#22 The SATS are not as evil as people make out

It's the final day of SATS. Actually, I've had a pretty good week. Compared to last year, I've found it much more - dare I say - pleasurable.

Apart from one student who appeared to be listening to a completely different set of questions during the mental maths test, our children have coped with them magnificently.

There has been nervous energy before; lots of huffing and puffing during; and tangible relief afterwards. Then we've all been to let off steam with a good old-fashioned game of rounders and a sing-song in preparation for our upcoming production.

It's all been remarkably chilled out.

We've had no booster sessions before or after school; we haven't been sending home reems of extra homework; we haven't been crushing our 11-year olds with the burden of pressure.

The result? On the face of it, the children have  been calm and collected. They've had smiles on their faces at the extra privileges afforded them during SATS week. And I've had no marking!

It could be argued that SATS serve no real use to pupils. The secondary school's seem to take little interest of them, preferring their own assessments. The scores will go on no CVs or individual records. They are more important for the primary schools who administer them as they are the barometer to show how well the school is doing.

For the kids themselves, it's been a positive experience to experience pressure and learn to cope with it effectively. It's been positive for the children to to prepare for exams, as they come thick and fast at secondary school. It's been positive for them to be competitive about how well they can perform compared with their peers,

In a few weeks time, the results will come in. That could be what makes or breaks me as a Y6 teacher. But I know that every child in my class has done their very best. I know they have revised hard for these exams. And ultimately, I know that we've given them the room to still have a childhood whilst preparing for them.

Well done, Barlby. I'm proud of you all. And I'm proud of the way we, as a school, have handled it too.

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#16 The most important schooling a child receives is at home

This week, I have put my Year 6 class through the joys of sitting the 2014 SATS assessments, just so we can gauge where they are at. Whilst most of the children accustomed themselves very well, there were one or two who really struggled.

One child in our Year 6 simply cannot read and write at the level need to pass in the SATS. Although this child has been through every intervention going, there remains the sorry prospect that they will leave our school, after six years of education, as illiterate. This is my nightmare scenario and I often wake up in the mornings with this child on my mind. I've trawled the Internet for what to do next, but can't help but think we may have missed the boat.

It's a well known fact in education that a child is at their most receptive to learning in the early years and as they go through up school this capacity to learn gradually reduces. The truth is that before a child has even set their foot in the classroom, a crucial stage in their learning has taken place.

Parents have a huge responsibility to ensure that their child is ready for school but many parents take the view that at 5, that responsibility ends, and passes over to the school. This is wrong. Parents and schools are involved in an unofficial partnership. Together, they are responsible for the learning journey of children.

My 5-year old daughter comes home from school with books in her book bag every night, and every night my wife and I try to make sure she reads to one of us. Usually, she enjoys reading, but sometimes it is under duress! She is aware though of the importance of mastering this basic skill. As a teacher, I'm fully aware that good readers become good writers, so we help her with her spellings; encourage her to write short stories at home; make comments about her handwriting and suggest ways in which she could make her work better. All the time, we lavish praise on her, and as a result, her confidence and enthusiasm is growing in her reading and writing.

This learning at home goes beyond reading and writing. In fact, there are more basic building blocks that we need to be intentional about. In the acquisition of new language skills, children listen, then speak, then read and finally write. So how can we improve our child's speaking and listening skills? It's simple. I don't want to come across as a smug parent, because I know there is an awful lot I get wrong, but one thing I get right is that I ensure that my family and I sit down together at the table for an evening meal. However busy it is at work, this time is sacred. It's family time. Half an hour a day. We've got into the habit of taking it in turns to talk about our days and question each other on the things we've been doing. The children (I have two girls, 5 & 3) love this. Once we have done this, we play a few games, such as going round the table thinking of different flowers or animals or something. It's like Mallet's Mallet, but without the mallet. Sometimes we play 'Who Am I?', or 'Guess the animal.' These are simple games which entertain us, but are also vital to the learning development of our children. Sometimes I think that half-an-hour we have together each day is their most valuable learning of the day.

For parents who take the opposite view - that schools are responsible solely for the learning of their child, I have a message:

There is no-one in a school who loves and cares for your child as much as you do. There is no-one in a school who individually spends as much time with your child as you do. So use that time well - talk to them, read with them and encourage them to write. They will thank you for it one day.

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#15 RE is a vital part of a child's education

My Year 6's and I get into some pretty deep discussions.

As a class, they fall into one of three categories. The first group is a handful of vocal and opinionated girls. The second group is half a dozen thoughtful and reflective boys. The third group don't really care but listen politely

Yesterday, my RE lesson on the five pillars of Islam was hijacked by a heated debate on arranged marriage in the Muslim culture. 

