Something's Wrong

Personally I think there is far too much
Political interference
Political correctness
Political targets
Elfin Safety

There is also not enough
Respect. Which has to be earned not assumed
Discipline. Which has to be fair to all
Consequence.

And here's why.

Link

One quarter of kids leaving primary school at 11 and moving to secondary without being able to read, write or do basic maths properly.

Some 163,000 pupils failed to reach the standard expected for their age in the three-Rs, it is disclosed, as results dropped over the last 12 months.
Figures published on Tuesday are also expected to reveal that as many as one-in-five children in England effectively went backwards in the last four years of primary education.

It comes just days after Ofsted found "weaknesses" in the way core subjects were taught in many schools.
The watchdog's annual report said there was a "lack of focus" on basic English for slower pupils, limited opportunities for children to expand their vocabulary, infrequent use of open and challenging questions and little attention given to the skill of writing at length.
Inspectors insisted "few" schools effectively tackled the issue of problem-solving in maths.

School-by-school rankings published on Tuesday will reveal standards achieved by 577,000 pupils in English, maths and science Sats exams taken in May.
They will show that results in the three-Rs slipped this year. Some 72 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard - Level 4 - in both English and maths combined, compared with 73 per cent in 2008.
The Government is considerably short of targets which demand 78 per cent of 11-year-olds should reach the expected level by 2011.
Currently, pupils are supposed to make two "levels" of progress in the final four years of primary school. They are expected to gain a minimum of Level 2 in assessments at seven and Level 4 by the age of 11.
Data included in tables for the first time next week is expected to show around a fifth of pupils failed to make the necessary progress in English and maths. The prediction is based on official forecasts made by a senior civil servant.

Diana Johnson, the Schools Minister, said: "Primary schools have made very substantial progress in raising standards over the past 12 years, after years of just coasting along. But... it is getting tougher to get the final 20 per cent to the expected level and we need to do more to sustain progress."
She added: "Parents, headteachers and governing bodies will be rightly concerned that we have not seen an improvement this year compared to last year and we are too."

Michael Gove, the Conservative shadow schools secretary, said: "There are still far too many children being failed in primary schools. All too often they are then unable to catch up later on."

It could be the last time the tables - for more than 15,000 primaries in England - are published in their current form. Two main teaching unions have threatened to boycott Sats amid claims they narrow the curriculum and promote a culture of "teaching to the test". It could prevent the tests going ahead in thousands of schools.

So lets assume for a minute because it's Saturday and therefore people, most people are off work 'relaxing', that these numbers play through to Barrows schools including the Furness Academy. This means that one quarter of the near 4,000 kids in secondary education in the town are being let down by the current system overseen by Cumbria County Council and the DCSF. That's 1000 kids affected by the failures of the County Council Childrens services department and the DCSF. I know that the Kumon people have no shortage of 'customers' so obviously even the parents know 'there is a problem Houston'!

Question is what are the County Council, the DCSF and Furness Academy Limited going to do about it?

I should add that I also firmly believe that not every child is capable of passing all the SATS tests, which is what these figures are based on, at 11 years old. I attended the Grammar school in the distant past but I can recall that at the end of the second year, the current Year 8, we lost about half a dozen kids to other schools and gained half a dozen who blossomed academically between the ages of 11 and 13.

This proved beyond any doubt we are all individuals no matter how hard the social engineers and the evangelical righteous try to convince us we are all the same. Still the way the current state education system is structured it is impossible to give EVERY child the best possible education. Until the government, it's civil service, it's army of educationalist evangelical consultants realise this then the situation will sadly not improve.