Primary child sat only with non-English speaking children

Wow you sound really bitter and hostile. That’s not a good look when term has barely started. Is your mental health OK?

You really don't want to be the sort of parent that teachers dread

I think she’s just a bit worried about her daughter.

Yes to all of that.

Some children soak up everything a school puts in front of them and come back looking for more. I was very lucky that the school my DCs attended was more than willing to give extra work (and challenging work too, not just busy work) to my DCs who were up for it, and it sounds as if your situation is similar.

If you're going to hold back and not approach the teacher yet, tell your DD your reasons and emphasise that you're open to it if her fears turn out to be justified.

I would be very concerned that the teacher is willing to let her spin her wheels since she's a bit ahead academically, and envisions her role as a support to the other children at the table. If there's any hint of this happening, don't hesitate to contact the teacher.

Teacher here. YES, please do nothing for now. Seating does change now and then (or quite regularly jn some classes). You really don't want to be the sort of parent that teachers dread. If things are the same by half-term, do speak to the teacher.

Someone else on this thread wisely said if they've learnt anything about the years at school, in that school system, now their children are teenagers - that what they've learnt is to speak up, speak loud, be honest with the school team.
I totally agree with that - coming to the long long end of the school system from reception to year 13 there will be many times you need to speak up and be that voice, show your child you are in their corner.
Young children absolutely do not want to upset the teacher or make them cross. They get a fear about it.
Pick and choose the battles, and you will have battles believe me - the bumps in the school road will come your way.
If you can make life easier for your child do it.
As the o p said, she's going to wait a couple of weeks...that's fair to all.
She's got her child's back and she's listening. She's on it. She's watching out.
It's what your mum is for. You're doing a great job O P!

Apologies if I’ve not been clear 🙏. I wasn’t referring to OP at all. I thought her posts were v measured. In my previous reply, I said I could understand how her DD was feeling. I’ve read her posts carefully and her DD isn’t “on a table of all non-English speakers”. It’s a table of 7 with three kids with EFL and 3-4 kids with ESOL. She said two of the kids with ESOL have been there since last year, so presumably understand/speak a fair bit by now. The thing that’s concerning her DD is the kids either side of her have ESOL and are not her usual friends. Of course her DD should tell the teacher if she feels anxious or unhappy. Surely, no one’s expecting her to ‘swallow her concerns’.

It’s some of the other posts.

And it’s not that one child’s needs ‘trumps’ the other. That’s a false dichotomy. Children aren’t in competition. The well-being and learning of all kids in a class matters. As the OP asked for, I have experience of this as both a child and (more recently) as a parent (my DS was in both situations). There’s evidence that grouping by ability does more harm than good and more able kids consolidate their own learning by helping others. Not that kids with ESOL should be presumed to be less academic. Far from it. In fact, IMHO, viewing kids through the lens of their first language, rather than just as kids, isn’t at all helpful. I’m grateful my DS wasn’t viewed like that.

Ah the toxic kind of "kindness" you mean ? Where (usually women and girls) are expected to swallow down their own anxieties and concerns and allow another person or group to trump her own rights?

Welcoming a new child (especially if they struggle with English or are new to the country - is very basic human kindness that should happen as an absolute essential) extra measures by teachers should be put in place to make sure the student is being bedded in well.

Sitting the OPs daughter on a table of all non English speakers is not "kindness" to her is it? She has some valid reservations on how it may effect her socially and potentially academically.

The two issues are unrelated. Shutting out her concerns as "not kind" is hypocrisy at best

I’m shocked by some of the posts on this thread. The logic some are arguing is that if a kid’s new to a school, then other kids shouldn’t have to sit next to them, but should be moved away to sit with their existing clique of friends.

What happened to making new people feel welcome and being friendly?

Of course kids aren’t being expected to teach other kids instead of the teacher. But surely they should make them feel welcome and be friendly, by smiling and chatting in their own language (even if the new kids doesn’t understand). And asking if they need any help. It only takes a few weeks for kids to settle in and start learning a language FFS.

So much for treating others as you’d like to be treated yourself. What happened to kindness?

At primary school your friends are the people sat next to you.
Her kid is being left out.
OP should take this to the head teacher.
Useless school ruining one kid's childhood because they took in children they can't be bothered to teach.

It still isn't the job of little children to teach other kids.

