Help!

[Guest]

I don't know if this is the right place for this post to be, but just feel I need to let off a bit of steam.

 

Thinks at school aren't good at the mo - we've just had a redundancy consultation meeting, which has resulted in 1 teacher having rest of the week off... stress related. So at the moment we are all trying to stay positive about our jobs etc.

 

We have a new head starting at Easter, and she has been in today. along with our LEA Advisor (or whatever they are called now!) to talk to us about standards. Looking at our results (FS, KS1, KS2 and across the board) they are dropping year after year. We've basically been told we have to change (I quite agree), but feel so demoralised at the moment, and honestly not sure what else I can do.

 

I teach Y1/Y2 (Y1 Literacy and Y2 Numeracy) - and although my Num SATs are fairly consistant they do drop slightly every year (mainly due to bigger % of SEN kids), but our Lit is the main concern. I'm very aware that as Y1 teacher I put in foundation for Y2 etc so I hold responsibility for some of the fall in standards. I'm in my 3rd yr of teaching and have only taught at this school, so not sure how we compare to other schools. I'm desperate to find different ways of making my Lit fun and enjoyable, but feel I'm failing the kids and that I've lost track somewhere on the way. Can anyone tell me if there is anything anywhere that clearly indicates where my children should be at by the end of Y1??? I'll try anything!!!!

 

Sorry I've waffled!!!

[Susan]

Oh Spam, sorry things are that bad! Dont know what words of wisdom or comfort to offer you.

Have you tried the standards site or QCA?

Hamiltontrust.org have some good stuff for literacy that you could easily adapt to fit your needs, if you havent looked there already.

 

Try and rest. Worrying doesnt help, although its difficult not to. Good luck.

[Sue R]

Hi,

 

Have a hug! Right, first aid administered, I don't know if this is any help at all, as I'm a NN in a DN (these abbreviations sound so arcane! ) but today I was on a very interesting course, where many of the practitioners (almost all teachers) were bemoaning the increasingly apparent lowering of pre-existing skills on arrival in school. So maybe this is not just 'your' problem/challenge or however you want to view it, but something that needs addressing more widely.

 

Anyone familiar with PEEP? Makes sense!

 

Sue

[Guest tinkerbell]

Hi Spam

Hope I can help.

I taught yr1/yr2 for many years and am now r/yr1.If writing is the issue and you are feeling guilty about this (don't).Get evidence of where the children are when they come into your class and level the work.We have a writing book just for this and start it in reception.The children need to do a piece of written work (without help)each half term and this is levelled and targets set for the children.

The children do progress and you can show added value for the children in your class.

Cheer up the fact you are concerned shows you are a caring teacher.

Tinkerbellx

[Guest]

I'll echo that, Tinkerbell. It's very similar to what we do. As a rough rule of thumb the children are expected to move one sub-level (eg 1c to 1b, or 1b to 1a) each half term. So, in order to work out where your children "should" be at the end of Y1 you need to look at their SATs targets. Personally I think as long as you are doing your best to extend every child targets shouldn't matter!

[Guest]

ASPK - are you sure it's one sub-level per half term and not each term? Otherwise a child starting as 1C at the beginning of Year 1 would end up at the end of Year 1 as level 3c and level 5c at the end of Year 2 - I think!!

 

I agree will Sue as well that children are coming into school with much lower skill levels, not just in literacy, but many having real attention/ concentration levels which all have a knock on effect.

 

I still find literacy the most difficult aspect to 'teach'. I have one small group of children who are begining to produce writing which can be deciphered without too much help, and others who are still unable to make meaningful marks, or identify the sounds at the beginning of words.

 

However low you're feeling - you're not alone . Chin up.

 

Harricroft.

[Guest]

Oh, thanks Harricroft! I did mean per TERM

Note to self: read back own posts before sending!!!

[mundia]

even one sub level per term is asking a lot. We work on 2 sub levels per year, so your 2B in KS1 SATS will look like a 1A at the end of year 1 (even though we all know its a load of hypothetical nonsense) (oop sorry i didnt say that). So if your children are making a sublevel progress everey term then they are doing remarkably well and will be at level 6 by year 6!

[Guest]

I'm sorry Spam80 that you feel so low. From personal experience I know how fragile most of our egos are and how we desperately want the best for the children we teach. The fact that you care so much and want to be even better than you already are speaks volumes.

 

On a more practical level perhaps the following would help.

 

I expect I'm teaching grandmother's to suck eggs (what DOES that expression mean?!) but we have all the NC levels converted into points scores.

 

Level 1C = 7 points

1B = 9 points

1A = 11 points and so on. Basically every level is 2 points more than the one that precedes it.

 

We are being told that by the end of each academic year we should have moved each child on 3 points. The 2 point margin is so that you can differentiate your targets for a child who starts off with you as being just about a level e.g. 1C to one who is a secure level 1C. Your end of year target then for a 'just about' 1C child would be to get them to a 1B, whilst for the 'secure' 1C child you would be aiming for them to achieve a 1A.

 

If we said, as a rough guide, that the 'average child' (I've yet to meet one) nationally should achieve a 2B in their KS1 SATs. A secure 2B works out as 15 points when converted into the points score. If we count backwards from 15, assuming that we are moving each child forward 3 points a year, then this gives a score of 12 points at the end of Y1 and 12 points equates to 'just about' 2C. Obviously, your particular class may be lower/higher than the national average but I would argue that if you have moved them 3 points from where they were when you first got them then you're doing a jolly good job!

 

Using this system has allowed us to monitor each child's progress from Y1 up to Y6. Our head and deputy insist this is important for value-added but I must confess that I start to drift off at this point!

 

Sorry if that's all really obvious but I've only just got to grips with this myself and I've found it useful!

 

Once again, Spam 80, chin up! This forum is fab and somehow just sharing with other people who know where you're coming from always makes things seem better.

 

Moose x

[Guest]

HI Spam,

I have just moved into Y1 under duress, I might add. I moved at Christmas and my head said I had to move the children up 2 levels. I really dont know how I am going to do that. I am just starting and have a lot to do to get my head around Y1 curriculum having been in R for 13 years. It doesnt seem to matter I must move them on. I know how you feel, not much help but I can sympathise. Can noone at county help or another teacher?

Abi