Dd got 104 in maths SAT and going to Grammar School

[Didyouwatchthenews]

She got greater depth in SPAG, writing and reading and exceeded in all areas in her actual school report. She also got greater depth in maths mock SAT they did a few weeks prior to the actual test. We were very low key about SATs and did no extra work at home but now I keep worrying about this mark. I know they do not set the dc for maths at year 8 at her new school. Any opinions?

[Holidaysyet]

Five hours is bonkers. My dd has extended hours at her school and its not local due to where we live so leaves at 6.52am and gets home at 6pm. Her actual lesson time is 9am to 4.30pm with half an hour lunch.
So she's doing roughly 7 hour days of learning as it is.

Most parents I know work and do similar hours with a commute.

What parent with more than one child has time to sit down for five hours a night with homework?

[Fizzyhedgehog]

Well,...I'd rather send my child to a different school.

Nursery children don't need homework sheets. That's bonkers. Primary age shouldn't have to do much more beyond reading. Year 11s shouldn't have to do 5 hours of homework after school, either, unless you aren't actually teaching them while they are at school.

Luckily, setting homework over the holidays is not allowed where I teach and since we are an "all day" school, other homework is voluntary. (The expectation being that we actually teach the kids during school time...)

[4GreenApples]

So.... the Yr11 child who leaves school at 4 pm and goes to bed at 9pm is expected to fit 5 hrs worth of homework into that time?

So how are they meant to travel home without using up any of those 5 hrs? Are they expected to skip having an evening meal at home because that’ll stop them getting in 5 hrs of homework? And they’re expected to avoid any after school extra curricular activities, are they?

Sounds like an excessive amount of extra study to me.

[xyzandabc]

5 hours a night is mad. Mine gets off the bus at 4.45, just after 5 by the time she gets home. If she sat down straight away, it would be after 10 before homework was done.

What about eating, talking to family, friends, things like scouts, music practice, swimming, a million and one other things kids like to do?

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Aah but it's time management green

Do you think the parents know they are home schooling?

[FrayedHem]

@wellyouarenice Is your school a private school as it has a nursery class and goes to at least Yr11? Bit surprised you opt to do SATs.

I'm still not sure how you expect them to teleport in Yr11, does the Ministry of Magic give your school pupils an exemption?

[helpmum2003]

@wellyouarenice I feel very sad for the kids at your school. And the parents actually for feeling that's what they need to do..... And we wonder why children's mental health is so bad.... I'm an Oxbridge educated professional from a state school so it's not because I don't know about hard work...

Actually maybe it's a joke? (Clutching at straws ) Or are you in Japan? Poor poor kids.

To the OP your dd has passed the grammar test so you have nothing to worry about. Just let her be a child and enjoy the summer:))

[Feenie]

Not necessarily private - there are two state schools near me that do this, they're called through schools. Neither of them have bonkers homework policies though.

[iklboo]

Five hours after school? So the children are potentially working 12+ hours a day, not counting commutes, extra curricular activities they're expected to do - five days a week plus weekends? Most adults don't work that much.

It's not 'time management' if you're still hoping to have anything like the work/life balance needed for a healthy upbringing.

[wellyouarenice]

No we are not a private school. We are a state school. My own children are in primary school and have been given summer homework. My youngest is three and has been sent home a list of things to do, sheets to complete and his summer book to complete. Further up they get proper homework projects as they move up the years.

Most jobs are going to require anyone to work at home for an amount of time. Once I have finished work at 6 I am home doing dinner and reading and bedtime and from 8pm-1/2am and doing marking and getting ready for the following day. Weekends are better because we have all day for fitting in work so we do a full day of school at home every Sunday when we get home.

I personally don't see the problem with any of this. It's a parents job to help their child at home and five hours a week is nothing.

[Feenie]

Weekends are better because we have all day for fitting in work so we do a full day of school at home every Sunday when we get home.

Every Sunday? So, no barbecues, family visits, weekends away.

