School start age 'should be six'

Ina · School start age 'should be six'

Would be interested to hear what fellow NEEPSters opinion is on this. I started school at 6; it's not unusual on the continent to start at 7. Doesn't seem to do us any harm. In fact, I often pity British kids... And from what I can see, the standard of writing, at least (i.e. spelling) is much higher in Germany (no information on other countries) than it is here, although we start learning later!

The age at which pupils start school should be raised to six or seven, a teachers' association suggests.

The Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) says many who begin formal schooling aged just four are not ready for an academic curriculum.

Deborah Lawson from PAT said it was vital that children should have more freedom to play in nurseries without being told what to do by adults.

The government said primary schools followed an age-appropriate curriculum.

Speaking at the PAT annual conference, in Harrogate, Ms Lawson said: "There is evidence that by starting school earlier, our children are not better off than those children who are starting later.

"As practitioners and parents we have all seen children who really were not ready to start school."

Time and space

She said toddlers developed social and language skills by playing in a way that was natural to them.

"We are not giving children sufficient time and space to learn for themselves - child initiated play activities.

The formal school starting age of five has served children well for decades
Department for Children, Schools and Families

"When they are playing outdoors, we talk about children letting off steam," she said.

"Actually they learn about the world around them by playing in the street or the park. They are learning those life skills that they need."

But some affluent parents want to know how their children are developing and request detailed reports from nursery staff, she said.

"Some parents like the worksheets because they are solid evidence that their child is progressing. They really want to see it," she said.

"Sometimes parents say 'Little Johnny is bringing back flash cards and my Billy isn't'. Actually, Billy isn't quite ready for it.

"When our children are going to be pressured academically and tested academically to destruction, why should we be putting that pressure on them?"

Age-appropriate curriculum

But a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "The formal school starting age of five has served children well for decades and standards in our primary schools have never been higher.

"All the evidence - key stage results, international comparisons and Ofsted reports - make this clear.

"We want all children to make progress in literacy and numeracy at an early age, as these skills are critical to their ability to get the most out of learning later on.

"The first years of schooling focus on play-based activities in addition to formal learning - the curriculum is age-appropriate and we actively support teachers to adapt their teaching to the needs of children."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6925642.stm

essex_boy

What seems to get missed in these reports is that the length of time a child is in the education system for is unimportant. What is important is the quality of education they receive.

Having 4 children and living in England & Scotland has shown me that upto Secondary School (aged 11+) the Scottish system seems better. Don't know if thats due to smaller class sizes? My youngest is in a school of only 15 children. After that age there is nothing to choose as class sizes increase to that of England.

Paul

Sassinak

Class size is some of the answer.
Both my kids went to a small village school - total pupils 99 age 5-11.

Not only were the class sizes small but every teacher knew the name and often the family history of every pupil.

School events became village events and parents cared and had pride in the school.

So, yes, class sizes do matter but so does parental attitude and commitment of staff (Which is more likely to be positive if there is a good relationship with parents) It becomes a catch 22 type vicious circle.

I realise that they have to set an age for starting school, but kids vary, some are bored at home and need the stimulus of school at an early age, others need mum for much longer.

IainC

It also depends on the child a lot too.

I went to school when I was 4, left high school having completed 5th at 16 (a lot of people in the same year could have left BEFORE they had sat their o levels/standard grades in 4th year. I was ready for school at that age and where we stayed there wasn't a nursery, pre-school, etc.

One of my cousins missed out on going to school as the cut off day was the day before he was born (in fact if he'd been born about 5hrs earlier he'd have been eligable, and he was nearly 6 when he went to school but he wasn't ready to go the year before that anyway.

Both my kids have been in nurseries/pre-schools since they were about 1yo and it's been a good stepping stone for going to school, you can see it really brings them on more than being at home does.

TBH, our eldest was ready to go to school when she was 5, really looked forward to it and so far still loves it (will be in P2 after the summer).

Class sizes really help though (all my schools were small).

