Keep politicians out of education.

Mamie I would have to check. It has improved a little in the last few years. Over a third come in with some kind of special educational needs label and that gives you some indication.
Hi montymops - I do have a PGCE in secondary science teaching - a long time ago. And nearly 10 years at the governor coal face tends to keep me up to date. But you are right that not all governors have a good understanding of education - some bring other valuable skills and knowledge to the role, from other contexts. You are also right that children with parents that read to them etc etc find it easy, usually, to learn to read. It is the others that are the challenge isn't it.
But would you not agree that if children come into a secondary at level 2 or 3 then, given the current "expected level of progress" - 2 KSs during their secondary years, they ain't got much chance of getting a C in Maths or English at the end of it? My friend's daughter on the other hand is turning in work at level 8 in English and she is not 13 yet.
And would you not also agree that secondary teachers are normally not trained to teach reading. A light came on in my brain when I realised that "literacy" to the English department was nothing to do with "learning to read" and related to things like "understanding the purpose of the text".
And pammygran I once sat at the back of an English lesson, on the Pied Piper, in which it was very clear the teacher did not know the meaning of the word "ermine". (great quote by the way.)
Gove - don't get me started - compulsory languages from 7. a/ who is going to teach these? That army of primary teachers who have been trained in teaching languages? b/ compulsory for non readers too, oh that is going to really help them catch up, spending time teaching them another language when they have a limited vocabulary in their own. (I remember when I was teaching I was allocated to the slow learners dept for 1 lesson a week - an 11 year old who had no idea what a daffodil was when trying to read the word in the book she'd been given... ) Language teaching at 7 is great for some - but this edict from on high approach to the curriculum is crazy.

Govegrind will bring in some bilingual soldiers or send every primary school a Berlitz language CD! That should be OK shouldn't it. Anyone can teach for goodness sake!

Well shoot me down in flames, but I thought we had a primary MFL strategy and it was going quite well three years ago when I was teaching the French version and exchanging ideas / resources with the primary MFL strategy manager in my old authority. Then I thought the incoming coalition government's cuts stopped the funding..... I must be dreaming though, Gove couldn't be as daft as that could he?
A third on the SEN register sounds high JessM. I think that a secondary school with that intake would need to have an intensive literacy course for those pupils to catch up and a lot of differentiation in the teaching. Do Ofsted (or is it Estyn?) have a view about what the problem is?
I worked on the Key Stage 3 Literacy Strategy in my LA and there was masses of catch-up material. I did a lot of the training for Teaching Assistants for that - has that not continued to be implemented? It was really good stuff, I thought. The English department, with support from SEN, should be able to teach reading, in my opinion. Yes, you are right, anything below 4c at KS2 is a stretch for Grade C, but a lot of schools manage it.
I just worry that all these materials are there, but nothing ever gets properly implemented, because successive governments just don't trust schools and they have to have a new idea every week.

Mamie I think you have jogged my memory! MFL was thriving in the LA where I worked as an advisor but as you say it hit a rocky patch when funding stopped!
In my school, in a different LA, I chose to provide Spanish lessons to our Y2 children. A local secondary school was trying to keep an excellent teacher but could not afford her full time so five local primaries bought an afternoon each of her! That was a while back now..keep up Govegrind!

It's the compulsory I worry about with the MFL - does that include special needs?
We do have a lot of literacy work going on Mamie - a senior level person in charge of the SEN side of things and another one working on whole school stuff for the rest - who also need a boost as you can imagine. Just put "accelerated reader" into the library. Ofsted are happy with us "GOOD" and progress is improving for all. Just as we get made to be an academy with a sponsor we should break the barrier of being above floor standards for the first time this year, despite them being moved. Ho hum. I have decided to give up as it is a natural break point but I will be very sad and it will be weird not having the school under my wing any more. Only one half term to go

I've been teaching MFL in primary for years now.

Instead of constantly increasing the subjects that have to be fitted in let's go the other way. Reduce the subjects and concentrate on the three R's initially (i.e. Y1 and Y2) along with PE, RE, Art and Music. Or if we have to include subjects like science let's reduce the amount of recording that has to take place. By all means let's do floating and sinking experiments but do the children really have to individually record evidence. Who are they recording it for?

Yes nanej and there is a brilliant primary MFL framework which I used all the time, as there wasn't anything half as good provided for those of us teaching English in French primary schools!
JessM - I think all pupils, including SEN, should be included in MFL, we used to teach it in all the special schools in my LA. Of course, you don't get deep into the grammar; in primary it is about speaking, listening (with a bit of reading and writing later on) and an understanding of the culture of the language you are teaching. Here in France, I used to do masses of songs, rhymes, stories with my classes as well as basic phrases, counting etc
It sounds as if your secondary school is doing all the right things; I am sure you will miss being Chair, but it is a hugely demanding role, which isn't always valued as it should be.

I started my teaching career in 1973 teaching Nuffield French in a primary school. I taught only French, every day, with a tape recorder and a projector and the children wrote not a word.The standard they reached in oral French was amazing but it all came to nothing because, as usual, the money ran out and the scheme came to an end. I taught for the rest of my career in secondary schools and to say that my attitude to language teaching in the UK is cynical is to put it mildly!

