Cancel the SATs in May 2016

My petition has now got over 33,000 signatures! Amazing! Keep sharing and signing people and thank you xxx

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122038

I love writing to my MP part 2

Suffice to say, my MP did not give me a satisfactory response!

Here is my second email to him about SATs:

Dear Mr Hall,

Thank you for your reply.

While I appreciate that the intricacies of the wider education reforms that have occurred over the last couple of years are not necessarily within your field of expertise, I would expect you to be able to address my concerns more directly than you have chosen to do.

Firstly, the independent review lead by Lord Bew which was partially triggered by the widespread boycott of end of Key Stage 2 SATs in 2010, did lead to some significant steps forward in what was right for schools and children up and down the country. Namely, as you rightly point out, that writing be based on teacher assessment over a year rather than an arbitrary test at the end of Year 6. 

As you have also pointed out, the report recommended that tests should still continue as a way of monitoring children's basic skills in reading and maths. I would strongly argue, as a teacher of Y6 for more than 10 years, that these tests neither demonstrate that pupils have mastered those skills nor do they reassure parents that their children are receiving the best possible education. 

I would like to point out that although the review appeared to recommend a small test for spelling and punctuation it in no way recommended a 45 minutes grammar paper which does not help children to use better grammar in their writing, which is surely the point of learning grammar rules; it also did not recommend testing 4 year olds within weeks of starting school and it did not recommend a timed times table test at the end of year 6; it certainly did not endorse the idea that children who do not pass the end of key stage 2 tests should be counted as failures and made to resit it at secondary school until they pass. Tests are a one off that assess how much information children have remembered over a period of time, but I am not here to argue about the futility of testing children, my point is more about the way in which changes to current assessment procedures have be carried out.

One problem is that teachers and Nicky Morgan disagree on what 'enough of the curriculum' is. As an end of Key stage test measures attainment at the end of a key stage, I would have thought that the children taking that test would have needed to cover everything in the curriculum in that Key stage, which is 4 years. These children have only been taught from the new curriculum for two years.

Furthermore, schools were told they would be informed of changes to the curriculum with enough time to prepare. Again, perhaps Mrs Morgan and teachers differ on how long this time frame should be as well. We were given sample tests at the end of Summer, interim frameworks in November and writing exemplification in February. I can categorically state that this is not enough time to prepare anyone.

Finally, schools were also advised that the expected standard would be around the same as the previous national average expectation of a 4b. Again, as an experienced Y6 teacher I can tell you that this sits concurrent with what has been recently phrased as 'Mastering the basics.' Unfortunately, it appears that yet again Mrs Morgan and teachers disagree on what mastering the basics is. The level of expectation, across the board has dramatically increased to what was commonly known as a 5c in 'old money' if you like. This is not mastering the basics this is expecting all children to be above average, thus eliminating the notion of average altogether. 

I would like to reiterate my view that I welcome changes to the national curriculum and preparing young people for secondary school. What I think is unfair is the chaotic and frankly shambolic way in which these changes have been carried out. 

So, in summary:

Year 6 children have not been taught enough of the new curriculum

Schools have not been given enough time to prepare

The standard is much higher than schools and parents were told it would be

If you could address these issues more specifically I would be extremely grateful. Feel free to pass this on to Mrs Morgan if that is more appropriate.

Kind regards

Dawn Wootton

I love writing to my MP part 1

This is a bit out of date now as my petition has received over 32,000 signatures in less than a week!!! But this is still relevant:

Dear Mr Hall,

As a constituent of Thornbury and Yate I feel I should contact you about a very pressing issue: The Key Stage 1 and 2 SATs that are to be held in May. 

I am a primary school teacher at Horton CE VA Primary School and I currently teach Y6. These children have only had a diet of the new curriculum since September 2014 and while it has increased in rigour and includes some content, particularly in maths which was only previously covered under the secondary school curriculum, they were on track to do well at the end of this year. 

However, all that changed when the exemplification materials and interim assessment frameworks came out. These children have now been set up to fail. What we are supposed to do, as teachers, with three months notice is to get a minimum of 65% of these children to the expected standard. A standard which is out of reach for most of them. Under the old curriculum the required standard was a 4b. Most of my year 6 children would have reached this standard easily in all subjects and I would have had several attaining level 5 and even level 6- showing outstanding attainment and outstanding progress- something for the county and the dept of education to be proud of. Now, they and we as teachers have no idea what the thresholds are in the new reading and maths papers, or how on earth these results are going to impact their future or that of our school.

I urge you to raise this issue with Nicky Morgan immediately. I have no problem with raising standards and welcome some of the changes that have been made to the national curriculum. But to test children on this new curriculum now makes the assumption that these children have been taught from this new curriculum for 6 years when you take into account the cumulative effect of KS1 and KS2 programmes of study. These are bright children that would have done well if assessed against the old curriculum standards- or even a phased in combination of the two. These children are being set up to fail; it is not right and it is not fair. Their future is at stake- for what? So that I can be held accountable? So that my school can be judged? Bring it on- come and judge. See how I teach, look in my books, through my planning, my assessment folders. Ask me about every single one of the children in my class and I will tell you something good, something outstanding- that they are all superstars. And these little superstars are working their socks off because they want to do well. It breaks my heart a little bit that these children want to do so well because I know what it is really all about. 

