Headteacher blog 8th July 2016
It has been a mixed week at Farfield. It was a sad day on Tuesday as three NUT teachers went on strike due to government policy towards schools. On the same day, Y6 SATs results were released and there was upset across the country as barely half of the children achieved the new higher expectations in reading, writing and maths. The whole of the new statutory assessment system for Y2 and Y6 has been changed and its implementation has, at times, been shambolic. We are disappointed at our results and are appealing some of the marking of the tests. The new assessments for writing, in particular, are very unreliable and schools are reporting huge volatility in results. This is a huge blow to so many hard working children and their teachers. In the past, we could celebrate clearly defined progress with those that might not have met the expected level 4 standards; now, they are just told that they have failed the test. It’s no way to run primary education.
More positively, I have been showing lots of new families around the school and they all seem to have been impressed and looking forward to September. As we have toured, we have eaten freshly picked produce from the farm and enjoyed the wonderful school grounds. New markings, funded by the PTA, have been added to Junior playgrounds. I have flicked through books whilst on the tours and parents have been amazed to see the progress from September to July.
On Tuesday and Thursday, Year 3 classes have enjoyed trips to Pizza Express to learn how to make an authentic pizza and today (Friday) 5T have been on a trip to Malham in the Dales.
