Daughter making no progress - help!

[fizzybizzy]

I’m looking for a bit of advice from any secondary teachers out there. My daughter is about to go into year 10 and I’ve been looking at her attainment/progress since she started. In a nutshell this is where she is now and where she started in year 7.

December 2020 - Year 7
English 3+
Maths 2
Science 3-

June 2023 - Year 9
English 3
Maths 3
Science 2

So, maths and science attainment have both gone backwards. To give some context, she had a troubled start and missed most of year 7 due to a mental health illness (on top of covid closures). She had some schooling provided by the Local Authority and by the beginning of year 8 she was well enough to be back at school.

I’m wondering if her lack of progress is enough for me to be asking school to be putting anything extra in place for her..? They haven’t raised any concerns in year 8 or 9.

Thanks in advance for any insight/advice.

Plus schools can set up their own tracking systems. They should!

Yes, I think DD's school did.

I'm head of Science in a secondary.

Assessing using GCSE grades in KS3 is a complete nonsense. They haven't covered the GCSE specification. Some of the content/skills will be different.

At our school, we use emerging, developing, secure and exceeding, in relation to the curriculum goals we have at KS3.

The curriculum is (or should be!) the progression model. So, if I assess a Y7 child as secure at Christmas of Y7 and again at Easter of Y7, it doesn't mean no progress. This is because what is required to be secure at Easter is more than what was required at Christmas.

I would advise you request a meeting with the school to discuss the grades and, importantly, how these are actually arrived at. Some departments work really hard to standardise assessment gradings but others are more haphazard.

Appreciate all your messages. Strange how schools can assess so differently! My son, at the same school, has just taken GCSEs and has been assessed in the same way all the time he was there but his marks gradually got better, not worse!

I emailed the school and have had a good response back so, along with your replies, feel reassured.