Sixth form supervision- normal?

[Baker111]

Hi all,

I attended a secondary school open morning yesterday with my Y6 daughter. I’m just wondering if what I saw is normal in schools now?

We were taken into the sixth form area to be shown the facilities. There was a large group of sixth formers there (40 ish) all doing ‘independent study’. What I thought was strange though was that they had a teacher supervising them- not to answer questions- simply telling them to be quiet. So not independent at all. This has made me feel quite uncomfortable, my recollection of doing A-levels is about learning how to study by yourself- which might sometimes mean mucking about in a free period and then regretting it when you have two essays to write that evening- but taught me a valuable lesson!

My question is. Is such supervision normal now in schools? If it is I guess I have to get over it, but I can’t help thinking this is a general reflection of the schools ethos to behaviour and that they will be extremely strict.

Unsupervised at dcs school. Him and his friends use the time properly though as it is one less thing to do at home if completed during the study period at school.

Have to say I do find that surprising. Surely part of the purpose of sixth form is to get students used to working independently and developing self-discipline.

Some will be in trouble at uni when they have no one telling them to study, never mind enforcing silence.

This is why I think colleges are fantastic. Brilliant, large facilities so students can go somewhere quiet like a library or in the canteen etc. to socialise. Perfect stepping stone to university - support if you want/need it but plenty of independence and learning to manage things on your own

That is the goal. But the reality is that many if not most 16 year olds are not ready to launch directly into that level of freedom & responsibility from the fully timetabled status they had at GCSE level.

In the past the attitude was that students who couldn’t manage that leap at 16 were just not A-level material. And there are still colleges and sixth forms where that’s the approach - this isn’t the place for you if you aren’t ready for that. But by and large we’ve moved towards wanting post-16 academics to be more accessible to a wider swathe of students (including those who may never attend a traditional academic university), so many schools and colleges use a more gradual scaffolding approach where students start with more supervision and structure and can progress towards a more university-like level of independence over the 2 years based on how they’re managing their studies.

OP got a tiny snapshot of an independent study session less than a month into the year. She needs far more info to evaluate how the school prepares students studying as an adult at university.

If they wanted to - yes. My DS1 (now aged 28yrs) did just that. I won't go into the full story here and i'm not going to pretend he was a model teenager but he met an online partner, applied to uni in her home town.

And left home himself. We did visit a year later and he was settled and happy. Now he's with a different partner, settled, has a child and still lives down near that town. 7 hours drive from us.
We see him 3 or 4 times a year and he's doing well.

But - yes - he was a tricky teen and life calmed down at home considerably after he left! He's a responsible, settled family man now.

We took our DD1 and DD3 to uni open days and helped move their stuff in the car. DD1 did not move back home once she left (at 18) She is 31 now.

By contrast, our DD3 who went to uni in Covid times is back home! He finished his degree - successfully - and hopefully will get moving soonish. He is 21.

We have tried to grow resilient kids but it's harder now i think. I certainly see a difference between the 3 we had during the 90s and the 2 we had in the noughties.

Thank you!!!!!

Celery munch is trying to imply i was a neglected kid! You're right - who wanted parents anywhere near them as a teen. So uncool!!

Yes, I did all my open days alone in the 90s and it was utterly normal. DD did some of hers alone but because so many parents go now she found herself at a disadvantage for getting questions in, so I accompanied her to one last week to make sure she could get the info she needed. There were some "student only" talks which I think were beneficial though a couple of parents had to be told quite firmly that it wasn't for them.

Parents did tend to drop you off at uni in the 90s, but in my case that was only on the very first day, and they didn't come and visit (an idea I find quite strange tbh, though not sure why).

I wouldn’t call that a good relationship with your child though.

Different generation entirely. I went in 1986. Honestly, i was fine! I only recall one girl turning up with her parents. She was quite posh and presented as much younger than us. She was on my course in Edinburgh and came from Newcastle. I seem to remember she went home a lot. She didn't join in with all the parties and weekend stuff.

Students were eligible for housing benefit then. We all stayed in our flats right through the Summer hols as we had to pay for our flat and earn extra to afford it. So our friends were all there. None of us went home again really.

I had come up from Manchester. I met my partner in Edinburgh. So i had my whole life here. I did not move back home again. I visited once a year or so. I still go back and visit my Aunt now once or twice a year. She's late 80s now.

I was 19 when i left home. A year later than usual as i had to resit most of my o levels before being allowed to progress to A levels.

He's an adult. He has his own life with his own family. I am not going to be the intefering mother in law!

Call it what you like. I have turned out a fully fuctioning, fully employed and able adult. I am proud of him.

Judge me all you want to.

40 years ago, our sixth form had a "common room" for general chit chat and messing around, and a large "library" which was where you'd go to study - it had two areas - the main area was tables with 4 chairs around them where you could study with friends etc., but there was also an area at the back which were "booths" for just one person, with partitions separating you from the others if you really wanted to concentrate. There was usually a teacher or librarian in there who'd keep peace and order!

My son said it was similar at his school's sixth form a few years ago - two distinct/separate areas. One had a cafe area and was for the general messing around, but again, there was another area for "quiet" study - I can't remember him saying it was supervised, but I do know he managed to do quite a lot of work during his free periods, so clearly not a free for all.

I was dropped off by my parents at Uni in 1991, but I went to all open days myself- sometimes with a bunch of friends from school, and I went to all my university interviews by myself. I honestly don't know anybody who didn't at that time. I would say my relationship with my parents is very loving and affectionate and close still. It just wasn't the done thing. I absolutely love that independence.