Public speaking

Nothing to report as it was put off until next Monday.
However, DD says that he's not been himself this week. He's not slept well and has lost things at school which is most unlike him. Just forgotten them. Nothing sinister. We all just wish it could be over.

Aveline, I had hoped perhaps your DD might have contacted the school and explained the situation, in order to address your grandson's anxiety, just in case something else is going on.
That's what I would have done and have in the past.
Poor wee thing having to worry all weekend. 😔

She made an appointment but it was a Maths teacher who turned up. No problem with Maths. Goodness knows what's going on.

Now that is worrying!

I’m also a bit concerned for the teacher.

It sounds as if he is in his NQT year, which is absolutely vital.
He needs support too.

Schools welcome parental involvement and strive to develop strong familial bonds.
Male primary teachers are like hens’ teeth, they should be valued and encouraged.

If your grandson is so distressed that it affects the lesson (which could may well be observed by leadership - hence the postponement of this particular lesson) it could have major repercussions for him.

But aside from this, I really can’t understand why you haven’t been more pro-active and spoken to the teacher / TA /Learning Mentor?

I apologise in advance if I’ve misunderstood anything (it wouldn’t be the first time!)

Sorry Aveline, I cross posted.
Perhaps the maths teacher is the NQT’s mentor?

It's not up to me!!! If it had been I'd have stormed the school by now. His mum my DD is the one who's been trying to speak to the school.
I saw DGS this afternoon and he told me about what he was going to say and what 'props' he was taking. Needless to say I was encouraging but trying not to make it too obvious.

It's hard being a gran, when you have to bite your tongue!
We have all been there.

Something came to mind, when I was thinking about the NQT and the maths teacher.
When I was an NQT mentor, the NQT was not in class full tine and I taught the class 1.5 days a week, to allow the NQT development time.
I wonder if the maths teacher was the mentor.

I'm just annoyed that your grandson has to suffer like this. Not all schools are like that.

How upsetting Avelline, it’s cruel forcing someone to do something they feel so scared of doing. Poor lad must be so worried. What is the teacher thinking? As a grandmother you can’t interfere I know, I bet your daughter is on the case though.
Do hope it gets sorted, it’s awful thinking if your beloved gs upset I know.🙁

This poor teacher is being maligned, but we actually don't know his side of the story or if he is aware of how upset this wee boy is.
I find that very judgemental and unfair, as he cannot defend himself.
There are always two sides to a story and we only know one side of it.

It's hard being a gran, when you have to bite your tongue!

Oh, isn't it!
You can gently suggest, plant a seed but after that 🤐

The teacher's Gran can start her own thread!

Aveline

The teacher's Gran can start her own thread!

Not sure what you mean, Aveline, I must be dim. A thread about what?

Marydoll you were the one complaining about a teacher being maligned.
I'm only interested in my DGS and how he is feeling.

Aveline

Marydoll you were the one complaining about a teacher being maligned.
I'm only interested in my DGS and how he is feeling.

I fully understand your concerns and rightly so. I am annoyed, as a teacher that it has happened.
However, it was you who brought up the subject of the teacher being an NQT. How is that relevant?
Other posters then joined in, criticising a teacher, whom we know nothing about.
That rankled with me, because it was unfair.

To be honest, from my own experience, this problem could have been resolved with some persistence on the part of your DD.
If it had been brought to the attention of the management team in my school, we would have done everything in our power, to take the pressure off your grandson.

When you start a thread like this, you have to expect various opinions, even if you don't like what you hear.

We are as entitled to cast doubt on the teacher as you are to post your teacher's perspective. I've already said that attempts have been made to contact the school.

attempts have been made to contact the school
Are primary schools different in Scotland? If you go to the office with a concern at most primary schools the bursar will arrange for you to see someone ASAP, either the head or deputy straight away or the class teacher after school (they can’t just walk out of a lesson).
I’m concerned for your DGS, but I’m also concerned about the barriers you appear to have faced at the school. It doesn’t sound reassuring.

Aveline, unless you have concrete evidence of the teacher's lack of capability or professionalism, it is pure speculation and does the teacher a disservice.

You started a thread, expecting a response and that is exactly what has happened.
I (and others) have given my professional opinion, on an area which I am well qualified in. Whether you accept it or not is another matter, it doesn't bother me.

I do not intend to post again on this thread, to avoid detracting from the original concerns about the wee boy.

I wish you a pleasant Saturday.

However, it was you who brought up the subject of the teacher being an NQT. How is that relevant?

I'd say it is relevant because he may not have the experience to know that the child doesn't have to do that. It isn't a criticism, you can't expect an NQT to know all the nuances of the National Curriculum or the different arrangements that can be made. It isn't an NQT's fault, just a lack of experience which will come with time. Every teacher has to start somewhere.

Mollygo

^attempts have been made to contact the school^
Are primary schools different in Scotland? If you go to the office with a concern at most primary schools the bursar will arrange for you to see someone ASAP, either the head or deputy straight away or the class teacher after school (they can’t just walk out of a lesson).
I’m concerned for your DGS, but I’m also concerned about the barriers you appear to have faced at the school. It doesn’t sound reassuring.

What's a bursar in a primary school? I've never met one.
Part time school secretaries -yes.
They don't make appointments usually. They will pass on messages and find a member of the teaching staff, or the head.
But the simplest method (and it should always be the first approach), a short letter to the class teacher asking for a meet up.

Aveline is this school setting for core subjects? If he has a Maths teacher does someone other than his class teacher take him for literacy?

You don’t know what a bursar is? That’s OK. Google will tell you.
Our school has a bursar and an office manager. Smaller schools may only have one person who does the lot, but part time? Even the smallest schools where I’ve delivered INSET, (fewer children in the school than in one of our classes), has a full time secretary. Where you live may be different.
Ours contacts the head or deputy or class teacher (even if he/she is an ECT) and sets up an appointment. If it’s urgent and the head is available a concerned parent is seen straight away. Again it could be different in schools where you live.
If that’s not possible in some schools, then I agree about a letter requesting a meeting, but it’s a strange school where you can’t ask to see a teacher after school.

Bursar - School Business Manager.
They are sometimes front of house. ‘My’ primary school also had two full time Receptionists /Administrators who were in the same office.
In my experience it’s very easy for parents to get to see staff or speak to staff.
It’s part and parcel of the job.
It sounds like Aveline’s grandson’s school is quite different.

We used to ‘set’ for English and Maths, LA and HA groups in Y5 and Y6 (2 classes in both year groups)
It was actually me (a lowly HLTA) who taught the HA children English.

I've been in many primary schools never met a bursar, or a school manager. I have met school secretaries who did the whole lot for next to nothing. I wonder if it's an Academies thing? Posh titles like public schools?
I do know what bursars are in universities and private schools. But as I said not in state primaries. And I've been in all sizes. From 3 form intakes to part time teaching heads.

At my GCs school the same process seems to operate for speaking to the teacher that did when I was teaching. Grab her as she's trying to make sure every child has a parent to collect them.

I think that the vast majority of primary schools have School Business Managers now.
The job title better describes their responsibilities; similar to Caretakers being Site Managers.
‘School Secretary’ didn’t adequately reflect the role.
In my experience, the Business Manager is second only to the Head in both responsibilities and pay.