Once I have finished work at 6 I am home doing dinner and reading and bedtime and from 8pm-1/2am and doing marking and getting ready for the following day.

This is not normal. That's beyond even the Dfe's findings of a 60 hour working week for primary school teachers. You need to a)move schools and b) get a life. Stop colluding with your SMT's unrealistic demands and pretending that it's acceptable.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

I think.it explains why the teaching is so poor though that it's necessary to he doing so much homework.

The teachers can't time manage and are teaching on 4 hours sleep.

So they are basically at school for 12 hours a day and all day Sunday?
Not normal or healthy

[helpmum2003]

@Wellyouarenice that is so very sad.

[AdventuresRUs]

That is really not normal and Im surprised the children and parents are going along with this.

Is it one of the boot camp schools? The secondary one near us is v strict daily homework, testing youve done the homework and instant after school detention if not.But I dont think even their homework was that much.

Theres someone with some serious issues to think learning all sunday and all evenings is normal. Im hoping its not for real!

[DeloresJaneUmbridge]

@wellyouarenice I am assuming your school takes no children with SEN then?
My son who is autistic cannot cope with homework in any formal way.

[titchy]

Most jobs are going to require anyone to work at home for an amount of time

They're really not you know. Most professional jobs actively encourage work/life balance, working smarter etc.

Your work and family set up is dreadful, and setting all of you up for some serious MH issues. Though I imagine you're far too entrenched in it to be able to take a step back and view it critically.

[EvilTwins]

Wellyouarenice my DTDs go to an outstanding school. They leave home at 7.10 to get the bus and are home about 4.30. Their school expects them to do 1 hour of homework per night (Year 7), about 1 hour 20 minutes in Year 8, and up to about 2 hours by the time they get to KS4. That's plenty. The school manages to get excellent results and is the best in our county according to a variety of measures recently published.

Your school sounds ridiculous. There is no way you should be working until 1/2am. You don't get paid anywhere near enough to do that.

Also, if the students do their GCSEs in years 9 & 10, what do they do in Year 11? You said something vague about "one year courses" - what are they?

[Somewhereoverthesanddune]

Hold on. In her latest post wellyouare said 5 hours per week not per day

[Tomorrowillbeachicken]

I’m sorry welly But your school is rediculous and pathetic.

[Starlight345]

I agree with @jellybelly how are these al round children .

They are more than a brain in a jar . My 11 year old I plan his education to be learning useful life skills . We have been decorating his bedroom today . He needs more than to study a book to become a man

[EvilTwins]

There needs to be room for other things.

My girls also do youth theatre, sing with a choir, Tai Kwon Do and like to have some time to relax. They have friends they like to see, they both enjoy reading, and both play an instrument.

In Year 7, they have had to learn about time management - after school on a Monday, they go straight to choir, so don't get home til late. They fit homework in after dinner. On Thursdays, they have youth theatre so there is no time for homework. They've had to figure this out - it's far more valuable to a child to know that they have no time for homework on Thursdays and therefore they need to organise things around that - that's far more like real life!

[PamsterWheel]

Total thread derailment! Can we get back to the OP?

[EvilTwins]

OP - it will be fine. DC passed a test to get into the school and therefore they will take less notice of SATS scores. Most secondaries do their own testing anyway. See how it goes - if you feel DC is struggling by October half term, try and get into speak to the maths teacher/Head of Dept.

[frogsoup]

Five hours a night? I did nothing like that amount as a hardworking teenager, yet somehow managed to get stellar marks in exams and go on to gain three Oxbridge degrees. What ridiculous, blinkered idiocy. I would send my DC nowhere near your school! You are damaging kids with those kinds of expectations. It is nothing less than child abuse imo.

[frogsoup]

Sorry, yes sorry to add to derail. It's just astonishing to see that there genuinely are schools out there that have absolutely no concept of what a good education actually looks like. I guess many parents don't either, if the school in question is oversubscribed! Op your DD will be fine I'm sure.