This grammar school programme

[SouthWestmom]

Not being funny but I don't think the teaching and support staff are being shown in a great light.

It’s called Grammar Schools and who will get in, or something like that. Started last week.

I have been watching with interest as I have a DD who will be doing the 11+ in September. Did anyone see last week’s programme - my heart broke for the children who didn’t pass. I felt so sorry for the girl whose mum worked in Poundland and spent shedloads she couldn’t really afford on tutors. The girl’s sleeping situation was ridiculous though and couldn’t have helped.

The issue is about behaviour isn’t it, not ability. The programme has shown its poor behaviour (from all abilities) that sucks the resources and stops others learning. Most bead behaviours will be from children from difficult backgrounds or who are not engaged with education- grammars naturally selected less from this group and the schools then feel like a calm and safe oasis.

I said this before, but we need to select out by behaviour, not ability. There should be special segregated units with huge resources, to manage and support children who can’t or won’t behave. If they turn their behaviour around then they go back into mainstream. The rest (all abilities) will do perfectly well schooled together as classes can be set by ability, and it will probably be cheaper overall to run this system as the behaviour issues will affect so fewer children.

This is how to get parents to opt out of the grammar, faith or private school race.

This is what LAs used to do, iheartniles (I do too )
They ran behaviour units that could take children on a short term improvement programme, then reintegrate them back into mainstream.
Of course, everyone knows how LAs were so wasteful and needed slashing or doing away with...

I don't live in the UK but I was a bit shocked at this week's programme. Even the Grammar school seemed huge and sprawling, and the Secondary Modern looked like a low security prison with that member of staff walking around with a walkie talkie pulling badly behaved children out of their classroom.

Also, while I'm all for teachers being pleasant and approachable, some of them looked a bit too matey and down with the kids and several of them were pretty scruffy looking as well - so must be hard to get the kids to understand why school uniform rules need to be adhered to.

I agree with you IheartNiles. I have been shocked at the amount of bending over backwards and accommodating of bad behaviour and it is that that stops other kids learning. We are in a 11+ area but chose not to go down that route. It was a mix of feeling DS wouldn't pass and how that may affect him and bit of finding the whole process distasteful. I don't regret the excellent comp by DS attends but feel behaviour and how it's managed (or not) is a source of alot of problems.