PurpleDragon

My middle child is starting primary school in August, having been about 18 months in nursery at the same school. We have been going to meetings with the teacher to find out what to expect, and P1 is changing - they are altering the curriculum to have much more play and less 'structured' learning because children respond better to that environment at that age. They are finally learning that a 4/5 year old cannot sit for 6 hours with a pen in hand.

IainC

Yeah, I seem to remember lots of colouring in and playing with plasterscene(sp?)... distinctly remember tasting the stuff as well and deciding quite quickly it wasn't to be eaten

Ina

What I think is most wrong about the system here is this strict adherence to age, as has been mentioned by several of you. In Germany, you generally have to be six (it's not 5.5 - 6.5) before you can go to school; but there are exceptions. If parents feel their kid is particularly advanced, fine, they can go a bit earlier; if the kid doesn't want to go to school yet, they can wait until they are 7. One of my nieces started at 7; so what? She's still had a university career...

Equally, if a child can't keep up at school, well, then he/she repeats a year. I repeated year 11 (OK, I admit it, I was lazy :oops: ). But nobody thought any the worse of me, or all the others that did repeats. The system is a lot more flexible and acknowledges that kids develop at different speeds, and at different speeds at different times of their life.

IainC

Actually that's another thing about the schooling system here (not sure if it's the same in germany/europe) that by the end of 2nd year we had to then pick the subjects we wanted to do, which is partly based on what job you want to get at the end or the course you want to do in college/Uni.

It's quite a responsibility to put on a 13/14yo.... what do you want to do with the rest of your life... make a choice now and make it the right one or you could end up spending extra years re-doing all this or having to get a different job to the one you want.

I also think it kind of "cheapens" a higher if you can do it over 2 years now instead of 1 "like what we had to"[1]

[1] - No I was never very good at English

Ina

Sassinak

I found my main problem was that I had never really had to push myself at school and got into the habit of just cruising along. Then I discovered that you do need to apply yourself for exams, but this happened at the same time as teenage rebellion, having a social life and discovering 'boys', cigs and alcohol. lol nuff said ?? :oops:

IainC

Ina

IainC

I would have said league tables could be a good thing if they measured the right things. Not how many kids pass with an A or pass a particular subject but how much better the kid has performed from one year to the next, ie how much the school has actually taught them.

Pointless just having a table based on pass marks alone as the school may just happen to have a heap of studious kids who are naturally gifted at the time.

Ina

baldowrie

Ina I think that our school system is inflexible too...if the child doesn't fit in the box then they are seen as a major problem

My daughter was ready for school at 4/5, my son definitely not but had to go. They will also be going to senior school in Aug 2008. My daughter will probably be ready but my son will definitely not and another year or maybe 2 at primary would help him considerably. BUT he can't do that. So be he will struggle at senior school. He will be teased and taunted for his much younger ways. He is the one who will be miserable. But I have no choice, home schooling is an option if forced to, as senior schools here are few and far between. He needs a special needs school BUT in Scotland there is, and I quote, 'no such thing as a special needs child'

. The school for children with 'special needs' is for profound special needs and he is not bad enough for that. His only other option is a school for children with severe and difficult (criminal) behaviours...not an option!

Sassinak

My daughter had problems at secondary school but for totally different reasons.
She was (still is) exceptionally bright and did the set work in half the time allowed. She would then get bored and eventually turned herself into the class clown who would finish her work and then entertain the rest of the class. This got her into incredible amounts of trouble because it meant the rest of the class didn't get the work done, they were too busy laughing at her antics.
We spoke to the teachers many times, but we were told that the pace had to be set at the speed of the slower learners and she could not be allowed to get too far in front.
She has turned into a very well adjusted young woman without the criminal, antisocial behaviours that were forcast for her. But many are not so lucky.

