Extra Help for Struggling Pupils

[NuttySupplier]

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Please note last two words of second paragraph and state whether you believe that bit or not!
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The lessons are to be organised by the schools... I don't think the classteachers can afford the time to do it, they're talking about 20 hours each a week for lit/num for around 3 children per class! Nutty x

Children who fall behind in maths or English could be offered one-to-one tuition to help get them back on track.

Struggling pupils in the later years of primary and early years of secondary school will get extra help outside school hours from qualified teachers.

If the short bursts of tuition succeed in helping pupils in pilot areas, it could be
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ed out across England.

The NUT welcomed the plans, saying one-to-one tuition should not just be restricted to those who can afford it.

The General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Steve Sinnott, told the BBC: "If a youngster is struggling at school and their parents have the money to be able to assist that youngster, what they do is they go and they get them a private tutor.

"We believe that access to that one-to-one tuition shouldn't be restricted simply to the children of those whose parents can afford it."

Many schools already give struggling pupils extra help in key subjects.

On Monday Education Secretary Alan Johnson launches a consultation on the plans to ensure all children succeed.

'Zero in'

Under the pilot scheme, children who were behind in these key subjects when they entered Key Stage 2 (at about age 7) or Key Stage 3 (starting secondary school) - and were still lagging behind about two years later - could qualify for the extra help.

Those who did would be given up to 20 hours of tuition in either subject or both, if necessary, outside normal lesson time.

This could be in the school, out of hours, at a drop-in centre or even at home, but would be organised by the school.

Ministers want to make sure that the extra help that some parents buy in, when they see their child is falling behind, is available to all who need it regardless of income.

New tool

They realise that poorer parents are not able to fund this extra support, so the pilot scheme would offer it when they and the school felt it was necessary.

However, the extra help would be on the basis of educational need rather than family circumstances.

Numbers and the 10 local authority areas in which the pilot will take place are yet to be confirmed, but it is thought the bottom 5% in each subject of each key stage would get the help.

This could potentially amount to one in 10 pupils - although there is likely to be some overlap between those struggling in maths and those falling behind in English.

Education officials are keen to stress this is not a new parental entitlement, but a tool to help children who might need it most.

The pilot scheme will run for two years from April 2007.

[chocaholic]

I saw this on another (non-teaching) forum, and it got my blood boiling....

What about SCIENCE!!!!

Everyone seems to forget that science is a core subject, and is part of the SATs, but the govt keep pushing maths and english, as though science doesn't matter....

I know I'm a bit biased, but without science, children wouldn't respect the world around them, or understand how/why things happen....

It's about time science was given the status it should be given, and pushed as a main subject in schools.

[smilie=hate-wall.gif]

Rant over....
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[minnie]

Why not science?
Because the government is reaching its targets in science or doesn't have them....I can't remember. Don't be fooled into thinking this is about raising the opportunities for children.......tis purely about the government trying to reach targets.

Who is going to teach these kids?
~Retired teachers who have no knowledge of current methods and so will confuse kids with more methods.
~Teachers who are too crap to get a job and schools are desperate to appoint 100 teachers to do these classes so have no choice.
~Supply teachers looking for a bit of extra money and who, like me if I did it, would be doing it purely for the money and would stop if I chose to get a permanent post thus leaving the child with no teacher.
~NQTs trying to get brownie points (and who can blame them) who then end up overworked and steressed out and so leave teaching altogether.


Yes it is a great
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to give children 1-2-1 tuition, but like many initiatives it is badly thought out.

[skiteacher]

who is going to teach them-
well if no money is put into it (which is probable otherwise how the h*ll could they afford it)
then probably their normal teacher, being asked to do extra work like those who already run afterschool clubs? I really can't see them employing extra teachers?

Just to add another side to the science debate - and I am totally with you on needing a broad curriculum, but if children don't have the basic skills of reading, writing, maths to start with, they really aren't goign to be able to do the rest, incl. science. Yes thinking and analytical skills are exceedingly abnd increasingly important in the modern world, but only to those who already have the core skills. Those without the core skills don't even manage to get the housing, pieces of paper and to read the bus timetables the rest of us don't think twice about when we think about living out lives. (yes there are teenagers and adults and not just a
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that do not have the basic skills to be able to read a bus timetable or shopping list)

What is more to the point is why is current primary schooling failing some children and meaning they do have to have these extra classes (excepting SEN) surely it would be better (and more cost efficient) to get the education for everyone right, rather than having to provide boosters for the few. Then schools would be engaging children, and able to provide a broad, balanced exciting curriculum, still ensuing the basics are learnt but also enabling thinking and analytical skills!!

Gosh, that's all a bit much for a sunday afternoon over a cup of tea - back to the cleaning I think - less brain power required!

[NuttySupplier]

Hear, hear everyone...

I can't see qualified teachers doing it at all... some will be asked to plan the lessons in their PPA time (coz they've obviously got nothing else to do in that time, if they get it!) and CSs/HLTAs/TAs will deliver!