Just got back from DCs year 11 parents' evening and i felt a slight air of panic amongst the teachers .....

[iclaudius]

They seemed all at sea about grade boundaries .... imparted some shocking statistics about the number of A* for example being awared this year as opposed to last year at the same modules.

A few of them alluded to 'Is this Gove? Who knows?'

Generally left us with the impression that August this year will be very different to the last few years. We are not OVERLY concerned by this as we do agree that the system needs to change BUT its worrying when it is your own child who is THIS year group.

Anyone experienced similar news at theor childs school??

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

And if DD can't earn enough to cover her food and clothes, then she MUST be in FT education.

It's also financial considerations in situations like mine - on a day release course or apprenticeship, she wouldn't be earning enough to cover her food, clothes and travel, yet her CTC and ChB would stop because it isn't FT education.

It's not as simple as all that for everyone, and not everyone has the ability to survive without that.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Teacher Thank you for your informed and empathetic comments.

It's really sad to come into a thread where everyone is worried about the same thing and trying to be mutually supportive and for one person to say 'so what if someone can't be a doctor', 'so what if someone can't go to the uni they want' and 'I don't give a crap'. It's ride, it's aggressive and it's mean.

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

Not once have I posted 'I don't give a crap', please stop putting words in my mouth that aren't there.

I have said I sympathise with those that will get an A rather than an A*, but also that that is quite a different situation to what will happen to some DC's in some areas where there are no college courses for those who get D/E/F.

And that those who were expected to get a C, and are now thrown in that position ARE going to be worse off than those who drop to an A.

That's not being unsympathetic, it's pointing out the differences in life outcomes between those who get an A and those who get a D, especially in areas like mine.

And they are different, significantly so.

Trying to say that it is just as bad for every child to drop a grade, when it clearly isn't, is disingenuous.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

couthy Sadly for you the evidence remains on this very thread. Yesterday at 11:44:17 you posted I don't give a crap that less pupils will get an A*

I await your apology for implying that I'm a liar.

[noblegiraffe]

I posted about this in Feb 2012, it's definitely Gove's doing - he said exam results would fall as a result of his meddling.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/1412636-Are-you-prepared-for-exam-results-to-fall

[teacherwith2kids]

Couthy, could I suggest, therefore, that you book a meeting with your DD's SENCo within the first couple of days of next term?

You may also need to involve the teachers for the 3 relevant subjects, to identify exactly what the barriers are to her getting a C in each subject. It may also be helpful to identify whether it is 'current grade border uncertainty' or 'CM's daughter finding the grade requirements harder than originally expected' that has caused the prediction to drop - have you been informed which, or is it just your assumption that it is the current uncertainty around grades?

You then need to work out a joint plan of action, with the school, to give her the best chance of exceeding her current prediction AS WELL AS a fall back plan (e.g. sources of funding to enable someone to accompany her to the more distant college, specialist residential colleges for those with particular SN - I know that our local v highly regarded FE college for those with some specific SNs has a catering arm and has supported residential accommodation, or particular charities or helplines for her SN that may be able to provide advice or partial funding etc).

[teacherwith2kids]

Apologies, x-posted.

Couthy, if it has been a child's lifetime dream to follow a particular career path, and it is stymied by the change in grades (because it is not always the case that children CAN just go to a different university with lower grades - many popular qualifications are offered with very similar grades by all possible institutions, and a child may have been just within striking distance of that but then miss out), and as a result they have to follow a completely different career path, less satisfying, probably less financially rewarding, and certainly not as emotionally fulfilling as the one they wanted to folklow, it DOES make a significant difference to their life outcomes.

There are obviously particular issues in your own family circumstances - your own disability, your DD's SN, the financial situation of your family as a whole - that mean that in you case a dropped grade and a significant re-think about career direction [though as a PP has said, it may not have been a viable career choice anyway] cause particular issues. But there will be many, many other hard cases at many other grade boundaries, and to claim that your case is uniquely bad, and in particular to claim that all cases with a vague resemblance to yours are all significantly worse than any others is extrapolating too far from your data....

[teacherwith2kids]

Also, just a little puzzled on the financial front:

• If your DD is in FT education, you will receive CTC and CB, and will have to buy her food and clothes and ?pay her transport to college.
  

• If she is in an apprenticeship, she would be paid (albeit not a lot for the first year, though it would rise). You do not want her to follow this path because her food, clothes and transport would cost too much.
  

I apologise, I do not have all the figures to hand and obviously it will depend on your individual circumstances. Is the gap between the two in financial terms large? Is it so large as to make apprenticeship as a Plan B completely impossible, even if the alternative is her not doing anything and staying at home?

[noblegiraffe]

Couthy has posted in desperation many times before about her DD's education and her DD has been appallingly let down by her school who have not offered a suitable education pathway for her, while also being screwed over by Gove's scrapping of modules.

From what I understand from her previous posts, if her DD doesn't get on the catering course, there aren't any other options and her DD may end up at home with no college course, no job prospects and no money, and a mother who can't afford to keep her.

That must be an exceptionally worrying prospect, and I agree that it is 'worse' than someone having to downgrade their university choice, while still having options open to them.

[noblegiraffe]

...not that I'm saying being screwed out of your university choice by Gove is fine, btw.