IainC

Julie

Children have an extremely steep learning curve before the age of five and parents who put the time in can give their kids a terrific start long before school. IMO, the start age is a moot point as they will advance at their own pace and the current system is very much geared towards that.
I have often wondered how parents who home school go about getting their kids through exams so that they have the option of going to university if they want to. Does anyone know how this is achieved?
Also, I worry that these children will end up socially stunted and naieve due to the lack of interaction with children of the same age. I can remember moving from an all girls school to a mixed school halfway through senior and not being able to relate to the boys teasing or flirting. It left me feeling most uneasy and isolated. I went to youth clubs etc.. but it isn't the same as working in groups with members of the opposite sex, which is like a preparation for the adult work environment as opposed to a social setting.

Ina

Don't know about home schooling, but I have heard from kids who attend Steiner schools, were they don't have any exams until their final year, do very well at them, and have no trouble getting into uni.

And social adaptation with home schooling - I think it's better for kids not to get bullied or frustrated by everybody else around who's different, whether that's brighter or slower... As long as the parents make sure that there is some other contact with kids of a similar age.

My sister's two eldest were very, very different (still are, I suppose!). They are only just over a year apart, so started school one after the other. The girl, the younger, exceptionally bright, always first in her class. The boy, very slow in the uptake, always at the bottom of the class. They let the girl jump one year (that was in South Africa), so they ended up in the same class. Now that didn't work out at all... After a year she was back at the top of the new class, and he became aggressive - because physical strength was the only way he could get one over her. (She was even better at karate...) They had to send them to different schools in the end, to give both the right chance. I don't think either of them would have done as well as they did in the British school system.

misteralz

IainC

Julie

I must admit, I don't know much about little boys having had three daughters, but they were all strong minded - and still are of course.
This characteristic could have gone either way as far as behaviour problems and choosing the right friends goes. I am sure that My eldest would have been told she had some sort of hyperactivity disorder nowadays because she was so fidgety and unable to mind her own business in class. I worked very hard with her from an early age, teaching her to harness her energy in a constructive manner and not let her frustration boil over into anger. She also had a couple of teachers who did the same and used her strengths constructively in group work. The result is a well balanced and confident young woman who worked to support herself through university and now runs a successful bussiness.
I feel that if children are 'right thinking' and well motivated they will thrive in any situation. It is the responsibility of parents to achieve this, not schools. As long as they have a home environment where they can talk to their parents about absolutely anything, they will overcome problems such as bullying.
Children are a lot of hard work in the early years and your best work is done long before they even start school.

I have to say, I love it when we get these sort of debates going as it invariably shifts my opinions to some degree as I get to hear other perspectives on the subject. Good thread

ger

I think it can also depend on the child, or maybe the difference between boys & girls, we live in Elgland when my sone was young so he started schoo when he had just turned 4 to days before the start of school, he was such a baby still and it started to affect his confidence & even now at 9 he still has a way to go

My girl on the other who was 5 last month needed to go to school last year she was sooooooo ready for it

They both attend a village school with 149 on the school role, they are in straght smallish classes and I also think this helps too, when we where in England my son's class was 29 and if you have a couple of kids who are constant work then the other kids in the class suffer.

zombiecazz

Personally I see a huge difference between girls and boys. Many boys are just not ready for school at age 4.5/5 and starting school too young can cause confidence problems and learnt behaviour that can then take years to unlearn (if ever unlearnable).
Our schools are very ridgid, which is fine for most of us, we learn to cope and deal with the system, but that does not mean that it is a good system!!
If you have problems fitting into that small box (which ours schools are), then, well it is one long trek through hell to get from one end of that system to the other.

Anyway I found school a breeze, but came out with no idea what I wanted to be or any ambition to be anything. This is from one of the brightest in my class.

IainC

I found school generally a breeze as well. Of the few subjects I didn't pass (as in pass well) I wasn't bothered by them.

I thought I knew what I wanted to do and qualified to HNC level in it (while I was doing the job) and then after a couple of years threw it all away and started right back at the bottom again in a new field, which I'm slowly working my way back up in, with absolutely no actual qualifications in (and yet getting paid a lot more than I was for the job I was qualified in).

I just wish I had started doing this when I left school rather than "wasting" so many years... although they weren't technically wasted as I feel I've learned enough from them anyway.

