Parents support teachers - Boycott Sats - Kids' Strike May 3rd

[SuzieAllkins]

I am hoping that parents have heard of the Kids' Strike on May 3rd which has been set up by an anonymous group of parents who say 'Enough is enough'?' Their campaign supports schools in trying to reach the Government with the message that we need to stop national testing and let teachers teach in the way that they know is best. As a former primary school teacher (who used to administer Year 6 SATs) and a parent of two young children I shall be fully supporting this campaign on 3rd May by taking my school aged child out of school for a fun day of learning. I do not want my children to become stressed and develop a negative attitude to learning. Although the school my eldest attends is wonderful in developing the 'whole child', the pressure is on the teachers to 'perform' and submit figures to reach unreachable targets. It is wonderful to see, on the Letthekidsbekids website that so many head teachers and teachers are supporting this campaign and are saying thank you to parents for helping their voice to be heard. Our children are too young to be put under pressure like this - the new curriculum's demands are bewildering to me! Children at the age of 6 and 10 years are expected to know grammatical knowledge which even scholars in the subject can't answer!! These are not skills which will set our children up for life. There are many around the country who are supporting this campaign. If you haven't heard about it, check out the website to see if you'd like to join in on Tuesday!

Yes we have children who we don't expect to meet the expected standard who have passed the entrance exams to independent schools.

And yes that should be ELEVEN not seven

Where did you get that notion from? My DS took English Language, French, Maths and RS at 15; English Lit, Latin, History, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Art at 16. A mixture of GCSE and IGCE.

Nowhere in my posts did I imply GCSEs were taken unusually early.

Perhaps you missed the fact that the new expectations are equivalent to a GCSE?

And the sentence type stuff is ludicrous, particularly the requirement to use them in their own writing

I agree. But that is a requirement of their writing, not a test.

This is my point. Parents are rebelling against SATS but the problem is not the tests, it's the expected level of achievement throughout the year.

Look at it this way. If government says OK, we'll scrap SATS and all children will be teacher assessed, that won't help in the least. Teachers will still be under massive pressure to get their students to achieve levels way beyond their capabilities.

I shall be taking my child out of school in protest at the SATs and the narrowing curriculum, but also because I am very concerned about the level of teachers leaving the profession. I am one of them! I left a while ago. I have many friends who are teachers and know of others who have left due to the pressures on schools. I am hearing on average about one handing in their notice a fortnight over the last few months. When I was first applying for jobs back in 1999 I was up against 100 other candidates. It was tough to get a job due to competition. Now...when I talk to heads and governors I know, it seems that posts cannot be filled or there are limited applicants. If something doesn't change within the system soon, I fear for my children. Regardless of what the curriculum actually is, I fear that there won't be enough teachers to actually teach it!

If a stand is made by many it will make an impact and give parents a voice. Those who are not sure...please take a look at the letthekidsbekids website. See what you think of the posts by heads, teachers and parents on there.

As for having a 'nice long weekend' with my children, believe me, it would be a lot easier logistically for me if my son was going to school on Tuesday! With a toddler to sort out too I have made my week harder!

If a stand is made by many it will make an impact and give parents a voice.

Impact on whom? As you say about your own situation, the people who will feel the effect of this 'strike' are the parents themselves, and, according to some teachers, the school staff who will have to put in more work to 'catch up' the DCs who have missed a day.

It is quite significant, I think, that none of the opposition parties are formally supporting the action proposed. If it has the potential to have a political impact, it would be adopted immediately in the run up to the local and mayoral elections. As it is, parties who might be expected to be officially giving such action their backing have been conspicuously absence in commenting - despite Nicki Morgan's reference to it yesterday.

TimeforaNNChange - I think it is a step in the right direction. It is raising the issue nationally and getting people talking about it. Nicky Morgan at least now knows that many parents are unhappy with the system. It is a start.
As for children having to catch up - is this a concern when schools close as polling stations during election time? I can honestly say that when I was teaching (and yes.. unfortunately having to prepare Year 6 children for SATs) that a child's absence for one day did not cause me difficulty in having to provide 'catch up' work. If I was in the classroom now doing the job I would wholeheartedly encourage children to enjoy a fun day of learning with their families. I shall be focusing on habitats and adaptation on the day...in the woods..children will record their findings. It will be real learning that is meaningful. That can only be good thing!

maryz I think I read that L6 at KS2 is equivalent to a grade D at GCSE. I don't believe grade D is accepted as a grade for degrees that require an English GCSE. The fact that in HE literacy support has to be given to students on essay heavy courses requiring at least a C grade in English speaks volumes. Young people are not leaving school, even if they have a GCSE pass with an adequate grasp of the basics.

How would teachers on this threw feel about the Austrian system where children cannot progress to the next class if they can't reach the required standard. I would support it; it would mean children working at the levels they are capable of.

Wasn't it the case that in 1999 there was a real problem because the system was producing too many teachers? But my eldest entered school in 1999. In London there were problems hiring teachers then and the Aussies and South Africans were much much better than the home grown ones at my dc's school. The home grown teachers were all complaining then about testing and lesson plans and volume of paperwork. Either it was better then or little has changed but if things were so much better then, why was there so much complaint?

