Should children's ability groups be on display for all to see?

[choccyp1g]

At parents evening last night, I was a bit to see all the groups listed up for everyone to see; in obvious ability order.
eg maths group in ascending sides (Circles, triangles, going up to hexagons), even the spelling groups go from words to thesaurus.

From the parents point of view, it is the only chance you get to really see how they are doing compared to the rest of the class, but it must be hard on the children to have it on display the whole time.

I help with crafts sometimes, so I know the lists are up all year round.

I would have thought that if they were disadvantaged you would have had more TAs. I get more than one if there is a statemented DC in the class-obviously they extend the help to others and that is how I can end up with 3.
Every class in the area has one TA, although they may not get her all day. Key stage one get more hours than key stage 2.
Parent volunteers are also a boon. The more adult help the better.

We have 2 SEN support assistants for children with statements who work in the classes where the children are currently Y1 and Y3.

With budget cuts many schools in my area are losing their TAs.

As I said earlier, I was not personally criticising you or your teaching. It obviously works for you as a teacher and in your school.

I still stand by what I said that I believe it to be too prescriptive, and too model based. For me, there's just not enough independent creativity and open-endedness about it. The teacher has too much control over the script.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this.

You may feel differently if you could read some of their work. I cried in the staff room at some of their SAT efforts because the words were so powerful.

Obviously the provision of TAs is a bit of a postcode lottery, which is sad.

I think that the important thing about teaching is that teachers should be free to teach in a way that suits them and their personalities.
It isn't that one way is better- it is one way is better for you. The government's big mistake was to tell everyone how to teach-down to what to say in some cases!

I wouldn't like your way mrz, but that isn't to say that it isn't great for you, the DCs and results.

piscesmoon no one has told us we have to teach this way it's just sort of evolved (apart from one class) and everyone does it slightly differently which is why it is hard to describe. The only real constant is that most classes don't group children by ability.

I am not saying that anyone told you-I am saying that it is good that you have a method that suits you. I am an older teacher and I have found the literacy hour very hard, and the maths-I have followed plans that tell you what to say! I am thrilled that things are changing and that teachers have more freedom.

Yes

Hear, hear.

I am also an older teacher as is our excellent Y5/6 teacher and as a school we never really embrassed the literacy /numeracy hour after all they were never statutory. As for planning ...dare I say it ... we often plan on our feet so to speak changing and adapting as we go to meet the needs of the children.

I am an older teacher too, but a Literacy co-ordinator and therefore Literacy enthusiast. I made the Literacy hour work for me and the children, but really enjoy the new framework - we've had a ball in Year 5 this year, with some excellent results.

I am looking forward to being even less prescriptive again though, also, and will make that work too.

I'm also a Literacy coordinator (although newly appointed) Feenie. I think your final words are the key "will make it work".

We are often asked how we obtain good results and in the main the questioners are looking for a magic book/programme/system they can buy that will guarantee success, when the magic ingredient is in fact the commitment of staff to make it work.

Yes, I would agree that there's a lot of truth in that, mrz.