I’m writing this late!

I’m hoping I’ll wake up in the morning and it’s all been a dream.

Please tell me I dreamt Nicky Morgan is about to say that a “5” is the new pass? Tell me this -> SCHOOLSWEEK ARTICLE comes up with a page error ….

I’m not saying it should be a “4” I’ve always thought it would be a 5 and in fact I’m quite pleased we’ve got the clarification this brings. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the ideas I’ve heard about it possibly being a “4” in the first year and then a “5” for later years … but the fact remains (and those that have never worked in a school where you have way, way, way more level 4’s (in old money) and below, than 5’s and above, won’t have a clue what I’m talking about .. no disrespect meant… no seriously none whatsoever) moving the sheer numbers of students involved, that two thirds of a grade will be no mean feat. There are fundamental shifts in the assessment objectives and renewed focus on fluency and mastery means we need time to adapt and we’re playing catch up with our current year 9 (just to clarify I’m not talking about the students I teach as I think we’re pretty much ahead of the game with all the other stuff we get involved with – I mean year 9s in England in general).

So my initial reaction is actually: “no sh1t Sherlock! What took you so long?”; So Well Done Nicky … at least you’ve had the guts to stand up and admit it instead of all this pussy footing around the issue that Ofqual did recently. I called for clarification in MY POST HERE and I mention the fact that there were still just too many unknowns and it seems that every day there is something else that still needs pinning down … so at least there is one less unknown.

Ofqual4

Now in my dream/nightmare, I have visions of more students requiring re-sits in year 12 and our colleagues in FE struggling to teach this massive number of extra students given the funding issues they’re facing? But it’s not just FE, it’s also secondary schools who are also feeling the pressure of recruitment. It all feels like we’re being set up to fail.

If you are in any doubt of the implications read on. We’ve been told a level 5 is to be set about 2/3 the way up from a grade C – so if nothing changed (and they’re very crude calculations based on the provisional 2014 qualifications by grade from JCQ) we’d be looking at only about 51.5% getting a level 5 and above which means about an extra 75000 students (remember I said rough! I mean very rough!) that will need to continue to study maths post-16. Even if it was half that number, do we have the capacity? What about 25,000 students? Has this been considered? Where are these teachers coming from? How big is the funnel of future teachers?

I know the idea is to raise attainment and I’ll be doing whatever needs to be done but seriously what chance do our year 9s have? They are a gap generation who haven’t been subject to the new “improved” key stage 2 etc etc.

But then the cynical amongst you will get the fact that the only way is up – as the students comes through they’ll be all “shanghai’d” up and then the government can boast about raising attainment and all this will be worth it. Apart from year 9 who will always feel like we sold them down the swanny … we sold our (their!) souls for a future generation of students rather than wait and get it right.

Off to bed now and hoping I wake up in a world where the sky is blue and the birds are singing!

Oh what I’d give for a pair of red sparkly shoes **clicks heels and says “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” ** …

Nope I’m still here.

Oh poo!