Composite classes,

[Needanewname42]

If a year group has a composite with the year below, a straight year group class and a composite with year above.

How do they decide who is going in which composite?

Normally by ability and how grown up they are. Plus working out which combinations work and don't.

We had a school with composites and moved at the start of year 3 as it was a nightmare. I wish I'd never have entertained it.

They might take the most able 15 to merge with the higher age class. The middle 30 would stay in their year group and then the least able 15 mix with the year below. HOWEVER, this would only work in a world where kids have no personality. So more mature kids might go with the higher age class, despite being of average ability etc etc.

There are many ways the decisions could be made...

Friendship groups
Age
Maturity
SEND
Balance of boys and girls
Ability

The only way for you to find out is to talk to the school concerned.

Our council area does it strictly by age. So the age spread in each class was smaller than in a standard class. Also our composite classes were capped at a smaller size. So despite anxiety on my part - they worked well for us. Only caveat is that my DS wasn’t in a composite class for a transition year (either starting school or moving to high school).

I know the composite class sizes are smaller 25 instead of 32/33.
I've never dealt with composite classes ever neither myself coming through school or my oldest.
So this is a new experience for me.

Are you in Scotland? I know they cap composite classes at 25. My ds was in a couple of composite classes. Think they grouped on ability/maturity rather than age at his school

Where I live in Scotland, it's purely done my age in my area.

Composites capped at 25, straight classes can have 33. So it's a bit of an advantage.

In our area they arrange by date of birth and then make some adjustments for gender balance and SEN distribution

Needs, support, friendship groups. It doesn't actually matter because differentiation means children continue progressing through the outcomes as per a straight class.

Think it can be a lot of things taken into consideration. DD has been in 2 as the younger year group. One worked fine the other has not worked well at all due to the older kids being quite disruptive.

Ours would have put the most able (as long as they could work independently) in the higher class. Average children who were good at working independently in the lower. Least able and less independent workers in the straight class. You don't want children who are struggling in a class with bright younger children. Children in a composite also need to be able to get on with work while the teacher is working with the other year group.

Our school does it on age. My nephew's school, on ability. In other words, we can't tell you. Ask the school

Yes I'm Scotland.
I don't think they do it on age. But I can't work out how they have done it

Google your Council area name and 'composite class policy' and one should come up. It's usually set by LA and not individual schools. If the school have went against the policy, you can bring it up with them.

In my local authority, also Scotland, it's literacy based.

Do you have concerns OP?

@Spuddled I'm concerned she isn't doing as well is I thought she was. I always thought she was somewhere in the middle of the class.

I will try to speak with school. They sent the email Friday afternoon which I suspect is a ploy let everyone calm down over the weekend, dodge the knee jerk phone calls and reactions.