What annoys you about state schools?

[NormaJeanBaker]

Just in the interests of balance...

Shedloads of Christmas carols here!

Large class sizes.

I love our primary state school, but the one thing I don't agree with is putting mixed years into one class. They get separated from their friends, put back together again, separated, then all end up together again in Y6.

The fact that people are scared of them and don't support them enough. The fact that people talk about them without knowing what they are really like. The way people constantly do down state school pupils, and have lower expectations of them.

Of course I bet this is "all in my head".

seeker has expressed it better earlier in the thread: "Negative mythology".

Another very important one, added in the other thread - the way people do them down to justify their "independent" choices.

1. Losers who decide they may as well become teachers

1. Class sizes that border on 'crowd' control

1. Bullies eg: dinner ladies

1. Head teachers who have no business sense whatsoever to run their budgets and therefore do really sh** job

1. School dinners that I wouldn't feed my dog

1. Oh yeah, and Joe public who think they are doing a really swell job at churning out 10 year olds that are far from literate (and I'm not including SN children either)

1. I work in one and am shocked and sad every day

Wow, brainfreeze that is sad that you work in a state school you feel that way about. I don't believe my children's lovely state primary fits any of first six points.

How do you know ?

I am very active on the PTA (was secretary for two years) and am a parent governor. I also volunteer in KS1 twice a week as a parent helper.

Message withdrawn

I also have two children in secondary school now who went all the way through this primary and two children still at this primary (in Years 2 and 5). Two of my children have SEN (one academic and one behavioural) and the other two are extremely able. I also have several friends who work at the school and love their jobs. So, I have seen the school from all angles.

You are in a good place and your children are lucky. Maybe I'm unlucky and the primary school where I work is badly managed/led along with several very 'poor' teachers and a good few newly trained who have no mentors.

I am almost frightened to leave because I feel that at least when I am working with the children 'things' are ok. Isn't that awful ?! Have spoken to head teacher and head of Governors regarding my concerns ... no back-up, no action take ... no surprise there!

I could list a catalogue of errors that have arose in this school that would make your toes curl - but I fear any lurkers may recognise it etc etc. My eyes have been well and truly opened working there and I feel useless, bar standing outside with a banner saying "DO NOT LET YOUR CHILD GO HERE!".....

Yes, my children are lucky in their school.

Is Ofsted aware of these problems in your school brainfreeze. It just sounds awful and with the right leadership, doesn't have to be.

In secondary schools...

Secondary school chemistry teachers who don't have a degree in chemistry and the same again for physics teachers.

Low aspirations for certain types of children

Science becoming too issue based.

Not routinely correcting spelling and punctuation mistakes.

Alienating, unsuitable and depressing buildings.

nothing. my 15 year old is very happy and spot on for a's.

and will have more of a headstart getting into a top university, cause he's underclass innit

It's ironic in the extreme that UQD is on this thread pontificating about the negative mythology associated with state schools - given that he perpetuates so much negative mythology about independent schools ...

DD is in year 6 so we looked at ALL the options for secondary school education. The independent school that her prep feeds into, the state grammar school and the local comprehensive.

After half a dozen emails and two letters, I finally managed to secure an appointment with the deputy head at the comprehensive and managed to find out all the answers to the questions that Ofsted reports and exam results had left unanswered.

I do not want DD to go to that school, for the following reasons.

1. It has a behaviour problem (as noted by ofsted reports) and a number of the children have asbos. There are lots of exclusions.
2. There is a poverty of academic expectation - very poor (below national average) exam results
3. There is little in the way of sporting or musical activities

Tha lack of topiary.

mousehole - the opposite way round could be true. There is another option for some people, therefore they don't feel any sense of need or belonging or attachment to their local community, of which the school should be the centre.

I've noticed I now "pontificate". I shall enjoy adding that to the list of things I do. I've noticed that the more I enjoy it, the more I irritate people...

My point is that everyone in the catchment is faced with the same issues. 90% of people can't do anything about it. That doesn't make the issues go away or do anything to improve the schools.

I agree that the entire catchment area is faced with the same issue, but the entire catchment area has manifestly failed to do anything about it. Either because of lack of funds, lack of capacity to engineer any changes or simple lack of interest.

And you imagine that I can change all that? Me alone? Because I think you are overrating both my ability and the time I have available.

Faced with my local comp's fairly dire problems, and the need to educate my DCs, I took the logical route which is to make the changes that I am empowered to make.

class sizes

What if they didn't exist? What would people do then?

Because they might as well not, for most people. It's literally like debating whether caviar is better handled with a mother-of-pearl spoon or a bone one. There might well be decent arguments, and there may even end up being a consensus. Ultimately - irrelevant!

So why are you so bothered then, UQD? Why can't you leave us ultimately irrelevant folk to our own devices? Think of us as members of the flat-earth society or something - harmless nuts.