Teachers do not adhere to Statemented 1 to 1 support, do not believe in sub-levels, make APP assessments up....How much of what parents are told by schools about teaching is a box ticking exercise?

[Regards]

Following on from this thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/1859219-Im-a-teacher-and-happy-to-answer-any-questions

and this:
community.tes.co.uk/tes_primary/f/36/t/381051.aspx?pi2132219857=1

I realised I was incredibly gullible when my DC first started school. What exactly should we believe concerning what the teachers tell us, how much is a PR job to cover up the ugly truth?

[Regards]

No. Just have a long memory, the latest thread brought it all back. Essentially I am looking for answers...been along long time pondering this.

[Regards]

Unless you think the TES thread is no longer relevant? Have things changed?

[Regards]

^and the last post (of a very long thread) was this year.

[mrz]

are you writing an article?

[Regards]

No. I would just like to reconcile things for my own peace of mind.

[mrz]

then perhaps you should ask the question of the school/s your child/children attend

[Regards]

Thing is I want some sense of scale concerning the issue(s).

My school is just one school. I'm pretty certain they have been guilty of glossing over a few things.

Just trying to ascertain how representative my experiences are....whether there is something intrinsic within the education system that encourages schools to act like this. Whether most schools do act like this or whether it is a rare occurrence.

It may affect the way I vote, the way I view research and statistics. What policies to support or not...

[mrz]

and you think you will get a representative picture from MN?

[Tinlegs]

PR - they cover up a lot of issues - it is their job!

[Regards]

No but I would get a picture.

Realistically a school / teacher would never actually admit this stuff to a parent would they?

[PurpleGirly]

What you have in both of those threads are snapshots of a small minority of a profession. The schools I have worked in all follow APP assessment criteria, never making it up and work off sub levels to check progress. Have never yet met a pupil with 1:1 who does not get allocated hours.

I have been teaching at high school level for 15 years.

[Regards]

Thank-you Purple. Any more?

[Wellthen]

Ugly truth? Like what for example?

Just home ed for god's sake.

[WorriedMouse]

As a teacher I will try to address the questions you've asked:
Sometimes I use my professional judgement and ask the TA to work with another group of children who are action or action + who have no TA support. I will always ensure that the statemented child is supported and has appropriate work. In the right circumstances, I believe that the child with the statement needs some breathing space from constant adult support and it's useful for them to try to work independently. There are some children however I would never leave alone. It depends on the child.

I don't know what you mean by 'believe' in sublevels. I teach a SATs year group and I know that they exist and know them inside out. I can give a sublevel for any child in my core subject classes.

I never make APP judgements up. It takes hours of time collating and evidencing for each child in the class. If done properly it cannot be made up. If you think they are making up judgements ask to see the evidence to support their claims. They should at least have marked a piece of work in a book as evidence of a level or should have a folder of evidence.

[Regards]

Why should I have to home ed? We pay taxes for a State Education.

[GetStuffezd]

God I love that we don't do APP!
Not sure what the point of the thread is. What ugly truths in particular are you most concerned about?

[hazeyjane]

Jesus, I wish I hadn't looked at the TES link, how fucking depressing.

WorriedMouse, if a child is statemented for a full time 1-1, surely their TA shouldn't be used to support other children?

[Regards]

Thank you Worried. How do you reconcile your professional judgement overriding the judgement of those that contributed towards writing the Statement?(which is legally binding).

I should have said believe in using sub-levels or that it was possible to be entirely objective concerning sub - levelling and how well you can represent a child's attainment in this way.

How can you tell whether a teacher makes up APP judgements? For Speaking and Listening for example or aural work.

[PurpleGirly]

If the teacher is working with that pupil they are still getting 1:1, the TA will be directed elsewhere in the class.

[mrz]

The TES thread was intended as tongue in cheek not to be taken seriously

[PurpleGirly]

Before sub levels were popular we used to say low/mid/high Level 5 etc when moderating work.

[PurpleGirly]

Sorry sent before I meant to ...

So when setting pupils we have always looked at the range of a level.

[Regards]

mrz Pretty long thread for a joke. Some sounded serious.

[GetStuffezd]

I know there have been arguments about the 1:1 issue recently, but I totally agree with WM's post about using professional judgement as to whether a child should tackle something independently, while (obviously) being monitored and given appropriate work.

Particularly in year 6, one of the things we think about is transition and the ability to tackle tasks alone. Of course, there are children who quite simply need 1:1 full time supervision, but IMO there are certainly statemented children who benefit from some time to approach a task on their own.