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Awith director a elementary schoolI am writing with a sincere request that we reform the way students are evaluated. The current system is rigid and one-size-fits-all, deeply affecting our ability to deliver the best for our Send children – those with special educational needs and disabilities (“Lack of support for Send children is a ‘ticking time bomb’ for public services, MPs say”Thursday, December 12).
Despite the remarkable progress achieved by many of our Send children, the system does not reflect their growth accurately and fairly.
In our current Year 6 cohort, we have eight children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. These children have made huge progress since Key Stage 1 but are unlikely to meet the expected national standard at Key Stage 2; some will also not take the tests. It is not for lack of effort or failure on their part.
However, their results – even those who do not sit – will still be included in our overall published school results, distorting the true picture of their progress.
As a school leader, I am often called upon to explain and justify why our results are not successful, and this process is often punitive and questioning. It’s a demoralizing cycle that undermines our hard work and dedication teachers and staff, and the aspirations of our families.
Having been a director for over 10 years, this system is increasingly soul destroying. It shatters my morale and the morale of my colleagues who are deeply invested in doing what is right for children.
We need a system that celebrates the genuine achievements of every child – not a system that punishes schools for the very diversity that makes them stronger.
James Sergeant
Headmaster, Wyborne Primary and Nursery School, New Eltham, London
Don’t look away
I didn’t realize it was Taliban administration in Afghanistan I could think of ways to further deny women their humanity until I read that they are going to ban windows in houses (“Taliban bans windows to prevent women from seeing each other at home”Wednesday January 1).
When I was in the country in 1971, I was horrified by the poverty and subjugation of women, but now it is much worse. Unfortunately, we in the West are literally powerless to change the situation, and NGOs have their hands tied behind their backs with the ever-tightening restrictions placed on them by the Afghan government.
David Felton
Crewe, Cheshire
What would Jimmy Carter do?
I like to think so Jimmy Carter died at the right time (Letters: “Donald or Jimmy for Mount Rushmore Immortality?”, Wednesday, January 1).
On the day of his funeral, January 9, national mourning will be held in his honor – three days after a joint session of Congress in Washington, during which the results of the November 5 presidential election will be read and announced.
The 39th president leaves a message for those in the country and abroad who will have to endure the 47th president, Donald Trumpwho takes office on January 20.
With the Supreme Court in Republican hands, the next four years will severely test the rule of law in the United States and its relations with countries friendly and hostile. Let us hope that the legacy of Jimmy Carter’s centennial will inspire the citizens and politicians of this great country that will soon be in turmoil.
Sylvio Le Blanc
Montreal, Canada
Kissing cousins
MP Richard Holden recently proposed a ban on cousin marriage (“Parliament warned about the risks of marrying one’s own relative”Monday, December 9). As a British Pakistani I have a family member who freely married her cousin and had a long, fulfilling marriage and healthy children.
In Islam, cousins are allowed to marry, as they are not seen as close family members. I agree with MP Mohammad Yasin, who countered the negative by emphasizing the positive. This includes better cohesion and stronger bonds within families.
To ban cousin marriage would mean taking away many freedoms in the practice of our religion.
Rabia Salim
Guildford, Surrey
We believe in Bob
Recently, a student at Al Kufa University in Iraq wrote a master’s thesis in Arabic on Fr Lyrics by Bob Dylan as part of modern literature. To put this into context, the city of Al Kufa was the Islamic capital in the first century after Muhammad’s death. Today it is a kind of “Vatican” for Shiite Islam.
Dylan has not only had a huge impact in America, but also around the world (“How Bob Dylan Stole Christmas”, Monday, December 23).
Sadiq Hussain
Bolton, Greater Manchester