Primary child sat only with non-English speaking children

Wrong. Most migrants come here as graduates from countries with a tested ability to speak English & their kids almost always know some English. They just can’t always speak it in a way state schools can test. It’s why well educated migrants from South Asia no longer like to bring their school aged kids to the UK and Ireland unless there’s a good local grammar/private - it all wastes time especially if the plan is for them to return

Wow! This was a bit much.

Wait and see how it goes. It’s understandable that your dd feels a bit worried about it but this is one of those times that you should encourage her to go into it positively and give it a good go, with reassurance that if it doesn’t work then you can think again.

Your daughter has raised concerns about it. It's perfectly reasonable for you to now contact the teacher to discuss.

Penultimate year of primary school is equivalent to Yr 6 in the UK. There's an extra year of primary in the Republic of Ireland.

It's a very long time since I was in primary school in Ireland but we did not move around AT ALL to different sets/tables for different lessons. Very much facing forward with very little interaction with neighbours at all.

@evilharpy - I would raise it with the teacher to say that your child is concerned that she will be excluded socially. How will it work in practice? Do they move around for different lessons and her placement is simply her start and of day table? If static then you'd appreciate if there was a better balance of native and non native speakers at the table.

I'd also encourage her to have a bash at Duolingo and learn some basic phrases so she can at least say hello and goodbye.

In Ireland and the UK to an extent they use phonics to assess English ability. It means that unless you speak ilIrish or British English you will be placed as a non-English speaker even when from an English speaking school in India or Africa. In Ireland it’s also very common to see the kids of IT contractors who are working years ahead in other subjects suddenly get placed in lower sets when they first move, then when the kids learn to code switch they move instantly up to top/gifted sets.

Re comments about ESOL/EAL children overtaking others: yes, this often happens, but not always.

I can’t give specifics on here, but you get unwilling pupils from any demographic.

The one example that I will give is of the 14 yr old boy who came to us with no English. I knew a language similar to his, so tried that. No joy.

Two years later, he came to get his Leaver Form signed: “By the way, I understood every word you said in X language - I just didn’t want to do the work!”

I think they mix them around a lot in year 5 so I don't think I'd say anything yet. Maybe see how it is in a month or so and if there is any evidence her learning is affected

It does vary, for reasons which have been covered by another poster.

An American study suggested that the cut-off for fluency (including an American accent) was 11.

I am suprised by Y5 that they are not sat by ability. Or perhaps the most able children are ESL? (Often the case, parents who are more interested in education). They may be fairly fluent by now and generally apply themselves more, which means that she may be learning as much from them as vice versa. I would raise it with the teacher as questions rather than 'can she move tables?'. I would say that your DD is concerned for these reasons and see if the teacher can reassure you.

That’s great that you made such fast progress and you’d definitely fall into the first group of children. Children who join in reception or year 1 often make quicker progress because they are learning in academic subjects at the same time as their peers rather than having to learn language to express what they already can do. Unfortunately there is a bit of a myth that this happens for all EAL children but that reality is far more mixed. All the research into EAL learners suggest that these timescales are the average amount of time most children take to learn.

Well, you might be perfect but not all teachers are.

Surely you know that in any profession there a good and bad professionals.

This happened to me CONSTANTLY at primary school! I hated it!

For different reasons, I was concerned about a table my child was on. Turns out, the teacher planned to change them up frequently but I didn’t know that and I still asked her about it and she explained (and actually moved him quickly).

I would expect groups to be mixed more and only English is used at the classroom (whatever they do at breaks time). So yes, you are not unreasonable to raise that your daughter feels a bit isolated and uneasy at lessons and that affects her socialisation with peers. I would word it mildly (for the start) and ask how groups are done and how often they are changed and then I would express my concern. I wouldn’t raise a question about her helping other children if it’s not happening on the big scale because in a way working in a group and helping others in small amounts is good for her. So if you mention this the teacher would probably focus on this, whereas it’s about set up of the group where your daughter doesn’t feel comfortable.

Disclaimer: Parent of ESOL child.

I was nearly six when I came to the uk. I didn’t know any English and hadn’t had any time in school. By the end of the school year I was fluent academically and socially. I moved into the next school year at the same level or above my classmates.

You are not being unreasonable to ask for a shuffle around. One of the points which struck me most from your OP was that there are several children who speak the same foreign language sitting next to her. My worry would be that they could exclude her by speaking in their native tongue together in front of her. She definitely isn’t there to facilitate their learning. Class definitely needs mixing up in terms of seating.

The maths scenario is quite common. The English scenario won’t be the case unless the children have been in Ireland for a while already.

It does vary a great deal.

I once had a case where one girl progressed so rapidly that she was top of the class for English. By contrast, another girl from the same country refused to learn English until I separated her from the first pupil. (They had been at a local primary for a year and had just moved up to high school.)

This happens so often and it isn’t fair.

Why do they overtake? Are you talking about specific places?