Sadly no government has ever prioritised it no matter how hard those of us in school tried to deliver it! part of the island mentality I fear!

Surely politicians take advice from qualified educationalist? They don't think it all up themselves.

The blog is pie-in-the-sky rubbish btw.

Very nice in the cosy world the blogger might live in, but sadly not all children come from that background.

Education hit an all time low in the seventies. Someone has to try to sort it out.

Surely politicians take advice from qualified educationalist? You would think so but no not always!

They don't think it all up themselves. often they do!

Education hit an all time low in the seventies. and your evidence is based on....

Based on the education my daughters received until we took them out of the system.

Politicians are not well known for evaluating evidence and making sensible judgements. They are well known for worrying about the next election. And thinking they are experts just because they have an opinion.
I just don't think politicians should go round dictating what must be taught and how it should be taught. I think they should judge schools by output e.g. number of readers, number of good maths GCSEs and then back off and let the profession adopt good practice, using their own judgement and professional networks. There is more than one way to skin cats. What suits a bunch of middle class white kids in a cute village in Cameron's Oxfordshire constituency may not be the right thing for an inner city school that is 95% Bangladeshi, just for instance. And such extremes do exist.

Mine in school then too..they did well! so what does that prove?

They did feel the need to bring in a National Curriculum. (Much needed in my opinion)

I had to teach it!

And what problem, in particular, did the national curriculum address J04 apart from a politician's desire to tinker?

Politicians need to stop micro-managing education - it is as simple as that.

Their job is to provide sufficient resources for teachers to do their job well (which they all want to do), good teacher training and to have sensible inspection in place to make sure that the money is being spent wisely. They should not be telling teachers that 5 year olds should recite poems to the class - a sure-fire way to put them right off poetry, especially of they are shy. These are the decisions of the teachers - who are the professionals.

Next thing we will have politicians telling docs what drugs they should prescribe.....hang on a minute..........I think that may already be happening!!

Leave the pros to do their jobs!!!

Our current education secretary Michael Gove appears to be one of those grammar school boys from a working class background who has "made good." Good luck to him for that, but he seems to think that he is now an expert on educational theory despite having been a journalist by profession.

I would like to think that anyone who is appointed to a job as crucial as education secretary would have a decent amount of experience on the theory of education or at least gather around him some expert advisors rather than, as he appears to be doing at present, making some rather silly pronouncements on what schools should teach on what seems to be the basis of "it never did me any harm."

Agree with you both. National Curriculum is that which insists on Shakespeare in Y7 etc. Great if you have brilliant teaching - or disaster if not.

Actually I do think the National Curriculum was / is a good thing. The first version was a bit bonkers with far too many Attainment Targets (especially science), but it did mean a much more consistent experience. I was teaching in the seventies too and I do remember that the "topic" based teaching did vary a lot in content and quality (it could be wonderful when done well and dire when done badly) and could make it very difficult for children changing schools. The problem with the NC was, as ever, that it was brought in too quickly and was too complex. The Dearing review sorted a lot of that out, but there has always been too much prescription from the politicians via the DfE. The first version made huge amounts of work for teachers as the programmes of study hadn't been sorted out first. After that we have had lots of well-developed, supportive material (literacy strategy, numeracy strategy, MfL etc), but all brought in too quickly without enough consolidation.

In science it brought in lots more rote learning (e.g. names of planets) at the expense of useful scientific thinking for the modern world.
Gove probably thinks they should recite the whole periodic table by memory. Along with the Ancient Mariner!

If Mr Gove wanted children to learn the periodic table off by heart as well as reciting poetry, they could do a lot worse than Tom Lehrer's version sung to the tune (I think) of I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General. Tricky – and noisy – when it comes to exams though, unless everyone sang in unison.

You know what I cannot understand is why ideological views or political bias takes the stage over a childs right to be educated and expect to be able to read, write, do sums and be employable.

This is not the case at present, it is not a case of 'If it's not broke don't mend it', the system is obviously broke and does need mending.It cannot be a case of continually defending the indefencible because it offends.

Ask employers why they are having to teach our kids to read, write and do basic maths just to give them a fighting chance in the employment market.
On a holiday I was in a shop and the till was broke. The girl behind the counter was practically in tears, she could not add the cost of a sandwich, two packs of crisps and two drinks, because she did'nt know how to. If I had been any one of her teachers I would be mortified to think I had let her down so badly, disgraceful.

Yes parents and 'GOOD' teachers probably do know more than politicians but I am sorry I welcome my G.D. receiving a good, sound education and to me there is no harm in helping to teach her to read, write, know a poem or have the advantage of a basic foreign language if it is on offer. It would offend me if she was not given the opportunity and I deem that a failure not only the part of the teaching profession but me also as a grandparent.

Well that is exactly what I see my grandaughters getting in the UK, POGS. They are reading well (the little one is a fluent reader at 6) they are doing well in maths, they learn their tables (I get roped in for practice every time I see the elder one), they both do French (although this is an extra lunchtime activity for the six-year-old). The PE, Art and Music are all excellent. It is a normal, state primary school and I have seen hundreds like it with my own eyes.