Bucks appeal - mitigating circumstances?

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sjm
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:55 pm
Location: Bucks

Bucks appeal - mitigating circumstances?

Post by sjm »

My daughter got 111/112 in the tests but has been suffering from childhood IBS since June and we, and her consultant, believe that this significantly impaired her performance - she got 123 in her year 5 VR test and is predicted level 5s in her SATs.

School has given her a 2:1 and ranked 29 out of a year group of 90 (although only 41 ranked). Headteacher's report contains lots of positive comments about her suitability for grammar school and supports the appeal.

One of my areas of concern is that the comments on the headteacher's summary are taken from her year 5 report which was written before her return to school and so apart from the mitigating circumstances section make no mention of the IBS or its impact on her work. School also suggested that the year 5 report should not be attached to the appeal as the school's view would be made clear on the summary. Her year 6 teacher has said that we should only include her year 5 project work, rather than her regular class work.

The headteacher recommended that we go out to prove that if she had not been diagnosed with this chronic condition she would have passed - rather than specifically trying to prove that her work had suffered - but is this one and the same?

So the school advice seems to contradict some of the views expressed in this forum - any help gratefully received!
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

It's not unknown for some schools to give bad advice about appeals. :D

I see no reason for not providing the year 5 report - also the year 4 report. It would be interesting to compare the two. With scores of 111/112, the panel will want to see as much academic information as possible.

As a former panel member I would much rather examine routine class work.

Finally, I think a lot could depend on how accurate the head's order of suitability is.
Etienne
sjm
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:55 pm
Location: Bucks

Post by sjm »

Thanks for the advice - year 4 report is good but she really began to shine in year 5 (possibly due to the teacher and unfortunately she has the year 4 teacher again this year).

Re the headteacher's rankings - I got the impression from him that they were really based on an average of the VR tests sat by the child in years 3, 4 and 5. Hence those who only start to do well in year 5 get a lower ranking. Is this a common way of ranking or is it something the panel should know about to assess how "good" his OoS is? One effect of it is that some children lower down the ranking passed and some higher up did not.
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Ah, that complicates matters! I was working on the assumption that the year 5 report reflected to some extent the effects of IBS June onwards, and in this situation a panel's response is: So what were things like before?

However, I stand by my advice that, especially in your case, you should show the panel as much academic information as possible - certainly the year 5 report.

Although I firmly believe that exercise books are much more useful, you could, if you wish, bring the project work as well, and let the panel choose what to examine. (They'll only have a few minutes for this at the end.)

With regard to the O. of S., headteachers are specifically warned not to extrapolate directly from other reasoning test scores!
[See the Headteachers' Manual, page 19]:
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/schools/docum ... r_2008.pdf

You could raise this issue at the hearing under "Questions to the LA" - not that the officer is likely to know how your particular head arrived at his predictions. I would tell the panel what you believe happened, but throw in some disarming remarks such as "It must be a very difficult task" - It is indeed!
And yet some schools manage to come up with very accurate lists .........
Etienne
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