Tomsmum

I have two boys and am really determined to HE them for the first few years at least. i really feel that they start school too young in this country - so many people have said to me that their children spent the whole of the first year adapting to school life, that they were so tired after school they went straight to bed, plus bullying and confidence issues that I am really not wanting to subject my boys to that. Both my brothers struggled at primary school as they needed more individual attention and DH was suspended for swearing as he was bored in class so 'made his own fun'!

baldowrie

bullying policies may have been changed but a great number are not implemented and often bullying is denied...try asking to see the policy, as is the parents right

'oh, no. We don't have bullying in my school'

I have heard that more often than I would like!

HE does not mean the child is unsocialised, indeed the opposite. I would heartily recommend it particularly if the child is having problems with school, the confidence and self esteem just goes through the roof. Problem with the school system and socialisation is that is forced and unnatural.

IainC

Bullying doesn't just happen in schools, it happens in LIFE.

Kids can be cruel and it makes no difference if they are HE or not, if they are playing with other kids at any other time they could still be subjected to bullying.

As far as I can see certain people are just "bully magnets" and TBH, there is probably little they can do to avoid being bullied. Not sure if it's a confidence thing or the way the speak/look.

essex_boy

My son got bullied really bad (nose broken) in a mainstream school because he suffers from aspergers. In the end he was taken out and put in a private school by the local council. It was run by a charity that only took in gifted children that had been subjected to bullying. It was called Red Balloon in Cambridge.

Schools seem to get really upset if you remind them they have a 'Duty of care' for you child. Did it stop him getting on, No not really he comes home tomorrow after completing his basic training for the Royal Navy. As for my other 3 children none of them have been bullied to any great extent.

Paul

jaydee67

I cruised through my education, never realising how easy I found it until I got into my present job. I work with children with learning difficulties ranging from dyslexia to autism spectrum disorder all in varying degrees. When helping a child try to understand a concept, pulling it apart and trying different strategies to help them learn I appreciate how easy I found it. It makes my job interesting, frustrating and rewarding in equal measure! What works for one child doesn't work for another.

I work in a school that actively encourages parents to defer their child's entry to school if they are not ready. We have also had several defer through the school, one 'repeated' primary 4 so he didn't move up the the 'big class' too soon (2 teacher school), several have stayed on an extra year before going to secondary in the time I have been there.

League tables especially don't work in a small school. If there are only 2 children in a year group and one is working 'to targets' and the other has difficulties you get enquiries as to how 50% of the class is falling behind! Even worse if all children in a year group have problems as can be the case.

Ina

Your school must be unique, Jaydee! I'm sure that only works because it's a small school, on an island...

Kelly

A lot of opinions floating about guys so time for my tuppence worth.
First of all EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT. No box can accomodate every child, not close. Our local school is wonderful, caring teachers who are always ready to listen to problems. and encourage input from parents even taking on board stratagies for teaching individual children.
I have three outdoor living energetic BOYS and if we didn't have such a good school and had to send them to a lrg school with 25 + per class I would home ed, end of story. My eldest, although bright, has the atention span of a gnat and is not above faking stupidity to get out of something he percives as boring (a trick my middle lad has picked up!) luckily his teachers have cottoned on and push him to work, in a lrg class he would be left alone. He started at 4 and 1/2 as we had no nursery but he then repeated a year as it was in retrospect too young.
Another point is nursery. I don't drive and have been pressured to send my two youngest (3 and 4) by esscorted taxi. I was not happy with this and pointed out that my eldest had not attened nursery and had caught up quickly by term one with nursery educated peers.
Funnily enough though, once I had made my mind up many professionals agreeded that it wasn't as necsasary as I was led to believe.
My health visitor admitted that as my kids had pleanty of friends and I did pleanty of pencil work and reading with them at home that there wasn't much point and my head teacher said that many children arriving from nursery were suffering from education fatigue before even starting school!
So, raising your kids without nursery (or early day care) is pleanty, no matter what the government would like us to think (Get the mums back to work and paying taxes for the good of the country anyone??)
And no, my two youngest won't start until @ 5 and 1/2 and if it were up to me I'd have no trouble waiting until 6.

