Dear Nicky Morgan MP,
Thank you.
A heartfelt thank you from a parent of a current Year 6 class in the UK.
Why am I thanking you?
Well, for the timely manner in which your Education Committee have provided the new Standards that teachers need to use to grade their pupils.
Not only do they now have just barely 3 months to act on these standards before the SATS, but they now also have to let the majority of a whole year group know that apparently, they are not actually good enough.
Thank you.
Many thanks for being the reason my child will be setting himself up to fail.
Thank you.
Let me show my gratitude in advance, for the flood of Year 6 teaching vacancies that will be about to appear, as many talented professionals feel they have failed, because they couldn’t get the vast majority of children to reach these new standards.
Oh let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?
The new National Curriculum, rolled out last academic year, was a tough one. Most children were working, apparently, at least a year behind where the new Curriculum felt they should be.
Even so, I saw, with the support of the wonderful staff at my son’s school, that for the first time in his academic life, my son was ‘meeting’ the National Standards. You don’t know the confidence boost that gave to him. I could see him visibly grow taller, so to speak, as he felt that he was actually alright in his studies.
And for the first half of this year, he has been working on this premise, and all the work he has done, has been pointing him in the ‘meeting’ direction. (Maths may be a wobbly one, but hey, I was never great at maths either!)
Then your announcement.
Wonderful.
What a great start to the holidays for a child, eh. The teachers regretfully had to let him know, along with many other children, that according to someone sat up in a bubble, their work was apparently not good enough.
I am sorry, but have you seen some of the new things they have to learn? I have sat with Google to hand to work out what some of the grammar actually means. This is not the work of a primary school aged child, but more that of your 13 year old secondary school pupil!
And the new SATS.
So you are testing with the new Curriculum in mind. But this year of children have only been studying the new Curriculum for 2 years… effectively, they may have missed 2 years of subject matter that you are meant to be testing them on. Where is the fairness in that?
(Let’s not mention the fact that you are seemingly not willing to sit the test yourself…)
Surely you could have held the new SATS for the year group that had actually studied the whole curriculum, as it stands, like the current Year 3 children?
All this barely weeks before they are about to find out where they are going to Secondary School too…
So many teachers have been trying their hardest to get their pupils to reach these unrealistic goals that you have set, and when it all comes back to bite you in the butt, a lot of them will have given up trying. And you know what is even worse? Those same teachers are the ones who have to face the flack of the parents, whose seemingly genius child is now apparently just average, or those happily average children, who now are deemed lacking in their intelligence. It’s not their teaching that is at fault, it is you, changing goal posts at such a late stage in the academic year, and placing them so far away.
So again, I say thank you.
My child may just end up feeling like he’s stupid. He may lose the confidence that he had finally built up. He might feel that trying his best is just not good enough, so may end up not even trying.
I have worked hard with my children, to instil the importance of education into them. I just hope that all our hard work at home, and all the hours and hard work of his teachers has not been in vain.
Kind Regards,
A concerned mum
P.S. Did I mention that I am an Early Years teacher…? Don’t get me started on Baseline, and what you think 3-5 year old’s should be able to do!
Images courtesy of Google.
But I Smile Anyway... 
May 10, 2016 @ 06:34:38
Yep, naughty corner it is! Well said, Ritu! I wish he would take the test!!!
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May 10, 2016 @ 06:46:31
Sandra I believe she refused, but some MPs dud and couldn’t answer all the questions!!
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May 10, 2016 @ 08:29:28
Well, there you go!
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May 10, 2016 @ 09:55:47
I know! !!
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Mar 05, 2016 @ 23:17:58
I am very sympathetic to your son who is close to my oldest grandson’s age. He is in 5th grade, 11 years old. I do believe we need to have standards which represent learning levels. I was surprised as a special ed preschool teacher, I logged on to our state (Ohio) and after 3 different tests given 3 x annually let them know how 3 to 5 year olds, were meeting standards. It actually helped those who were working with these students in the therapies, occupational (fine motor), physical (gross motor), and speech. They could help set individual goals using these for the children. Hoping that your child will excel as a student, finding out about the test may help next time. Or maybe surprise you. Crossing my fingers! 🙂
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Mar 05, 2016 @ 23:39:43
Thank you!
I think the problem is not neccessarily in the testing, but in the inflated expectations… they are so not what children of that age would realistically be able to do, so that is what is really worrying. And if they are not achieving these pie in the sky goals, what will it do for these children’s self esteem??
