Bullying

[Guest]

However, it always seems to be the case that those parents who knuckle down and get on with dealing with their childrens' issues to the best of their ability without resorting to jabbing away at GP, headteacher, social services, LEA (and others), will actually not have any hope of achieving what could be the right place for their child. The parents who whinge, embellish, look for a scapegoat, shout about what should be 'private' family matters, plan a campaign, will be given the benefit of the doubt. Shame.

Absolutely right.

I've heard of stories whereby parents are taking their child to the doctors just before or just after the 11+, telling the GP their child has a severe headache and asking for a note. They then know that should the child come close to passing they have an automatic ticket into Grammar School.

[Sally-Anne]

I've heard of stories whereby parents are taking their child to the doctors just before or just after the 11+, telling the GP their child has a severe headache and asking for a note. They then know that should the child come close to passing they have an automatic ticket into Grammar School.

I really do feel that is very much "school gates gossip"! Firstly, the advice to parents is not to send their child in to the exam if they are unwell, and an Appeal panel would take a fairly dim view of any parent who did, especially one whose child was sufficiently "ill" to require a visit to a doctor!

Secondly, no child gets through an Appeal just because of a headache! They must have the academic track record to prove that they justify the place. If that isn't there, no place.

Sally-Anne

[Guest]

I've heard of stories whereby parents are taking their child to the doctors just before or just after the 11+, telling the GP their child has a severe headache and asking for a note. They then know that should the child come close to passing they have an automatic ticket into Grammar School.

I really do feel that is very much "school gates gossip"! Firstly, the advice to parents is not to send their child in to the exam if they are unwell, and an Appeal panel would take a fairly dim view of any parent who did, especially one whose child was sufficiently "ill" to require a visit to a doctor!

Secondly, no child gets through an Appeal just because of a headache! They must have the academic track record to prove that they justify the place. If that isn't there, no place.

Sally-Anne

I know of one parent who sadly did exactly this - So i'm afraid this is not school gate gossip, although I'm sure it's rare. The child missed Maths by 2 marks and was in the low 120's in the other 2 exams, the Doctors certificate got the child through. Sad, but true. Suffice to say the parent is no longer spoken too by a number of us.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the bullying issue and the way in which this is dealt with by panels. Would you, as a panel member want stronger guidlines? I think a possible solution would be for parents to actually be aware of the guidelines that panels operate under, and how they select each case.

[Sally-Anne]

Hi Guest

What a simple world that would be. Child performs poorly on all papers, missing the pass mark on one. Mum presents a doctor's note about a minor issue and all is well.

Appeal panels are not that easily hoodwinked, and as Capers and Etienne (who have been panel members, I have not) have always said, you do not know the full circumstances of the appeal. There could be many other issues you do not know about - special needs, family difficulties, other health issues - a whole myriad of reasons. The child may have had a very good academic track record, and strong head teacher support, but failed to perform on the 11+. No appeal panel would allocate a GS place on the flimsy evidence of one doctor's note for a single occurrence of a headache.

On the bullying issue I think that Capers view is correct - there must be some written evidence from a third party. Schools are often reluctant to confirm bullying in writing, except in quite extreme cases, as it obviously reflects badly on them. Apart from in cases of physical bullying where there is personal injury, or sustained emotional bullying causing stress where a GP needs to be consulted, it is difficult to prove bullying to a panel.

Unfortunately I think that if parents were able to read the guidance to panels on bullying issues it would merely provide a template for some unscrupulous parents to work to!

Sally-Anne

[capers123]

Unfortunately I think that if parents were able to read the guidance to panels on bullying issues it would merely provide a template for some unscrupulous parents to work to!
Sally-Anne

Absolutely! There are, as I'm sure some of you know, companies who will prepare an appeal for parents. What a field day they'd have if there were guidelines...

As it is, there are not guidelines. We have to deal with each appeal on its own merits, and no two appeals are the same. We can usually spot when someone is playing up a headache (just as I can usually spot when my children are trying to pull a fast one - this morning 'I feel sick' - well she had yesterday off school, and made a miraculous recovery between 3:30 and 8:00 last night, so in she went today. Hard, nasty parent).

We have questioned parents in the past where they have a doctors note, but made the child take the exam - we ask them why they didn't postpone and take it 2 weeks later - it's made very clear to them that this is possible & advisable if the child is off colour.

We are sympathetic to children who are bullied. We have allowed appeals where the main reason was bullying. Personally I was bullied as a child in Y5 & Y6. I'm currently getting very angry with my daughters school as 3 families have left in the last year due to bullying (I don't think my daughters are, but I can't be certain), so I'm currently chasing the governors to put their anti-bullying policy into action. I am not a governor - otherwise I wouldn't be on an appeal panel.

And finally, we're a panel made up of three individuals. Each of us thinks & reacts in different ways, so prejudice on the part of one of us could well be negated by the other two. We spend hours and hours after the appeals have been heard going over them time & time again to decide which to allow, and never take any decision lightly - we're only too aware that it's childrens' future lives we're deciding, which is to be frank, rather scary.

[Etienne]

you do not know the full circumstances of the appeal. There could be many other issues you do not know about - special needs, family difficulties, other health issues - a whole myriad of reasons. The child may have had a very good academic track record, and strong head teacher support, but failed to perform on the 11+. No appeal panel would allocate a GS place on the flimsy evidence of one doctor's note for a single occurrence of a headache.

Sally-Anne is absolutely right.

As far as guidelines on bullying are concerned, they wouldn't work.

When it comes to extenuating circumstances, panels have to make difficult judgements about the extent to which a child's performance has been affected. Then there is the academic evidence to consider (I make no comment on the case above as I don't know enough about it, but sometimes the academic evidence when examined in detail is not as strong as parents think. The Q&As E15 and E25 might, in part, be of interest.)