Ks2 sats week 2015

[Catbat77]

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

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)

I wouldn't argue that music is good for all children to learn - especially with dyslexia. Some suggest it helps build connections between the left and right side of the brain.

I am only arguing the timing of when it's taught should not take away from the time spent in other statutory subjects. It's always maths where I am - maybe some feel it improves maths capability by forming the right synapses in the brain - still seems balmy to me.

"I don't agree with pupils being withdrawn from normal lessons for ANY reason."

That was what I was responding to. It's an awfully inflexible view.

DD (yr8, not doing music BTEC/GCSE) was pulled out of load of regular lessons last fortnight to help the kids doing BTEC music with some soundscape thingy.

I took my kids for a solid 4weeks holiday in term time several times in last 10 yrs. Guess we're doomed!!!

Back on topic: Am still happy with how school did L6 boosters for DS. He grumbled because doesn't like transitions, he struggles to change gear; it was good for his comfort zone to be pushed.

DD's latin lessons! They were another 2 full yrs of sessions that were... oh whatever horrible things have been alleged about deviating from the statutory curriculum.

I love the way you refer to me 'banging on' - like I make the rules!

I just think that quality first teaching should be an entitlement for all children. And I've not yet met the child who can stand to miss 20% of daily abstracting without suffering in some way.

Our kids also wipe the floor with local schools in football, gymnastics and herbal. All after school.

Daily maths - strange, weird autocorrect..

Children come to school to be taught lljkk if they aren't in the classroom they are missing out. I'm sure you would be the first to complain if you thought your child was being left behind.

Really responding to earlier posts in this feed about stressed kids

DD1 sat KS2 SATs last year and our feeling was that she picked up on the stress the teachers were feeling. If your kids were stressed it may be because they can see that their teachers have changed:

They're less patient
They're openly frustrated
They're more demanding
etc....

DD1 had a very odd Year 6. The class was split into two - those clearly NC L4+ were taught by substitutes until so many parents complained (I hasten to add not me this time - by that point, post 11+, the game was over as far as I was concerned) - and those clearly NC L3/4 borderline or below who were taught by the main class teacher.

from Dec - May the lower group (over 1/2 the class) were solely taught English/ Maths curriculum day in and day out - with breaks for lunch/ afternoon play break/ PE & assemblies. The upper group joined this regime after Easter Holiday when a KS1 member of staff was suddenly promoted to KS2 and we were informed she was a maths expert (no proof was provided, but I understand she attended a one day course on NC L6 maths). The kids universally reported all they did was endless SATs practice papers and lots of mental maths tapes. After years of no homework at Easter 120 pages of photocopied SATs buster workbook sheets came home with a note to please complete over Easter vacation.

My view is quite simply schools should be harshly judged by OFSTED for resorting to this last ditch effort to cram kids to achieve NC L4 - it just seems more sensible to approach it gradually - to arrive at this NC L4+ threshold steadily, over 7 school years, with interventions coming earlier in KS2 and not so intesively, and with the pace and targets of achievement set to gradually get the cohort to that ability level or higher.

Although I absolutely understand why 'hot housing' happened at our school, I certainly don't think it's a good or healthy sign if a school is resorting to this kind of approach to make performance table targets.

If a school is resorting to that, it knows it's done a bad job in previous years with those children and has let them down, even if they do scrape level 4s.

Pastsellbydate that sounds appallingly badly managed,But sadly does not surprise me in the slightest.
All our school sporting competitions are during the day here.If we insisted on children not missing school we would be competing against no one. A fair number of practice sessions are done after school though.
My children also have regular music lessons in school time.I agree with another poster in that group lessons mean they make minimal progress in years of teaching .The only good thing is that my children are invited to play in assemblies and on school occasions/concerts.Private one to one lessons after/ before school with other instruments are much more beneficial to my family.

Pastsellbydate, blimey. I wonder if this school was in assessed at requiring improvement by Ofsted.

I'm all for not holding teachers to account for less progress made by under 85-90% attendance students. I think this would have been an easier policy to implement than the holiday fine. It's not too difficult to factor these students out of school/teacher performance measures.

