Y7 SATs resits will be in December 2017

[noblegiraffe]

The SATs resits in Y7 for those who fail to meet the expected standard in KS2 will be going ahead in December 2017.

December.

So the kids will start secondary school, have to get to grips with all that entails and be hothoused by their new school to get them to pass a test in December that they couldn't pass in May.

So secondary teachers will have 3 months.

I think this is completely idiotic.

I believe that a child could jump a level in a few months, but certainly not all children.
I'm finding with my own she is working really hard after struggling for so long.
Her teacher said she is bright and one of the first to get a new concept but she struggles to retain the basics and new concepts
With intervention she will and is managing to improve at a great pace.
It isn't true that children who receive such interventions are used to it, and I find that dismissive. It isn't a case of catching up, they aren't behind.
Mine is extremely gifted and has never had any intervention before, they aren't stupid.

Bolognese, you would like my dd head teacher who scrapped school plays, class assemblies, limited music lessons, school trips, banned Christmas parties to focus on academics. The school results are still poor because some kids just don't have the academic ablity to pass SATs, however much you hot house them.

Believe it or not, not all kids are capable of great things in the classroom. Some children will clean the streets, pack shelves or do some other unskilled job because they are not capable of a training. Some children will achieve sucess in life without academic qualifications. Richard Branson would have failed his key stage 2 sats if they had existed.

Why ruin their childhood attempting the impossible. If adult life is going to be boring then let them have fun and play while they can. Sometimes developing non academic skills can lead to alternative ways to earn a living.

Bolognese PP money is supposed to be used for PP students, not kids who fail their SATs (although there may be some overlap).

Sorry ReallyTired I just think you are wrong. Its just not right to let them play for seven/fourteen years, then throw them on the scrap heap. I cant comment on your head teacher but I do believe every child should focus on the 3 R's, you do not go to school to play, you do not need to capable of great things, it does NOT ruin their childhood.

Yeah, that's exactly what we do, let them play for 14 years then throw them on the scrap heap

There are lots of reasons why a child might not get a C in their maths GCSE, not least due to the dire shortage of qualified maths teachers. I don't think sticking another test in in Y7 and calling kids failures is going to magically solve that problem.

Children a balance between work, rest and play. Young children learn through play. I think that eliminating play opportunities from a child's life is a mistake.

Soft skills are as important as academics. Children need exposure to find where their talents lie. Often the less academic child has to think a bit laterally to find a way to earn a living as an adult. As a society we need people with a range of skills. Not everyone can be a professor.

The school play improves confidence, speaking and listening skills. The art lesson improves dexterity. Music and drama improve team work skills. I think that year 6 is a little stupid in that these opportunities are not spread evenly through out the year.

It's ironic that many people who think that state primaries should focus on the three Rs make sure that their own children have access to the arts. Either by extra curricular activities or choosing private education. Many private schools offer wider curriculum than state schools.

The school Nicky Morgan attended offered far more than the three Rs. Clearly it's one curriculum for the stupid peasants and another for the ruling classes.

Yes I agree play is important but you go to school to learn. You go home to play.

Children learn through playing.

They dont learn how to read, write or do maths by playing.

The time to learn by playing is when they are at HOME.

Bollox

Children certainly learn maths and language skills through play. A reception class provides planned play where children learn problem solving skills, creativity, develop social skills, spatial awareness etc. etc. Lots of countries with better results than the Uk and better ecomonies allow children to have more play. Many countries do not have their children start school until seven years old. Inspite of the late start countries like Finland over take the uk.

Children do not develop social skills by staying at home. They need a rich experience provided by a good primary. Parents vary in how good a play environment they can provide at home. Learning to resolve conflict is a useful skill for life.

There is also the mental health aspect. South Korea may have great results, but it has the highest child suicide rate in the world.

You don't know much about how children learn do you, Bolognese?

The criteria for OFSTED needs to be rejigged. At the moment primaries teach to test. They really don't give a shit about deep understanding because it's not their problem if a child fails GCSE because the foundations were not properly laid down in primary.

Primary schools should be throwing interventions at children at risk of failing their sats long before it gets to year 6. I also feel that needs to be more research into what kind of intervention works. I believe that there is research that shows taking an sen child out of then lesson to do one to one with a TA does more harm than good. In some schools children with Sen get less contact with qualified teachers than non Sen children.

