Changes to the Order of Suitability process 2008

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:55 pm

I have taught in a fully comprehensive area and there is STILL selection. The homes around the better schools are moe expensive and so ....

No system is totally fair - or ever was

pippi · Post by **pippi** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:59 pm

Dad40 wrote: This seems to be an extraordinarily open admission but seems to fit with Marion Clayton's recent admission in the Bucks Free Press that passing the 11+ is down to "socio-economic factors" more than anything else i.e. if you are well-off, you are more likely to pass.

But oddly enough, it doesn't look to me like she knows the advice has changed:

BFP wrote:â€œWe have strong evidence to schools and to parents that coaching children is not helpful.

â€œItâ€™s a very sensitive subject and it gets back to parentsâ€™ perception that theyâ€™re failing. The practice we offer in schools is the optimum amount â€“ thatâ€™s what the professional advice weâ€™ve had says.

â€œAny coaching beyond that is not likely to change the outcome significantly.â€

Dad40 · Post by **Dad40** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:04 pm

Sally-Anne wrote:I'm not sure if this solves the mystery, but the commercial side of NFER was sold off/split/wahatever a few years ago. The new business was renamed NFER Nelson, and then renamed GL Assessment.

But it's NFER themselves who issue the advice. A year ago, I even corresponded with someone at NFER about the Bucks advice. NFER-Nelson have nothing to do with the advice - they are a commercial company - even though they were once the commercial arm of NFER.

So I'm still puzzled.

Dad40 · Post by **Dad40** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:12 pm

Guest55 wrote:I have taught in a fully comprehensive area and there is STILL selection. The homes around the better schools are moe expensive and so ....

No system is totally fair - or ever was

My missive was trying to be neutral.

But yes, I've lived in a comprehensive area and seen first hand how selection - or rather segregation - works there. I believe the term "postcode lottery" was originally coined as a result of what you describe.

Sally-Anne · Post by **Sally-Anne** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:49 pm

Back to the main plot everyone, and these are the specific changes in the Head's Manual that Bucks have flagged to schools:

B2 General Responsibilities - this includes updated advice on familiarisation and practice.

B13 Headteacher Recommendations the order of suitability has been replaced by a recommendations list.

F3 Headteachers Information for Appeal good practice notes.