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Mar 09, 2016 @ 07:53:04
Oh, I agree. I hope I didn’t sound like I didn’t care about the children’s feelings, Ritu. I do care. I think it is so hard to make tests which reflect the learning and knowledge children have. This was a great comment about their self esteem. . . 🙂
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Mar 09, 2016 @ 08:01:37
No, I understood what you meant! 😊
We had to sit a SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) paper last night in our staff meeting… A year 6 one, so the teachers across the school were aware of the expectations.
Got 48/50, but that was with three of us doing it together, and my team kept on looking to me as I am the ‘writer’!
It wasn’t so much the actual grammar, as the wording of questions, and the fact that the basic grammar we learned seems to go have been remanded and broken down further, and given ridiculous long convoluted names that 10-11 year olds don’t really need to know!
Then the head teacher said, “by the way, that’s last years paper… This year it’s even harder!”
It made us question ourselves as teachers, and educators… If we are to teach this, we need to know it too, in the form the kids are being taught…
Guess what, at 40, I will be going back to school to learn grammar! We are booked on a course in September, all the staff!!!!
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May 28, 2016 @ 00:20:47
I know this is sad, I am up at my Mom’s and reading old comments. I am excited to hear of your learning grammar. This means you will find an easier, newer way to teach this, Ritu. I apologize for tardy response!
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May 28, 2016 @ 07:15:11
No worries! !!
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Feb 21, 2016 @ 17:36:39
BRAVO I am sitting up straight and clapping…..go get em…..hope this makes them sit and listen….great letter…..xxkat
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Feb 21, 2016 @ 17:48:43
Thank you ☺
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Feb 21, 2016 @ 16:03:11
Reblogged this on itsgoodtobecrazysometimes and commented:
So many of my friends with children in school think just this
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 20:26:03
I really fear what my son is going to have to do, when he starts school and I am in an argument with my partner about home schooling him
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 20:57:01
It’s an awful situation at the moment….
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 20:58:55
I thought Gove was bad, but this numbnuts seems to be running with the idiot award
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 21:31:25
There were so many hopes with her. .. but she’s failed or reneged on all of them!
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 21:36:09
I think after Gove everyone thought it couldnt get much worse
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 21:37:16
I know… but look what happens when you start to hope…!
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 21:49:06
I have a saying but its pretty rude 😉
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 21:58:50
Go.on… I’m grown up enough 😉
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 22:07:48
The government are basically taking every individual and screwing them sideways. With the NHS, Education, Military. Everyone it seems but the rich
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 22:09:24
That’s exactly what’s happening. It makes no sense… what do they want? All the regular folk to leave the country? Then they’ll HAVE to tax the rich!
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 22:22:34
I would be curious to find out exactly how many rich people actually are classed as living here, I feel sorry for the upper middle class people, those ones who lost their child benefits but are not rich enough to be able to do anything about it
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Feb 20, 2016 @ 22:46:16
Yup… it is intriguing…
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 11:05:29
Also, have a read of Nicky Morgan’s entry on Wikipedia. She really does seem to inhabit a different universe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Morgan_(politician)
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 13:26:18
Wow! She really is something, isn’t she…
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 14:37:59
And in the next reshuffle she’ll be in charge of something else. Health Secretary maybe.
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 15:05:03
Oh good God! What will she do,there ?!?!
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 01:51:40
Well said Sis. You give em hell 😘
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 01:57:33
Trying Bro! !!
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 01:58:53
Can’t remember last time I seen my sis at 1am. Yay no school😉
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Feb 15, 2016 @ 09:56:12
Lol! I totally flaked straight out!!!
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Feb 16, 2016 @ 02:04:53
Guessed as much. Lightweight. Lol☺
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Feb 16, 2016 @ 09:09:51
Totally bro lol!!!
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 17:11:48
Well said! Marie
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 17:16:40
Thank you Marie!
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 08:29:54
It makes me sick that they are forever changing their standards and expecting every child to be able to meet them after not being given the chance to!
It must be hard enough being a teacher/teaching assistant at the moment without all this added pressure (my SIL is a year 6 Teaching Assistant).
As for the poor children struggling to understand what is expected of them and why are they one minute doing well, and the next needed to work harder to achieve some unrealistic standard set by someone that does not have a clue what actually goes on in the classroom.
I applaud you Sis for speaking out.
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 09:22:41
Thank you sis. It is truly frustrating…..
I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the standards, but wow! They are ridiculous, and yo expect 10-11 year olds to know them…. Heck, I don’t even know some of them, and I think I did ok!
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 18:02:38
I will have to check them out. I am damn sure if you find it tricky, I will have no chance of doing them! How can they expect 10 & 11 year olds to know?
