Step Ahead Tutoring And Educational Services

"The Secret God" by Ross Inglis

Exciting times - as can be seen from our main pages - with the development of STEP AHEAD TOGETHER and STEP AHEAD means BUSINESS.

Very attractive and colourful fliers will shortly be available - and could earn some of our readers a financial bonus if you are prepared to help us distribute these.

Well, just before bringing the session to a close - and heading off to re-charge the batteries, I want us to finish on a high :

In addition to JAMES DUNCAN being the quickest to answer our latest literacy questions correctly, and 9 year old CHARLIE DINEEN finishing second in his "The Solar System" project, 13 year old ROSS INGLIS has dumbfounded his doubters by persevering, working continuously and imaginatively, and completing his own adventure story book, "The Secret God" - which, with the production help of Jennifer Hawkins, has now been published, as can be seen below.  Just shows what can be done if you believe in yourself and have real support, eh Ross !

No Apology

Regular readers will doubtless comment on the emphasis I have been putting on literacy in recent postings.  For that - I make no apology !  There is little if anything more important in the education of a youngster, so I was delighted to hear that the eminent Edinburgh-based author Ian Rankin is helping to launch a campaign to make Scotland "fully literate".

The creator of Det Insp John Rebus has been appointed to a Labour commission to tackle a decline in literacy across the country.

Labour education spokeswoman Rhona Brankin : "Our vision is Scotland can become the first country in the world to become fully literate."  (Well, judged on current results, they are going to have to go some, I think !)

She added: "The job of the commission, that will include members from a range of interests including education, parents and business, will be to develop a national plan that will support those delivering education in Scotland to achieve a step change in literacy levels."

Being able to read is something that every child in Scotland should be able to enjoy Ian Rankin Author

Mr Rankin said: "Being able to read is something that every child in Scotland should be able to enjoy.

"Reading gives choices and chances to young people as well as opening up new worlds of books.

"I will play my part in working as part of the commission and hope that its work might help Scotland produce even more successful writers than we already do."

Scottish PTA Chairwoman Judith Gillespie stressed the importance of the subject and said: "As a parent I have watched how children who fail to learn to read start to fall behind and then get involved in displacement activities to hide their difficulty.

"We know that many of those in prison have poor literacy levels whilst the idea of a parent being unable to read the instructions on a medicine bottle must worry everyone.

"Literacy is not an option - it is essential for individuals and society."  (Hear, Hear !)

Children's Books

I was asked again this week if a certain book was suitable for a child.  My answer was, as always, that children develop at different rates and there should be no stigma for those who are not "in-step" - instead they should be encouraged to read whatever takes their fancy.  All five children's laureates and Philip Pullman have stated their opposition to "age-banding" children's books.

That is not to say that such as libraries, bookshops, educators should not recommend - and indeed STEP AHEAD is always happy to advise - but just that children have a right to be ageless.    DISCUSS !

ILLITERACY SHOCK

A shock survey reveals two out of three adults are ILLITERATE - with only the reading ability of eleven year olds.
 
When asked to spot basic errors in written sentences, 68 per cent of grown-ups FLUNKED the test.
 
The dismal results suggest that 5.2 MILLION Brits would fail Standard Grade English, say bosses of the Better Writing Skills online survey, which tested 1,000 adults.
 
A fifth of primary school children leave school without being able to read properly - but the report indicates that their parents seem even dimmer.
 
THREE TIMES as many adults were unable to answer easy questions on apostrophes, capital letters and spelling.  Test creator Heather Ker said:  "We knew there was a literacy skills crisis amongst UK adults, but our survey results were shocking.”
 
"Teaching of grammar and punctuation has been largely neglected for about 30 years and we are seeing the results now.”
 
Experts warn bungles made by illiterate workers cost British businesses £10 billion a year.
 
Ms Ker added:  "This is now a national problem which needs to be addressed immediately.

 

There is a prize for the first person, child or adult, to email us the correct answers to these :
 
Check each sentence for errors then pick a), b), c), or d):
 
1) Your going to have a great time at the show.
a) sentence is correct ;  b) You're ;  c) Your’ ;  d) Show
 
2) Both of them swum faster than their previous best times.
a) sentence is correct  b) swam;  c) then ;  d) they're
 
3) Her parents had paid her university fees.
a) sentence is correct;  b) parents';  c) payed  d) fee's

Another Reason To Use Our Tuition Service

School standards have stalled, says Ofsted

Progress in raising school standards has “stalled”, the Chief Inspector of Schools suggested yesterday.

