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Secondary education

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Original poster

school hasn't completed the GCSE syllabus

147 replies

jacobibatoli · 27/05/2015 20:32

recently found out that dc has not completed all aspects of the syllabus for GCSE
school is hot on uniform, discipline etc.., and quite right too
and the parents need to do their bit, support the school and supply dc to school in correct uniform, attitude etc...
and if not there is a whole raft of punishments available to them and quite right too!
but in return we expect the school to do their bit like cover the whole syllabus or if not at least tell us so we might be able to do something about it
accountability is just a one way street

OP posts:
KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 09:52

I know, I get it.

It still seems a shame that children who ARE capable should never get as far as the actually interesting stuff.

noblegiraffe · 28/05/2015 10:12

I would suggest that if you think she is capable that you start tutoring her now in order to get her up to the set that you think she should be capable of being in but isn't yet achieving the results for.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 10:34

Added it to the never-ending list, NobleGiraffe...

I still think I'm jibbing at the idea that there are questions suitable only for A children. DS2 got an A rather than A. I am fairly willing to bet that he did so by doing the final 6-marker questions very well, whilst making daft mistakes on the supposedly easier stuff. That's certainly what he did on every blooming mock paper, anyway.

ErrolTheDragon · 28/05/2015 12:02

Kitty, my DD is like that too but she has learned to make sure she checks the 'easy' questions carefully. I'd hope that when setting the teachers would be able to spot the able but careless kids.

noblegiraffe · 28/05/2015 12:03

It's not that the final questions are 6 markers suitable only for A* students, it's that certain topics are pretty hard and less able children usually struggle with them. The final questions might be on transformations of trig graphs and only worth a couple of marks each but trig graphs are confusing so only taught to the top set. Or completing the square or algebraic proof.

PenelopePitstops · 28/05/2015 12:19

Noble just wanted to agree whole heartedly with your take on Kitties.

I may go slightly further and say Kitties you sound a bit like one of those parents, let your dd relax and enjoy the set she is in. A B grade at gcse isn't the end of the world.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 13:22

Oh I'm definitely one of those parents -- luckily only in my spare half-hours from fretting about whether DS1 will ever cope with adult life at all.

I dunno. DD suffers from a lack of parental attention rather a lot of the time, and I was sort of hoping that we could leave her maths education up to the school.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 13:31

Sorry, unjustifiably snippy answer there, as I've just been interrupted in (yes, really!) helping DD with some maths, by a nearly incoherent phone call from (autistic) DS to say he's been sent home from work because he's not functioning today.

noblegiraffe · 28/05/2015 14:18

You can absolutely leave your DD's maths education up to the school but she will get better results if you supplement with 1-1 tutoring. That's true for the vast majority of children. I'd definitely look into tutoring for kids in Y9 and Y8, the new GCSE is going to be a mess.

Sorry about your DS struggling, that must be tough.

Original poster
jacobibatoli · 28/05/2015 15:31

noble surely that is a worry if teachers are recommending 1-1 tutoring

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 28/05/2015 15:56

Blame the government and Ofqual. The introduction of the new maths GCSE is an ongoing farce. As a teacher I find it very difficult to simply smile at parents and say it's all going to be fine when the whole thing is actually a total mess.

Charis1 · 28/05/2015 16:03

sort of hoping that we could leave her maths education up to the school

up to the school, not realisticat all, the school is far to busy assessing and recording your DD to actually teach her, but she should be more than capable of sorting this out for herself. It is called "taking ownership"

JustRichmal · 28/05/2015 16:31

I don't think teachers can be held responsible that 121 teaching is a more efficient way of teaching children than in a class of 30. It is just stating the obvious.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 16:34

I don't think I agree with either bit of that, Charis, sorry. DD is learning all sorts of things at school, but I can see we need to keep a closer eye on the maths to keep her options open.

And I also don't think it's realistic to expect her to take ownership of her own maths education. All of mine have a tendency to get the wrong idea sort of ingrained, if that makes sense? DS1 thought that, say, 'xy', where x=3 and y=5, would be 35 - which would be fine if algebra actually worked that way.

TheFallenMadonna · 28/05/2015 16:38

I wouldn't recommend, but of course good 1:1 tutoring is going to be helpful! As I drove into school today to do extra revision with my year 11s, I told my year 9 son, who I'd dragged along with me, that when his time comes, he'll be going infor everything the school offers, apart from in my own subjects, where he will get the benefit of my undivided attention. He was thrilled, of course....

summerends · 28/05/2015 16:53

Am I being in naive in thinking that the core skills in maths are n't changed by the way they are examined? Surely maths is n't as syllabus dependent as the humanities or even the sciences - unless at the top end where there may be uncertainty about which more advanced topics need to be taught.
Is n't the problem more of the examiners having appropriate expectations of skills for the grades?

I do realise though that teachers and pupils are very used to the security blanket of multiple past papers to practise and gauge progress.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 16:54

Anyway, thanks all for an eye-opening thread. I mentioned the gist of it to the various offspring and they were all equally surprised that it's common practice not to teach the whole syllabus except to the top set.

DS1 (now feeling more human, thanks, Noble) commented that it does explain how he went from C/D to A* in two weeks, once he'd actually met the rest of the syllabus!

summerends · 28/05/2015 16:56

My post relates to the new GCSE not the old.

Charis1 · 28/05/2015 16:56

I don't think I agree with either bit of that, Charis, sorry.

And I also don't think it's realistic to expect her to take ownership of her own maths education.

You don't get what I'm saying.

She is required to by ofsted. Teachers are not allowed to stand up in front of the class and tell them how maths works. You would get into trouble if you were caught.

Teachers are not there to teach, they are there to "manage the learning" - mostly by assessing and recording it.

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 16:58

How does that work, then?

TheFallenMadonna · 28/05/2015 16:58

Bollocks.

titchy · 28/05/2015 17:01

Another quality post from charis!

KittiesInsane · 28/05/2015 17:02

Well, I was kind of hoping it was rubbish, but given what else I'm learning today...

TheFallenMadonna · 28/05/2015 17:02

My apologies. I am not normally so robust. But really, that is completely misleading!

Charis1 · 28/05/2015 17:06

I just tell you how it is, I quite understand that you hope it isn't really like that... sorry to disappoint you, but I know exactly what is going on.

You cannot get caught standing up in front of a class teaching these days, there is a limit of about 3 mins, if you might get seen. You would be classed as inadequate, because you are interfering with and preventing the students taking ownership of their own learning......

Anyway, the teachers have to spend the lessons recording everything they say to everyone.

If you don't like it, contact your MP. Shouting me down does not make one iota of difference to the situation in schools. That is just sticking your fingers in your ears shouting "Neenawneenaw!"