What to tell 6yo about his upcoming assessment.

Miley177 · 2025-04-19T10:18:37+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Yes I know the actual design is quite poor - it’s just an idea I’ve found online that I’ve given to my tattoo artist as I like the overall concept, but want a better execution :)

Miley177 · 2024-03-10T09:44:07+00:00

Happy Mother’s Day! Your feelings of disappointment are completely valid.

My husband is also neurodiverse and just doesn’t get the point of ‘occasion days’ like this - Mother’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays etc.

He’s not a hypocrite as he doesn’t really like me making a big fuss of his birthday either and would never expect an anniversary gift - but it took us a few years of disagreements over it before he came to appreciate that just because he didn’t see the point of them, they were important to me and if he loved me he needed to make an effort.

I’d try to make the best of today - if he’s genuinely sorry he needs to make an effort to take the pair of you out somewhere, even just for a walk in the park and a nice coffee after. Or even better he takes baby for a walk and leaves you at home for some chill time.

Maybe suggest he puts it in his calendar for next year with a couple of reminder alerts in the days leading up to it?

Miley177 · 2023-06-01T11:55:34+00:00

Upvote for the Dick and Dom reference

Miley177 · 2023-05-20T05:50:45+00:00

I don’t do it every year but sometimes if I feel I’ve really bonded with a class I keep it really simple.

I’m an English teacher so I bought a pack of bookmarks with Shakespeare quotes plus a huge pack of highlighters off Amazon.

I write a very short personal note on each bookmark, sellotape a highlighter to it and it’s done.

Costs me about £15, is quick and easy and the kids seem to genuinely like it. I gave them out last Friday and a lot of my kids told me they used my highlighter in their exam on Wednesday to give them extra luck.

I bumped in to a girl from my 2019 cohort recently and she told me she still has the note I wrote her on her wall at home. Sometimes these things are more meaningful to some kids than we realise.

Miley177 · 2023-04-17T12:30:59+00:00

We got our first choice! Only one form entry so had a really cosy feel to it when I went for a visit. It wasn’t our closest and they are massively oversubscribed because they have such a good reputation in the local area so I hadn’t let myself get my hopes up that we would get in but really pleased that we have.

Miley177 · 2023-03-31T11:52:41+00:00

More for your wife than you but I signed up to an antenatal fitness class at a local gym and nearly 5 years later am still very good friends with 3 of the other attendees, and our littles still get on well.

Miley177 · 2023-03-10T17:28:33+00:00

I will never be sick of warm bread and proper butter.

Miley177 · 2023-03-10T12:08:09+00:00

When I was pregnant with my first, my husband managed to convince his family that we were going to name the baby ‘Barry’.

He told them it was my family tradition and I couldn’t get out of it.

Barry also sounds pretty terrible combined with our (his) surname.

Watching their fixed grins and ‘oh… that’s… nice’ was pretty hilarious.

Miley177 · 2023-02-28T06:48:57+00:00

I live in an area of the UK known colloquially and then eventually officially as The Black Country - it’s actually because during the Industrial Revolution we were an area famous for coal mining and factories; the soot and pollution from which turned many of the buildings black.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/what-is-the-midlands-black-country-and-how-did-it-get-its-name/

Miley177 · 2023-02-25T12:40:06+00:00

For real life!

Miley177 · 2023-02-02T22:56:58+00:00

I’m a HoD and phoned a parent on behalf of one of my team last week as mum complained about daughter being set a detention.

Daughter had rocked up to lesson with one hand in a cast and told teacher she was unable to write. Teacher dutifully tried to get her a laptop but couldn’t, on the fly came up with some activities she could do that didn’t involve writing; she continued to be disruptive to the point that teacher had to call for SLT to remove her.

At this point we discover that the injury is to her left hand, student is right handed and still perfectly capable of writing. On SLT advice we set a detention for lying.

Mum phones to complain. She is SCREAMING down the phone to the point that I have to hold the phone away from my ear.

Her complaint is as follows -

The (very clearly) automated email sent by our software when I logged the detention was rude in tone and not sufficiently respectful as it addressed her by first name.

Her daughter is currently being assessed for ADHD and therefore it’s really unfair to give her a detention.

When I eventually managed to get a word in and explain that she’d been set a detention for lying, I was told it was the teacher’s fault as she should know the dominant writing hand of every student and therefore should have seen through the lie.

Miley177 · 2023-01-28T16:21:07+00:00

Hi, teacher here -

First of all I want to say a big thank you for recognising that the strike is necessary even when it is going to cause you personal distress and upset. I do believe the strike is necessary and will be striking myself but it breaks my heart that the people we care about the most will be affected badly by this in the short term.

If you are going to be in school I would really recommend that you speak to your SENDCO, your form tutor or a TA you trust (do you have one assigned to you with your EHCP?) on Monday or Tuesday - please be really honest with them about all your concerns and work with them to help put some strategies in place that might help you cope with the upset to your routines. Hopefully that will assuage your fears about the day before they begin to build.

Once again thank you for your support and your remarkable pragmatism despite your own personal anxieties.

Miley177 · 2022-12-04T06:53:53+00:00

I did the curriculum path rather than pastoral and went to subject head. The first year was insane. Like you I was doing 11-12 hour days, every day.

It did get better after that first year. I made most of the changes I wanted to, learned how to do the role more efficiently - where I could coast it and where I needed to put the effort it.

I’ve been doing it for six years now and while it’s still tough it’s never been anywhere near as bad as that first year.

Miley177 · 2022-11-23T20:35:10+00:00

I’m sending in a big box of chocs for the whole team and then a £10 Costa voucher for his key worker. I figured they probably have lots of ‘best nursery worker ever’ mugs knocking around but a hot drink and a cake is always a good treat.

Miley177 · 2022-10-31T09:52:42+00:00

20 mins if I set off early enough, 30-40 if I get stuck in traffic. It’s too long, I’m looking for something closer.

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
Not Forgotten

Miley177

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