I'm a primary school teacher...Ask me anything!

[Naughtykitty]

Will do my best to answer. For those wondering I currently teach Reception so thought it might help anyone with children starting in September but I've also taught year 1,2,3 and 4.

Happy to answer if I can! X

[Naughtykitty]

@ILoveHumanity I'm in a school which has a safe touch policy rather than a no touch policy. If a small child is upset we will give them a cuddle, or if we are super proud of them for an achievement a cuddle is sometimes what they need! I would hate to be in a school with a no touch policy. It's about knowing your class too though. Some don't like to be cuddled or touched and don't feel comfortable with it.

You do have to judge it right with older children though. An arm around them rather than a full cuddle may be more appropriate!

[Aspieparent]

We have had 2 meetings. They haven't saod of they have staff available to do it. They just keep going on about getting him on a toilet.
The other things that confuses me to is the fact they say it's play based. They want us over the holidays to learn them to write their name, learn them the phonic alphabet. They get reading and spellings weekly and everything I have seen so far they do alot of work. There is play as well but I really don't think he's ready for the work at all. We have been working on learning to recognise his name and struggling. We have been doing mark making and fine motor skill activities like bead threading to help him.

He's going in to a class of 30 the school do a double in take and they spend most of the school day together so they will be 60 children in there.

[Naughtykitty]

@PepperAndPops a common question! Any gift is always welcome, we appreciate them all! A card with a written thank you always makes me well up as then you know how appreciated you are. Homemade gifts are also always lovely. No one should be obliged to buy a gift though.

[Paddington68]

How do you stop yourself telling some parents to just, get real?

[Naughtykitty]

@Aspieparent that sounds like a big ask! I would start with helping him recognise his name...label everything and always point it out. Then you could write his name on a piece of card and cut out the letters, practise putting them in order before starting to trace the letters and eventually writing. Working on fine motor skills is a great idea, Lego, painting, colouring are easy ones to do. Pinterest always has a lot of great ideas for fine motor skills.

[Naughtykitty]

@Paddington68 unfortunately I don't think you ever stop thinking it at times! Some parents need to hear it bluntly and some need sugar coating.

[Aspieparent]

Thank you naughtykitty for all your help

[QueenieMum]

How would you deal with bullying (girl to girl) in year 2?

What do you find works / doesn't work with persistent bullying behaviour?

Is it unreasonable for a parent to expect a school to keep both girls apart as much as humanly possible and not encourage them to become friends again as the bullying behaviour 'seems to have improved'?

Lots of questions there, sorry!

[buildabear]

What does ‘quirky’ mean on a reception report?

[crumbseverywhere]

Do you notice a big difference between summer babies I.e starting school soon after turning 4 and those older? Are there any circumstances when you think it would be best to hold a child back for a year?

Do you think mixed reception and yr1 classes are an advantage or disadvantage overall?

[Naughtykitty]

@buildabear I wouldn't perceive it in a negative way, maybe just a bit interesting? Thinks outside the box? Depends on the context in which it was used.

[buildabear]

Ok thanks :) they can be a bit eccentric 😀

[Naughtykitty]

@QueenieMum Bullying is always tricky, particularly if it only happens on the playground. It's not always easy to spot even with all adults being vigilant. I always find that interventions work well for the "bully" to support them with empathy and understanding their behaviour. Being very firm and zero tolerance work well but if the child being bullied isn't always telling an adult at the time then it's hard for this to be effective. So lots of encouragement to do this. Teachers getting parents involved and being on the same side, giving the same message works well.

It's almost impossible to keep two children separate. For me, I don't want any child to feel excluded so I won't ever tell a child that they cannot play with another but I would encourage them to play with someone different. Children will always find a way back together again somehow no matter how hard you try.

The thing I find the most effective is sitting the two children down together and coming up with a solution together. Asking them, how are we going to resolve this? How can we make it stop? As they then make the decisions themselves. We come up with an agreement together and I check in with them regularly to ensure they are following it.

[Naughtykitty]

@crumbseverywhere it very much depends on the individual child. Some are ready and eager to start at 4 and some are not. I have had many summer babies who have done exceptionally well and have exceeded the early learning goals and some who just weren't "school ready" and would have benefitted from waiting. Knowing your child and taking into consideration on whether they cope well at nursery will are two big factors. Personally I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this.

I have taught mixed R/1 and mixed 1/2 and have found that the benefit to teaching mixed R/1 is that you are able to be more flexible to the children's learning. If they are not ready for more formal learning then the pressure is off and they can continue to learn through play with a bit of intervention to support.

[QueenieMum]

Thanks @Naughtykitty. I need to have a chat with the head and that's given me a good insight into how they might approach things. I currently feel far too angry to think clearly.

[LipstickHandbagCoffee]

Are you aware of all the carry on with pushy parents/PTA/alphamums?

[ILoveHumanity]

Sorry but a controversial one ..

Is it true that the teachers have been given guidelines to report students from the age of nurseries if they said something suspicious?

How do you define the line to decide when to report a child’s parents ?

I’ve heard rediculous stories of children reported for silly things

[Cheeseandapple]

Thanks @Naughtykitty I'm a primary teacher too and lovely to read your responses - you sound like the best of my colleagues! Child focussed and professional.

@Immigrantsong the cynic in me says that our children start school so extraordinarily early so that parents can get back to work and continue contributing to the economy! I also think we have a real issue with education being politicised - it really needs to be separated from government and run by educators not politicians. One of the reasons has got to be that Eton educated, competitive, white, men (on the whole) want our children to get better results and, knowing nothing about education or child development, think that it's just a matter of teaching them for more of their lives! Plonkers.

[lozengeoflove]

Is attainment data collected during the EYFS curriculum, and if so, how does it affect Foundation stage, KS1 and KS2?

[Starlight345]

What Sn training do you receive and how do you think children with dn’s Could be supported in the classroom

[Naughtykitty]

Apologies everyone I've had the busiest weekend imaginable! I promise to get back to all of your questions this evening! X

[TinyTear]

what do you feel about 'social engineering' of friendships. I got a bit traumatised when that happened to me in secondary school and i don't agree with it in primary - i spent a year with only 3 people in class i talked to as the others were either bullies or had nothing in common with me and my friends

my daughter told me that she suspects they will separate her and her best friend to different classes next year as they sometimes talk on the carpet (year 1) - note that in all parents evenings and meeting the teacher after school on pick up (from clubs so not the normal rush) and during a school trip i helped in, there was never any complaint to me about her talking too much - or i would have had a chat with her (Daughter)