Is it right to put Reception Children into ability Groups?

[MidnightSpecials]

I am the mother two daughters and I have a creeping concern about my children being stigmatised as being low ability at a young age because they are both summer babies. The oldest of them has just started Reception class. Since Nursery I have been able to access an online account to view photos and comments from the teacher about my daughters learning journey. This has been lovely to see her grow and develop through play. After a lovely summer off were the Head Master had advised parents not to push children into writing and number work over the break and let them enjoy just being kids. I though this was great advice.
My daughter has returned to school and been in Reception for three weeks now. I have noticed that in a lot of the uploaded photos of her engaging in classroom activities she is with the same two girls. Having worked in a classroom it looks to me that she has been placed into an ability group, and low ability group at that with it being such a small group (I can see bigger groups in the background).
My daughter is very quiet at school which has been reiterated by the teacher whenever I ask how she is getting on. So she has been placed in this group on what merit? because she is too shy to speak up in class?
But honestly, my concern isn't that she hasn't been placed in the right group for her ability, because perhaps she has shown that she maybe isn't as up to speed with literacy and numeracy as the other children. My concern is that potentially she isn't being given the opportunity for her to develop a growth mindset i.e. is she been given the opportunity to test and push herself by having "mild (easy)", "spicy (medium)" or "super spicy(hard)" activities and is she been allowed to choose. Surely by grouping at such young age without the fluidity that choice can provide them they are stuck in this ability group? Furthermore, the benefits of role modelling in learning and placing children In groups with their friends whom they are most comfortable have positive results to.
I have noticed a dip in her confidence since she has started Reception and I worry that if she is grouped at a young age she will stay in the group throughout her school journey.
Having these concerns I have done some research online and studies show that it doesn't improve performance of the children in the lower ability groups. Moreover, it can affect their mental health down the line as children know which group they are placed within. More reading has outlined that teachers feel pressurised to put children in Reception in groups in preparation for Y1 sats.
Has anyone experienced or is experiencing this with their children? I have already made an appointment with her teacher to discuss this further any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated.

Are you sure she just isn’t playing with those same children in a couple of photos?

Most reception classes are free flow for most of the year.

It seems like the whole of this post is just a massive assumption based on some pictures!!

I have seen this discussed here before, and I believe the research shows that ability grouping at this age is counter productive, even though it can be beneficial later.

I suspect the devil is in the detail. if she is in 'Squirrels' for everything then that would be worse than them saying oh 'Amy, Beth and Charlie come here now to do some number work', or being in different groups for different things.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the disadvantage of being young in year doesn't even fully go by GCSEs. It also impacts sports.

As a teacher I want to choose a few children to teach the children what they need to learn.
Pointless putting your child with children who can add two numbers together if yours isn't recognising numbers correctly or doesn't have an awareness of 1:2:1 correspondence.
Each child has their own journey but teachers don't have the time to teach each child individually, so gather a group together.
Hopefully as the year goes on you'll see her moving on with her learning.
If you're concerned with her quietness holding her back ask to speak to the teacher.

Have you asked the teacher and found this out, or are you making an assumption?

All the post talks about is the assumption from the pictures!

When I taught F2 full time I grouped the children but these groups were not by ability each group was a mixture of children of all abilities but had I uploaded pictures then your child would probably have been with this same group of children. I only grouped them so I could call each group to an activity so no one got missed out and everyone got a turn at trying the new activity.

That is quite an impressive series of assumptions. I think you had better take the teacher a bottle of gin, it's going to be a long year.

DN nursery grouped together people who could recognise numbers / letters or read and grouped together those who couldn’t so much as hold a pen so the learning experience could be tailored. Despite being summer born I had worked extensively with DN throughout nursery so he was in the group that could and there were plenty of older kids in the group that couldn’t — So it’s nothing to do with being summer born and how actively involved you are in your kid’s education. No point ignoring the fact that in the UK kids do start learning how to read / write earlier and then complaining that your kids are behind.

The difference between perceived ‘average’ or ‘higher’ ability at this sort of age/stage is directly correlated to the involvement of the parent at home.

Thank you for the feedback, some of what people suggested has definitely put my mind at rest. I think it just touched a nerve with my own school experience and I can see that now as I am assuming a lot of a few pictures! I will update the thread after I speak to the teacher. I know teachers want to do their best for children but at the end of the day as someone said they don't have the time to focus on each individually. For anyone who is interested the National Education Union have produced a document.. Grouping in Early Years; A Necessary Evil?

She’s been in reception for three weeks, I really do think you’re reading too much into this. See how get she gets on with spellings, reading books etc and if you think they’re too easy for her then write a note in her diary.
You’ve got a lot more years of schooling to get through and if you carry on with that level of worrying it’s not going to be fun for anyone!

I know for a fact that the children in DD’S reception group were not put in ability groups, but the photos showed her repeatedly with children her own age (also summer borns). It was just because they were her friends!