[senco-forum] back yearing

Anbody any views or experiences of this?

From: "LINDA LAKE" <linda.lake at btinternet.com>
> Anbody any views or experiences of this?

I think its a really bad idea.

Firstly, why is it being considered for one child and not
the rest? Surely in any single age group there is a very
wide range of abilities. Therefore if one child would be
felt to benefit from 'back yearing' then surely all children
would benefit. Some should be 'forward yeared' two year
groups, whilst others would go back. How about a special
class for those 6 months 'ahead/behind'?

In reality we have a system where children are grouped by
birth date, with all its faults and benefits. I see no
reason to change this for one and not others.

Secondly, how would it help the child more than
differentiation and support with his/her own age group. If
you are considering doing this then surely the child must
have pretty major difficulties. Is moving the child just one
year group really going to make any difference? Surely they
would still need just as much support and differentiation,
so why not leave them where they are.

The third issue is purely practical. From an administrative
point of view it can be a nightmare. When do they go up to
secondary school? When do they leave? When do they start
their GCSEs? This decision will effect the rest of their
school life.

I once came across a secondary school who were entering an
SEN student for GCSE Art in Y10. 'Why?' I asked (he was
predicted a F at best, but the art teacher said he could
probably get a D or possibly even a C if he did the rest of
the course and was entered in Y11 the same as everyone else)

The reason was the schools A*-G league table result. The
child had been kept back a year a long time ago. Therefore
the school singled him out to enter him in year 10 as he was
Y11 age. They didn't care what result he got so long as it
was better than a G. Okay so they would still enter him a
year later as well, but you can see the kind of problems
that 'back yearing' can cause.

--
Mark Norwood
www.avssc.org
"The e-mail of the species is more deadly than the mail"
(Stephen Fry)

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