The problem is that the public are tired of the complaining and because it is so persistent it is hard to take the complaints seriously. I'm afraid that's how I feel. I hope that level of complaint is kept out of the classroom because it demotivates. Sadly, at the DCs school (with v supportive parents) it didn't stay out of the classroom, or whole school events, etc.

As a parent it's my job to love and nurture my children, feed them, and teach them boundaries. Schools should be educating, they aren't a form of extended social work and shouldn't be expected to be. Schools need to focus on teaching and be empowered to do so. I didn't want walk to school week and travel plans. Providing my dc were in on time it was nothing to do with the head or anybody else how they got there; just as it was nothing to do with the head if I put a chocolate biscuit in the lunch box I provided with my money especially when school dinners were nuggets, chips, cake and custard off polystyrene.

As for children having to catch up - is this a concern when schools close as polling stations during election time?

Well, of course not, because none of the DCs are there, there isn't a planned lesson, and none of them miss anything!

The problem for teachers this weekend is that they have to plan for Tues not knowing how many pupils will be missing. The staff can't plan a day in which no learning happens, in order to ensure that those who are absent don't miss anything!
When a child is absent, for whatever reason, it adds to teachers workload. I realise that many, or even most, teachers are happy to make that sacrifice (just in the same way as those who strike lose a day's pay), as they appreciate the stand that parents are making for a cause they agree with themselves.

Nicky Morgan at least now knows that many parents are unhappy with the system.

Until the protest has taken place, NM won't know how many parents feel strongly enough about it to actually take action.

I suspect there will be significant scrutiny by the DFE of the school attendance figures for 3rd May - and the small percentage taking part will be quoted as evidence that most parents are satisfied with the system.

'The problem for teachers this weekend is that they have to plan for Tues not knowing how many pupils will be missing.'

I appreciate that teachers have the situation of not knowing how many to plan for, but I'm sure that their experience and knowledge will provide a meaningful day for those that do attend. I once worked in a hospital school where I had no idea on each day of the number, ability, age or specific needs of children that would be on the ward on any particular day. I would turn up and see. If I were in the mainstream classroom now, I would not find it difficult to prepare for the scenario of various numbers being there. Teachers are professionals who can adapt - after all it was what they do all the time!

'I suspect there will be significant scrutiny by the DFE of the school attendance figures for 3rd May - and the small percentage taking part will be quoted as evidence that most parents are satisfied with the system.'

I am sure you are right on this. However, this is a very emotive and personal issue and there are so many valid points to consider. Things may not change at all after the 3rd - but at least I will feel that I've done what I feel I need to do in order to try to get a message across to those who make the decisions about my children's future.

Also I think you'll find many parents, like me have already written to their child's school to inform them of their absence on Tuesday so they will know what's happening. Additionally most teachers I know are fully supportive of this action by parents.

She has probably seen the many petitions and her office will certainly be aware of the thousands of emails received.

twig I know they are supportive. It wasn't a criticism - just an explanation of why an absence of part of the class will require pupils to "catch up", when absence of the whole class due to closure for polling or teachers strike action, doesn't.

The proposed parents action actually will create more work for teachers than a teachers strike does. It's an indication of the strength of feeling amongst teachers that they are supporting action that makes their job harder (despite NMs attempts yesterday to divide HT teachers from parents on this issue)

BeauGlacons I wouldn't imagine tens of thousands of eleven year olds will be applying for degree courses so it shouldn't be an issue. They've got another 6/7 years of education before that becomes a factor

She has probably seen the many petitions and her office will certainly be aware of the thousands of emails received.

Oh, I'm sure she is - but if only 1% of parents feel strongly enough to keep their DCs off school, then that can (and probably will) be considered a mandate by government that overall, parents are supportive of current and proposed Education policy.

Keyboard warriors are 10-a-penny -especially when changes are implemented; it's only once a significant proportion of the public are willing to make personal sacrifices that governments start to take notice.

But that is a requirement of their writing, not a test.

Sentence types are also a requirement in the test,

Fairenuff there are no national expectations throughout the year only at the end of each Key Stage. Any expectations in other year groups or points of time are strictly internal imposed by the school.

Any expectations in other year groups or points of time are strictly internal imposed by the school.

Presumably, this has been deemed to be beneficial to pupils? Otherwise, why would so many schools implement such a system, and why would so many teachers go along with it?

I think it's more to do with politics than any educational benefit

I think the opposition is more to do with politics than educational benefit. If this improves standards, I'm all for it.

I think it's more to do with politics than any educational benefit

You're saying that internal assessment and monitoring serves no educational benefit yet most schools have implemented it because it serves political purposes?

You're a teacher, aren't you mrz? Have you really gone along with it rather than challenge something that has only ever been, in your words, imposed by the school?

That's not what I said as I'm sure you are well aware.

As I said earlier teachers are continually assessing pupils, many times each day, in order to plan effectively for our pupils learning. That is not the same as setting arbitrary "numbers" "letters" or indeed "levels" to be reached at points throughout the year. One of the reasons levels were removed is because they were being used in a way never intended ...to set inappropriate targets.

I'm sure you're familiar with the old idiom "You don't fatten a pig by weighing it"
Similarly you don't educate children by labelling them.