What to do??

[dazedandconfused12]

I feel we have come to the end of the road with DS1's school... HT always says the teacher DS1 has had for the last 2 years is amazing/ brilliant. DS1 holds her in high regard and apparently is a pleasure to teach and keen to participate.

Last summer at the parents evening teacher said DS1 needs to improve his maths. So we have put a ton of effort (including getting a tutor for an hour a week). DS1's maths is now excellent and can easily do Yr3 maths.

We do all the reading, prepare for the spelling tests etc. No other homework is set (DS1 is year 2).

Last term we got report - exceeding for reading and maths and expected for writing. According to DS he is in the top groups for everything.

I went to parents evening this week and was told exceeding for reading but expected for maths and writing. I was a bit suprised so I asked for the SAT test scores. Reading was good, maths one of the tests was good and the other only average at best but spelling he only just passed :-(. So it was a shock. No real explanation was given. 10 mins is up, next please.

I have been stressed out about it all week. A friend of mine said dont bother to talk to the teacher because you get a new one next year (DH also agrees with this). I have been to all parents evenings with the teacher in the last year plus more so there has been plenty of time to communicate already..

We have previously looked at other schools in the area due to poor SATs results and a general feeling of mediocre achievement at our school. DS1 has a little brother who we also have to consider as in a year's time he will get the same teacher.

So as a way forward do we:

1. stay at the school we are at and do more spelling practice.
2. stay at the school we are at and increase tutoring and spelling practice (they have an NQT coming next year).
3. move both children to another state primary (outstanding, much better sats results) which is a 30 min each way drive away
4. move DS1 to an independent school which is a 1 hour bus ride away. £12k per annum (including extras). We can afford it but it means no holidays etc. Move DS2 when he is Yr3.

These are the choices...

5. Relax he is in year 2. Not everyone can be good at everything. Offer gentle support and encouragement at home, don't go crazy with tutoring and make sure they have plenty of other interests to help build self-esteem and confidence.

Is he happy? Do you think that there might be any reasons such as special needs (remembering that a clever child may mask some of their difficulties)? How well does he pick up concepts at home? Do you feel that it is an assessment issue or a teaching issue? All children have bad days/weeks so there might be fluctuations in assessments. Also children don't always learn in a linear way so some terms they might make more progress than others.

What else can you do in the hour/ two hours a day that you will lose on the commute? That's a lot of extra maths time.

I have moved children. Absolutely the right decision, no regrets. It wasn't easy though particularly socially. You also become more cynical and maybe more likely to move again (which isn't good). There is a temptation that the grass is greener. What if the new school was better academically but he didn't settle socially? Is that decision worth making. Only you know your children and the schools but make sure you consider all the aspects.

I'm genuinely not sure why you are stressing so much. Your DC is only in Y2 and they are doing well. You do realise that "just" passing one spellings test does not mean that they are destined to be appalling at spelling, or that the school has in any way let them down?

Tutoring and planning to move schools seems like a way over reaction - unless there is more you are not saying?

Oh and I agree with GuestWw you don't need to worry too much he is doing very well academically and 'expected' is quite a broad segment so unless you have clear alternative evidence that he is substantially underachieving I really wouldn't worry too much. It is more if you are concerned that there are reasons why (e.g. we had one dc in a very disruptive class and moving (not the main reason we moved) to a less disruptive environment has really helped.

I'm not sure if it's totally school/teacher's fault if he isn't progressing as you expected, especially having a tutor.
If he can do yr3 maths easily, why doesn't he get near full marks on yr2 test? Does he have other problem like carelessness, rushing through, mis reading questions, etc?
Does he understand the concept properly?
Spelling isn't just about getting 10/10 after practicing from the list. It's pointless if he doesn't retain it as knowledge and use it in his works.

*especially after

irvineoneohone the big problem is rushing. He can do the maths but its done at topspeed leading to errors.

Imho you are overreacting to what may have been an off day.

I too am struggling to see the issue.
You have tutored him to get him ahead in maths.
He is exceeding in reading and expected for maths & writing.
He passed the spelling.

So he didn't do as well as you might have wanted in the maths because he rushes. He's 7. He has time to learn to slow down.

I don't see anywhere that the school is teaching poorly.

So as far as I can see, the issue is that you want him to be brilliant and top of everything? Are you in a grammar area by any chance and you are worrying now about passing 11+?

Only 10% of children are in the top 10%. Maybe your child isn't going to be one of them. Unless you have something you haven't said, I think you need to relax a bit.

Agree with the others what's the problem exactly? He's doing well

I tend to agree with the others. He's doing well. If you'll only be satisfied by him excelling in all areas at all stages, this is only one of many disappointments.

The school flagged (early) that he needed to improve his maths, and you've provided the extra help he needed, that he wouldn't easily have got in a class of 30.

So, he's passed his spelling, but not with a high mark. If you've been supporting him with learning spellings every week throughout the year, what's your view on his spelling ability? Does he learn the spellings easily, get 10/10 each week? Does he find them ridiculously easy (in which case have you/he asked for harder spellings?). I'd have thought, with frequent spelling tests and homework on spellings, there would be no surprises here, unless he simply didn't concentrate in the tests (like you say with the maths: rushing). If that's the case, it's more do do with him being 7 years old (or not quite 7) rather than poor teaching.

I'm not seeing any great cause for concern here. Nothing to say that the teaching is lacking (unless there's something you've not said).

