DfE tells teachers to teach kids to knit, climb trees and skim stones

[noblegiraffe]

It’s the middle of the Christmas holidays, so the perfect time for the DfE (committed to reducing teacher workload doncha know) to release a bunch of stuff that will create work for teachers. This time its primary teachers who are the lucky target.

Pupils will have an activity passport with a checklist for each year group containing things like ‘explore a cave’ and ‘learn to moonwalk’.

And in the meantime, what will parents be expected to do?

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/767941/Schools_Enrichment_Booklet__web.pdf

[Fuckwheresitgone]

Just NO! I don't want the teachers to do this, this is my job as a parent, but what I can't do, is teach them to read, write and maths (I can support this) but not actually teach because you know what? I'm not trained! My DC have brilliant teachers, but this is just more government interference, and quite frankly ridiculous, added to which how are schools going to afford this with the ever decreasing budgets? What would be much better is a gov. Funded 'Saturday or holiday' school for children from homes that can't give children the extra circular activities. But when children are in school I want them to be learning the three 'R's, other subjects.

[IceRebel]

how are schools going to afford this with the ever decreasing budgets?

Come now, lets not talk about the white elephant in the room. There are no budget problems, and we don't have a teacher retention crisis. Everything is sunshine and rainbows, and there will be plenty enough time for teachers to fit this in. They can use some of those 6 weeks they have off in the summer where they do bugger all.

[Fuckwheresitgone]

ice does that mean they'll be unicorn hunting too?

[Fuckwheresitgone]

Teachers allowed a summer holiday? Now common do be sensible! Sorry what I meant is government to fund these outside of school time and employ Forrest school teaching staff (or similar!) I absolutely do not think teachers should have anymore added with to their massive work loads.

[IceRebel]

Of course fuck in fact we already have unicorn hunting at our school, it's a great way to spend an afternoon (and helps combat the rising epidemic of obese children)

[NewYearmorestress]

My dcs school is doing the Prince William Award in year 4 and upwards, but I wouldn't expect teachers to do a list of random activities with them on top of the usual lessons. Plus dc do Guiding or Scouting which covers many of the items listed, but that's an optional activity for dc to choose to do or not.

[RebelWitchFace]

This thread has brought flashbacks of sewing hand puppets with a y3 class. It will be fun they said.
It's an easy lesson they said.
Except only 3 kids in the class had actually seen a needle before. None could put the thread in the needle. The cover teacher said she can't see well so she couldn't either so helped with cutting the felt.
So here I am with a queue of 27 kids all waiting and kicking off, kid with ADHD next to me having a meltdown because his sewing is rubbish and can I help,two more kids crying, some other trying to stick the needles under their skin, 6 raised hands to ask for help and one kid actually raised his hand at me because I didn't help him quick enough(and threw his puppet in the bin once I did because it was rubbish ).

Never fucking again.

[Starlight456]

My recordmendation as a none teacher( because obviously none teachers know far better than the people teaching 🙄 according to department of education)

All children are not the same / all teachers are not the same let the teachers bring out the best in these children by teaching the way they do it best .

Give them some money to do their job.

Stop all the pc giving the same deal to all parents. Call all the parents who aren’t doing the job they should and stop putting money into things many parents are already doing.

[ABitCrapper]

I finding this discussion really interesting as my kids have actually done a lot of this stuff at their primary school. Yet the school is under pressure for poor sats results etc and came quite low in that league table that was published before Christmas.
But actually, I don't give a stuff about the league tables. As long as they have a love for learning, good literacy and numeracy skills (fronted adverbials can go FOTTFSOFATFOSM) then they are good to go to secondary school.
If a primary really wants to benefit all their pupils then less focus on the (made up) grammar complexities, and more on being resilient and trying new stuff, is surely a good thing? Not everyone can be academic, and setting up primary kids with an internal sense of failure is really a road to ruin, while a varied and interesting school life is more likely to keep both students and teachers enjoying it, surely?
I really like that they do eg pond dipping, baking bread and biscuits, come up with stall ideas to make money for a charity of choice.
However, I know that all this alternative curriculum stuff comes at the expense of less "desk work" . Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing ...?

[ABitCrapper]

Lol my dd1 did sewing hand puppets in yr2. With very blunt darning needles and pre punched holes

[IceRebel]

Trust me there are lots of teachers who would love to step away from "desk learning", in favour of pond dipping, baking bread and other creative activities. However, when it's one teacher to a room of 30 children, some things just aren't possible.

[ABitCrapper]

I completely get that - I'm a secondary science teacher - imagine 30plus yr 8 pupils in a room with glass ware and Bunsen's on P5 Friday afternoon....
But somehow my kids school have done exactly that! I know there are quite a few parent volunteers though, so maybe that's the difference?

[PerspicaciaTick]

I thought the government were talking about funding places in guiding and scouting for disadvantaged children. Or is this replacing that idea?

[MsChookandtheelvesofFahFah]

My heart sinks at the thought of 30 year 2s getting 'soaking wet in the rain'. Fun when it accidently happens on holiday but a classroom full of damp, shivering children, some who SAID they had a change of clothes but don't, mud trampled in, crying ugh. I know parents work full time nowadays but aren't these, well, weekend activities?

