Didn't you have reading comprehension back in primary school or something? How did so many end up functionally illiterate?

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RubySoo · 56-60, F

I left my job as a teaching assistant last year. Comprehension lessons were the norm when i was in school ( back in the days before Noah built his ark) and were also the norm when i started the job 15 years ago. But many schools ( in the uk) have invested in reading schemes over the last few years and typical comprehension lessons were pushed on the back burner. Each year the childrens literacy skills have got worse.
Last year we brought back comprehension for our lower ability kids. But one day we had a relief teacher who found the book online and read it to the kids and said "we dont even need the books to do this!" WTF??? I was horrified. I told the usual teacher and the supply was told in future she had to give the kids the books....i still cant believe she needed to be told.
Thats how its going in UK schools.....its no surprise to me so many kids are getting left behind. Thats why i left.....

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo You're like me. I can't bear to go back into the system.....what system 🤷🏼‍♀️

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@Moonpenny it needs a huge overhaul....and heaps of investment. I cant see it getting better.

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo They've been ploughing money into changing things for years instead of giving things a chance and refining them.
Gove needs shooting!

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@Moonpenny oh yes.my daughter is 19. Her year group were the first year that went through foundation phase...the first year for the new exam system....they were messed about so much. And like you say...nothing is given chance......but some systems that are in place and failing are kept because of all the money invested...they HAVE to work......even though they dont. Grrrrrr....

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo Exactly! He's messed up the maths completely...taken us back two generations. I'm appalled the kids hardly do science after having a brilliant two year rolling programme for the last 15 years + and the English is all over the place. Who the hell uses semi- colons and fronted adverbials ffs?
It makes me wonder what the unions have been doing to allow it to get to this!

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@MoonpennyWhat i will never understand is why we stick so ridgidly to the curriculum. Last year...our first week in September it it was clear our class couldnt do basics. They couldnt structure a sentence....yet we wanted them to write a story. We wanted them to write an acrostic poem and similies. What is the point of moving on until theyve got the basics? You do t build a house without strong foundations ....or its gonna fall down. The education system is setting our kids up to fail.

SW-User

@RubySoo @Moonpenny you two sound like my wife. She's still battling in until the academy trust finally call time in all paid classroom assistants.

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@SW-User you mean they are getging rid of them?

SW-User

@RubySoo yes they had one per class (3 per year group). As people left/retired it went down to 2 per year group now one year group is at 1 only after a resignation before this holiday. My wife saw her latest timetable yesterday which has her now taking two "intervention groups" at the same time from two different year groups. How's that going to work? 🤷‍♂️

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@SW-User ....oh yes....ive had that too. Are there kids at the school with one to one support too? How old are the kids?

SW-User

@RubySoo all 1:1 funding was withdrawn last year they have no 1:1 anymore.

Moonpenny · F

@SW-User So they're doing away with the intervention teachers too?

SW-User

@Moonpenny when they leave they're not replaced just more groups for my wife to deal with.

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo I totally agree with you Ruby. Most teachers know that but yet schools follow the prescribed curriculum set by idiots in Westminster.

Moonpenny · F

@SW-User It's appalling. Thank God I'm out of it... financially needy but sane 😆

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@SW-User Here kids who need one to one get awarded it hourly. So last year i officially had 3 kids who had been awarded 10 hours a week each to cover literacy and numeracy.but those 30 hrs funding paid my wage.....and not one of those children EVER had any one to one time with me...not even half hour. I also had 3 other kids with behaviour issues on my table and 9 more SEN kids in the class. Plus i was out of class running literacy groups (ha ha ha ha) and art sessions etc....so my kids in class that had official support...had none if i wasnt there.

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@Moonpenny yeah...same here. I guess i cared too much i was letting the kids down....but it wasnt me....it was the education systemn. I did my very best u til i had to choose between the job or my sanity. And that is the truth. No exageration.

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo 😱😱😱
And so many schools are functioning like this but on paper it looks 'wonderful', all bases covered, wallpapering. So sad for the kids and the teachers who actually care 🥺

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo I believe you. I felt exactly the same.

RubySoo · 56-60, F

@Moonpenny yup. Dreadful.
Heartbreaking actually....well...it was for me. X

Moonpenny · F

@RubySoo Me too. That was the only profession I worked in and felt I left something I was passionate about on such a low note.

HannibalAteMeOut · 22-25, F

@RubySoo @Moonpenny it must feel so weird, you know what the right thing is but you're not allowed to implement it... The education ministries around the world think that the system is now so advanced, but people finish school and immediately forget what 1+1 is.