Exam day disaster is avoided by developing a knowledge and understanding of your child’s progress over months and years. It is extremely rare for a pupil to suddenly move several grades in a short period of time barring a complete exam day meltdown. Knowing the grades they are likely to achieve allows you to prepare for the results and the brief gap between results day and the next stage (usually just over a week) with calmness and confidence. More importantly, Classmate enables you, the parent, to influence the outcome long before the run-up to the stressful final month of exams.
So how does Classmate help?
There is a vast array of software, resources and online help out there for both students and teachers alike. There is, however, very little for parents so Classmate is designed to fill that gap. A child’s education should be seen as a triangle of pupil, teacher and parent. We believe the parental aspect of this team is neglected and under-utilised. Classmate gives you much greater involvement, understanding and influence over your child’s educational journey thus preventing unwanted surprises on exam results day.
At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents
The type of results day we all want to avoid!
My Friend’s daughter arrived at her school to collect her GCSE results with feelings of trepidation and optimism. Her school reports all stated she would do well because she was hard working and conscientious. She left in tears, devastated and distraught as her results were below anything she had expected. What had started out as a nervous, yet hopeful day turned suddenly into a nightmare.
The realisation hit home that she would be leaving her school and saying goodbye to her classmates and friends. To compound that trauma, she and her parents had just a few short days to sort out a ‘plan B’ before the new academic year started. Her parents were stunned and confused, they had seen her efforts, grades and all her reports predicting she would do well. .
Why were they surprised?
The surprise was due to the fact all their daughter’s reports stated she was consistently working hard and on track to do well. The following excerpt was the comment from her Head of Year on her Christmas report, just five months before her exams:
Laura [not her real name] is working well across most subject areas and has made good progress. If she continues to apply herself and acts upon the advice offered by her teachers, she will maximise her chances of being able to take the next step in her academic career. Laura needs to believe in her ability! Well done Laura, a pleasing report with many positive comments and praise.
However, at this time, ‘Laura’ was below target in every subject and set to fail all but three of them! Laura had not made any progress and had, in fact, regressed consistently for over two years. I could not believe what I was reading.
The scale of disappointment...
As a teacher for 14 years and a Head of Year for 7 years, I had experienced results days just like this many times before from the ‘other side of the fence’. I asked my friend to send me her daughter’s targets and when I saw them I understood their disappointment and shock. Her daughter had missed her expected results by three or four grades in some subjects. She had opened her envelope hoping to see a line of 7s and 6s (As and Bs to us oldies), but was met with 3s, 4s and 5s.
Most devastating of all, her school made it clear she would be refused admission to the 6th form to study the A-levels she had chosen. Suddenly, the realisation hit home that she would be leaving her school and saying goodbye to her classmates and friends. And to compound that trauma, she and her parents had just a few short days to sort out a ‘plan B’ before the new academic year started.
I wish I'd seen her reports sooner...
Part of the role of a Head of Year is to keep an eye on how the pupils in your year group are progressing as they move up the school. To this end, I would analyse and compare over 200 pupil progress reports six times a year (half-termly). Puzzled by my friend’s daughter’s misfortune, I asked her to email me her daughter’s school reports so I could look at the overall picture of her progress at the school. What became apparent to me as a Head of Year was that her daughter’s results were, in fact, not a surprise and entirely in line with the pattern shown on her reports over the previous few years. When I looked at her reports the grades achieved had been steadily dropping for 3 years, quite the opposite of “making good progress”!
English: Buy the revision guides from the school shop if you haven't already. Try to analyse the writer's choice of methods and their effects more specifically.
The revision guides had already been purchased and used extensively. This target is of little help to parents who see their daughter receiving the top effort grades and positive comments in regard to progress, attitude, class and homework. As a parent, what help can you really offer your child as a result of this target? Taking in the comments from the December report as a stand-alone document it is reasonable to deduce that a grade 6 at least is a likely outcome. Only when you see the trend over two years do alarm bells really start to chime and as parents, it is reasonable to expect this to be spotted and addressed. The issue of school reports, their effectiveness and how they are created is a complex issue worthy of separate discussion and this is addressed in greater detail in our post listed below.
The real shame here was that her loving, intelligent and dedicated parents had been confused by the information the school had given them. They had focused, as any parent would, on what the reports stated in general terms about her always working hard and being on track to do well. Like a patient listening to a doctor and not knowing how to use medical charts, they were led unknowingly to a traumatic and upsetting results day and the ensuing fallout.
Opportunities missed with unfortunate consequences...
Had I been Laura’s Head of Year I would have had concerns after Laura’s Year 9 report two years prior. This is when her grades began to fall and I would have met with her parents at that time to raise my concerns and formulate a plan to get her back on track. I cannot offer any guarantee that Laura would’ve sailed through her exams had she been in one of my Year Groups. I am, however, 100% sure they would have been better than they eventually were and at the very least not a nasty surprise so her parents could have prepared back up options in case the worst happened.
The child that goes under the radar...
It is important to understand that my friend’s daughter is a conscientious, lovable, if shy teenager. She always works hard, never disturbs the class but never puts her hand up or seeks attention if struggling. She is the classic ‘under the radar’ kid who should’ve been monitored closely and targeted for support and intervention. I believe she was failed by her school and the system because she wasn’t one of the headline pupils who affect the C/D borderline results or the number of A*s schools like to publish. Schools are now measured on Progress 8 but these are still the headline figures when it comes to press releases post results day or at open evenings in September aimed at attracting primary school pupils.
As stated, Progress 8 is a way to measure school performance rather than your child but if you’d like to understand more about it please click this link:
So, frustrated by the whole situation and chewing over how I would’ve intervened well before its unhappy end, I found my passion for ensuring that every pupil achieves their potential burning brighter than ever before. I hate to think of Laura and others finding themselves in this situation if they have worked hard and tried their best. As a parent myself; I also understood how upsetting and frustrating I would have found this situation. It was then I realised I could use my experience, passion and expertise to help others avoid this distress.
Time for change...
Thus Classmate was born. Our goal is to do everything we can to help every pupil achieve the highest grades possible and increase their chances of a successful future. We aim to involve, enlighten and empower parents to help achieve this outcome. We will support parents with our services and address the need for better communication with parents to help their children succeed. For our more detailed thoughts on why parents’ evenings and school reports fall short of doing this please read the following posts:
Everybody wins!
Finally, let me stress, this is not a parent versus schools service. I gave all the hours I could to my teaching and Head of Year roles, so I know that teachers would help more if they could and had the time to do so. Here at Classmate, we want success for all parties involved in the education of our children. After all, if the pupils get better results and achieve well then they have better life options moving forward. Schools and their teachers get the plaudits they deserve. Finally, parents are happy and proud of their babies, content in the knowledge they played a key role in achieving the best outcome possible for them. As they sing at East High…We’re All In This Together!
P.S. Laura is doing
Laura’s story has a happy ending. Although unable to study all the A-levels she had originally chosen, she is now continuing her A-level education at a different school. They have been very supportive, made her welcome and she is thriving. She has new friends too which is always nice! If you would like us to help you avoid an exam results day like then get in touch or click below. We look forward to working together towards a successful future for your child.
The Classmate Team
Share:
Everything you need to help your child succeed
Check out our options and choose the subscription that suits you