Julie

I still want to know how the home ed parents get their children through the exam system in their teens. Aren't these children going to be disadvantaged with no quailifications that employers and universities will recognise?
Is there anybody out there who has reached this stage yet and can enlighten me?
I can't believe that there are parents out there who excel at every subject on the curriculum to the degree that they can out-perform a whole school.
As one person already said, bullying pervades all walks of life and it is wrong. It is how we learn to deal with it as individuals though that makes us stronger. Is running away from it really the answer?
If schools won't accept that they have a problem or are in denial as to the extent of the problem, it is up to us as parents to communicate with one another and tackle those in authority at the school to address the issue.
When my daughter was in senior school, she started a student council to mediate between bullied children and the staff. Working on the principle that youngsters would feel more confident talking to someone their own age, who would then act as a mediator in unison with the appropriate member of staff, they had regular 'surgeries' in the break times.
It was very successful - which is why I was surprised that when my youngest daughter eventually reached the same secondary school, the programme was no longer operating. Why not? could they not be bothered to carry on with it? I never did find out.

zombiecazz

baldowrie

Julie I really don't think that stripping a child with an autistic type problem naked in front of the entire school and teachers, making them sit on drawing pin, or wrapping them round a tree for the sheer fun of them is teaching that effected child any thing except fear and how to be a victim. it won't make them stronger as they don't know how to deal with it and rely on adults to protect them.

Julie

I quite agree with you Baldowrie, who on earth has said a shocking thing like that

I can't think it would have been anyone on here.

baldowrie

This happened to my son. Why? because he shows autistic signs and therefore and easy target. The parents? Couldn't give two hoots.

What I was referring to, not having a go, was your comment

baldowrie

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/MySonDanny/

found it, deadline is nearly up

essex_boy

baldowrie

I am waiting for a diagnoses, should be in a couple of weeks and hopefully I don't get the 'not on the autistic scale but something is wrong' spiel again. I have made it clear I want and NEED a diagnoses in order to access all the facilities to help him. It is not normal for a 11 year boy to want to, and need to, hold his mummy's hand when out all the time!

He is not too bad, but obviously he is not 'normal'...what ever that means!

I have had educators who decide he is just a 'bad boy' and should be punished all the time...yep removed him and have reported the last one to the authorities. My fear is secondary school, he won't cope in a years time

monkey nuts

Very interesting thread.

My eldest boy has a physical disability, he was also the youngest in his class as he was born at 6.30pm and the cut off time for his school year was midnight.

He has only ever been bullied once (although he spent much of his school-time in a wheelchair) and that was by his first headmistress!! She said her school couldn't cope with him as he was 'disabled' (he was born with one severe club foot). I took him out of that school immediately!

He struggled at school, a) because of his age (youngest) and b) because he spent long periods of time off school (after operations). The older he grew, the more obvious (especially to him) his dificiencies became, mostly due to missing huge parts of the curiculum. He now has social issues and other problems, mostly due to his own feelings of inadequacy.

The school couldn't (or wouldn't) give him extra help with his learning. Some of his lessons were in upstairs rooms which he couldn't get to, the school's answer to this problem was for him to sit in reception and wait for the next lesson that he COULD attend! I once had to go into his school as the head of his year told him to use only 1 crutch and walk up the stairs..I was fuming!! He was supposed to be in a wheelchair at the time but chose to use 2 crutches so he wasn't causing so much of a nuisance of himself in the crowded corridors between lessons!!

The outcome of his school years was he was only allowed to enter for the basic exams, which meant he could only sit maths, English and science so all of his years learning German, Geography, IT, music (which he excelled at!) etc became obsolete.

If I could turn back the clock I would not hessitate to HE him. Things couldn't turn out any worse for him in my opinion.

Ina

Makes me mad, hearing anything like this.

A cousin of mine - well, daughter of a cousin, really - was in a wheelchair, too. She had all her schoolmates carrying her around - even into nightclubs, if that was on the agenda! Don't actually know how the school itself behaved towards her, but I never had the feeling she missed out on anything. Although she did tell some stories that made you wonder which day and age we live in...

baldowrie

zombiecazz

baldowrie

well, well!

