Year 7 Shell at KES
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Thegodfather
- Posts: 178
- Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 2:26 pm
Year 7 Shell at KES
Hi All.
Probably not the place to post but I wanted to see if any KES parents could let me know if this is normal! DS got his first written report today he got 1s, 2s and 3s (no 4s or 5s). The report ended with quite a harsh comment from the chief master (this better improve by the summer type of thing
). DS is quite lazy and is clearly not putting in the extra required to match is academic ability I think. But we were previously told 2s and 3s are good. All a bit confusing to a newbie! Any advice to get him to reach more 1s/get rid of 3s.
Probably not the place to post but I wanted to see if any KES parents could let me know if this is normal! DS got his first written report today he got 1s, 2s and 3s (no 4s or 5s). The report ended with quite a harsh comment from the chief master (this better improve by the summer type of thing
). DS is quite lazy and is clearly not putting in the extra required to match is academic ability I think. But we were previously told 2s and 3s are good. All a bit confusing to a newbie! Any advice to get him to reach more 1s/get rid of 3s.-
Turtlegirl
- Posts: 521
- Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:54 pm
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
Our boy had a similarly mixed report, and definitely needs to put some more effort into some of the subjects, although the report from his form tutor etc was pretty positive. It's so early in their school career - they've barely learnt anything new - that I am going to use this report to know where to encourage homework to be a little more focussed. At this stage I think it's about establishing good patterns, particularly in homework routines. There's not all that much we can do about class work (apart from reminding them not to chat, and attempting to ensure they have had enough sleep!).
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Thegodfather
- Posts: 178
- Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2013 2:26 pm
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
Did you have a similar comment from Mr C? DS a bit upset "that he concentrated on the bad bits"... More positive from the head of shells though...
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
Hi Godfather, please don't worry. I think in the case of your ds, Mr C knows he can do better if he puts in the effort and he's being cruel to be kind 
I had similar when my ds was a shell (seems like forever ago, now a division) but thought it was the head of year who was overly harsh (see i still remember)! I must say when my ds has needed criticism it has been very forthcoming but likewise his hard work has always been recognised. I am a huge fan of Mr C! It's early days, your ds has plenty of time to prove himself, mine was a slow starter! 
I had similar when my ds was a shell (seems like forever ago, now a division) but thought it was the head of year who was overly harsh (see i still remember)! I must say when my ds has needed criticism it has been very forthcoming but likewise his hard work has always been recognised. I am a huge fan of Mr C! It's early days, your ds has plenty of time to prove himself, mine was a slow starter! Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
I don't agree with putting such negative comments on reports if a child hasn't been warned about lack of effort.
It is very poor practice if the school has not communicated this before ... this is not what reports are for.
It is very poor practice if the school has not communicated this before ... this is not what reports are for.
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Hopefuldad7
- Posts: 125
- Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:35 pm
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
We thought we were the only ones to experience this!
My DD got her first report and the focus was on those things that aren't good rather than praising and encouraging e.g. "Need to see improvement in...." with no mention of the good things my daughter has done. She has worked her socks off in her homework. On ONE occasion she didn't understand her maths and was not able to complete it; we wrote a note to her tutor to ask for further support/explanation, teacher response was "That's no excuse!" i.e. your lack of understanding, she was down marked for this despite our attempt to seek support for our DD. I took it up with Head of Year and then the same teacher offered to explain things to my daughter.
I think the grammar (KES) environments can be harsh and not very nurturing. They seem to be very harsh in their reporting and not supportive at all.
This is what we've seen so far - "you're not doing this right..... you need to do better at this or that!"
Rather than - "Excellent work and great effort but you could do even better if you did......"
My DD got her first report and the focus was on those things that aren't good rather than praising and encouraging e.g. "Need to see improvement in...." with no mention of the good things my daughter has done. She has worked her socks off in her homework. On ONE occasion she didn't understand her maths and was not able to complete it; we wrote a note to her tutor to ask for further support/explanation, teacher response was "That's no excuse!" i.e. your lack of understanding, she was down marked for this despite our attempt to seek support for our DD. I took it up with Head of Year and then the same teacher offered to explain things to my daughter.
I think the grammar (KES) environments can be harsh and not very nurturing. They seem to be very harsh in their reporting and not supportive at all.
This is what we've seen so far - "you're not doing this right..... you need to do better at this or that!"
Rather than - "Excellent work and great effort but you could do even better if you did......"
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
The problem with my ds is that all he would see is the 'excellent work ' bit, and would accuse me of being 'negative' if i drew more attention to the 'ways to improve' comment.Hopefuldad7 wrote:Rather than - "Excellent work and great effort but you could do even better if you did......"
I agree though that it is quite demoralising not to have a real effort recognised. I'm sure (hope) this will change though, as the teachers become more familiar with your child.-
WindowGlass
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 12:59 pm
- Location: West Midlands
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
Had a varied and similarly difficult report for my DS.
He's had a definite wobbly-start, and a variety of teacher interactions (I don't know why I expected more uniformity).
Having taken a few days to mull over the report before showing it to him, seeing this forum article and getting his response and view on things, I am now inclined to agree that these are early days - a big adjustment for him, with new teachers, fellow pupils etc.
I do think that former school and background are given consideration at this stage,as well as the gift and potential they see in the DC.
He's had a definite wobbly-start, and a variety of teacher interactions (I don't know why I expected more uniformity).
Having taken a few days to mull over the report before showing it to him, seeing this forum article and getting his response and view on things, I am now inclined to agree that these are early days - a big adjustment for him, with new teachers, fellow pupils etc.
I do think that former school and background are given consideration at this stage,as well as the gift and potential they see in the DC.
Re: Year 7 Shell at KES
No - it's poor practice - a report is not for this. If there are concerns then these should have been addressed already.
