11 Plus Exams Forum

Thought this might interest some posters ...

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Some LAs also offer this sort of thing to their schools.

Yes, a local secondary school to me had a mocksted run by the LA and got an outstanding shortly afterwards. DG

If it is just mock inspections that inspectors are banned from doing, it is not going to entirely solve the problems created by inspectors being able to carry out paid consultancy work with schools.

If some people assess and help a school improve, I think it's not a bad thing. However, if they just help them pass the inspection and afterwards the school offers a poor service, then that is very wrong.
Imagine having the writers of the 11+ test tutor your child or give them a way to pass without any long lasting knowledge.
If you had the money, would you pay for the service? Would it be unfair? Unethical? What if they tutor your child, gave them long lasting knowledge and also help them pass the test?
(For the record, I don't know of any school which has had a mocksted)

salsa wrote:If some people assess and help a school improve, I think it's not a bad thing. However, if they just help them pass the inspection and afterwards the school offers a poor service, then that is very wrong.
Imagine having the writers of the 11+ test tutor your child or give them a way to pass without any long lasting knowledge.
If you had the money, would you pay for the service? Would it be unfair? Unethical? What if they tutor your child, gave them long lasting knowledge and also help them pass the test?
(For the record, I don't know of any school which has had a mocksted)

Over the course of year 7, DS2 and his friends have identified one fellow pupil whose parents may have somehow availed themselves of your first 11+ scenario . They initially thought his responses in class and his apparent general lack of knowledge were an act.

I'm not sure why you feel you have to ask whether such a thing would be unethical etc.

I'm sure some people may think it's just a clever idea of getting into a school. I'm just curious.

I have a problem with vested interests in both scenarios. Maybe that is why CEM is becoming so popular?

If the tester is also getting paid to prepare then it gives them an advantage over other providers of a similar service. The L.E.A do provide advisers to schools to help them raise their standards which can be very valuable for schools. It helps to get an objective outsider view form someone who has varied experience. Many heads will have been in post for a long time and can get stale.

Isn't it more that 40% of current Ofsted inspectors are getting the push over the summer, and the Dfe are trying to stop them cashing in on their (outdated) experience by setting themselves up as 'consultants'? Or am I just an old cynic ...

JD

Tolstoy wrote:I have a problem with vested interests in both scenarios. Maybe that is why CEM is becoming so popular?

If the tester is also getting paid to prepare then it gives them an advantage over other providers of a similar service. The L.E.A do provide advisers to schools to help them raise their standards which can be very valuable for schools. It helps to get an objective outsider view form someone who has varied experience. Many heads will have been in post for a long time and can get stale.

Interesting about the advisers. I didn't know. Is that all Local Authorities?
About the tester preparing, isn't that what GL do by providing their practice tests? As far as I know, CEM do not provide any materials.

Tolstoy wrote:The L.E.A do provide advisers to schools to help them raise their standards which can be very valuable for schools. It helps to get an objective outsider view form someone who has varied experience. Many heads will have been in post for a long time and can get stale.

We lost our SIP (School Improvement Partner) 4 years ago in the LA cuts. Support was only provided for 'satisfactory' and below maintained schools. However, due to a few 'good' schools being down-graded to 'requires improvement' under the new Ofsted framework, we have this past academic year been given a LIP (Learning Improvement Partner). He comes in for half a day per term, so not a huge amount of time, but it is very useful (as Totstoy says) to get an outside view on how the school is performing. Whether he is an existing or ex-inspector, I don't know, but he is a consultant bought in by the LA ...

Incidentally, I also work for the LA and our social services department are also due a visit from Ofsted. I know they have certainly gone through a 'mocksted' in the last 12 months and wondered if any other sector does this before inspection? Health for example?? It seems perfectly reasonable to me - schools do mock GCSEs etc so pupils can see where they are at in their learning, so why not others?

JD