citing poor teaching in appeal

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sianyn
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:42 am

Post by sianyn »

Point taken!
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Etienne, I read your last post with interest, especially the Henry scenario as I thought the appeal panel may have said tough because the parents shouldn't have taken him out of school for such a long time. If a child has an exceptionally high IQ (independently tested) but did not pass the test and was in catchment, could this be used as enough evidence at an appeals panel?
Etienne
Posts: 8978
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:26 pm

Post by Etienne »

Gosh! I've never corresponded with a saint before ..... :oops:
If a child has an exceptionally high IQ (independently tested) but did not pass the test and was in catchment, could this be used as enough evidence at an appeals panel?
I suspect it may not be enough, because a single result is not totally reliable. The more indicators of high ability, the better!
Etienne
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

Thanks Etienne.

P.S. I did not award myself this title! :shock:
Nicki6567
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:36 pm

Post by Nicki6567 »

sianyn wrote:Hi yoyo, I agree. Do you know whether other Year 5 parents share your concerns? I fail to see how the quality of teaching etc at a school cannot have an effect on the children, if not intellectually then surely with regard to their confidence.
Funnily enough, the three or four mothers I speak to at the school gates have had exactly the same views/problems. The teacher concerned is the only male teacher in the school and has been there for years, but we wonder whether is going through some kind of "crisis" as he surely wouldnt' have been there this long if this was his usual teaching practice. I'm vary wary of being involved in a "witch hunt", but equally I'm very worried about the effect it's having on my son's confidence.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

perhaps speak to the teacher first, say that recently your child has been coming home upset by some of the comments and you wanted to know what his behaviour/attitude is like in school?

This may give the teacher a chance to explain/reflect on the problems. If it doesn't improve and you are still concerned then maybe ask to see the headteacher to voice your concerns, stressing that you are not alone.
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Post by mike1880 »

I would NOT claim to speak for anyone but yourself. If you say "and a lot of other people think so too" the obvious question is "who?" and that immediately puts you in an impossible position. The best that can happen is that you lose the confidence of the people who have been talking to you, it's equally likely that they simply deny that they ever said any such thing and the credibility of your case is then shot to pieces.

Don't waste time talking to the teacher; if he has a problem with work or personal life you will only add to the stress and make things worse for him (and everyone else). Go straight to the head. State your own concerns and ask him to investigate. It may not change anything in the short term, but he has a legal duty to both teacher and children to do something if there is a problem. There is a teacher in my childrens' school at the moment who I know has been the subject of parents' complaints for similar behaviour. I believe the person has had some extra training as a result so I hope the situation has improved since - all the same, I'm hoping that my daughter doesn't get that person as a class teacher in the next two years.

Mike
capers123
Posts: 1865
Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 9:03 pm
Location: Gloucestershire

Post by capers123 »

katel wrote:but if the powers that be started accepting poor teaching as grounds for appeal
In full appeals, it certainly isn't up to The Powers That Be. It's up to an appeals panel the is totally independent of The Powers That Be. We can accept anything we want to as evidence. No - I'll rephrase that. We have to accept anything given to us as evidence; how much weight we give to any one item is up to us.

I have known poor teaching used as part of mitigating circumstances, and some of those appeals have been allowed - thereagain some have not.
Capers
Tracy
Posts: 1123
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:28 am
Location: Bexley

Post by Tracy »

I have lost count of the number of parents who have complained about poor standards in years 4 and 5 AFTER the 11+. Coupled with the fact that the 11+ maths syllabus isn't even taught in time for the 11+ and we have a lot of appeals here in Bexley for kids who should have passed the test. None of them win on these grounds alone.

The best teachers are always moved to year 6 and the maths syllabus is taught well in time for the sats!

The only kids who stand any chance around here are those who are very, highly intelligent of those whose parents know the system and self tutor or hire a tutor. What a joke of a system...

Oh, and Ofsted normally give these schools glowing reports. Our school has just had one although 29/30 kids in one class have had a tutor to teach general maths and english because the standards are so low!

Ofsted reports? They should be renamed Andrex reports!
sycamore
Posts: 686
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 2:41 pm
Location: South Wilts

Post by sycamore »

What kind evidence of poor teaching could you be expected to provide? After all, the LA would hardly be likely to admit that it had allowed bad teaching and therefore poor management to continue.
We may be in sianyn's position in March! :(
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