The Fall of State Education
This is a subject that is making me very, very angry at the minute. I have been “in” the State Education system for almost 13 years and things have changed quite a lot in that time. For the worse.
When my eldest started school, at the tender age of 4 1/2, they had a bit of a mish-mash policy on teaching children to read. It was mostly learning by sight and repetition but with an open view that they would try various different methods until they found one that suited the child. All very laudable and theoretically catering to the individual. Actually, mixing methods is confusing to children, but at least there was no urgent rush for the child to be reading fluently much before the age of 7 – which is when most children seem to really pick it up anyway. Something goes “click” in their little heads around then and they just take off.
By the time my son started at school, 7 years later, the jolly phonics had been introduced in a lot of schools. Phonics is an excellent way of learning to read. I remember being taught to sound out the words when I was at school. I even taught my brother what I learned in school each day, so he was able to read by the time he started himself, a year later. Still there was not a huge pressure, it was accepted that they all take their own time. To an extent. There was a lot of pressure to read every night at home, though. Now my son hated that. He did not like school. He did not like reading. He did not like the books he was sent home with. He refused to read.
I was taken to task by the teacher. I said “If he enjoyed reading we would read every night. But he doesn’t and I don’t want to put him off by forcing him to do something he isn’t interested in. Besides,” I added, “he does read…food packets, roadsigns, words on the computer games he likes -he can recognise the word objectives, not something most 5 year-olds can do.” The teacher said that was all very well but the point of the books was that they needed to learn the words in the correct order. Being a very quiet and retiring person, I did not say to her, “That is utter bollocks, you stupid woman.” I thought it though.
Anyway, a couple of years later I was given some Penguin children’s books, fascinating facts, space, history. My son sat and read 5 books in one afternoon, cover to cover, and hasn’t looked back. There was never anything wrong with his ability, only his interest.
Daughter 2 is at school now. She is in Year 1 at the local primary. The pressure is incredible. She is often getting told off for not having read every single night. She would “progress more rapidly” if she did. She has to write in joined up writing. Ridiculous at the age of 5, they stop between each letter anyway, while they work out what comes next. Her work is a sight to behold! She does not enjoy school, although she likes the children, the teachers, even the work is not bad. What she can’t express is the fact that she is in a pressure cooker the whole day long. Literacy and Numeracy hours abound. Learning is not fun.
Last term she came home with some “problem solving” homework. Basically, a maths question written as a sentence. This is work for children who cannot read yet. Questions involving halving. I spoke to the teacher. “I know,” she said, “it is ridiculous, especially since I can’t actually teach them dividing until year 2. It’s hard enough to teach it then, let alone in year 1. There is no fun for them any more.” This from the teacher! But on the plus side she explained that they weren’t expected to read the question – an adult could read it to them if they couldn’t manage it.
So that’s okay then.
And the point of these problem solving questions? They feature heavily in the SATs tests. So there lies the proof that they are being taught, from a very young age, under a great deal of pressure, to pass tests that prove how good the school is.Not how well the child is doing. I am not happy about this. In fact, I have recently learned that there is a small, local independent school which is run by a trust so is free to attend. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum or jump through the hoops of SATs testing. They can teach children in a fun, low-pressure environment, at their own pace. So my little one will hopefully be starting there soon.
I haven’t even started yet, either, so let me just add for now: To be continued…..
School Lottery
Choosing a school is a minefield. The first school your child goes to is generally a pretty easy choice. It will be whatever Infant (4-7) or Primary (4-11) school is closest. There are a lot of Infant and Primary schools about and it is quite a rarity that you will not get into the Infant school of your choice. Junior and Secondary schools are another matter entirely. Every year, 1000s of parents go through the same pantomime up and down the country. And the main problem is the illusion of choice in the matter.
We don’t actually get a choice. We get a book detailing all the local schools. We get a form to fill in. But in fact all we are able to do is “express a preference”. Not the same thing as choosing at all. If you are in town, with 2 or 3 secondaries in a reasonable distance, then you sort of do have a choice, but when you live in a more rural area, more than 5 miles to the nearest school, you have to be very careful that you are actually choosing your nearest school. This is because of the rules on transport. You need to check the rules on transport separately from the rules on schools, however, because there can be different criteria. The criteria can be changed on a regular basis, too, so what school qualified for free transport last year might not qualify this year, or indeed by the time that they actually sort the free transport out. The rules can be changed on a whim, at any time, in order to save the LEA as much money as possible. Or so it seems.
My friend applied for her son to go to the nearest school which, being a Catholic school, involved a separateapplication direct to the school as well as putting in “First Preference” on the form. Unfortunately the form got lost at the school in question, so the boy was not accepted there. He didn’t get into the next 2 schools either, as they were full with people who had put them as their 1st preference. He has been offered a place at the 6thclosest school, which is 6.3 miles away as the crow flies (the latest distance criteria). But as my friend pointed out, her son cannot fly and the distance by road is a little over 9 miles. Has he been offered a bus or a taxi? Neither, in fact. As it is the closest school with a place the council must pay for transport. They have offered my friend petrol money. Unfortunately this takes no account of the fact that the lad’s sister goes to a local infant school in the opposite direction, nor that it is physically impossible for my friend to be in 2 places, 10 miles apart, at the same time.
