can any teachers explain the key stages pls!?

[ThatVikRinA22]

ive never got this so please forgive the ignorance, but could any teachers please explain the key stage thing?

my DD is going back to school in year 9, she is one of the youngest in her year.

anyway - she has just told me that she is moving down from set 1 to set 2 for English, history etc.

i tried to phone school to clarify why but no one got back to me.

she got a really good report with effort level 1 for every single subject but looking at the level she is at to end of key stage target im not sure....

for eg in history - she is current level 5A - it says end of key stage target is 6A. when is the end of key stage? im so confused!
thanks - if you can explain this please help!

[PandaG]

end of KS3 is end of Y9

KS1 - end of Y2
KS2 - end of Y6
KS3 - end of Y9
KS4 - end of Y11 (ie GCSE)

level 6 is the expected level at the end of KS3 I think

[gherkinwithapurplemerkin]

End of key stage 3 = End Year 9

So she has a year to improve by a full level (or 3 sublevels) - a tall order TBH.

However, govt wants level 5 by end of year 9, and pupils working in level 6 grades during Year 9 usually achieve c or better in that subject at GCSE.

[ThatVikRinA22]

oh i see.

im going to have to get in touch with the school to clarify it for me arnt i. her report was really good and she gets really good marks so im not sure what is bringing her levels down.

[Loshad]

could be that she is trying and working really hard vicar - which i would give asn excellent school report for, just that she is not doing quite as well as the top 30 - it's a very tall order to be in top set anyway - she should do well in second set, I reckon you should be proud of her for her hard work and attitude.

[Kez100]

Putting in maximum effort doesn't mean others aren't progressing more, which is what setting is usually all about. Being in ttop set isn't just about her ability but about the ability of others too (which is coompletely uncontrollable).I say usually, as in a small school, some sets for English are determined by ability in something else because curriculum subjects have to go back to back to make a timetable work. That also means sometimes there are odd movements in sets.

As for the History - the grade 5A to 6A is a tall order but can be done - my daughter did this year (from 5b to 6a!)! She put in an amazing amount of effort though - not to get the target but because she loves the subject.

Targets are set by schools on different bases. I know ours are upper quartile targets and are difficult - but not impossible - to achieve. My two have worked thard to try and get them but won't quite meet one or two.

[ThatVikRinA22]

thanks for explaining that.

it was her disappointment that lead me to query it - she was really upset about being moved down and didnt seem to understand why.

she is really mature and a hard worker so i think she is just a bit disappointed, but she got a 1 for effort in every single subject which i am really proud of her for and the teachers all had lovely things to say about her which was nice.

im sure she will be fine and all will be revealed when she goes back im sure.

[Kez100]

I'm not sure the reasons are flagged publically for good reason but that then leads to pupils not knowing why - right at the end of term. If only schools could sort teir timetables a bit earlier,I'm sure it would help.

We've got a similar summer dilemma here.

Daughter has worked her socks off to move up in English - and has got the grades to do so but was also told moving up depended on her Maths results because of the timetable. Just before term ended, she was told she wasn't moving up in English but someone else in her English and Maths set is, so she has assumed that means she is moving down in Maths. She came home upset about that because Maths have said nothing to anyone. It's probably not the teachers fault, as the timetables come out so late they only just get enough time to work out who is where without actually having proper amounts of time to explain to the children exactly why.

My son is great at languages but won't be able to do German unless in a high English set (which he isn't due to severe Dyslexia) as only top sets do a second language. He was only told that in the last week of term. Again, something to do with timetabling in smaller schools.