School seem to be trying to discourage DS from staying on at school

[wigglybeezer]

Ds1 is 15, he is about to sit the new Scottish equivalent of GCSEs, he did not do that well in his prelims. I get the impression the school are doing their best to convince him to leave rather than stay on for Highers.

I always knew it would be a long haul getting him a decent clutch of passes, I anticipated some resits or some courses taking two years instead of one, he has always underperformed in exams and has a "spiky" profile on intelligence tests.

He is a bit immature in some ways and has definitely been a bit late to realise the point of trying extra hard but there has been a definite improvement lately ( a bit too late for this year maybe).

The school has a rep for good results and I think they are worried he will mess up their tables.

College is a no no, he doesn't know what he wants to do yet and the courses that might suit are full for next year.

He will only be 15 at the end of the school year.

Any advice for how to tackle the school about this?

Why is college a no no (excuse my ignorance, don't know anything about Scottish colleges, here in England that would seem the obvious solution)?

Wondering the same as Cory

Why would you fight to get him to stay somewhere that doesn't want him?

We don't have the equivalent of sixth form colleges, realistically school exams are only offered in schools, and ds1 falls somewhere between the required levels for FE colleges, ie. too qualified for entry level vocational courses but needs a couple more exams for the more challenging ones ( which are full now anyway). I don't think he has the maturity to cope with college yet, complicated public transport, organisation, self motivation, I fear he would not cope and would end up more disheartened.

He needs to go back in the oven for a bit longer if you know what I mean. School seem to have written him off prematurely. The poor soul is a bit lost and upset about the whole thing.

I'm a former teacher (and in Scotland) and in the school I used to work in we wouldn't be able to just refuse to have a young person back for 5th and 6th year unless there were really serious behaviour issues, the argument being that it wouldn't be productive for them or their classmates who were also there through choice. What does 'been a bit immature mean'?

If there are no real issues with behaviour with your son then if i were you i would call school and ask to speak to his pupil support teacher about the situation.

From what you say, Highers might not be the most appropriate level of study(he might be better doing int 1 or 2 in S5) but the school should still be able to provide him with appropriate courses.

potteringalong, he has good friends at the school, rural area so not a big choice of alternatives, he is in the under eighteens rugby team ( only thing he excels at, so important for esteem) and we have paid out £ 750 pounds for a rugby tour next Autumn which he is very excited about.

The school have not asked him to leave exactly, it is more that he has been lumped in with the kids who are marking time until they leave, he is being made to come in every day after the Easter holidays to do " fun sessions" when the students doing more exams are allowed study leave at home etc. I have been very disappointed with the schools lack of perseverance with him and their lack of flexibility with course choices for the less academic.

When is he 16? If its not til after December then he isn't legally allowed to leave school til the Christmas holidays anyway.
As WTActualF says, he wouldn't be prevented from carrying on to 5th year if that was what you both wanted - and it does sound like it would be the best thing for him.

Does your school offer any vocational pathways to a local college at all?
At ds's schools (2 ds's, 2 different schools) pupils are offered the opportunity to go to college one day a week to do a 2 year course - ranging from hairdressing to joinery - mainly practical based.

He has a clean behaviour and perfect attendance record by the way, by immature I mean a bit scatty and disorganised and easily discouraged, probably a bit moody sometimes.

He has chosen higher PE and is having a go at at English and biology but will have to drop them if he doesn't get a B ( a C is more realistic). int 1 or 2 no longer offered due to the new curriculum.

I will have another go at talking to guidance, didn't manage it last time I tried.

What other subjects is he interested in? Could he take one or two National 4s in 5th year, then carry them onto N5 in 6th year?
With the Curriculum for Excellence that should be a possibility.

Unfortunately no vocational courses offered, it was talked about but the school haven 't managed to get it off the ground, think distance from colleges is an issue, plus management team busy being experts in the new curriculum.

DS is probably being over sensitive about the whole thing, he was the only person in his national 4 maths class prevented from taking national 5 next year and he took this badly.

I need to go in person I think.

There were no national 4s offered on the course choice form, I really don't want him to leave without passing English and maths!

In that case in the absence of behaviour issues, I would say definitely go to speak to school then and make it clear that you wouldn't like to think they are trying to push him out before he is ready in order to make their results look better. I'm not familiar with how things have changed as I stopped teaching about 5 years ago, but the school must be able to provide an appropriate curriculum with more vocational subjects.

Good luck.

Thanks for listening by the way.

I did well at school by the way, 5 Highers etc. but am not a deluded parent where DS 1 is concerned, I don't need him to follow in my footsteps, way past that, just want him to get enough passes to allow him a few choices.

Sorry, cross posted. Yes, make an appointment, possibly even to speak to a depute head. It sounds like the school is struggling to implement the new curriculum and will need to take steps to meet the needs of all their pupils, not just the academic ones. If you don't get anywhere very calmly speak to someone in the council education department about what they feel your sons options are.

Stand your ground, be polite but firm and make sure they know that you are realistic about your son's ability and effort, which it sounds like you are. If they can see this they are more likely to work with you.

Oh dear. Yes, you need to go in person I think, but the impression I'm getting from your posts is that your ds's school just isn't that great.
The whole point of the Curriculum for Excellence is that it's supposed to help all children of all abilities to achieve their potential - clearly this message seems to be being missed at your ds's school.

Does your son actually have an Special Educational Need / Specific Learning Difficulty? You mentioned a spikey profile on intelligence tests, disorganisation, moody and scatty. That could possibly be due to dyslexia or dyspraxia or another SpLD. Have you had him assessed?

It is supposed to be a very good school, that prides itself on its results, we are finding out the hard way that it is not so good for children with patchy results.

I really want him to do some more maths next year, he belatedly seems to be improving, 15 is too early to stop doing maths IMO but if he fails National 4 that's it, no chance to try the next level or resit level 4

I tried to get him a DX, hence the testing, but his results weren't bad enough overall and they made me feel like a fussy mother at the time.

I have always kept an eye on him as his younger brother is on the autistic spectrum so I wouldn't have been surprised by him having SEN but he always sneaks into normal range or makes just enough progress for a while to temporarily reassure everyone. I feel so sorry for him, he is very proud and feels a bit humiliated by some of the teachers lack of patience with him ( does much better with kinder jolly teachers). He may look like a big manly rugby player but he was crying last night .

I have made an appointment to speak to his guidance teacher after the holidays.

It really doesn't sound like they are giving him a fair chance. Good luck with speaking to the school. Both my DS are dyslexic and do sometimes get tears from DS1 (aged 10) because he just wants to find things easier.

i don't understand this scottish system? is a level 4 like doing a gcse?

if so why won't he be allowed to retake if he fails? in england they have to keep taking it until they pass i think

Panic subsided slightly he has passed national 4 maths! Last minute pulling up of socks worked.

I don 't know how GCSEs work but if they are at two levels national 4s would be the lower level and national 5s would be the credit level.

Exams only happen once a year on Scotland, if you fail you have to wait a whole year to resit.

so few kids fail national 4 that the school would not have enough to fill a class. It might be different in different schools, I think there is something called life skill maths for the very challenged in the maths dept.

I have an appointment with his guidance teacher in a month and may manage to get him doing Maths next year after all due to him passing his national 4 test ( much To the surprise of his teacher I think).

That's really great news. Now you can go and argue his case from a much stronger position. Good luck with the meeting.