How many are members of this forum and already 3 have stated teacher bullying...seems it is more common than the authorities like to believe!

Now here's my son's story, in brief!

He went to very small school...20 pupils with 2 teachers and 2 helpers.

I was given all the cr*p about caring, shouting, he would do well.

6 mths down the line boy gets withdrawn and begins wetting at 10 years old...I just to question him about what is up....in the mean time I had been subjected to constant 'hush up' talks by the head, no chance!!!!! 8)

I find out via my daughter and the boy he was called names including little twat by said head. I pull him and daughter immediately from the school...I get accused of racism and false accusations, not founded

I report her and move school, new school bends over back wards for son and authorities a continuously monitoring the new school

Son's behaviour has proven that the accusation by old head are unfounded and she and her staff are damn liars!

monkey nuts

Unfortunately I have yet another story too.

A young boy that I was fostering a while back started at a local (to me) school. It was dreadful from the outset. I recieved constant messages home about his dreadful and disruptive behaviour. We came to an agreement that if he was too naughty I would collect him and keep him at home for the rest of that day. During this time, the boy was also excluded on a number of occasions.

One day I was passing the school (as it happens) when I recieved a call to collect the 'disruptive' child. I was there in seconds!! The scene I saw made my blood boil!!

The child was curled up in a corner in a fetal position, obviously VERY upset. He told me that the class had been working on a project about families and this had reminded him of his own family and the (really terrible) things that had happened to him. The Headmaster had also taken photo's of this child!!

The worrying thing about this is the Headmaster knew this boys full background AND knew that the boy had ADHD (he was on medication for this and it was working really well)!!!

The Headmaster said that he was taking photo's 'incase **** kicked off'

Needless to say I removed him immediately from the school and the investigation is still on-going.

Ina

I'm almost beginning to wonder that there are still any "well adjusted, happy" children about!

baldowrie

the head taking unauthorised photos

that would really concern me as to the real intention

jaydee67

The teaching head at our local school also made life very difficult for children in her class. Both my oldest served their time there - with hindsight and knowledge I would have removed them, but I got nothing but her praises sung when I contacted the education dept.

My youngest got to the point he wouldn't go to school without a fight anymore - although I had been at this point with my oldest too, my oldest got by it and I think learnt to filter the woman. We had several meetings at the school and my husband and I decided that nothing new was being said and decided to move him.

We gave him the choice of the school I work in or the next nearest school which is a bigger primary, he chose the school I work in. My head sent him a card saying how much they were looking forward to having him in the school. He still has it.

The education dept had to agree to the change as there was room at the new school and no additional costs would be incurred by them. We had to have a meeting with them because the head teacher at his old school had expressed concern that we had acted in haste without giving her any chance to address problems. I had to sit and listen to this cr*p in a meeting with a woman who could be considered one of my bosses - who incidentally wanted to hold the meeting in the old school!!! When we told her that the excuses we had heard and the problems were ones we had been trying to address for over 7 years she had nothing to say.

My youngest spent 2 1/2 years at his new school, 15 miles from home. Made new friends and kept his old ones and has now settled in at high school where both sets of friends go.

Julie

Just catching up with this thread as I've been preoccupied with Mum for a few days and it is very interesting.
I think most of us can cite incidences of teacher bullying. It doesn't surprise me as there are bound to be some who struggle to keep their own feelings towards a particular child neutral, but it is unprofessional and an abuse of power on their part. I remember saying something like that to one of the PE staff who had accused my youngest of aggressive behaviour. When I asked the head of department what she had done (my daughter was as baffled as I was), it transpired that she had stood with her arms folded whilst making excuses for not having her kit that day. I wrote to the teacher in question and said, 'If you had said she was cheeky and obstinate I would have agreed with you but to report her stance as aggression was a grossly misleading use of emotive language and an abuse of power on your part'.
The matter went no further which left it unresolved but considering my child had been cocky with her teacher, I told her to let it be a lesson to her in speaking respectfully to other people as it wouldn't have happened if she had.
Having said that, there are some very dedicated teachers out there too who don't lose sight of why they joined the proffesion in the first place. I know a teacher who left the proffesion because he was so disillusioned with the lack of discipline in secondary schools and joined the police force instead (there's some psychology in there somewhere

