what's going wrong with my daughter

hngrymummy

I was in mixed classes at primary school for a couple of years, this was due to the pupil/techer ratio. We weren't held back, nor did we ever have to repeat work, as the curiculum was designed in 2 year rotations. So those in year 3/4 either did year 1 work then year 2 work, or year 2 work then year 1 work. The only excpetion was maths, when we all just carried on with the workbooks were were on and all worked at our own individual pace.

It worked out ok and I made new friends with kids in the classes below and above me when we all moved up a year.

smily

my daughter is 9 this october and is one of the oldest kids in her class so when she is kept back she will be in a 7-8 year old class and the friends have stopped playing with her already as they are not going to be in the same year so don't want to be seen playing with some one in a lower class as you can see it is affecting her already,all i can do is spend extra time over the summer holidays with her doing stuff like math and spellings just to get her up to the best that she can cope with,i really don't think the school have pushed her enough yet when i've been in they just said she is just meeting the ks2 stage and should be fine i said i would pay for a tutor to come and teach her after school and they told me she is not that far behind,i guess i should be happy that she should not struggle to keep up with the rest of the class next year but my daughter has become withdrawn and quiet and just don't seem to want to mix with her friends as they do not want to play with her it's just something we're all have to get used to

iamana1ias

I went to a small village primary that had 2 year groups in each class (there were only 14 children in my year group). It was very well managed and rather than being held back, everyone learned at a higher level.

It wasn't a problem 25-30 years ago so I can't see why it would be a problem now.

balletshoes

smily she won't be the only year 4 in the class, will she? What I mean is, she'll have the opportunity to mix with those other year 4s in her class next year, and make friends there. I'm kind of getting the impression you don't care much for the management of the whole school, head teacher down. If this really is the case, and you think your daughter would benefit from starting a new school, then that might be the solution - but would your daughter be happy with that, having to start all over again at a new school? Would that help her in the long run?

Spendless

She isn't being 'kept back' as you keep saying. She is going into a mixed year class, the explanation for which is in your opening post. Is your daughter the only one of her year that is going into this class? Even if she isn't with her usual friends, she will make new friends during the course of the next school year.

pigpen

Spendless wrote: »

She isn't being 'kept back' as you keep saying. She is going into a mixed year class, the explanation for which is in your opening post. Is your daughter the only one of her year that is going into this class? Even if she isn't with her usual friends, she will make new friends during the course of the next school year.

exactly..

My daughter is a July birthday and was moved to the higher class 2/3 and 3/4 .. and she absolutely thrived there, without her closest friends!!! .. DS2 however was the lower half of the split year 2 group. Your daughter will not be in an age 7-8 class she will be in an age 7-9 class.. it is a mixed year group she is not being singled out and if this is what you are leading HER to believe she won't be very happy will she? I honestly think you are over reacting.. your daughter is being put in the best class according to her ability and you wil have to accept that and not stigmatise your own child. I don't think you are fully understanding how these mixed classes work.

Obviously they are splitting the class based on ability not age..

Go speak to the senco.. ask what if any additional help she is getting/might need etc.. they won't change her class now but at least your daughter may get some booster classes to help get her up to speed. It is likely she doesn't need any extra help and is just not as bright as you are hoping she is.. or maybe she is and the other children are just brighter..

I doubt very much the other children are no longer her friends because they are going in the other half of the year group.. and she will make new friends.. maybe she is just a bit unhappy today because her mum hasn't said she will do fabulously well in the new class, make new friends and really shine!.. and what her mum has said has made her feel inadequate and stupid.

hngrymummy

Whatever class she ends up in she will be one of the only 9 year olds for quite some time, simply because her birthday is at the beginning of the school year. She will have this throughout her school years. It's not an issue unless you make it one.

If they are splitting by ability, surely it's far better for her to be in a group of children of similar ability so that they can be taught to their abilitites. Children who are put in groups above their ability will struggle and do badly because they won't be able to keep up and will get further and further behind.

You may not be happy with the decision, but you must keep your feelings from your DD. You must encourage her as much as possible, after all, if her mum doesn't believe in her who will?

milliebear00001

Do you know that the school splits classes on an ability basis? I ask, because it is just as common to split by birthday. My DD's school has a 45 pupil intake in each ear, whihc means some classes are mixed ages/year groups. This year, my DD will be in a mixed Year2/3 class (she is year 2). This is not because she is 'bright', but simply because her birthday falls in January, and that is the 'birthday cut-off' for her year group.

It certainly doesn't mean your DD is 'held back' a year. She is in Year 4 next year, but mixed in with some Year 3 children. Her teacher will differentiate work to suit every child in the class, including her.

I would imagine it would be far more disruptive to move her at this point, but that is, of course, your choice.

MrsBartolozzi

My boys went to the local village school which has 4 classes for the 7 primary years. The make up of the composite classes varies a bit depending on numbers in each year group but what I will stress for you your daughter won't be resitting a year!
The teacher will have different lesson plans for each year in her class. The maths, english etc will be appropriate for their age/ability as it should be anyway. The history and geography etc projects may well be tailored so that there is no overlap between years and the class may participate as a whole class or each year group may do it's own project.
In our school a teaching assistant would often take a whole year group iand do something specific with them - drama, potting plants, something practical ifykwim with them so they would still see themselves as peers, but I don't think the kids really had a problem with it.

Oh and for interest ours seperated classes based on birthday order. I think it's much harder work for the teacher as they have double the planning but my kids didn't suffer by being in a composite class.

msb5262

clairehi wrote: »

I would go into the school and talk to the Head about how they will manage the teaching of a mixed year group class and ask how they will ensure your DD is both supported and challenged to achieve her best.
A mixed class doesn't mean that she has to be held back but I can totally understand how it feels that way to you and her.

The entire school will be in mixed age classes, according to the OP, and as a teacher I think this can be great for the children's learning and for their social development.

I taught a mixed year 3/4 class and it was fantastic - the children were all working at the level where they were learning best, and I'm positively keen on the idea of mixed age classes.

It's better for children to be finding the work manageable and becoming more confident than to be struggling to keep up and feeling worse and worse about themselves...please don't see it in this light.

Looking at your opening post, half the school are being "kept back" - except they're not.

They are in the older half of a mixed age class, as opposed to the younger half.

The school will have looked carefully at the children to decide which group they should be in; I think your DD will benefit a great deal from the next year.

Best wishes and try not to worry - I really think it will all work out.

MsB