New girl in DD's class going straight from year 1 into year 3.

[suwoo]

DD's class had their visit up to year 3 yesterday (combined infants and juniors). There was a girl who is going straight from year 1 up to year 3.

I thought from reading on here that that is not very common these days.

She must be exceptionally bright mustn't she?

But isn't skipping year 2 and going straight into juniors a really big thing social skills wise?

[LIZS]

Think it is unusual especially in the state system. Is the year 1 girl already at the same school ?

[madwomanintheattic]

maybe she repeated yr 1 or yr r due to developmental delay/ sen, and this is to bring her back in line with her peer group? you wouldn't necessarily know if she repeated yr r even if she has been in the same school as dd for the last two years?

[suwoo]

Yes, in the same school. No apparently, she is 7 in September so hasn't repeated a year.

[englishpatient]

It does happen, albeit occasionally - my DD went straight from yr 1 to yr 3 in her state primary.

[madwomanintheattic]

ah well. they obviously figured being one of the older yr 2s and an able child was enough to move her up.

a bit sad that they felt unable to differentiate her work appropriately within her peer group, but i guess she had a pushy parent who doorstepped the head and lea. i guess if she was very able and in a much less able cohort then it was easier for the teachers, but it does seem to be taking the easy way out. it opens the door for all sorts of parents of all sorts of children to start demanding special treatment like x got.

rod for their own back i'd say

[madwomanintheattic]

not meaning to question your parenting/ school liaison skills english p....

[Pyrocanthus]

Will she take her year 2 SATs next year? Otherwise I'm surprised that the school wants to miss out on her level 3s...

[madwomanintheattic]

i'm guessing she has been assessed as end of KS1 this year...

[englishpatient]

Don't worry madwoman, you don't know me, but I could give all the details if really wanted! Suffice to say DD is now 11 and still loves learning; potential problems did not materialise and DD herself proved to everyone that it was the right thing for her.

[madwomanintheattic]

lol.
as i said - i've no doubt that quite a lot of kids would benefit from the same thing.
(including mine lol)
it does make me a bit sad though - if it was the norm that kids got moved around in line with their ability/ maturity then it wouldn't be an issue.
as it is so rare it can cause issues with parents of similarly able children, and does highlight the fact that the school are effectively saying they are unable to differentiate appropriately.

(i'm really interested to hear more, actually, but it maybe a hijack too far lol - i was half-joking about the 'pushy' parenting required, but it has long irked me that to get any appropriate support and education for your child - particularly sen of either/ both ends of the scale - it is only the children of the educated and politically aware/ persuasive parents that ever seem to acquire what they need... the rest are swept along (or dragged along) by the system that is in place... it's very sad for all the children, wherever they are on the intellectual scale.)

[madwomanintheattic]

the old 'one size doesn't fit all'....

[gorionine]

We have a child in our school who follows the math programms with the class 2 years above his. I think it is a great way of doing it as he is obviously very gifted with numbers but still does most lessons in his year group.

I am not shocked that a child could be good enough to skip a year. I do not think going with other children a year older than her will be a traumatic experience, would probably have a different opinion if she wa to go straight to high school.

[Jux]

In dd's school, the year 5 and 6 classes are so small they have loads of lessons together.

[Hassled]

DH's nephew was moved up a year, at the local public school - and it did him no favours, especially in the teenage years. He was left out of so much, just because he lacked the necessary coolness, and it was purely down to age/maturity.

Being able to keep up academically is great, and it is a good way to stretch brighter children, but you do have to think about the social implications as they get older.

[piscesmoon]

I have 2 friends DCs who have done this in the state system, they were both born near the beginning of the school year and just did everything-including going to university a year early. It makes sense-my DS was born in August but the boy over the road was born in September, he is only days younger but in the school year below. I think we should have more flexibility-on hindsight I would have liked my August born DS to repeat year 1 and do it all a year late. August 31st is a pretty strange divider-it isn't always going to be the best way of sorting it.

[suwoo]

I look forward to getting to know her (and more about her) as the term begins.

She will only be 20 days or so younger than my friends DD who has an August birthday. There is a boy in the class who will be 8 on the 1st September. There has to be a cut off somewhere, but like pisces says, it isn't neccessarily the best way of sorting it.

Madwoman, do you think a lot of 'pushiness' would be needed to facilitate the move or would school suggest it?

[madwomanintheattic]

lol, english p might know different but i wouldn't think schools would suggest it unless there was a very obvious difference in ability between the child and their peer group - otherwise they would all be doing it... quite a lot of children would be more than capable acaemically i imagine, (all of those top 3's at the end of KS1 for starters)

i think a school would have to take the cohort into consideration - to move one child essentially means that for some reason the school feels they would be unable to cater for that child's needs within the existing group... or that they are extremely enlightened and just feel that the child would be better off (which i would say just about never happens but would be willing to be proved wrong).

there would have to be an extenuating circumstance where it was considered necessary for that particular child - so either working at a much higher level than the peer group across the curriculum, (in this instance requiring constant access to KS2 materials rather than moving 'up' for specific subjects etc), or having parents who were keener than most to recognise and extend their child's attainment...

tbh it's the right time if it's going to happen - a child who has surpassed the KS1 curriculum and achieved top 3's at the end of yr1 isn't going to gain a lot by cruising through yr 2 where everyone else is working towards SATs assessments (formal or otherwise)

i'm just not particularly comfortable that it is done on such an individualised basis. many very able children wouldn't be offered this option, so for her to be offered it either means she is streets ahead, or there are other variables (parents etc).

i'm very interested though, why socially in this country it is considered more acceptable for a parent to approach the school and ask for little johnny to be kept back a year as he isn't coping, than it is for a parent to approach the school and say they want little molly to be moved up a year because she is bored rigid and mastered quadratic equations in her lunchbreak in yr r...

obviously the answer as to why neither happens frequently is rather more to do with systematic convenience than all children being identikit learners lol, but it is interesting what little peculiarites get built in along the way...

funny old world.

[madwomanintheattic]

^peculiarities' lol... i love it when i make typos on ed threads...

[madwomanintheattic]

aaaargh.
peculiarities ' ' !

[madwomanintheattic]

i give up.

[suwoo]

My DD and her friend (who I mentioned above) who is not yet 7, both got all 3's in their sats. No doubt there were more in the class who also did. Hence me saying this girl must be exceptional, or the other variables you suggest have come into force

[krib]

why do you have a problem with it

[madwomanintheattic]

re 'other variables' - we have an extremely able child who is a total pita and very scathing about the work of other children who are not as able academically - tbh it would do her a great deal of good to be moved up a year where she would be one of many rather than an intellectual goddess lol.

i hasten to add that i don't imagine for one minute the school is doing this (and aware that i am casting aspersions on all sorts of lovely very very bright children including english p's) but there are all sorts of reasons why a move might be beneficial lol.

(her mother is lovely btw - and not pushy at all )

[suwoo]

God, no krib. Do I sound like I have a problem with it?

Just really curious because I had read on here that it was unusual for this to happen these days.

[katiestar]

Not just bright -many children would be able to do this academically ,but have to be socially and physically able to 'keep' up.Given that she is only a few days out of the school year it would seem the sensible thing to do.