WWYD reading this issue with my DC/ independent school

[StickyGripper]

My DC has been attending an Independent school for the past year. From the very start and throughout the year I informed them that my DC had not covered all the concepts in the British curriculum as they had been educated overseas. For example, when we had homework and my DC struggled I wrote a message to the teacher telling them.

At the end of last year my DC did a number of tests and did really, really well in them except 1. I have the paper and my DC clearly didn't have a clue in 2 sections of the paper and lost all marks there. This has brought down their average drastically and now affects their placement in the year.

My question is, what should my expectations of my Independent school be in terms of making sure my DC has covered everything they need to do and plugging any holes? Also, if you mark a paper and see that a child didn't have a clue in 2 areas surely that would be a flag, especially when they had scored near perfect in other same subject tests?

I would get a tutor to help your child catch up in that one area. As your child did well in other areas they should catch up quickly.

But orange, don't you think the fact that I am paying a lot of money should mean they should do something? I am happy to get a tutor too but really why should I have to pay for that when I am paying private fees?

I agree with Orange. We lived overseas and the DC went to an international school with an English curriculum. When we came back to Scotland, there were gaps in maths and we got a tutor to help them catch up.

Even at an independent school, where you're "paying a lot of money" they're not going to have a spare teacher to sit with your DC on a one-to-one basis until they've caught up b

The fact that you are paying doesn't in itself guarantee a personalised service. You don't say how old your DC is. However it sounds like a little personalised tutoring will get him/her up to speed quite quickly. You could ask for extra homework to cover those areas, look up online resources on those issues, or hire a tutor for a short period. Changing education systems/countries will always throw up some isdues but it sounds like your DC will catch up no problem eventually. YABU if you think the teacher, who needs to consider the needs of all pupils, is required to pay particular attention to your DC to bridge the gap.

Can you meet with teacher/SENCO and request some learning support. Your dc may have gaps - ds certainly did - but often there will already be small groups run alongside the classes to help reinforce these or , if they set by ability, dc could be placed in lower sets which are doing so and move up as and when. Be prepared to pay extra for ls though, especially 1 to 1. I'd very wary of any prep school which ranks purely on the basis of exams , have they also done pips or cat tests as these are more about potential to learn than actual knowledge?

What year is he in?

Cats tests at beginning of year were a bit iffy but then the pips scores in the last term were really very, very good. All end of year tests were excellent except one. We are talking age 9 here.

The reason why I am fretting is because the last week of term the school was telling me DC should apply to top school in area, then 1st day of school they are in the bottom set. I am confused, upset and disorientated.

What was the subject?

Depends what the subject is. If it's maths or science, where concepts are built on over time, I would expect the school to help plug the gaps. If it's history, where different topics are covered by the real learning is skills based, I wouldn't care if my child never knew those particular facts.

What I would be concerned about where the schools dodgy communication, and I would be e-mailing tutor to understand why I had been told he was academically able last term but was now in bottom set.

Bert, it's maths.

Ds was in bottom set for maths and got an academic scholarship. Meet with the teacher to identify his weaknesses and what you can do in support.

Hmm. If it's maths it's a bit serious. I would be very worried about the level of communication from the school to be honest. I would make an appointment to see his form tutor as soon as possible and ask them what their plan is for him.

If your DC gets full marks on one paper and very near full on another would you expect them to be in the top set? CAT scores highlight potential yes, but if someone with a lower CAT score is performing better in tests why should they be in a lower group? This is what is keeping me awake at night. What's the point in encouraging him to do better if no matter what results he gets he is in the lower set?

Are you overthinking what set he is in? What practical difference does it make? Surely he should be in the set which best suits his abilities? Does it bother him at all?

Depends on why he is in the lower set, and what impact it's having on his learning. My dd got joint highest mark in year (yy, stealth boast) from set3, because school felt she'd do better in that set with less pressure (she's dyslexic so gets higher concept stuff but struggles with speed on mental maths)

I don;t quite understand though why any parent with a child at a private school is being kept awake at night by educational stuff. Part of the benefit of a private school is that you are paying them to communicate fully with you, so ask them. Don't go in all guns blazing, but ask for reasons for their actions. If you are too scared to do that, then why on earth have you chosen to pay this school to educate your child?

I think you need to plug the gaps with a tutor. Imagine if 15 kids in his year were in the same position as your DS and helping them catch up impacted on the rest of the class, you'd be writing quite a different post from that perspective.

Thanks everyone. I have spoken to the school and they are looking into it.