Guilt Free Railing 10

[WouldBeGood]

Is the end nigh?

Sorry SG not SH

@lidlfix I think it's changing now that any child can have automatic deferral from this year but previously autom was only for Jan or Feb children and a case had to be made to the LA many refused which left parents either funding a year of private nursery themselves or moving into school.

@user1487194234

It is so sad how far the Scottish education has fallen and the SH should be making it one of the main priorities But I won't hold my breath

They are to be fair. That's why they are taking the recommendations of the OECD report so seriously.

We shall see , but why did they let it get so bad in the first place
Actual children will have/will go right through the current system

[quote Scottishskifun]@lidlfix I think it's changing now that any child can have automatic deferral from this year but previously autom was only for Jan or Feb children and a case had to be made to the LA many refused which left parents either funding a year of private nursery themselves or moving into school.[/quote]
It's from 2023. But many councils have voted to do automatic from now.

I deferred Dd. She's even written a blog post for Give them Time campaign.

But I would actually leave early years if they started sending children to school the day after their 4th birthday (happens to august born children in England)

DD is a Feb baby but has managed to keep up with her peers. She was definitely ready for school.

Well it was 6 years ago that Nicola asked to be judged on education and yet here we are.....

I don't like the English system and I don't want to change. Everything would have to change, right from the age kids start school because children sitting GCSEs aren't the same age as children sitting Nat 5s as there is a 6 month difference in intake. I don't like that my niece has to take "triple science" which is Biology, Chemistry and Physics and is equivalent to 2 GCSEs rather than being able to take each one individually.

And the biggest benefit of the Scottish system is the breadth post 16 - in most cases kids are doing 5 Highers, or 5 different things on their timetable. Having to choose 3 things after your GCSEs is far too narrow.

Some of the private schools offer an English curriculum but not many - I looked before when we had a ridiculous poster arguing that GCSEs were the same as Highers. AFAIK it's the REALLY posh private boarding schools, like Glenalmond, Merchiston Castle, Fettes and Gordonstoun which offer A-levels and GCSEs, often Highers too. The "ordinary" private schools like Watsons and Heriots in Edinburgh or The High School of Glasgow or Hutcheson's in Glasgow do Nat 5, Higher ans Advanced Higher.

We don't need to throw away our perfectly good education system which served so many of us so well. We need the SQA and the Scottish Government to stop meddling with the curriculum and stop the SQA fucking up exams.

I'd also be in favour of allowing other exam providers to compete with the SQA like in England/Wales where schools can choose which exam board to use for which exam. At the moment there is no competition and the SQA can do what the fuck it likes, be as incompetent as it likes and there are no consequences.

I think the problem is, as always, that the faithful just vote SNP by rote with no questioning or thought for any of its successes or failures in any area.

I also very much agree on the deferral thing, my DD is an end of August birthday, one of the reasons we moved back to Scotland when we did was to avoid her having to start school just days after her 4th birthday. Deferral not an option, we would have had to refuse to send her into reception, and then look for a place the following year - and in an area where schools were jam packed, it would have been a place miles away which nobody else wanted.

Our deferral system is perfect in that parents have choice. And you don't see any of the weird attitudes on threads on here about English deferral about holding them back, babying them, thinking they have to be the oldest, trying to get them an advantage.

I did A levels and O levels as I went to a posh Scottish school. Hence my amazing poshness now (!)

I was thinking about the different exam boards for those, @TheGenealogist, and wondering about that. Would Scotland be big enough?

I really do think though that it would have been wise to have something in place, researched and properly planned, before just scrapping what’s there.

It’s like taking an old car to the scrappy, then thinking about how you’re going to get to work.

yes I'm a huge fan of deferring. Age 4 wouldn't be for me but there are some parents who insist their DC were ready for formal education at 4 and really think that parental choice should be respected.

The one I didn't defer probably may have still benefitted from starting later even though she seemed to cope in P1 and be 'ready'.