Ah, not sure what winning loads proves. (Maybe only the winners should bother turning up?, no one else should aspire to take part?)

Maybe partly due to lack of volunteers to run after school or lunchtime clubs (so again, if you don't have that, don't aspire to take apart?), Our school teams rarely won anything; DD's netball used to get wiped all over the floor. One local town we still refer to as Amazonville. I shudder to think where DS's team placed in the hockey tournament (another event during usual school day). I'm still very pleased they took part.

Those were the opportunities DC had.

Since no L6 booster sessions were offered before or after school, DS should not have aspired to do it.

PastSellByDate - I completely believe you! I witnessed similar things in other years too, just luckily, not this year.

I wonder what OFSTED looks at when it comes in? Letters of complaint from parents? Intervention programs run that year? Progress of the year 6 pupils each year, not just the four KS2 years added together?

No, but he should have been taught level 6 material in class, lljjkk. The next step of progression in Maths should be just that - I don't understand why he needed to be 'boosted' just to reach the next step.

Lljkk did you miss the part where every child participated as part of their statutory entitlement?

So Mrz, your view would be:

• A PE enrichment activity (for example) that takes place in PE time, is fine, as some children can do the enrichment activity and others will have their normal lesson.

• A PE enrichment activity that takes place out of normal PE time but includes all children is ?OK? because the normal lesson would not be happening and it can form part of the general (in the same way that e.g. a trip connected to history would take all day but is curriculum linked so is OK?)

• No invidiaul or small group activity, however beneficial to the child or children concered, can take place in, or interrupt, any curriculum lesson but its own. If it cannot be timetabled to take place in its own curriculum lesson, then it should not happen at all.

It does seem rather joyless and inflexible? Also lacking in differentiation - for some children, appropriate PE (or dance, drama, music, chess, maths, art) provision IS county or national level, ansd that does not always fall neatly into 'third period on Tuesday morning' school timetables.

Sorry, meant to say - even where the bulk of a child's provision for their particular interest or talent is outside school, there can be occasions - competitions, exams etc - which MUST take place in school time, due to the way that examiners are employed or competitions are organised nationwide. To be unable to take e.g. any music or dance exams because they are ALWAYS timetabled in the school week due to how examiners are employed, while children from all other schoos are able to, seems veery unfair to the children concerned?

I can sort of see where you're coming from Mrs.But playing in teams whether you win or lose ,teaches many valuable life lessons,that sitting in a classroom can't.Also success in one area often leads to success in others.Sporting success is often hugely admired by other children far more than academic success.A fit body is as important as a fit mind these days ,bearing in mind the increasing levels of obesity.
The quality of teaching of my children has also meant that the impact of missing school has been negligible certainly on my bright kids.Dyslexic ds ( which the school denied) has meant that most work has passed completely over his head.Whereupon the school then poo - pooed his private tuition saying it was old-fashioned .

Do your county/national coaches usually come into school during lessons to train individual children teacherwith2? Our pupils who have been identified at such levels generally attend training outside school hours ... In fact I can't recall a single incidence where a coach has thought it a good idea to do so.

Canny our children play in teams ... Why wouldn't they?

Are some posters suggesting that normal lessons in their schools are so dull that the only joy pupils get is when they are withdrawn and that they are unable to meet the needs of all children within the class?

We have had children leave a curriculum lesson to attend county / national level training / workshops or competitions, yes, though those have obviously not been on the school site. Like the dance / music exam example, it is relatively rare, and their primary time commitment is outside school, but it does happen.

Mz, I am unable to meet the dance training needs of the child taking high-level vocational grades during my school dance lessons, yes. Equally the county-level brass band player. I can meet their general PE / Music needs, but not those highly-developed specific ones. I have enough humility to know my limits!

My daughter played clarinet in the county youth orchestra and her lessons and rehearsals were always scheduled outside of school hours as I said earlier.

Her school orchestra rehearsals and lessons were scheduled for lunchtimes ... And tours took place in the holidays.

Why can some schools (and members of the orchestra attended a large number of different schools across the county ) with no difficulty while others seem to regard it as a huge problem that can't be overcome?

Are your high level dance, music and sports stars routinely missing one day a week?