The good news is that he has supportive parents, and if you're keeping an eye on things and are in a position to offer extra support where required (eg paying for maths tutoring - a lot cheaper than private education, and maybe spending more time on spellings - with all that time you're saving by not travelling further to school) he should be in a good place to continue to do well.

In my experience changing schools can be a really stressful experience, both for the child and parents, there really is no guarantee that you would necessarily find a better teacher in the new school, to me it's not worth the risk. Your son is still at an early stage of schooling and the spelling test result really is not terribly important!

Crikey. He's passing his tests and meeting expectations and you're stressed about it. I have a dyslexic daughter who genuinely struggles and despite working hard doesn't always meet expectations or pass tests. I'd be more than happy to be in your position. Count your blessings.

Before anyone thinks we're not grateful or are unreasonable when DS1 was born due to medical reasons we were told he might have learning difficulties so we're very grateful he's the bright little chap he is. He picks things up very quickly especially maths concepts.

My concern is the school are not helping him to reach his potential (for his age). My feeling is the school tries to get everyone over the hurdle and hence they focus on the bottom end of the class to help them get to the minimum standard. Once you are above the minimum standard you don't get much attention.

My heart tells me to leave him where he is as he is happy but my head thinks he could be happy and learn more at a more challenging school.

I totally appreciate moving is stressful which is why we have been wrestling with the idea for the last 7 months.

But thanks to everyone for their input - its good to get another perspective.

If anyone has any tips of encouraging children to slow down that would be greatly appreciated.

So irrespective of results, you don't think he is being pushed enough?

What sort of things do you expect to see that you aren't seeing?
Why do you think they are leaving all but the bottom with minimal attention (its very unlikely imo)
Does he complain about the work being easy, finishing early, no extension work?
Do you see him at home picking up new stuff really easily, but he doesn't seem to be progressing as fast with 'schoolwork'?

You may well be right, and just not have explained yourself here very well.
Or maybe they are progressing him along nicely and you are feeling twitchy because of the lack of homework (which may well change in juniors anyway)?

Slowing down is a nature/maturity thing.
It can be encouraged by not praising being quick to finish, but praising accuracy. or making go back and redo things until right.

But at 7 it doesn't matter too much and will probably improve over time.

You're coming across a bit Tiger Mum here. Your son is doing very well st school from the sounds of it. What exactly are you hoping for? Top of the class in all areas?

Top of the class is a minimum ;-)

I should add that the school is not very academic so the average standard is below what you would find in a city. A friend of mine who teaches locally said our county is 10 years behind London in terms of primary techniques and standards.... and we are in the furthest corner of the county... so top of the class at our school would most likely be average elsewhere at best..

He does often find things easy. Alot of the children don't get any / much support at home so the ability range is wide and we have 2 years in a class so its even more challenging for the teacher.

TBH I'm not twitchy about lack of homework. We are doing all the stuff they ask us to do and more but I don't see that at school he is performing as well as I know he can. I've asked before whether he is easily distracted. He's quite easily led.

One tip for slowing down is to make it really boring when they have finished. My DS used to race through his maths because he found it easy and when he finished he got to sit and read or go on the class computer, so made lots of careless mistakes in his haste to finish. Taking away the fun stuff gave him an incentive to be a bit slower and to go back and check his work over

So next year he will be in a 3/4 class? That might make it easier for him to be pushed as there will be a bunch there who should be ahead of him.

Now you've explained further that school isn't great and is quite small it makes more sense to be nervous. But his y2 SATs scores are for across the whole country. So if he has 100 or above (is that how they do y2 now as well as y6?) you'll know at least that he isn't 'behind'.

KS1 children don't need tutors. They just don't. I absolutely would not increase the tutoring because at some point he will simply disengage.

On the topic of rushing- it is really common for boys in particular to rush tasks. The answer is to move away from focusing on the outcome and instead to focus on, value, and reward the processes that get you there. So anything you can do at home where there is a process which must be followed will help here.

Baking a cake is a good example - you could photocopy and cut up a recipe, then get him to sequence it with support. Then follow the steps together, slowly and methodically. Then sit down and eat the cake, and while you do so encourage him to reflect on the process that led to the end result of the cake. Why did you have to switch the oven on first? Why did you mix the dry ingredients before adding the wet? etc etc.

If you can get him to move his focus away from the outcome and encourage him to value the process then other things will fall into place.

End of Ks1 attainment is not just about Sats, but assessment of overall work, isn't it?
Tbh, new NC is hard, did you have a look at what children need to demonstrate to get GD in maths?

www.ncetm.org.uk/public/files/25627338/Mastery_Assessment_Yr2_Low_Res.pdf (Look at greater depth, not mastery.)

About rushing, my ds is the same, especially when he was your ds's age. Bit better now(9), but still if work is easy, he try to do it in his head/rush through etc and make silly mistakes. I guess they need to learn themselves.

I think since he is rather ahead than behind compared to his peers now, maybe doing more problemsolving, deeper thinking work maybe better for him to progress further, imo.

Have a look at site like these [http://nrich.maths.org/primary-upper nrich]] and wildmaths.

Also computer programming is good for patience and logical thinking.
khan-programming

woops, totally messed up links,

wild.maths.org/

nrich.maths.org/primary-upper

I'm usually one for saying if school isn't right then move because it worked wonders for my ds.

But it actually seems like your ds is doing ok. He's achieving what he should!

They will put in interventions for children who aren't achieving what's expected and if they do this at your school then you know it's available if they think ds needs it