Nc for this but a regular…
DD aged 8 has been back at school for a week now. Unfortunately, her school re-mixes the classes each year, and this year she has ended up with no close friends with her in her class (there was meant to be one girl, but unfortunately the family relocated at short notice during the holidays). She’s an only child and has had a lonely, bad time during the lockdowns where she missed friends desperately.
DD is sensitive and a bit temperamental. She’s also (not bragging but it adds additional detail) graded at greater depth in all subjects, but has been really bored at school during the whole recovery period last term, because she’s had to sit while the whole class recaps a lot of maths and literacy that she knows very well. (Her last teacher was very complimentary about how well she had done helping other children and being very patient while a lot of the “recovery curriculum” went over past topics.) DD was really looking forward to new learning this year.
She has been slogging away at it this week so far, but has been quiet and sad after school each evening, and said they’re now recapping topics again from two years ago, and has said to me she’s learned nothing new all week and is very despondent about it.
Tonight she got very very upset and cried herself to sleep, saying she’s very very unhappy at school, she hasn’t got any friends in her class (she’s been sat on a table with two boys she doesn’t know who are a bit “naughty”); and she’s really really bored and sad. She says she used to love school, and now doesn’t want to go in and feels it’s all pointless.
I appreciate they need to recap some topics, but she basically says she hasn’t learned anything new since before lockdown. I’ve broached this with teachers before and her previous teacher was quite good about giving her additional depth work, but I’m also aware the school have changed their differentiation policy so that they now do less greater depth work in order to focus on Covid recovery. She says she’s asked twice this week for more depth work when she’s finished what she’s been given, and been told just to sit and wait until the next lesson.
Any advice on what I could do would help! She really wants to be in the “other class” with all her friends— though I think some more stretching work, and being sat with different children that she knows a bit better, might make a lot of difference.
It’s awful to see a child who two years ago could hardly wait to get to school in the morning because she loved it so much, now weeping and saying she’s so unhappy and sad she doesn’t want to go at all.
Do any teachers have any advice on what might help, please? Or anyone who’s experienced similar with their DC? I don’t want to be “that” parent, but would the teachers (there are two as it’s a jobshare) want to know that she’s so unhappy?