Christine Gilbert, the head of Ofsted, said it was unacceptable that 20 per cent of pupils still failed to master basic English and maths when they left primary school, while 10 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds who dropped out of education were not in work.

The link between these two groups of underperformers was very strong and was showing no sign of weakening, she said. “We are not seeing enough movement there. The gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ is not reducing quickly enough,” Ms Gilbert said.

“We think standards have stalled and we think we need to accelerate improvement, and we are looking at ways of doing that."

 

The Value of Early Intervention

Children who have failed to master the basics of reading by the age of 6 are becoming the best in their class after only a few hours of specialist one-to-one tuition.

The 30 hours of specialist teaching over 12 weeks helped children who were two years behind their classmates to catch up. Two years later they had overtaken them.

As well as improving progress in reading at four times the normal rate, the one-to-one programme is also bringing about improvements in writing and motivation.

A giovernment-backed programme has shown that, contrary to some expectations, the positive effects of the scheme were still felt by children long after the specialist help had ended.

This shows that it is possible to overcome the reading problems that blight the lives of so many children and adults.

The scheme worked best when children were aged between 5 years and 9 months and 6 years and 3 months, which is believed to be the crucial age range for establishing reading skills.

An estimated 35,000 children — 6 per cent of the year group — leave primary school each year hardly able to read or write.

Without help, these children can fall farther behind, so that by the time they are 16 only 500 will attain the Government’s benchmark.

As a result, many are unemployable. According to research by the accountancy firm KPMG, they will cost the country about £2 billion a year in unemployment, health, crime and other related costs.

Top Of The Class

I want to tell you about one of the most self-effacing and charming youngsters whose company I have the privilege to enjoy.  Each week Charlynne Richards comes with a smile and good grace, works hard and well, and is a pleasure to teach.

In addition she is a clever young lady - and is beginning to realise this for herself ! 

Recently it was announced that she is to receive the 1st Year Prize at her school, Inverkeithing High, for her outstanding English Project, a sustained piece of work over many weeks.

Last week she completed a Standard Grade Reading passage for me - and scored full marks !  Whilst I have had many, and particularly 3rd and 4th Years, who have scored very highly, I have never awarded 100% previously, far less to a 12 year old.

As Charlynne matures and believes in herself, she will become a student of real promise.

Which Way Shall We Go ?

Been very busy preparing youngsters for their exams, so had a day out walking in the forest.  The ever-growing Archie loved the freedom and appeared to be interested in our route !!!

Exams

It's that stressful time again.  National exams are underway and our work has been done.  Tutors are reporting that preparations have gone well and tutees have worked hard.  Equally we have heard from many very satisfied parents who feel that the tutors have done their jobs.

Only time will tell because, like it or not, fair or not, tutors, as well as youngsters, are mainly judged on exam results.

I have to say that I have been very satisfied with the efforts and commitment of Chris, Fraser, Graham and Liam - four lads I have known, and who have been putting in the work, for some time.

It was a great thrill to hear the words, "I am ecstatic" from the mouth of 30 year old Carrie.  She was referring to the result she had achieved in the maths and English papers for the Police Selection test she had taken recently.  Onwards and upwards, Carrie, as you prepare for the next stages - including interviews and practical tests. 

More Congratulations

Praise for a guy who has made huge progress - through grit and determination - in recent months and who has been featured on here previously for proving wrong the experts in his school.  As a final prep for his Standard Grade English exam, Fraser M did a Credit Reading paper and dropped only one mark - a truly outstanding performance.  Let's hope he repeats that in the "real thing" next week !  Rarely have we come across such a high score - even from the most talented youngsters, so this was quite an exhilarating moment.

We noted that the sister of one of our clients, Chris, who is also preparing for exams starting this week - and herself an ex-tutee has done brilliantly in the field of athletics.  Lucy Crookston won handsomely the Under 20 women's title at Pitreavie AC's Championships.  Congrats, Lucy !

A tense and nervy time for all - tutees and tutors alike - is underway with the national exam diet about to start.  Best Wishes to all involved - from STEP AHEAD.