There is an appeals process, and needless to say my friend is appealing the decision. It should not be necessary, however, for the family to go through so much added stress. With her son due to start Secondary school in 5 months, she still has no idea where he is going or how he is going too get there. 1000s of families up and down the country, trying to get their child in to even the closest school, are faced with this same problem. There was even a local boy whose garden adjoins the school field who didn’t get a place!! Despite the criteria apparently being “as the crow flies” distance, and arbitrary cutoff point had been placed along the back edge of the school grounds. Funnily enough, once the local paper got hold of the story a place was found for the boy very quickly.
This situation is repeated up and down the country every year. It is extraordinary that it should be so. Of course there have to be cut-offs, and there will always be people who find they are closer to one school while their next-door neighbour is closer to another. But when a child is not being offered a place at their closest school which is only yards away, and another child is being offered a place at, and transport to, the 6th closest, something is awry.
Burning Bridges
Well, this is it. I have found a fantastic little local independent school for my daughter (#3), and she can start on Monday. This means I need to send a letter to the school telling them she won’t be back. Scary, as I know that 2 other people who have left have been told off by the head (the temporary, part-time head, let me add). But it has to be done. Here is the letter (edited for names, of course):
I am writing to inform you that my daughter, K***** W*******, will no longer be attending S******* Infant School with immediate effect. I would like to explain somewhat as I am sure this will be a surprise to the school.
S****** School itself is not a bad school. In fact it is one of the better schools I have ever been involved with. However, my experience of education in the state sector over the last 12 years has been one of decline, not just in educational standards but in environment. The classroom has become a pressure cooker which is extremely damaging in emotional terms to children. No longer enjoyable, school is becoming something hated by children, a place they do not want to go. In the longer term, of course, the problems will and do affect academic performance. No one will do their best at something they do not enjoy.
All of this is brought about by adherence to the National Curriculum and SATstesting. As it is unlikely that the teaching unions will strike over these matters, and even less likely that individual schools will take a stand against them, it seems pointless to complain. It would not make any difference and would most likely antagonise teachers towards me and quite possibly my children in turn. I am left with few alternatives. I cannot afford private education and home schooling is not currently a feasible option. Luckily I have found an alternative, a local independent school which is free of charge.
I realise that change is disruptive in all cases. However as K******* is due to have a change of teacher part way through this term in any event there is only a little extra disruption. The long term benefits will outweigh the short term upset. She will not have to change again at the end of next year but instead will have a rare opportunity for stability throughout her primary education.
At this point in time I do not feel that the state can provide the most suitable education for K****** and, as I am legally and morally bound to ensure she is suitably educated I really do feel I must take this step.
Yours sincerely,
I don’t know what will come of this, but I am sure that K**** will benefit from being in a small, mixed age class with the same teacher for the next 5 years. It is going to mean getting quite heavily involved in the fundraising events, but they are few, thankfully, and the school is well-supported by the local community. I am sure that I am doing what is best for my daughter and I only wish that I had known of this place sooner. I sent #3 to the school despite my son’s experiences there, not because of them. But I just do not have the time or capacity for home ed right now, although it is something I always keep in the back of my mind for the right situation. I am not going to leave it until my child is unrecognisable before I whip them out in future. We will see, it just means keeping an ear to the ground as far as what is happening in mainstream education goes.
New Teacher
I have now met the new teacher who is taking over at the little independent school that my daughter attends. I am not sure I like her ideas very much. I’m all for uniform and punctuality, no problem with those things at all. What I do have a problem with is the National Curriculum, which she wants to bring in. We will have to see what she does with it. Using it as a guide, a framework for what children ought to be learning at certain stages, that is one thing, but I hope it is not used the way it is used in state schools, as the be all and end all – the only things they must learn and the only way in which it must be learned.
I went to all the trouble of taking my daughter out of state school to get away from the NC. The fact they didn’t have to use it was one of the attractions, and I know other parents feel the same way.
She also wants an interactive whiteboard. For 9 pupils! And a laptop to load it from. Not cheap. Where are we going to raise the funds for that? It is “so that the children get the same opportunities as they would in mainstream education.” I rather think the opportunity to see what can be done with a blackboard and a piece of chalk is invaluable! They are learning to read, write and do simple sums at this age (4-7). What do they need an interactive whiteboard for?
So probably next September will see my little girl going off to the same middle school as her brother. She might as well, if she’s going to have “the same opportunities.” Now that it has been recognised that instead of support all she needs is stimulation – pressure, pushing, things they don’t like to do, at least not in the sense that children actually need! Yet they spend all their time testing, testing…..ooh, it all makes me so cross, don’t get me started. I go all incoherent!!
