Be Fair to Falmer

Some parents I have spoken to have been very anti-Falmer. Sometimes this is based on their own experience of the school as pupils themselves, and sometimes it is based on stories they are told and the reputation the school has had for years. One mother has recently told me that she sees children from Falmer School shopping and messing around on London Road during school hours. There's no doubt that a lot of bad things are said about Falmer.

Still, I'd ask you to be open-minded and fair about the school, and here's why and how you can do that.

The league tables also show Falmer doing well on the value-added score. That means that compared to schools with pupil intakes that get similar results in school tests at age 10/11 (Key Stage 2), Falmer does well at improving those childrens' results by the age of 15/16 (Key Stage 4). You can see the league tables for Brighton here, and you can click on the column headers to see how Falmer does for the value-added score.

But parents shouldn't just look at the league tables and Ofsted. You do have another way of assessing whether a school is right for your child. You should VISIT IT. In fact, you should visit all the schools that you would like to consider for your child, but don't miss out on Falmer as you might be surprised.

If you went to Falmer as a child, you might find that the school is a bit different now. Schools can change a lot in a matter of 1 or 2 years. GO AND VISIT THE SCHOOL. See for yourselves what they are doing to improve.

I have also been to see the school recently, and would definitely recommend you see it. They are doing a lot of good work there to make sure that the children thrive. There's a good atmosphere and the staff are in control, which is more than can be said for Varndean, which I also visited. In Falmer the children work quietly and seemed happy. They have also cracked down hard on bullying at the school and although no school can say there is no bullying, I think their methods are working well.

Even so, you may still decide that Falmer is not right for your son or daughter. Then, under the new system, you face a very difficult task in getting them into another school in the city. If this is the case - and after you have viewed several schools - then go and speak to your child's headmaster/headmistress and ask their advice.

I am also concerned about the proposals for a city academy at Falmer School. You can see why here.


WE NEED TO BE TEACHERS TOO
It is up to us parents, just as much as the schools, to educate our children; we have to be they to try to help them learn to write an essay and that is hard when you aren't sure yourself. Sometimes people think this is only the job of the school, but it isn't.

If you are nervous at the idea of helping your child with their homework, then talk to the school ask them to help you to help your child learn. Even if you can't explain their homework, what you can do is praise them and give them a hug when they make an effort. Sometimes kids suffer low self-esteem and can do more than they think they can, so to tell them that they can do more than they might think if they set their minds to it.

Ask them what they like doing and what they dream about being when they grow up and find out from the school how your child might go about reaching their goals.

Take them to the local library to borrow books, visit local and national museums. Have you ever visited the British Museum, or the Natural History Museum? - where they have life-sized mechanical dinosaurs and a fake earthquake. You own a little bit of those museums, they are yours. And, of course, we should get outside and play football with them, go for walks, visit friends and all the other things we usually do.

We have to support our children's learning by encouraging them to value their school and their school work, as well as teaching our children to be kind and polite to people, to support their peers and their community. We must celebrate their successes when they do well, and to encourage them to support others when they succeed, and also when fail. We all know bringing up kids is no easy task, and beyond the parents it is up to the whole community to encourage and support its youngest members to be happy, productive people who feel that the future is bright, that they can succeed whether they want to be a plumber, doctor, teacher, florist, chef, scientist, writer, musician or gardener. We hear so much about our children that is bad, so lets start to remind them how good they are.

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