Expected points over key state two

[StuffezLaBouche]

Evening!
For as long as I can remember, 12 points has been the standard expected progress over key stage 2. However, I've just been informed by my Head that a school in our position should be aiming for 18 points! How is this actually possible??

Our last ofsted was two years ago, before I joined and the grading was Good. We've recently received a lette from ofsted virtually guaranteeing we will be left alone until 2015. County have also "upgraded" us a category 1 school. Levels-wise I a, massively happy with my class, with almost 70% on track to get level 5 or 6 in maths, etc. however, my progress is less good. Almost all will make 12 points progress, many have already made 14, but where the hell has 18 come from? That means 3b kids will need to get a 6b and quite frankly, the kids the infant school send up as apparent 3b...well.
Can anyone shed some light on this/join me in my panic?

I should say, IMO assessment has not been robust in this school in previous years with some bad coasting with nothing in place to fix it. Perhaps if teaching/assessing was good quality for all four years, 18 points wouldn't seem so terrifying?

[KateBeckett]

It is similar in my school. The national expected progress of 3 points a year is met with 'we expect more of children in our school' meaning most are expected to make 4, and some of my la who need to catch up have 6 or 7 point targets!

Accuracy of levels is a bit of an issue, I think because we are under so much pressure to show outstanding progress.

Tbh I'm not sure I see the point. Yes have high expectations, yes push the children and don't let them coast, but do they really need to be pishe so hard? They are still so young!

[HedgeHogGroup]

Expected progress is no longer good enough for Mr Gove. If every child in your school makes 12 points progress then the school 'requires improvement' .
Mr Gove would like us all to have children achieving 'better than expected progress'. Shortly we will have to target these children so that their 'better than expected progress' is no longer 'better than expected' but becomes the norm and is 'expected'
By 2020 any child who isn't a full member of Mensa by the age of 11 will have to be shot on the grounds of underachievement

Bitter? Me???? No

[StuffezLaBouche]

Thanks! Two interesting points of view (and the bitterness is reciprocated over here!)
Why is it so "taboo" to admit that sometimes a child will never "get" certain elements of maths/English, etc? Very frustrating.
Also, IMO there needs to be closer examination of the results some infant schools are sending up.
In my previous school, i shit you not, we had kids sent up from the outstanding infant school on a 3b...and they didn't know number bonds to ten or how to add two digit numbers. Incidentally, that junior school has just gone into special measures.

[HedgeHogGroup]

As I say to my staff "You can't make a silk purse from a pig's ear".
We'd never say it to OFSTED but sometimes it is completely unachievable and unrealistic. We have the children for just 5 hours a days and if parents don't engage with the education, keep their child off for the smallest reason, go for extended holidays to their home country (for 'economic reasons' its cheaper to go during term time... who knew!!) have little English or are not well educated themselves it makes it even more difficult to enthuse the child and make 'better than expected progress'. These issues are not taken into account and we're expected to ensure that they all 'over-achieve' regardless of their home circumstances.
I absolutely agree with you over KS1 results from separate infant schools. I'm lucky enough to be Head of a primary but I know lots of Headteachers of junior schools who are screwed year after year by their infant counterparts.

[StuffezLaBouche]

Thanks, HedgeHogGroup - it's interesting to have a Head's perspective on it. I'm starting to think about where I see my career going (deputyship in a couple of years, I hope) but would think very carefully about doing this in a junior school, unless I knew the school well.
Without revealing too much, the head of my previous school has resigned following recent inspection and although there were significant problems within the school, huge amounts of damage were done by the inaccuracies of the infants' data.