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Primary education

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

402 replies

SuzieAllkins · 27/04/2016 21:15

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!

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PatriciaHolm · 29/04/2016 19:57

The guidance has simply been updated with the removal of the requirement to administer the KS1 SPAG test; it's been out for over a month.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:01

Ahhh, that makes sense, thank you.

MrsKCastle · 29/04/2016 20:07

Ah ok. I hadn't yet read about the covering up of displays, has that been standard practice in the past or is it new this year?

Hulababy · 29/04/2016 20:14

Yes - covering up and not allowing them to have aids, such as number lines and 100 squares, to use. You know, all those visual aids (models and images as per pretty much every suggested approach to maths teaching) we spend time teaching them how to use. They are expected to simply picture them in their own head now, and with number lines draw out their own.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:14

It's new, afaik.

jennielou75 · 29/04/2016 20:17

It has also been changed to say we can now give the children rulers in the maths tests where before it said they couldn't.

rollonthesummer · 29/04/2016 20:19

Did displays/number lines etc not used to need to be covered up for ks2 SATs?

FarAwayHills · 29/04/2016 20:19

What is the point of teaching them to use appropriate apparatus To help solve a problem and then not allowing them to be used for the testShock

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:20

Always for KS2.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:21

Well innit, Farawayhills!

Hulababy · 29/04/2016 20:23

rollon - with KS1 maths, they could have aids in the level 2 paper, but not in the level 3 one iirr. Not sure about KS2 - I assume not I guess, based on the KS1 level 3.

At least if they can have a ruler, they have some form of number system in front of them.

Did someone at KS1 testing HQ put a measuring question on the paper, and then realise they needed a rule after all???? Would have been amusing if so, though sadly not surprising!

Hulababy · 29/04/2016 20:24

Well quite, Faraway! Would appear not everyone agrees. Sadly, its those in charge of the assessments who don't.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:24

It has also been changed to say we can now give the children rulers in the maths tests where before it said they couldn't.

How kind of them! Presumably they wanted the children to measure things in cms in their heads, previously. Numpties.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:25

There was a measuring question in the sample.

Hulababy · 29/04/2016 20:27

Ha ha! You couldn't make it up, could you?!

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:41

They'd said twice they couldn't have them, then twice that they could. They'd arsed it up in the webinar. No one at the sta or the dfe had a clue what was going on, as usual. Mrz knows which way round it all was, she posted rulergate here Grin

rollonthesummer · 29/04/2016 20:42

I meant ks1! Fat fingers alert!!

jennielou75 · 29/04/2016 20:43

As they can have a ruler and squared paper.......speed making a 100 square lesson!!

noblegiraffe · 29/04/2016 20:46

This sort of arsing up is going on with the new maths GCSE too. It's what happens when you try to rush out a new assessment in too short a time-period without out any sort of piloting.

Maybe now parents are starting to realise why teachers hated Gove so much. This is his legacy.

Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:47
Grin
Feenie · 29/04/2016 20:48

Cross posts, Noble - I need Angry for yours.

Mottled · 29/04/2016 20:52

Had not heard about this before now, I'm not on Facebook. I will be sending my primary DCs in as usual and will be surprised if the strike makes any impact other than children losing a school days learning.

MrsKCastle · 29/04/2016 20:52

.speed making a 100 square lesson!!

Oh no! I can just imagine the middle that some of mine would get into... They'd miss out 57, write 40 three times and then get all of the questions wrong! Grin

I like the thinking though!

mrz · 29/04/2016 20:53

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03slcz0

MrsKCastle · 29/04/2016 20:53

*muddle