Any primary teachers out there? How can I help DD to "work faster"?

[Thefifthbeatle]

DD is 6 and in Year 1. She is quite an anxious child and it took her until half term, at least, to settle into Year 1 and to be happy to go in each morning without clinging to us. She is bright (she could read simple words by the time she turned 2.5, for example). She had a generally good end of term report - she obviously understands the work they are doing - but her teacher keeps saying to us that she needs to work faster.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I can help her with this. Might any primary teachers out there.have any ideas? When I tried to have a chat to her about it this evening, she cried and asked could we stop talking about it because she knew she was the slowest at writing in her class and she was embarrassed. Obviously I have said that she hasn't done anything wrong, that we love her just the way she is, etc, but I don't know quite how to square this circle. If I don't try to help her to speed up, am I doing her a disservice, or will she just catch up and work faster in her own time? I am a bit heartbroken that I have made her this way and that it's making her sad; I'm also reasonably academic but a triple checker of everything, having suffered anxiety for much of my adult life. In her younger years, I tried to tell her that she could take her time and didn't have to rush, etc, and now of course I am giving her a completely contrary message.

Might anyone have any suggestions as to how I can help her without stressing her out too much? I would be very grateful. I am feeling a bit desperate.

Year 1 teacher and deputy head here. First of all I think you are worrying too much. It sounds like she is doing fine and having a supportive parent as you obviously are is a massive advantage for her.
Year 1 is so little and the most important thing is that she enjoys school and learning so praising all the things she is doing well is really important.
As to the slow writing I'd go in and see her teacher when she goes back to school and find out why she is slow. Is it her fine motor skills and handwriting? Is she distracted? Is she anxious and worrying about what to write and not getting it wrong? Is it because she takes her time over writing neatly so it takes longer? Or something else? Her teacher should then let you know what they plan to do to help her. Let her teacher know she is worrying about it. Above all keep some perspective, it's such early days and she has a lot of schooling ahead of her.
Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

My ds is 15 & has always struggled with getting his writing down on paper, his writing is awful very much like a much younger child. He was assessed for dyspraxia, but the therapist diagnosed hypotonia, poor muscle tone with joints that are too flexible, he can press his fingers back to touch his wrist very easily without forcing them. He finds that his hands hurt if he is trying to do any great length of writing, his brain know what he wants to get down on paper, but his hands won't translate it quick enough. Handwriting, he is lucky to be able to write 20 words a minute, typing he can do more than double that amount. After the assessment she said to not worry about his handwriting because nothing would ever improve it, she recommended that he does the bulk of his written work on a laptop, including exams. He started this just before his Y6 SATS & improved from level 4 to level 6 for his written Englist test. He does his GCSE's next summer & most of his subjects are essay subjects, the only ones that aren't are Maths & Science. He also is allowed to use his mobile phone to record homework instead of a planner, he usually takes a photograph of anything on the whiteboard & stores it in his phone diary. If you think any of this sounds like your child, speak to the SENCO at school & your GP. You may have to be very pushy to get an assessment but it is worth it to take pressure off your little one. If you have a computer at home, look for a typing tutor that is age appropriate & let her teach herself to touch type, the younger she is, the quicker she will learn, it is a valuable skill that will help her for the rest of her life.