These children are being experimented on because the DfE and the STA have not thought their plans through- even the current arrangements are only interim and could change again next year. The real experts: the teachers, the parents, the head teachers, the teaching assistants and the children could come up with a much better, more rigorous, fairer system- if Nicky Morgan would only listen to us. 

I have started a petition to cancel the end of key stage 2 SATs in May. It has already gained 759 signatures in the last few hours. I know that you presented the transport secretary with a petition recently that had 1100 signatures requesting junction 18a on the M4. I think it is only fair and in the best interests of all the y6 children in your constituency that you do the same with my petition and hand it directly to Nicky Morgan. 

I have contacted you on previous cases regarding other issues and I don't believe I received a reply. I would very much like to hear your views on this and to know what action you intend on taking.

Kind regards

Dawn Wootton

Friends with benefits

Well it has been a while. Normally I would sit down to write when my baby sleeps except he doesn't. Not much during the day anyway, and those rare sleepy moments only last about 20 minutes and are usually reserved for: shower, eat, lie down in a dark room.. not always in that order. 

After my last post which was way too long and depressing I thought I would write something a bit more cheery and shorter so those of you who nodded off last time might hope to get to the end. This one is all about friends.

When the hubby and I moved out West two years ago we didn't have many friends. Well, we did (we're not social pariahs or anything) they just weren't round the corner. Except my best mate in the whole world who lives in Bristol, who has saved my sanity more times than I care to imagine and is currently kitting out my child in an array of beautifully crocheted goods.

We could have made more of an effort to meet people, but we were quite happy in our honeymoon state with just each other and spent a lot of time visiting other friends and having people to stay. That was fine for a while but it was wearing us out. Then we decided to have a baby= social life over! 

I will say it now before I get too self indulgent but the friends you make when having a baby are the people that get you through it. Forget all the midwives, doctors, professionals and your mum. The people that hold your hand and make it all seem not so horrific are the other mums that are doing it at the same time as you. 

Now, it is very easy to become completely obsessed with your baby and the bubble you then live within- including those new friends. Every conversation, every thought, every purchase, every glance into the middle distance is taken over by baby. Sometimes you are fortunate enough to be invited out to see non-baby people and HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. This is not a good state of being to get into. Good job most of my only other friends are teachers and I can talk just as obsessively about that. But it is fine because one day those non-baby people might have a baby and then they will understand and you can sit in silence with each other slowly rocking. Because it is not just the conversation about each others' babies that saves you, or the silent rocking, it's mostly the company of other people who have had as little sleep as you (even if they are pretending to make you feel better). 

Thursday is my favourite day of the week. Specifically at 2pm. I meet up with my friends from my NCT antenatal class for coffee and cake and we chat about our week, our babies, our partners with varying degrees of lucidity (see lack of sleep comment above) and then go home feeling refreshed. It is like therapy. We take turns to lean on each other. Sometimes I am the one proferring my 'honest' advice, more often than not I am asking for it. 

Lately I've been struggling. Mostly because of lack of sleep but I think underlying that is a notion that I just can't shake. The notion of this not being all it's cracked up to be and I don't know what I'm doing. I think the lack of sleep is actually making me go insane. Even the simplest task is more difficult when sleep deprived. Things that used to just be slightly irksome now make me apoplectic with rage. There are more and more periods of silence between me and my husband as we are too tired to even talk. 

Last week this extreme tiredness and feelings of doing it all wrong were compounded by our beautiful baby boy deciding that he needed even less sleep than before and would cry and scream most evenings. When he gets like this, only mummy will do which makes me irrationally hate my husband for not being a mummy too! Not his fault but it is wearing rather thin. Grow some boobs! Anyway, with my ever increasing eye bags and glazed expression I took my woes to our last coffee meet up last week and an amazing thing happened. Now, I am not one for asking for help. I have major issues with failure and not showing signs of weakness but that is for another blog. But with this level of tiredness I decided to forego my pride- to preserve any shred of sanity I had left. Once again, my new mummy friends proved they can rally quicker than any army - a force to be reckoned with. I found solace in other people's sleep woes, advice, a plan about what to do next. They even took my baby for a couple of hours on Monday so I could have some sleep. I will be more than happy to return the favour and I hope they get as much back from me when it is my turn again to offer support. 

I think the NCT should rebrand their ante-natal class stuff as- buy some new friends that will take your baby for a couple of hours when you are so tired that you cannot see properly. 

For me, that has been the real benefit of joining an ante-natal class. Forget all the stuff about childbirth! Baby's got to come out somehow and there is not a lot you can do about the manner in which this occurs, as we have all come to realise. NCT you can stick your debates about dummies and useless breastfeeding counsellors but thank you thank you thank you for my lovely new friends. 

Gender specific roles at home and at work

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/08/women-opting-back-in-workforce

Wondering how many people this actually applies to. Granted it is based on American research but there is prob some crossover in principle.

I will be going back to work partly because I am the higher wage earner but also because I want to. I am a teacher, love my job and feel it defines part of who I am- a part that would be lost if I just stayed at home. 

Looking forward to some interesting debate on this issue nearer the time. Not saying I will be looking forward to leaving my son though :-( 

Does raising a child really have to cost the earth?

http://www.freeourkids.co.uk/

An interesting idea and something I would really like to do. Maybe I will buy my kid a load of stuff first and then do it!

Home - Fiona Neill

Home - Fiona Neill