Children not feeling challenged in school?

[Tiredofwhataboutery]

I have twin 10 yo girls. Scotland to avoid confusion. Anyway last year they shared a composite class p5/ p6 with the next year up, there were only a few p5s and the teacher (nqt) really pushed/ encouraged them so were working at top end of the class. This year same class but they are the oldest and the work seems to be more aimed at the p5s.

The work is differentiated but there are apparently two questions on the three chilli challenge sections of the worksheets so they are whizzing through work and bored. I have a parent contact evening coming up. I get that schools have only been back a month and teacher will have been getting to know everyone again (she had them 3 years ago) but I don’t want them to spend a year treading water.

Is there a good way of saying they need more work or a project to do when they have free time? Currently they are just working their way through Tom Gates’ back catalogue and whilst it’s lovely to have lots of time to read they aren’t learning anything.

"The girls have said they're reading a lot after finishing their work quickly. Would it be possible to set them some more stretch and challenge tasks, or give them time to work on a longer project, when they finish their work?".

We had the same issue with DD, the spread of ability in her class was just so wide that they couldn't properly stretch and challenge her. We ended up taking her out in the end.

I think that is my concern a lot of what would now be the p6 cohort were taken out last year as the teaching of the p4/5 class was seemed aimed at p4s so they felt like they were being held back.

Your daughters can politely make themselves a problem for the teacher by finishing the chilli challenge sections and then asking the teacher whether there is some more challenging work for them to do. Or even "Miss - I've finished my work. Can I read my book now?" Once that has happened a few times, the teacher is likely to realise that provision needs to be made for them.

By P6, your daughters should be encouraged to handle this themselves. My daughter was asking for harder work in Y1.

Of course, you can also mention it to the teacher at the next parent contact evening - what @DontGoJasonWaterfalls suggested would be fine. It'll have more impact if your daughters have already been requesting harder work.

Before you ask for more work, ask if they’re completing all the work set correctly and independently. The problem with State schools is that teachers are expected to teach to a particular level in a year group, so providing further activities for pupils who’ve finished is more time consuming. I have one pupil who’s outstanding at maths. He joins in b with the start of the lesson then completes the workbook at his own pace. When I’ve checked his work, he then chooses a maths investigation from his folder which he had set up last year. He knows he does these independently and it keeps him focussed.

I know they have been asking for more work, the teacher has been checking sheets and saying that they can have free time till others have finished. They are averaging a decent length chapter book every other day.

They are vocal/ assertive but in a nice way (hopefully) teachers have always said they are great to have in class as engaged / enthusiastic / have interesting views and happy to share. When we had this teacher previously she was nice but I think the girls were used to egg on other students quite a bit, well done for finishing can you sit with x and explain problem type stuff.

It's great that your DDs are being proactive with the teacher.

My DD was often asked to help others. It is said to embed the learning but was done a bit too much and after a while she did feel it started to affect their social relationships, so I did ask for it to be toned down a bit!

I know you shouldn't have to provide their learning material in school, but would they do workbooks if you provided them, or write stories or poems? Of course, the teacher might feel it's a step too far - but it might prompt her to provide more material...

If they are reading so much, can you provide them with a wider range of books rather than just Tom Gates? Maybe some non fiction as well?

We found that some teachers are better at providing stretch than others. Some years were just a bit flat and DD had to make the best of it. Let us know how you get on at the parent contact evening!

If they are having all this time to read, get them more challenging books. Reading and critical thinking about reading is so important. It really is the foundation for everything. Yes, keep pestering for more challenging work set by the school, but also send them in with some more challenging reading. What an asset it is to have that time to read and think everyday. They can choose books on topics that interest them independent of school work.