Smoke and Mirrors

The ever watchful Andy Ross has written about the contradictory reports emerging from the Press & the Government.  From Andy’s Blog:

Newspapers: One in seven children are unable to write their own name or recite the letters of the alphabet by the age of five, according to government figures.  The results, based on teachers’ observations of more than 500,000 children throughout England as they start their formal schooling, also concluded that a third failed to recognise simple words such as “dog” or “pen”, while 15% could not write “mum” or “dad” or their own name from memory.

Government: This year’s Foundation Stage Profile (FSP) results show an upturn in the number of children reaching a good level of development in communication, language and literacy and personal, social and emotional development (PSED). The total has increased by one percentage point from last year to 45%, meaning that an additional 7,500 children achieved a good level of development this year.

So what is reality?  How is a school to respond when parents, Governors & teachers are being fed such contradictory & inflamatory information?   For me it is down to clear communication about the situation on the ground.  That all agents within the community are clear about how its own children are coping under the weight of expectation with which they are saddled today.  So it is a case of being aware of the spin from both Government and the press and providing a transparent window on what the school is up to.

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