, 1 works for half a day. Oh, and the 2 teachers who lead the 2 choirs come in at lunchtimes and after school.

As you can imagine, timetabling 5 different instrument types for the pupils of 1 class to coincide with when that class is doing music is not practical, especially in the maximum of 2 available rooms.

Lijjkk - it is a very MC school, with a very long tradition of high quality music. Typically a third or so of each class will learn a musical instrument, possibly more if those who learn outside school (we aren't able to accommodate a keyboard / piano teacher at the moment, nor a brass one, and I have members of my class who learn these instruments) are taken into account.

I would agree with canny that sports fixtures and festivals are the most common reason for children to be out of school during normal lesson time. Of course, some fixtures are after school, but e.g. events run by the local sports partnership are often run in school time to encourage all schools to participate.

Schedule them for after school we do

I think our names mud with the local sports partnership

How do lessons after school work with cleaning? Our cleaners keep going until 5:30pm with clubs in 1-2 school rooms (I'm told), so a bunch of music lessons would disrupt their cleaning schedule a lot. Plus some music teachers have own school kids (mostly far away). So music teachers would have to pay more for childcare (after school clubs not offered many schools around here, too). I guess fine if paid enough, but we do not live in a naice MC area, finding £50/term for music lessons is already big stretch for many.

Other Problems is kids waiting around for their lesson, or coming back after leaving for 20-40 minutes (just nasty on the usual cold windy day ime), or kids miss the bus home & need picking up by parents (secondary age). After school clubs are uncommon at DD's secondary.

I don't agree with pupils being withdrawn from normal lessons for ANY reason.

Ah, you would have loathed DD's yr6, then. And her secondary. (Most schools?) Yr6 DD did loads of sport representing her school during school hours. Many sport days in secondary, plus stuff like UKMT is only on school days.

See what happens is I went up to school to collect (say) reception DC, with baby DC in buggy. Suppose yr2 DD stayed for after school lesson. I'd have to wait around with the spare DC (very cold outside or cooped up in car; I hate driving to school), or haul DC home for 20 minute stop only to have to turn around with all of them & go back to fetch yr2 DD form her violin lesson. That kind of to-ing & fro-ing always made any after school club a total faff.

They clean rooms not in use first then the others once lesson ends

I loathed it when my own children were withdrawn (as did they) to the point I withdrew them from the music lessons and arranged private lessons with the same teacher which actually worked out cheaper.

You seem to be missing the point that all those are extracurricular activities

But then there's Feenie banging on about meeting statutory requirements for PE activity which is what the exC events might be....

More real life examples...
induction days (not even exC)
charity work
go visit local govt. or even Parliament
meet Darren Shan
multi-school DT-building competition (local MP gave out prizes!)
end-of-term Reward activities for kids without too many demerits (ice skating, movies, etc)

(Okay, I kind of get the 'sending wrong message' comment on last example).

I'm impressed you got cheaper private tuition. No way private tuition here would undercut £50 for 5 x 10 minute lessons with instrument hire.

Since they had their own instruments it worked out cheaper

There us a statutory requirement for all subjects .. What has that to do with additional individual music tuition or competing in sports?

My son played golf from a young age which meant I had to take him for lessons and to tournaments outside school hours, my daughter did ballet so I had to take her to lessons and performances outside of normal school hours, she competed in gymnastics and swimming also outside of school hours ...should I have suggested she be excused maths or art as it would have been more convenient if they'd done it in school time. At secondary she payed in the county youth orchestra which meant she rehearsed after school and performed at weekends ... why couldn't they have been more considerate and organised it during her maths lessons!!

Perhaps you need to check what us part of the curriculum lljkk as most of that seems to be.

I volunteer in a school class where the kids leave 1 lesson a week for music - and it pisses me off! The kids I am helping out with are underperforming.

I wouldn't agree with their parents taking them on holiday during term time and I don't agree with music taking over the class time the teacher is planning as close to perfection as she can .

Oddly, there is a really positive correlation in our data between those who learn a musical instrument and those who are performing best. I suspect it is correlation not causation - children with interested, relatively affluent parents, who have the structure at home to practise and a wider interest in the world - but it is definitely there.

I also use the huge morale boost representing the school - at concerts, in the community or in sports fixtures - gives my pupils of all abilities to enhance their work in all other subjects: again, there is a positive correlation between children who represent the school in competitive sports and those who make good progress academically.

Our children manage to win the local football league year after year and more than hold their own in other sports while annoying the sports partnership ... and enjoy taking part in frequency musical performances so I'm not sure what your point actually is

Sorry, I was replying to proudmama - that IME in contrast to her experience, the children who have music lessons (and those who miss a small proportion of other 'routine' curriculum lessons for opportunities such as sport, music, dance, chess, DT, drama etc etc - I suppose what might be termed 'enrichmebnt' activities, though that is abn old-fashioned word) are not underperforming, rather the reverse.

Oh, and we wipe the floor with pretty much all schools in most sports, but that definitely wasn't my point - my point was about the educational advantage to the pupils ... pretty much all of them over the school year ... who may miss a session or two of 'normal lessons' to represent the school in some way or to be given an opportunity to show / develop their particular talents to a higher level.

Yes, this can be done outside school time as well: I have 2 children with very rich and varied outside school lives. But by including it in the school day, we enable as many children as possible, even those whose parents do not have the time, opportunity or finances to take them to activities outside school, to develop the skills and interests needed for a broad and balanced future life (IME, having experienced both, in-school music lessions are WAY cheaoer, especially because of the ability to learn in a small group which is rarely offered by good outside school teachers)