Yesterday I was filling out this new form the government has introduced: a ‘Transition Learning and Development Statement’ which is designed to help schools and the education departments learn more about the students who are beginning school next year (like Keira will be).
On it there are questions like “What do you want your school to know about your child?” “What does your child want to know about their new school?” “What might help your child settle into school?”
This last question is particularly relevant to our family, what with Keira’s past, and so I spent lots of time outlining just what Keira might find helpful and valuable in her prospective teachers and school. And as I was writing about things such as ‘trustworthiness’ and ‘approachability’ I felt for a moment like I was in a book, that I was one of the Banks children sending out the advert for their perfect nanny.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Be very cautious about what you write on the form. This form will be attached to Keira’s pupil record card and will go with her from school to school to school until she leaves when she’s 16-18 years old. The record cards are stored for a period of time (don’t know how long, but it’s more than 10 years if she ever has an accident at school) ) and you have no control over them, nor can you as a parent get access to them. I know it sounds alarmist, but speaking as an ex-teacher I would be very, very careful.
What Anne said.
But fingers crossed for you all for next year!
Really? Gosh. That’s certainly something to consider isn’t it…
Wow, I will have to remember that when the boys start school…
We took our kids out of school last year, and I specifically asked for the kids’ PRCs (Pupil Record Cards) and I was told no. In no uncertain terms. I *think* I can get them under Freedom of Information, but will have to research that more.
As teachers we were told that we should be careful about what we write on a PRC as it follows the child throughout their schooling, but it seems parents are not told the same.
We won’t send our kids back to school…homeschooling has done more for them in their confidence and socialisation than school ever did (or could do).
These are a contentious issue from all sides – school teachers, kinder teachers, and parents. I’ll be interested to see what comes of all this over the next few years.
With my kinder teacher’s hat on this is copping a LOT of flack, and the usefulness of it all being questioned a lot.
With my parent hat on, we’ve just filled in ours too and I mostly kept it light and fluffy. There was one or two pieces of information that I was glad to have a chance to put down in writing on record somewhere, but I’d really prefer the girl’s teacher to talk with me about them, and out family and what we are hoping for at school. And I’d rather their teachers meet them without too many pre-conceived ideas already in their heads…. who they were this year at kinder will not be who they are next year at school.
I still can’t decide if I am scared or relieved that the girls will finally start school in a few months!
I had a lot of fun filling this out for Heidi. So glad we were never given on for Annie last year (she started school this year).
Hard to walk the tightrope of saying things that need to be said and not saying too much.
However I need not have worried her ENQ meeting was down right depressing, worst case scenario everything so we could get funding and an aide. Thankfully she is not an aggressive child.
I really feel that Prep year teachers should have lots of ‘trustworthiness’ and ‘approachability’ because it is a big scary year for the Prep children and they need all the support they can get.