I don't think the standard is whether Scotland is better than England really on school start, there isn't enough parental choice in education full stop.

It’s interesting what you say @Groovee. I think starting school at 4 is too early. Maybe we found be looking at European countries who start actual school much later?

Should, not found. 🙄

I'm dubious about the OECD report being implemented by the group who've relentlessly driven down standards and hidden from scrutiny.

The SQA aren't being scrapped because there is anything inherently wrong with the Scottish qualifications, they are being scrapped because the qualifications don't lead on well from CfE.

Well surely it's the CfE that should be changed rather than the SQA?

The Education system should be working towards the end point. The qualifications needed to produce a highly qualified and confident work force.
Highers is the recognised current end point.

That makes sense, @Lockdownbear

@Lockdownbear

The SQA aren't being scrapped because there is anything inherently wrong with the Scottish qualifications, they are being scrapped because the qualifications don't lead on well from CfE.

Well surely it's the CfE that should be changed rather than the SQA?

The Education system should be working towards the end point. The qualifications needed to produce a highly qualified and confident work force.
Highers is the recognised current end point.

Nope. The OECD was very impressed with the CfE.

The truth of the matter is the current exam system is a bit antiquated. There's little difference between what a 17 year old will do this year and what someone's granny did 50 years ago in terms of educational structure. Work all year for one day.

Working all year to sit an exam at the end might well be what we're used to but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best thing. It's old fashioned and doesn't necessarily reflect modern working environments either.

This isn't really new. I was at uni back in early 2000s and they were trying hard to move away from end point assessment only.

@WouldBeGood

I think the problem is, as always, that the faithful just vote SNP by rote with no questioning or thought for any of its successes or failures in any area.

A huge assumption to make there.

@riverrunning

I'm dubious about the OECD report being implemented by the group who've relentlessly driven down standards and hidden from scrutiny.

Well so far they are 🤷🏻‍♀️

Funnily enough, my DDs first day of school came up in FB memories today and I'd forgotten she was only 4.5

(was still the tallest child though )

I don't know about the deferral thing, if kids are going to start later the way stuff is presented needs to be more age appropriate.

We deferred our eldest February baby, he never really engaged with school until P5, prior to that stuff seemed babyish for him. His reading level Biff and Chip but he was wanting me to read him Harry Potter.
P3/4 he just didn't want to go school was boring.

My youngest is December, he's going in because he's ready academically but could do with more time in nursery, the lockdowns haven't helped.
I'm dreading those flipping Biff and Chip books 😖

@thegenealogist it is possible to do triple separate science as GSCE and each one be a separate qualification but it is very tough going so is dependent on the school. I did them separate.

I can see both sides of A levels, I was only interested in science subjects so took them, would have had no interest in having to do other subjects. But if unsure on what you want to do a broader range is beneficial.

I do find it bizarre to completely move away from examinations completely if that's what the recommendation is. As this won't equip young people for the future be it employment which often have an exam element for large recruitment companies or specialisms to uni where regular exams is part of it all.

So what successes are people basing their vote for SNP on?

[quote Scottishskifun]@thegenealogist it is possible to do triple separate science as GSCE and each one be a separate qualification but it is very tough going so is dependent on the school. I did them separate.

I can see both sides of A levels, I was only interested in science subjects so took them, would have had no interest in having to do other subjects. But if unsure on what you want to do a broader range is beneficial.

I do find it bizarre to completely move away from examinations completely if that's what the recommendation is. As this won't equip young people for the future be it employment which often have an exam element for large recruitment companies or specialisms to uni where regular exams is part of it all.[/quote]
No not a complete removal at all. There would still be formal examinations but it would be as part of a much wider spectrum of assessment and they maybe wouldn't all be at the end of the academic year if that makes sense.

It doesn't reflect real life in any way as it currently stands and I suppose the argument is that it should.