SATS testing of primary school kids

There was a little slot on the Wright Stuff, a television programme on Channel 5, about SATS and testing of primary school. It's a subject that often comes up when I am working with over 16 years of age dyslexics. So I rang the programme up and was lucky enough to be the first person to be selected to have my say on air.

Before I became an inclusion and dyslexia specialist I wanted to become a primary school teacher. Whilst I was at university I became a volunteer with the East London Connection. I basically went into primary schools mentor and support struggling kids. It was such a positive experience I decided to become a primary school teacher.

So after I past my 4 year Hons degree I decided to take a one year full time teacher training course in inclusive education.  I totally loved the course and the teachers and all the others on the course.

As part of the course you have to go into a couple of school for work experience and to put what you have learned on the course into practise.

On the second work experience I was told to sit with a six year old girl when she was doing her SATS test. The girl was sat in a room by herself and I could see just from looking at her she was in distress even before the test was taken. As soon as she started the test even I could see, as a trainee teacher, that she was going to really struggle with this. For example she was mirror writing, she was really struggling with her spelling and writing and everything just took her a long time to do.

By the end of about half an hour the child was in deep distress and I just wanted to cry myself. It put me off of primary school teaching as a career completely.

Now as an inclusion and dyslexia specialist I would have been better prepared to work with this child. But back then, as a trainee novice teacher, I was put into a situation I was totally unprepared for. It was after this experience I decided I didn't want to be a primary school teacher.

Today I work with dyslexic young people and adults and for many school was a nightmare. All the testing did for many was to prove to them as kids that they were stupid and educational failures. I, like many other dyslexia specialist are left to pick up the pieces.  
For me there has to be a better way to find out how well kids are doing at school.

School should be a fun place to be. It should be about encouraging kids to learn. About enabling and supporting kids to achieve according to their abilities. The main focus of any school should be on the children and about doing the best for them. 

I think I read somewhere that primary school kids are tested 14 times between the ages of  6 and 11. School has become a place where teachers are forced to drill kids for tests so a school can get a high place on a league table.

Were you aware that kids are now cheating to pass these tests. Over 40% of kids have sleepless night worrying about these tests. Nobody knows how many dyslexic kids are failing at these tests and at school because they have not been assessed as being dyslexic and are not receiving any support for their dyslexia.

They used to say school days were the best of your life......Today, for many to many kids they are not.

Beautiful morning sun through my window

Well I am struggling with learning this Word Press software................Wish there were a place where I could try things out before I actually made changes to my Dyslexia Pathways or Unique Dyslexic website......... I will have a look around the web and on you tube to see if I can find any learning materials there later this week.

I have contacted Digital Fife to see if I can access some support or training in Word Press.

I had very fruitful meeting with Judith Alison form Youth 1st based here in Glenrothes.  They do a lot of great work with young people across Fife. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.youth1st.co.uk/

I was going to join their network but it costs £90 and for a small organisation that's a lot of cash to find. So that will have to wait a couple of months.  Far to many out goings as it is over the next month or show.

I have decided to allocate £100 to pay for the new logo designs for t shirts. But I still have not made a decision on which artist / graphic designer to hire. I got over 60 responses to my request on the Pay Per Hour website. I am not usually so indecisive but it has to look right and feel right.......Not easy to communicate the visual pictures I have in my head in writing.

Finally! after 3 months trying to set up a dual signatory bank account I have received confirmation from the Unity Trust Back that one has been set up. Have to say they have been very helpful. It took less than 10 days to get accepted. So kudos to Unity Trust Bank.

Setting up a bank account is not exactly a very dyslexia friendly exercise though. All the forms have little boxes to be filled in making it impossible for me to fill in by hand. There are no accessibility options if you want to fill the form in online. Then there is all the small print to read which is always in very small writing and there are pages and pages of it. Plus you have to be a solicitor to decode what it says lol.

I went to a Bank of Scotland branch to find out about moving my Dyslexia Pathways co-operative business account a few weeks ago. I just wanted to chat with someone face to face. But they no longer do that at Bank of Scotland and I was advised to go fill in the form online. Wow about as helpful as a chocolate watch in a sauna.

I originally went to the Co-operative bank about setting up a duel signatory account specifically for projects and funding we win I have had my business account with the Co-operative bank since 2009 but my request was refused. It took me ages to complete the forms and find all the paper work they wanted.

Its not as if I wanted an account with any credit as the purpose of the account was for any grant funding won for our projects.

At Dyslexia Pathways we always pay our bills on time, we have no debt and we have no overdraft nor gone overdrawn on our account.

It put back our Awards for All lottery funding bid 3 months. Still the lottery funding bid has been sent off now and we will here something in about 6 weeks

Once I get used to the Unity Trust bank I will be moving the Dyslexia Pathways Co-operative to Unity Trust Bank.

We should be receiving the funding won from Foundation Scotland this week....... wow new toys to play with. They will help us a lot with the work of Dyslexia Pathways and with the Unique Dyslexic project.

I have a very busy couple of weeks ahead. We sold our flat in Glenrothes and are buying a new house. I shall miss the views we have from our windows in the flat.

Like today for example, watching the sun rise over the Firth of Fourth was simply breath taking. From our front room window we can see way over the Fourth from Glenrothes.

Things I will not miss will be the lifts sigh the bane of my life. Not that they breakdown a lot but I seem to spend half of my life waiting for them.

The new house looks great and comes with a front and back garden. I have not lived in a house in nearly 30 years. It also a very quiet area with hardly any traffic noise at all.

Ahhhh its that time of year to renew my car insurance and car tax........... that's another £300 of expense to pay for.

move to new website software

A couple of days ago I went along to With People for some training in how to  use Word Press website software. Phew talk about a whirlwind tour......It was very helpful though. I think my dyslexic brain picked up around 10% of what I was shown lol.

Now I have to start to feel my own way around the Dyslexia Pathways and Unique Dyslexic websites and populated and edit them. It all looked easy enough when they showed me what to do and they were holding my hand. Actually sitting here doing on my own is a different story.

So far have made a couple of changes and done a little editing but I think I am going to have to buy a Word Press for pre dummy dummies lol.  Only took me 4 hours to do that.

Still we will get there eventually......I HOPE!