What do you expect your child to gain from their school?

Bennifred

It has been my experience the Headteacher of the school is the key. A change of Head can lead very quickly to improvement or degeneration of a school. If you don't rate the head - move your child before it gets any worse.

gingin_2

Bennifred wrote: »

It has been my experience the Headteacher of the school is the key. A change of Head can lead very quickly to improvement or degeneration of a school. If you don't rate the head - move your child before it gets any worse.

It seems ludicrous to me. It's like he's on a collision course to ruining what was a lovely school. I don't know how and at what point he can be stopped.

We're calling the other school in the morning and see where they stand with places, I expect it will mean a waiting list but we shall see. I really appreciate everyone helping me chew it over.

Janepig

Bennifred wrote: »

It has been my experience the Headteacher of the school is the key. A change of Head can lead very quickly to improvement or degeneration of a school. If you don't rate the head - move your child before it gets any worse.

This is true. The headteacher at DD/DS's school started just before DD started there. The previous headteacher was known to DH as he'd taught him in primary school many years before and MIL worked as the school cook at DD/DS's school while he was the head. I would never have sent my two there while he was the head. He was a clown, MIL used to say that the kids had no respect for him. I'm not saying that they should be afraid of their headteacher, but a bit of respect doesn't go amiss.

The "new" headteacher is fantastic, I suppose what's telling is that in the seven years since DD's been at the school there have been hardly any changes in staff, other than additional staff, there's only about two that have left. He really is an all round good egg!

Jx

geoffky

What do you expect your child to gain from their school?

Brainwashing?
All independent thought suppressed
And being trained into a wage slave...
What else? not a lot...

marisco_2

I teach year 3. Above everything else I aim for the children in my class to feel calm and happy. If they dont they will not learn or have any real inclination to want to try to learn.

Teachers and teaching assistants are encouraged to dress well, come in with a happy and confidant persona, address each other and the children in our care politely and positively. The idea is to emulate what we wish the children to do. Teach them in hundreds of subtle ways what you want them to learn in other words.

Education is about more than succesful, stimulating lessons. Teachers are there to develop the whole child. We should be interested in developing their social skills, interactions with others and an interest in other people. They do this best by having all manner of chances to mix with their peers and have fun. This is why school clubs are such a benefit to children.

OP I think your gut reaction to pull the plug on your daughters current school and transfer her is the right one. She does not appear to be recieving the educational experience she should be at the moment.

Madmel

As a mum and a p/t teacher, I agree with most people and would be pulling your DD out of the school. It is not just you that is unhappy; staff would not move on so much if they were respected and content in their work. The high turnover is a symptom of a potentially/likely failing school. As others have said, the Head is key to this. A change of leadership can make a huge difference to a school. I am not going to guess what may be going on behind the scenes, but it doesn't sound like a good place to work or learn.

I have seen an arrogant Head come in and have a huge effect on the atmosphere within the school. Luckily DD2 only had a couple of terms there, which we almost rode out [I removed her after a massive mess-up by them but she went back a few days later - only because they said I couldn't remove her and I wanted to mess up their attendance figures ] Had she been a year younger, she would have been out for good because as others have said, you only get one chance.

digforit

I am currently in the process of transferring my daughter from her school due to ongoing bullying its been ongoing for two years both direct and in direct involving a dinner lady and her daughter, we used to be neighbours, I tolerated and tried to befriend this woman but found her behaviour and her changing moods challenging, eventually I had enough and moved house to get away from her and her family which involved threats from her husband whilst she crouched behind her front door, tailing my daughters , rude gestures if my girls looked out the window, she even hit my daughter with her bag in a shop, this behaviour was displayed towards others, along with awful texts emails and outbursts but she seems to get away with it. Before she got her dinner lady job she said if any child was unkind to hers she would give them poorer food and she said she did not know how she was going to control her temper. My daughters have put up with inappropriate remarks from this woman in school glaring sub standard food , general nastiness, her daughter has spread rumours which have resulted in my daughter becoming osterasized from her peers, loss of friends, she pulls out on me and my husband without signalling then starts pipping , her children try to distract my daughter when she bikes by slowing in her car and gesturing, Just a few examples, it has resulted in both my daughters self harming , suicidal thoughts and development of OCD we have support of CAMHS, the school nurse but that's been it zero from the school, basically if you do not like it go. We only stayed in this area because my eldest wanted to continue at this school . I have been in out of school so many times, shed so my tears along with my daughters, the police have been involved because of witnessed threats, but I have felt alone without the support of family and friends I really do not know what I would have done because the school have failed her, I feel she has been indirectly pushed from this school, they have allowed an adult to bully a minor and have not shown a duty of care. My eldest daughter is thin and gaunt her legs are scarred from self harming, she is constantly low in mood and confidence the reverse of what she was, my younger has OCD which she struggles with day to day, low confidence and scars from self harming, I feel I have totally failed to protect them.

tibawo

I have just read this thread with great interest ... It seems I am not the only one thinking of changing schools for dd's.

Their primary school is in special measures. I am a governor there and on the 'special group' that looks at at how it is improving. So deciding to move the girls is not easy. I have always maintained that as long as the school was getting back on track then I would keep the girls there.

Dd2 has had some homework marked wrong, this was just the icing on the cake as I had spent ages explaining it to her and she came home annoyed with me because she thought everything I had told her was wrong. I got my mum and my accountant sis to check it for me. They got the same answer.

I therefore see the deputy teacher about it and I cannot believe how she treated me. I had told her before Christmas about my worries and how little she has progressed and it was worrying me and she wanted to know where I got my info from about her nc level as she does not give them out! I told her about I was not thinking of moving the girls and was basically told well do it then.

Bearing in mind I have just rung the other local school who not only have places but just got outstanding and whose data puts them consistently above national levels I am going to just do that.

The friends upheaval is not too bad as dd's play with kids from the other school in the evening etc. so not new as such.

gingin_2

Hi Tibawo, sorry you're in the same boat. It's interesting you've resurrected this, it still plays on my mind a lot, most the time if I'm honest.

I've just reread what I wrote. I don't like discussing really personal stuff about other people's children as I often mention the city I live in but the mother of the bully has been brilliant and it is so much better now.

I have put DD's name down for the other school but I think we will be in for a wait. Because DD already has a local school place we are of less priority than others, despite being in catchment for the other school. I still shake my head at the useless Headteacher but the class teacher tries hard.

Alpha58

Very interesting reading. What do contributors think of a hypothetical school, which had:

A class with a teacher and a teaching assistant where there was a boy with special needs (I believe autism/adhd) who took all the teaching assistant's time, leaving the class with one instead of two to teach them - child's parents didn't want a "statement" although why is not clear

The same class where there could not be any work on the walls because it "upset" the same child

(incidentally, the same child, I am told, did brilliantly in his 11+ because of having had one-on-one tuition, went to a good secondary and then bombed because he wasn't getting the same level of attention. Not sure if the other children in this same hypothetical class did as well after being 50% down on their allocated teaching staff)

Another child, lovely little girl with severe learning disabilities who was "statemented" and had her own dedicated assistant. She, being no trouble at all, was essentially parked under a table with the stubby crayons while the assistant was used as a third pair of hands in the classroom.

Coaching in advance of SATs (isn't this forbidden?)

A head who advised against grammar schools and was not in favour of pupils or parents who wanted to go down the "selective" route - yet had three children in grammar school. What's good for the goose...

Aggressive teaching staff (who then lie to the head about things that they have said/done)

a staff member (apparently the SENCO) who declared that dyslexia doesn't exist.

Like I said - entirely hypothetical!