Private schools 4+ assessments - using scissors

[Ofelia15]

Good afternoon everyone. I have a rather silly questions, but have to ask anyway... Could someone please tell me what type of scissors are usually used at 4+ assessments for cutting? Plastic or school blunt ones with metal blades? I bought my DD plastic scissors, but she doesn't like using it as it's a such a nightmare to cut a usual paper with it even for me and my husband! Do kids cut usual (printing) paper at assessments or a thicker one (card crafts style)? Thank you for advise!

Oops - saucer, not 'diver'.
Helping a child with basic scissor skills is something many parents do at home, whether or not their child has an assessment coming up.

Yes, there are schools that would be concerned should a child show significant weakness in coordination, gross and fine motor skills across the smorgasbord of assessment tests / activities that highly selective academic schools carry out for 4+.
This is why they assess children on things like drawing their family/ a picture, writing their name, jumping, walking along a line, catching and throwing a ball/ beanbag, etc.
Dyspraxia can affect coordination, fine or gross motor skills and/ or organisations skills. These assessments are also, primarily, looking at a child's ability to follow instructions and apply their working memory (remember verbal instructions while getting busy with an activity that's novel for them).

Here are some wonderful links for parents who like to do activities and gain insight into their child's development, irrespective of whether they are sitting an assessment:

www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities-help-develop-handwriting-skills.html

therapystreetforkids.com/fm-strength.html

www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/physical-ability.html

Scissor skill activities: therapystreetforkids.com/ScissorSkills.html

Iworknin a preschool and find that cutting normal paper is actually too tricky for children at first
Cardboard is better, we use old birthday and Christmas cards
We also have scissors for cutting up the pkaydough, we cut up cardboard boxes
We also cut up cooked spaghetti and things like lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves and herbs of all sorts
We also give therm rolls of wrapping paper to wrapup presents ( recycled boxes)
Its just about the practice and getting the right technique and plastic scissors are no use at all. Metal scissors all the way!

Pass Me, there are indeed schools shortsighted enough not to offer a place to a child that cannot demonstrate dexterity common for the age at which they're being tested - but this would usually be a child who has obvious difficulties in more than one area (not just with scissors). The sad reason for this is that while state schools are inclusive, private schools do not need to have an inclusive ethos to admission, unless they have an inclusive ethos. Law wild dictate otherwise, but practice makes it obvious as to what really happens!

The more academic independent schools will select only those children demonstrating no obvious/ significant needs or difficulties (behavioural, physical or developmental) that may require further support and, more importantly, put the child in a position where they are always struggling while their peers fly ahead.
As I've mentioned, there are certainly some less academically selective private primary schools. And yes, it's sad. I'm not at all in agreement with the 'rooting out the weeds' approach to assessment, as I see it. However, a school with this sort of approach to assessment is certainly NOT the place I'd put my child if they did struggle behaviourally, physically or developmentally. They'd always be seen to be 'behind' rather than supported and encouraged to move forwards. There are a number of private schools that don't operate in this way. Their less stringent approach to assessment often means that the academic results and the academic 'pressure' is lower. Often, not always - and I'd love to hear of schools that don't fall into either highly academic or less academic but more inclusive and nurturing. There seems to be such a divide!

This has been my personal experience (my own children) and a painful one as a parent-teacher of a very able child who has difficulties.

Well you live and learn! Thanks for the replies. I am horrified. I thought it was bad enough that our children can be deemed 'not good enough' at 11yrs old with the 11+ now they can be at 4yrs.
No wonder our children are the most stressed and tested in Europe.

womdering , thank you very much for your advise! In my DD's case just cutting along the line drawn by myself on the blank piece of paper is not good enough, or should I say totally demotivating :) Some kids just love trying to do things for the process itself, or would something if told so by an adult. However my DD since her day 1 always had a strong opinion about everything, and these days, if not initially interested in doing something, she needs to see the reason/find a motivation why she should start doing a particular activity. Often, after having tried it once, she would do then just for fun (providing she likes it).
I gave her the new Kumon book yesterday, so she was excited to see she can sort of cut out a gingerbread man (it's her favourite story, btw) and that was fun for her, especially trying to stay on the lines marked with arrows (she likes arrows for some reason too), but she would never cut just a blank paper with the line on it. Since every kid is different, I guess you have to search for ways to get them interested if you want to make them do something :)

PassMeASpanner only kids whose parents want them to go to particular schools are tested in this way, and those schools only do those tests so they can get high results by weeding out anyone who's unlikely to do well in the exams. Either because their parents support them to pass the test (meaning those parents will be just as supporting in the later exams) or because they are naturally advanced.

The schools will do anything they can to not accept "bad" students for any reason because it will harm their results and therefore harm their income.

PassMeASpanner 4+ assessments are hell believe me! :)) Maybe even more hell, than for 11+, as you can't really explain to a toddler why on earth they should know so many things at such a young age, and to be able to do even more. My DD, who is not even 3 yet knows shapes like parallelogram and trapeze, where do pearls come from, and what the glass is made of. I didn't know any of it until 7? 10? But definitely not at this age :-/ But if you want to get into a good private school at this age (or any other really), you have to play by their rules, and that means teaching your kids about things, which majority of kids of their age in state schools/nurseries wouldn't even think until later, or some wouldn't think/know at all.