Not so super school.
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So we have a super school in special measures. What has gone wrong? Why are some schools doing really well and others seem to be failing. And what will be the effect on future admissions particularity for those parents who might have little choice for sending kids to another school due to transport issues or work commitments. Worrying times for parents and pupils and no doubt teachers at the school.
It was pretty obvious to many of my age that these so called super schools wouldn’t work. Big is not always beautiful. A headteacher should know every child in the school by name & have the opportunity of teaching them during their time in the school.
Well behaved, average children are totally overlooked.It’s easier to change direction of a rowing boat to that of tanker.
If you’r teaching one pupil and hes isnt responding to the lesson plan, it’s easier to be proactive towards him and change it than when you’re teaching a class of thirty.
with education policy changing every so few years, it’s easier to turn around a small school than a super sized one.
We should retrace our steps through Bryn Offa, The Groves, St Davids … and ask why did we make the change, and what do we have today
wxm;4758 wrote:We should retrace our steps through Bryn Offa, The Groves, St Davids … and ask why did we make the change, and what do we have todayIt will never happen because the people who made the decision are still at the council.
…and the media & public don’t care enough.
At the moment they may be but will it be the same in four years time? It will be interesting to see which schools performances have gone up or down next time round. Clwyedog might be the best school to send children to if their performance is to be monitored closely. Feeder schools must shoulder some of the blame. A child should have learnt the three R’s before they even go to high school.
The problems do start with the feeder schools. My middle lad was basically written off at Junior school because he was a “problem”. I constantly asked for help as I knew there was an issue, I was ignored or my suggestions rubbished. I eventually managed to get a health professional to listen and he was assessed. 6 weeks into Rhosnesni High school and he was diagnosed ADHD, prescribed medication and he’s suddenly top of class. We always knew he was bright but the junior schools attitude did not help.
When attending parents evening at RHS I was told his reading age was spot on. What did surprise me was their remarks, most 11 – 12 yr olds attending had reading ages of around 9 :eek:
My eldest was diagnosed as autistic in Year 2 (infants). When he reached High School, this information was apparently not forwarded. Despite the calls I had made and visits to the school whenever there was an issue, they claimed to have no knowledge of his condition despite teaching him for 5 years. It was only when I got so annoyed and wrote a letter, we managed to get him the extra time for his exams he was entitled to.
Fortunately, he gained really great results, which is a testament to him. I also learned a lesson, if there is a problem, put it in writing.
I am now going through the same process with my youngest. I know of many others whom the system is also failing :mad:
@michellecook 4761 wrote:
The problems do start with the feeder schools. My middle lad was basically written off at Junior school because he was a “problem”. I constantly asked for help as I knew there was an issue, I was ignored or my suggestions rubbished. I eventually managed to get a health professional to listen and he was assessed. 6 weeks into Rhosnesni High school and he was diagnosed ADHD, prescribed medication and he’s suddenly top of class. We always knew he was bright but the junior schools attitude did not help.
When attending parents evening at RHS I was told his reading age was spot on. What did surprise me was their remarks, most 11 – 12 yr olds attending had reading ages of around 9 :eek:
My eldest was diagnosed as autistic in Year 2 (infants). When he reached High School, this information was apparently not forwarded. Despite the calls I had made and visits to the school whenever there was an issue, they claimed to have no knowledge of his condition despite teaching him for 5 years. It was only when I got so annoyed and wrote a letter, we managed to get him the extra time for his exams he was entitled to.
Fortunately, he gained really great results, which is a testament to him. I also learned a lesson, if there is a problem, put it in writing.
I am now going through the same process with my youngest. I know of many others whom the system is also failing :mad:
I sympathise with you it is never easy. And you are very right it can be a lottery as to whether you can get past any obstacles to learning your kids may have. My kids are fortunate in that their school is spot on.
Quite a few people have written on here about
i. The size of the Superschools
ii. The Feeder SchoolsIf you actually check the stats on the Clywedog school, you will be surprised at how small this has become. It is not particularly a victim of the numbers problem.
The recent Estyn reports have noted that the problems are not as relatively evident at 11 as they become by 14 or 16; that is the Primaries are not the problem, it is the Secondaries.
The problems that are noted in Clywedog are noted in several of the local schools and 5 minutes ago it was Bryn Alyn that was provoking the problem.
It is largely a systemic problem that we have here compounded by poor management. A poor system can look ok with good management and a good system can look poor with bad management. The ideal is a double positive but clearly we have had several examples of double negatives (bad system and bad management).
The model itself is terrible and whilst the English Labour groupings have grasped the nettle on Comprehensives, those in Wales have not
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