Strange school letter

poet123

Sadly, not all children are treated the same. This indicator and how it is applied tried to redress the balance.

clearingout

'equal opportunities' is not, and never has been, about treating people all the same. It is about recognising that people have different starting points, different points of reference, different views on the world, different experiences...... and acknowledging those and the impact they have in the workplace, the classroom, the police station, in the supermarket, riding public transport, etc. etc. etc. Some people need more help than others. But with that help, can get to the same point as a person who needed less help. The education system, ultimately, wants every child to achieve at least 5 A* - C GCSE's when they leave at 16. Some children will need far, far more help and support to achieve that than others. Some will get that help from their parents, from private tutition, from a big brother, from a supportive teacher, from having had a particular piece of software follow them through their school career which makes their life easier in some way...there are literally thousands of ways that imbalance in access to learning can be evened up. But one sure fired way of cutting short potential acheivement is saying 'all children should be treated the same'.

peachyprice

bb999 wrote: »

No, you're missing the point.

All children should be treated the same, not penalised because they don't get free school meals.

Is it only the children in 'poor' areas who need computers, books, playground equipment, etc?

I think it's fair to say that the majority of children in affluent areas will have a good supply of books at home, computers if their parents so wish and good local play facilities.

They will also have the kind of parents who are interested in their education enough to become involved with the school when fund raising events are arranged, will come to book fairs, summer fairs, christmas fairs and generally support the school.

Many children in poorer areas do not have parents who take such an interest in their schooling, who do not want to become involved in the school community and cannot afford luxuries like books and computers at home.

So why should the school not be encouraging parents who are entitled to FSD to claim in order that those children are given a good start in life regardless of their home life?

Or is it a case of 'I'm alright Jack'?

make_me_wise

Clearingout has got it spot on. All children should not be treated the same, that would not work. Each childs individual learning requirements need to be met as much as possible. Some children will sail through school but will need resources and provision to stretch them as far as possible. Other children may need one to one help at certain times through their schooling. As a teacher my job is to help every child reach his/her full potential. That does not mean treating them all the same way.

clearingout

peachyprice wrote: »

I think it's fair to say that the majority of children in affluent areas will have a good supply of books at home, computers if their parents so wish and good local play facilities.

They will also have the kind of parents who are interested in their education enough to become involved with the school when fund raising events are arranged, will come to book fairs, summer fairs, christmas fairs and generally support the school.

Many children in poorer areas do not have parents who take such an interest in their schooling, who do not want to become involved in the school community and cannot afford luxuries like books and computers at home.

So why should the school not be encouraging parents who are entitled to FSD to claim in order that those children are given a good start in life regardless of their home life?

Or is it a case of 'I'm alright Jack'?

Only children from middle class families are allowed to do well in school, didn't you know?! It keeps the lower classes in their place - cleaning, serving in shops, fixing our high end cars....!

S1976

We get this letter every year too, we don't qualify for free school meals (a lot in my daughters school do) so my daughters take packed lunch four days and a dinner on one day a week which I pay £4 for. I would actually love for them to have a school dinner especially in the winter but at £20 per week for them both + £10 per term for milk I find it quite expensive and simply something we can't afford. However I have no objection at all to the schools asking parents who can claim free milk & dinners to fill in the forms so the school can claim that little bit extra - my children often come home with little cakes, gingerbread men etc they have made in school, all the children join in and for some children in the area I'm sure it's the only chance they get to have that little bit of baking time, I'm sure without the extra funding these little 'treat times' wouldn't happen. So for me, I'm all for the schools asking parents to put in a claim on this one

peachyprice

clearingout wrote: »

Only children from middle class families are allowed to do well in school, didn't you know?! It keeps the lower classes in their place - cleaning, serving in shops, fixing our high end cars....!

So it would seem from some of the responses on here. Unbelievable how so very blinkered some people are.

bestpud

I'm astounded people have an issue with this! Makes perfect sense to me and I've never batted an eyelid when I've received these letters.

tom9980

OH is a primary school teacher, last year she taught a reception class in a deprived school in a large town, they had lots of resources and lots of children with problems often with parents who didn't really take an interest. Every week there was a problem of some kind, big problems with behavior throughout the school, big problems with parents who didn't give a damn.

This year she has been teaching a reception class at a good school in a small village with poor resources, little storage. The head teacher had concerns with one of the pupils because he was so poorly behaved(in her opinion). The reality is my partner simply thought he needed some boundaries and his behavior has improved a lot with the parents help, this type of child she had 4-6 of at her old school. All of the parents seem to take an interest in their kids and are helping them at home etc. The PTA is very well attended at this school they had over 100 people at an event in September and lots of money was raised. Already this group of children are more advanced in some areas than those at the poorer school were at the end of June and its only now the end of November!

Given the choice which school would you prefer to send you children?

make_me_wise

peachyprice wrote: »

I think it's fair to say that the majority of children in affluent areas will have a good supply of books at home, computers if their parents so wish and good local play facilities.

They will also have the kind of parents who are interested in their education enough to become involved with the school when fund raising events are arranged, will come to book fairs, summer fairs, christmas fairs and generally support the school.

Many children in poorer areas do not have parents who take such an interest in their schooling, who do not want to become involved in the school community and cannot afford luxuries like books and computers at home.

So why should the school not be encouraging parents who are entitled to FSD to claim in order that those children are given a good start in life regardless of their home life?

Or is it a case of 'I'm alright Jack'?

Life is not that black and white though is it. Money and position in society are not a total indicator on how involved a parent is with their child.

There are some amazing parents out there, on their own or with a partner etc who depsite being on a low income, do all they can educationally and otherwise for their kids. There are also some children who come from families on low incomes who have no parental input or interest about their education.

Then there are families who are comfortable financially whose kids might have mummy and/or daddy helping with homework, buying them laptops, ferrying them to this and that club etc etc. There will also be kids from families who are comfortable financially who barely see their parents because they are so consumed with their high powered careers.

Regardless of the kids background if the school can encourage a partnership with the parents and work closely with them it helps greatly with the childs overall development.