The majority of the class, particularly my opinionated girls, thought it was wrong and were stinging in their condemnation of it. The debate moved swiftly onto honour killings, and the children impressed me with their knowledge of current affairs, spouting out stories from the papers.

That said, I decided to step in at that point to say that honour killings are very rare in the wider scheme of things, and actually arranged marriages in the vast majority of cases are much more successful than marriages in western culture (if divorce rates are anything to go by).

We eventually came to an agreed viewpoint that it may not be for us personally, but we have no right to criticise it in our culture.

Our understanding of world cultures and religions is instrumental in our ability to live in harmony with our neighbours. The teaching of RE is vital for children to develop a tolerance and respect of those they share the planet with. Sadly, there are evil forces at work that want to put an end to that.

Here is an extract from the 'Just Say No' campaign by the British National Party:

Don´t let this happen to your child! These unfortunate British children were forced by their school to visit a mosque and dress up as Muslims under the guise of ´religious education´. No-one has to stand for this wicked indoctrination.

The BNP are urging parents to write to their schools asking for their children to be removed from RE lessons. They have provided a letter template and a well-organised awareness campaign is underway.

I have taken children to mosques and have always enjoyed the experience. I have felt welcomed by Muslims who have shared their faith in a sensitive and informative way. The very thought that an Imam would use a school visit for 'indoctrination' amuses me!

But maybe there is something more going on here. Ever since 9/11, Muslims the world over have been unfairly viewed with suspicion and discrimination. In recent months, a murderous organisation using the banner of 'Islamic State' has shocked the world with its treatment of minority groups and brutal killings of westerners. Does this mean that Islam should be seen as an enemy? Of course not! The very thought is preposterous. Indeed, Imams from across the world have been universal in condemning the actions of the Islamic State. They say that the Qu'ran has been taken way out of context, and many have gone as far as saying that IS are heretics. IS are a tiny, yet powerful and significant organisation of terror. They're not representative of modern day Islam...far from it.

The area I work in as not multi-cultural, nor is it racist. On occasion, I hear bigoted comments from parents and children, but this is ignorance rather than anything more malicious, and is quickly corrected. I fear, however, that these parents will be the target of the BNP's campaign of poison. It would fill me with sadness if the parent of a child in my class sent that letter.

My message to any parent wishing to remove their child from RE is this: If you want your child to live in a world of fear, intolerance, prejudice and hatred, then go ahead.  If you believe it's better to hope, not hate, then don't write the letter. Your child will thank you for it one day.

And one more thing...if a parent still wants to send the letter, then it's their statutory responsibility to provide RE lessons to their child at school. That may put them off the idea.

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#6 It's NOT all about the children

SATS. The very word fills most people in schools with a resigned sense of dread.

As an NQT, I couldn't believe it when I was offered a role as Year 6 teacher, helping children through this crucial stage of their education. It was a great massage for my ego. Now, with one week to go, I would prefer to retreat to the safety of teaching in a year further down the school.

This week, I have seen several children in tears and spoke to a number of concerned parents who are worried about what the prospect of the SATS are doing to their children. A sense of impending doom is prevalent amongst some in the staffroom, and I am spending my Bank Holiday weekend feeling tired and run down.

It's no surprise. During the week, the children have been either revising excessively or taking tests. Often the tests don't reveal what the teacher wants or needs them to, and so the stress levels rise. The children, the vast majority of whom wish to please their teacher, feed off this stress. Consequently, the classroom can become a very emotional place. It takes a special teacher to keep a classroom calm at this time of the year!

I've been asking myself the question, "What is all this for?"

Is it for the children? Well, yes, to an extent. It may be preparing them for testing in High School. It may be furthering their knowledge. It may ensure that they are being taught what they should have been. But once a child leaves primary school and enters High School, what has all of this taught them? They have been in school lessons for the last six years. They know the curriculum. The crucial difference is that some children can retain information. They will thrive. Those that can't will crumble.

Is it for the teachers? Yes, much more so. Future contracts can depend on good results. Headteachers can hold back pay if they deem results not good enough.

Is it for the schools? Absolutely. If children aren't gaining Level 4s, this can be seen by everyone in the school league tables. Since these are usually the first thing that's looked at to judge the effectiveness of a school, the SATS results have got to be good.

The government has created a system that perversely puts children last of all. They are simply pawns in a political game where Britain aspires to prove it's greatness against the more rigid and seemingly successful school systems of Singapore, Finland et al.

Some schools are taking this so seriously that their Year 6's are going in this weekend, on a Bank Holiday, for extra revision.

When I was at school, I can't remember being tested heavily. I didn't know my levels. I knew I was on the brighter side of my class, but there was no sense of competition, no pressure like there is today to succeed. People argue that children need to experience this pressure as that is what life is like in the real world, but surely not at 11-years old?

Sometimes I wish our school system would allow children to be children. There must be an alternative to this rigorous testing.

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