[4point2fleet]

I know I've been snide on this thread, but I would actually love to see a turn towards a much more practical, active curriculum. I pay for my own DS to go to a Prep (where the school days are long and the budgets are fat) so he can have a curriculum like that. We lovingly call it the free range chicken farm. He hasn't got a bloody clue what the subjunctive form is.

However, the DfE can't simultaneously advocate a curriculum like that (which really is time and resource heavy to do well) and at the same time threaten us with forced academisation and sacking of Heads etc. if we don't collectively improve R/W/M score every year and somehow ALL always stay well above 'average'. God help us if we've arranged a trip out to look in a cave but our boxes aren't green on the school comparison tool.

[Holidayshopping]

However, the DfE can't simultaneously advocate a curriculum like that (which really is time and resource heavy to do well) and at the same time threaten us with forced academisation and sacking of Heads etc. if we don't collectively improve R/W/M score every year and somehow ALL always stay well above 'average'. God help us if we've arranged a trip out to look in a cave but our boxes aren't green on the school comparison tool.

Yep-that’s the whole issue.

[ABitCrapper]

Yup, agreed

[Zwischenwasser]

ask each member of the family to sing their favourite song then write down why they like it so much

So much fun could be had with that one...
I love this ditty as it reminds me of taking coke and ecstasy and dancing my tits off for 14 hours straight in an abandoned warehouse (not

m.youtube.com/watch?v=YFJdUJg4wOk

And on a more serious note, I’m a brownie leader. Parents who want their kids to do this stuff, but CBA/haven’t time send them to us or the scouts up the road. Schools can butt out.

[OhTheRoses]

As a parent with 20 somethings it's bloody ridiculous. When I helped with reading I was told off for putting "Ali read really well, please listen to him every day". It was culturally insensitive I was told. They even asked me to go in on a specific afternoon to hear the Asian children because I was making headway. I said of course but only if you involve the parents and be clear they must hear them. They said no. The sad thing was that if you asked them to read they followed the instruction.

Teachers are there to facilitate the foundation skills not to act as surrogate parents. I see some merit it telling the children about leaf kicking/star gazing and writing to the parents though.

Much the same as the mental health business. My dd had some issues. My response to the local trust was that teachers/schools exist to educate; drs/nurses/hospitals exist to heal. Sometimes it helps if there is some distance vis a vis the counselling. Something else the teachers will be doing soon though. Bloody ridiculous.

[topcat2014]

With a ratio of five adults to 16 children, and no ofsted, we manage the odd one of these with beavers (Inc ADD children) but not seeing how this fits into primary school

[SunnySomer]

ABitCrapper - I was thinking the same. The first primary school my DS went to covered tonnes of this stuff. Eg had an overnight residential in Y3 where they looked at stars before they went to bed; made and ate their own tortillas; had hens they took turns to look after; had a garden they took turns to look after.
It was a fantastic school (I felt). And had stunning teachers - but also a lot of parent volunteers (eg for the tortilla making). The teachers gave up a lot - eg the residential was affordable because it was at an old school in the same city with minimal facilities, so our school staff needed to run the activities, get the dinner etc. The head teacher made the sandwiches ...
But the way they’d designed the curriculum integrated all sorts of amazing life lessons with academic learning so the children came away with a rounded experience

I think it took a really strong leadership team to have the confidence to deliver this though

[MrsPear]

I find the fact that we have to have this kind of list depressing tbh. Look at the stars at night for example - costs nothing and the answers the kids come up with when you ask ‘what can you see?’ are fabulous, What are parents doing if they can’t take 5 minutes once in their child’s life?! I feel sorry for the teachers having to teach and be parents.

[ABitCrapper]

Re stargazing. I live in a bloody city - you can't see a thing for the light and air pollution.
However, obviously I take my kids in holidays (we go camping as we like it, and we're skint) so see stars.
There are no caves near us, but the school does a trip to some caves for one year group every year. And a trip to a farm for another year group every year. Etc
The whole school got involved in planting up various bits of the school garden and looking after the beds on a rota system and during "gardening club"
I don't think a school doing this stuff is taking experiences away from parents - it will help kids enjoy and value school. That's part of the reason I love teaching science - it's active learning, investigation, doing, not just desk learning. Still learning though.

[HoneyBumpkin]

However, the DfE can't simultaneously advocate a curriculum like that (which really is time and resource heavy to do well) and at the same time threaten us with forced academisation and sacking of Heads etc. if we don't collectively improve R/W/M score every year and somehow ALL always stay well above 'average'. God help us if we've arranged a trip out to look in a cave but our boxes aren't green on the school comparison tool.

A thousand fucking times this^

I'm so so angry at the bloody DfE. This is the kind of stuff that is still happening when teachers can squeeze it in in many places- but used to happen a lot more before league tables, SATs and targets turned schools into exam factories.

it seems like another example of DfE telling teachers they're not doing their jobs properly and need to jump through yet another set of hoops in order to be good enough.
How about they back the fuck off and let trained professionals support children in learning working together with parents, the vast majority of whom do not give a flying fuck about SATs but want their children to be happy, well behaved and excited about learning.

[HarveySchlumpfenburger]

Is that activity passport supposed to be an example of what schools could do, or is it for schools to download and use?

It looks like a list of activities that have been carefully sequenced to match the long term topic plan and trips in a school that also does forest school. Probably not going to work quite so well in a school where they have different topics or they are in a different order.