)
BTW, thankyou for answering my question ZC. From everything I have heard in the media, there seems to be a woeful lack of resources in general in this area for children with special needs. It must leave their parents very frustrated when they see great things happening elsewhere in the UK and can't give their own kids the same chances.

IainC

I've been struggling to remember back to all of the teachers I've had (3 primary schools and one high school... due to moving around with dad's job) and I can't remember any bullying teachers at all.

Guess I was lucky.

Julie

That's good to hear. Perhaps you were an easy kid to like

IainC

monkey nuts

I have met a lot of teachers and most are very professional and really nice people. It is the small minority that are unprofessional and use the bullying tactics that we will remember unfortunately.

I have two boys who attended a very small primary school. There were only 4 classes with 4 teachers. When my eldest was in the 3rd class the (female) teacher was fantastic with him. When my youngest entered her class she was still an excellent teacher but she did confide in me that she didn't like my second child (they have VERY different personalities!) I respect her for her honesty and the fact that my second son still remembers her with affection.

In my role as carer I also have worked in the past with children that I didn't particularly like but I would like to think that I was professional and caring enough that the child would never have known.

zombiecazz

Kelly

It's like free therepy here!!!!

Bully teachers do exsist. I had my first when I was seven, the age my eldest is now. She used to humiliate me by screaming at me in front of the class for being stupid (I have mild dyslexia) and I distinctly remember her face when on realising she had picked my art project as a winner for an easter comp. (it was done anonamosly (sp??)) she couldn't change her mind! She curled her lip up in disgust and said "Oh, are you sure this is yours?", my friends confimed it was, she thought I was lying!! She practically threw my prize at me (a creme egg yummy!!).
I also had good teachers, insperational teachers that made it fun to learn and made you want to please them, but only two out of the four schools I attended. Most of them were indifferent, just doing a job with no real passion and sometimes I think that is worse. At least a bully teacher can make you rally yourself and work hard to try and stick it to them.
My creme egg was a sweet victory!

baldowrie

Kelly, yes they do exist!

I have also been on the receiving end of a couple I have meet and needless to say I gave as good as they gave me...with witnesses!

What is required is parents standing and say 'THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE' and I am not letting you get away with it.

and I am not talking about bog standard discipline for deliberate wrong doing by a pupil.

There was a report on the news a while back about how the Scottish education system is failing special needs children, particularly those on the autistic spectrum scale and yet schools which specialise in the higher functioning educational needs have now gone and all have to go to mainstream school.

Just to add I also believe praise should be given when earned.

Smooth Hound

cancel

baldowrie

PurpleDragon

PurpleDragon

Here's my two penn'orth

I was bullied dreadfully at school and it eventually turned violent - one incident left me unconscious in the middle of the road, another with a massive hunk of hair ripped out and I eventually ended up in hospital. Needless to say, I am rather determined to make sure my kids don't experience that!

Onto a nicer note - I have to say that I am quite pleased with the school my kids attend. I don't know all the teachers because my oldest is only just about to start P4. There are about 80 families in the school. The teachers all appear to be nice folk and quite approachable. My sons teacher for the last two years genuinely cares about the children and my son adored her - he even ate fruit to please her!

I am hoping his new teacher is as good.

Son has mild dyslexia and he has progressed with his reading and writing since he has been on the programme they provide. This programme is extended into the local academy, and the woman who runs it in the primary school is also the first face they see at academy. She doesn't just deal ewith dyslexic children - she covers all the special needs kids.

On the one occasion my son felt that he was having trouble at school, I visited the Headmaster and when I collected my daughter from nursery mid morning, he had already dealt with the problem and got it sorted.