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 18:28:52
Totally… that’s the whole problem!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 22:42:45
Oh, Sis! I can totally feel with you and understand your anger and frustration about this short-thought (if that is a word) decision. What you say sounds like absolute nonsense with the effect of destroying the work of the teachers and the joy of learning and motivation for the pupils. I understand your worries about your sons’s self-confidence…. I would feel the same!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 22:45:14
I know sis… it is totally unnecessary and just generally a stupid idea!!!!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:09:07
Always these decisions of people who no nothing about the practice and don’t think a bit what they cause!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:20:19
It’s not even as if it’ll be benefit the country with league tables… If anything, with the amount of failure, it’ll look worse!!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:24:49
I get that! Because of the lack that is artificially caused it looks bad!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:36:08
Totally sis!!!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:40:35
I wish I could do more. But at least, I give you a hug, Sis 😘😘
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 09:17:51
Hugs are always appreciated sis 😘
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 14:54:31
I think so too. And sometimes the only things we can give… 💖
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 15:25:29
😍
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 16:40:51
💖💖
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 21:00:37
Great use of sarcasm here!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 21:11:05
Thanks Nick!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 20:04:38
I began teaching way back in 1975 and finished in 2003. So many changes within that time. All the teachers I worked with were just like all the teachers you now work with (yourself included) … BRILLIANT, AMAZINGLY HARD WORKING AND ABSOLUTELY DEDICATED. I saw the Guidelines come in sometime in the 1990’s.
We were told they were only guidelines. We were absolutely assured that teachers would NEVER EVER be told WHAT TO TEACH OR HOW TO TEACH IT. We were told that we were the experts. Over the next 15 or so we all became swamped with curriculum files, paperwork … everything. And now look at how you so very rightly feel.
I feel that all teachers, children and parents have been let down by successive waves of misguided politicians, so called research and government thinkers.
Like you say … they are constantly shifting the goalposts. They are no longer on the same pitch even. Worst thing … most of them haven’t experienced a state education themselves.
I started teaching in a small Norfolk village in 1975. 6-7 year olds class of 40.
The headmaster said to me … just do some reading and writing and a few sums with them each day and you’ll be just fine. Guess what. We did. No files, minimum planning. I worked hard, learnt the job, made mistakes and developed my own strategies, shared them with other teachers. They were all doing the same.
You are all wonderful Ritu.
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 20:07:18
Thanks Chris. It is so frustrating that none of these decision makers are actually living the reality of education today. It’s easy to sit back and make suggestions and changes… but come see what you’re doing to the kids and the teachers with all this unnecessary change …
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:40:54
As a mother of a primary head mistress of not one but two schools! I say post it! do it now with everyone’s backing.
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:44:02
Thanks Ellen. I bet your daughter is under immense stress. It’s is hard for our school already as we are a high EAL school so English is very much a second language for many of our pupils, but for your average school where the pupils are predominantly English, or British born, it is still far too hard! I did English as part of my degree and I still don’t understand some of the grammar… and I’m a writer too!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:59:43
One school has a vast array of non English speakers, special needs and difficult to place children, over and above the norm. How that School can ever attain the levels in comparison to a nice high achieving Cambridge school i don’t know. But mine is not to talk specifics but to support where i can, the hands that are neatly tied, along with tongues clamped from making a stand. 😢
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 20:04:40
Hear hear!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:39:19
Well said! We are facing a lot of the same nonsense here in the US. Very frustrating for parents and teachers as well as the poor kids who are expected to live up to unrealistic standards.
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:41:06
Totally Nancy. I’m Just discussing it with my 10 year old and he says. so many of his fellow classmates just want to stop trying now. It has really put them on a downer. ..
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 23:37:49
What a shame. That is way too much anxiety for 10 year olds. 😦
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Feb 14, 2016 @ 09:17:29
I know… You’re telling me…
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:30:52
I couldn’t agree more!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:33:33
Thanks Kim! It is really frustrating, as a teacher, but more so as a parent, seeing what this does to our children. And after all, that is what they are, children, not robots that can just be programmed with all this information!
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:44:27
I used to love secondary teaching but had to take early retirement, partly due to stress. I am so glad I didn’t have to go through this when my daughter was at school (she’s 35). I am a volunteer for the Norfolk Reading Project and go to local first schools to listen to year 1 and 2 children reading. My sister has been teaching nursery and first school for 30 years and she is at the end of her tether. I feel terrible for children these days as there us no room for fun, creativity or individuality.
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Feb 13, 2016 @ 19:47:33
No you are right… it has all slowly been stripped away…. right down in nursery all the way up the education ladder…
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