Maybe maths specialists from a secondary school need to work more closely with their primary colleagues. My son maths levels soared when he went to secondary and was talk by a maths specialist. Maybe teachers in primary should be paid extra to upgrade their own maths skills. Maybe there could be sponsorship to do a masters in maths teaching.

Some years ago Summer Schools were introduced for the children who failed to get Level 4. These took place at the Secondary Schools. What happened to that idea?

I never want my children anywhere near a school run by bolognese.

It's not about getting your child to "catch up", it's about adequately supporting ALL children and telling the truth about their attainment.

My DS achieved L3s at the end of Y6 (he has MLD and autism), by the end of Y7 he was L2s right across the board....and consistently got those scores across the year. Hot housing him would not have made a sod of difference apart from reinforcing for him his belief that he "isn't clever" and stuffed his self esteem further down the drain.

Thanking the stars he is now out of mainstream and in a special school who support him PROPERLY.
All children need this support and not hot housing while ignoring all other needs.

"I never want my children anywhere near a school run by bolognese."

Don't worry I doubt that bolognese works in education. I suspect that she is one of many "experts" by virtue she has been to school.

I don't disagree in theory with almost all the points made by noble and tired etc but I prefer to live in the real world and certain people, especially those who have a professional interest don't seem to.

In their perfect world all children who wanted/needed it would have unlimited one to one personalized tuition by a specialized teacher. No tests would be set, no leagues tables published, teachers would self declare how they are doing to get guaranteed pay rises of the level they determine is 'fair' whilst also having their work load reduced to a level they decided was relaxing with zero stress. Wouldn't everyone like that?

Meanwhile in the real world, there is no more new money. Parents want to see schools inspected, tested and ranked. People want standards increased in academic areas and they want it done now, not in seven years. Young British people do not want low paid manual labor jobs and to get 'better' jobs they need a certain level of Maths and English etc. Britain has to compete against other countries on a global scale or we become less wealthy. That means like it or not children have to learn more at school.

So whilst some might prefer the educational bubble of a perfectly world, others have to roll our sleeves up and make the real world work.

Fucking hell, if you want to see people who have to make the real world work, that would be teachers.

In the midst of all these increased expectations, harder exams, more work, the list of students at my school who are self-harming, depressed or who have attempted suicide grows ever-longer.

For our DS1 I'm acutely aware that English and maths written down are definitely not his strong points and definitely not where he's going to make his way in life. Yes I'd like him to be able to sit down and read a book but more than that of like him to be able to follow and succeed in something he loves. This falls as history, art, philosophy, maths concepts (arithmetic less so), ethics and politics so far.

There's so much more to school than the three Rs and I'm so glad his school recognise this and value every child's skills, academic or otherwise.

I neither want him to give up not get so stressed from trying and being called a failure and I really worry that this system could lead to the latter.

Wow Noble, don't think I've noticed you swearing on here before!

Sorry, *nor get so stressed

I guess it doesn't come across here in text but I have a great respect for the work most teachers do. I know most of them work dam hard and are restricted by a very rigid system. There is so many conflicting interests in the world and whilst a lot of them are very genuine the reality is that no matter how you cut the cake it just means thinner and thinner slices. Doctors want money so maybe the schools budget will have to be squeezed, the police need more more money so maybe flood defenses will be cut back, tube drivers want more money so maybe cut back social services... the people who get bigger slices of the cake are the ones who can blackmail us the most. Humans are inherently greedy and the ones that claim all they want is their fair share for their little domain give very little thought to who loses out as a result. Teachers have a very good tool for blackmailing the country and they use it and its people like me who suffer in silence (well apart from posting here) because we cant blackmail anyone important

Rant over, sorry wont post on this thread again.

" Teachers have a very good tool for blackmailing the country and they use it and its people like me who suffer in silence (well apart from posting here) because we cant blackmail anyone important "

That last comment is as mad as a box of frogs!

Parents want to see schools inspected, tested and ranked

I'm a parent & don't want this. I believe this is exactly why education is in such a mess at the moment. Over emphasis on inspections to the point where teachers have to spend more time proving they're teaching rather than just being allowed to get on with it.

Are you Nicky Morgan Bolognese?