I think the points you make are balanced and fair.

That being said, it's naive to think that the only native speaker at the table isn't going to feel 'the odd one out '. When immigrants go to a different country they very often form communities of their own heritage, often for social meet ups etc. we don't see this as unusual - we understand the need for seeking out similarly. So why is it so hard to understand that one Irish student is going to feel socially disadvantaged by being on a table with all non English speakers?

I entirely understand your viewpoint and agree to a large extent. But understanding and making reasonable adjustment has to work all ways. Not just the 2024 accepted 'correct' way. Otherwise resentments start bubbling away under the surface and that never leads to good things. The OP and her daughter (who needs an advocate) has to be able to express valid concerns without race and othering coming into it to shut down the issue.

So many on this thread are making assumptions like this. Just wow.

OPs daughter has raised worries but we don’t actually know any facts about it - there are assumptions none of them can speak English, and that she will be facilitating others learning. Who said this?

And why will she feel odd? Because she’s the only Irish one at the table? Do you recognise the discrimination in your own language? Starting from a place of assumptions and bias rather than a place of curiosity is exactly why we have racism and such awful prejudice.

Children learn from the adults around them - if a child learns that migrants as so different that they will feel odd and not make friends, naturally children will want to also want to stay away and continue the unhelpful narratives about difference that exist everywhere in the uk and Ireland. In my other post on this thread I’ve suggested understanding the daughter’s anxiety in context - why does she think she’ll be facilitating learning? Why does she think she’ll feel odd - curiosity can help to ease her worries rather than amplifying them by jumping straight to unhelpful assumptions and actually learn what her daughter is anxious about . She might be feeling anxious that she’s not sat by her usual friends, or it might be lots of change. It might actually have nothing to do with the migrants but normal difficulties around transitions and change. I really urge OP to be curious with her daughter to understand her worries and not just jump to conclusions about migrants 🙄 then if needed talk to the teacher but not to demand she is moved to be nearer other peers but to ensure her learning is encouraged.

This is fascinating.

I wonder what skills your father must have had for someone move to the UK for a job and have their child's school fees paid for, but only manage a very basic English. He must have been amazing at his job.

So you're complaining that someone got allocated extra time (because they were entitled to it) but then didn't use it? Why on earth did that annoy you?

As a separate point, someone can be entitled to adaptations for an exam and also be extremely competent. The adaptation is to make it a level playing field.

Enjoying school and enjoying learning is what I'd call 'academic'. A child who enjoys school and enjoys learning is probably a child who reads a lot, doodles or does art for herself, embraces new topics in maths, is enthusiastic about project work.

Tbf I've witnessed this myself in a course I did for work. The person who got extra time, left earlier than everyone else. I was not impressed, although I guess if it's allowed then most people will take it up. I'm bilingual BTW.

This may be an unpalatable opinion, but I wouldn't consider it racist to feel a level of grievance with the fact ESL students are given hefty excess times in exams. Not all ESL students are from different races are they ? Or did you think it was only black and brown people that spoke English as a second language?

This post is full of racist hyperbole.

Those saying she sees her friends at break time - well surely her friends will be getting to know and make friends with the English speakers next to them not DD who is elsewhere in the class room - this could be what she means by being left out.

Wasn’t my parents fault - it was a top London girls school (some on Mn love it). The fault was unfriendly, unhelpful, spoilt six year olds. Once I’d learnt English I bet them hands down and went to LSE and got a 1st!. My parents moved back home when I was 20. DH and I left the UK nearly 2 years ago.

@Parker231 I'm sorry your parents put you in that situation. I hope you managed to build a good life back in your home country in spite of the poor experience you had in the UK.

My parents spoke only very basic English when we arrived. We moved for my father’s job. The school , fees paid for by my father’s employer, was full of pretentious spoilt little girls who were rude and unfriendly to me. I was the only non English pupil in my class.

You are definitely not being unreasonable. We had same issue with ours when she was in year 1 and 2. She is very academically bright and advance and she was paired with children who were much academically behind her. Her schools' reasoning was that she need to learn how to to accommodate others. Now she did not have an issue with that but this was schools lazy way of not stepping up to do their job teaching those kids. My daughter was expected to 'help' those kids. She was just 6 years old. She would get frustrated and do it for them and then would get told off for not being patient. We go so frustrated that we changed schools.