[montmartre]

Could she do horticulture perhaps?

If I were in the position where my child was being failed so badly by her school, and would have no opportunities in the area after school, then I would move. However, I appreciate that if you're disabled you may not have a choice of housing, or the freedom to do that.

Is it possible to look into that? Particularly if you have 2 more children who may find themselves in a similar situation.

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

In social housing. No local connection to be able to get housed in any other area. Prohibited Steps order keeping me in this town also, for one of my younger DC's. No legal Aid to go back to court to try to get the PSO lifted, and it was refused last time I tried to self represent. Chances are it would still not be lifted. So another 7 years minimum tied to this town.

No, moving isn't an option.

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

Ok, Russians, I apologise for that rudeness, but I guess I was feeling aggrieved that you can't see the difference between one child being forced to downgrade their Uni choices, and another having no way of feeding themselves or being fed.

I just feel that while yes, it will be a shame for the first set of students, it's a tragedy for the second set.

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

The difference is that when we chose her Options, it was based around the predictions pre-fiasco, and she was predicted 'C's.

Getting the SAME marks, she now will only get a 'D'.

Therefore it's not that her ability has changed, or the hard work she (and I) are putting into getting her those grades has changed, but simply that for getting the same amount of total marks, she will not get the same grade.

And the boundary has changed the most for the C/D borderline pupils.

Where she may have scraped a C before, she will now be lucky to scrape a D.

If the grade boundary has changed by 5 points between an A* and an A, it has changed by 8 points between a C and a D.

So you could have been 7 points into a C before, yet now you will just miss out on one. And 7/8 points is a lot harder to make up than 5 - when you bear in mind that those attempting to make up 5 points are far less likely to have learning difficulties than those trying to make up 8 points...

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

The gap between the two is well over £40 a week. That is an insurmountable amount to our family, especially given the benefit cap changes and UC issues still to come BEFORE she finishes Y11.

I have another appointment with the SenCo after the holidays. Though she was in years at the last appointment, of frustration, as she has 27 in current Y11 in this predicament, and 32 in current Y10. She can't secure residential places for any but those who will get nothing but 'G' or less now. Those between 'D' and 'F' are only going to be 'ok' if their parents can fully find them for food, clothing and travel to college.

She is being told by the LA to apply to the further afield college's hardship fund. They are saying that they only have the money for 30 student's travelling costs. Over all the students in our town affected that don't have parents with the funds to cover this. Which is estimated to be over 150.

[TheOriginalNutcracker]

Sorry, can I just clarify something. Do we now not get ctc and cb if they stay on until 18 ?? Apologies if i've missed something.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

No couthy, that still doesn't work, that was your FIRST POST in this thread. All I'd done at that point was express concern and worry at what a PP had said was now happening, like many other posters above me. The OP expressed her concern in terms of A* boundaries. That was what this thread was supposed to be about. I have seen you do this so very many times under your various names - somebody posts something, other people respond, then you pile and and tell us all we have nothing to complain about because your life is so much worse. And clearly, it's pretty bad. But that doesn't mean other people can't express worries about their own situations on MN too. And as I said above, you don't actually ow anything about anyone else's circumstances anyway.

I'm generally very sympathetic to your plight. But in this case, you piled into the thread and were horrible and rude right from the start. So in this case, no, Im not going to spare any worry for you because I've got enough worries for my own SEN child. Who deserves at least as much consideration as yours, and who has apparent actual government policy saying people like her are not allowed to get the top grades. And who would never in a million years be allowed anywhere near a catering course.

[CouthySaysEatChoccyEggs]

Ok, I'm sorry. I'll leave this thread now, as I've obviously upset you, Russians, and that wasn't my intention. I'm just struggling right now to sort everything for everyone, and obviously let this out on this thread. Once again, I apologise.

[iclaudius]

i think you DO nutcracker - definitely do for CB as i've just had the letter

[iclaudius]

couthy my understandning is that there is a HUGE change in the A* boudarie but this is then only a matter of a couple of points difference in the C/D boundary - teachers have told me this

[ravenAK]

The C/D boundary in Eng Lang moved up by roughly 10% last June.

It really, really wasn't a couple of points.

[ShipwreckedAndComatose]

What Iclaudius (great name!) said was true for some of the science exams for AQA this January. The A*, A, B boundaries moved significantly but the ones lower than that did not.

So I think the only certainty is that we do not know exactly what will happen in June!

[iclaudius]

ravenAK - thanks- i think the english was an exception and caused such a stir that things were rectified for January

i think the general TREND is as Shipwrecked stated and echoed in the January modules...in ds school last year in Biology 55% of students got an A* ( v high performing school) this year it was 7%

the biology department rang another similar school as he was shocked and they reported an almost identical result each time.....

is this going to be seen as FAIR?

[IAmLouisWalsh]

Nothing has been 'rectified' in English - the solution was not to set boundaries. The boundaries for the November resit were very similar to those from the summer, and the trend will be likely to continue. Getting a C in English is significantly more difficult than it has ever been.

January modules will not run again.

[noblegiraffe]

Getting a C in maths was much more difficult last year too, but not as well publicised as the English fiasco. The grade boundaries on one exam board's final module to get a C were way, way higher than previous modules, years, and reasonable expectations.