My Year 5 child is starting to hate school

[longdiling]

What can I do to help her with this?

She's not very academic and struggles especially with maths. We've been making a concerted effort to practice maths more at home and I can see some improvement. I've tried to make this short and fun though - we use the Sumdog website mostly.

I think the main problem is they have effectively brought SATs back in here in Wales, every year from Year 2 upwards is tested in May. It started last year and they didn't seem to take it so seriously then but her teacher this year is really pushing them; they're doing lots of practice papers at school and they've brought 3 home this week. She hates it. I don't blame her at all but as she struggles academically I feel duty bound to get her to do a bit at home. The Maths paper she's had this week is 10 pages long and I've said we'll do 10 minutes on it each night but no more and if we don't finish it then I'll speak to the teacher to make sure she doesn't get into trouble. The teacher is saying to them not to worry about the tests, they don't need to get stressed etc but is still apparently getting them to spend most of the day working on test papers.

What would you do? I'm very happy with the school generally, her younger siblings are happy there but they aren't having to spend all day doing test papers. And, to be honest, they're really academic anyway so a) they'd probably enjoy it and b) I'd not have any qualms about not doing the papers at home

[Nellagain]

I would have a word with the teacher. I am in and out of this situation due to ds 1&2 having dyslexia.

I have been encouraging at home and tried to take the pressure off there whilst encouraging them to do their best at school.
Im not saying it's the perfect approach. D's has yr6 sats in a week or 2 so we'll see if he gets through it without a meltdown and hopefully gets what he needs. when it has got too much for him I have spoken to his teacher and she has been very good. She hasn't wanted them stressed either and I think it has been useful for her to know what he is hearing as opposed to what she is saying iykwim.

Its hard though.

[longdiling]

Thanks Nell - it's so hard isn't it? I want her to be the best she can be but I don't want her stressed out about this stuff at the age of 10! It's a difficult line to walk. I can't see her finishing this homework so I might try and grab him for a chat tonight.

[Itshouldntmatter]

The current education system makes me really angry. Learning in primary school should be about fun, about exploration, about curiosity, about discovery it shouldn't be about exam papers.

I know that isn't helpful. I would talk to her teacher. It isn't going to benefit them if she is really stressed, so hopefully he can give her work in more manageable and less daunting bit sized pieces?

[Millymollymama]

They do not need to do tests in year 5 so the school has decided to make a big thing out of this for their own purposes. Why - is beyond me! At the school where I am a governor, teachers assess performance and attainment inyear 5 and don't do SATS like tests in this way. Year 6 ends up like this for so many children but why start now? It is also counter productive because while they are practicing for the test, they are not learning anything new. I think I would say that doing that amount of homework is not suitable and she would be much better off consolidating what she has learnt rather than doing test papers that are only for internal use in year 5.

[longdiling]

It's not internal use only, we're in Wales and every year from year 2 upwards in every school have to do it. I will try and grab the teacher for a chat tonight though

[Millymollymama]

I did not realise Wales was more draconian. i would speak to the teacher. What are the results of the tests used for? Who has them?

[Millymollymama]

Seems the tests are marked in school and you get a report and results at the end of term. The results might be used by the Welsh assembly and by schools locally if they so choose. The web site I found said the tests are meant to be just part of everyday school life so I think your school is making a mountain out of a molehill. If they play no part in the future life of the child - and they do not really - then I would play down the whole thing. The school has lost the plot.

[longdiling]

As I understand it Milly the tests ARE used by the Welsh Assembly/LEA as they've also effectively brought back League Tables. Sigh. All the schools are graded on a traffic light system that looks at results (amongst other things) - I assume they get these results from the tests.

Anyway, I had a chat with the teacher, he is fully supportive of me not forcing her to do loads of work at home. He gave her a pep talk about how he didn't want her to get upset and she should feel able to play/spend time with her family at home etc etc. So we'll just keep on doing 10 minutes per day. Unfortunately I can't do much about him doing the practice tests constantly in school but she does seem a bit happier.

[ppolly]

Glad to see she has a reasonable teacher. The situation in Wales is odd. Some schools take these tests very seriously indeed - to the point where little else is done other than preparation and kids start being anxious about going to school etc and other schools just give them out on the day. I think the year 2 and the year 6 tests are the results that are published.

[PastSellByDate]

Hi Longdiling:

I think you've got the right idea - if math's difficult - doing more can help and learning through game play seems less like 'formal learning' (e.g. worksheets/ practice papers/ etc...).

Some great free websites with lots of resources:

Woodlands Junior Maths Zone: resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/ - just select the topic and explore the games. I used to try them out first and then suggest DD1 had a go.

BBC Bitesize KS2 Maths: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/maths/ - I found this useful to determine where gaps/ problems were. Then I could target practice in those areas (we did this at KS1 when we realised DD1 was seriously behind - but I think the same principle works at KS2).

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If you feel there's just a huge amount that needs doing you could consider an on-line tutorial. These are by subscription and prices vary - but many (including me) have posted here about success with various tutorials:

Maths Whizz www.whizz.com/
Mathletics www.mathletics.co.uk/
Komodo Maths komodomath.com/
Mathsfactor www.themathsfactor.com/

They all have different formats & styles but I think all offer sample lessons/ free trials so you can have a look (and include your DD) to determine which suits.

For us, we went with mathsfactor, because at core DD1 needed someone to explain all over again how to perform certain mathematical functions and to remind her what she was doing. She liked the video lessons (hosted by Carol Vorderman) because if she didn't understand she could just rewind.

I don't know what the other programmes offer - but all will provide an opportunity at further practice to really bed down concepts & improve speed - and I think that really helps build confidence.

From our perspective doing a bit more at home (just 1-2 hours spread out over the week) really seemed to make a huge difference.

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maths is something like a foreign language and sometimes kids just miss that important concept or need a bit more time to get used to doing things a certain way. I also think sometimes schools are rigid about what method to use, even if it isn't the obvious or natural way a child might tackle the problem, and this certainly was at the core of my own DD1's issues with maths in Y3/ Y4.

The new national curriculum (I know this is for England but am unsure if this applies for Wales) outlines quite clearly what should be mastered by year and can be something of a guide about what gaps/ extra work needs to be done to get back on track. www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335158/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714.pdf

Hang in there and keep working at it. It may not seem like it's making a difference but gradually it will. I know from my own experience with a child who was seriously struggling the really important thing to signal is that you totally believe they will 'get it' in the end. Your DD is very lucky to have your support.

PSBD