To be upset that ds has been downgraded in his ability groups?

[Whowillsaveyoursoul]

He's 5 and in year one.
He was in the upper middle literacy group and he's now in the lower middle and he was in the top numeracy group but now he's in the middle.
Moved from both at the same time. I'm surprised re numeracy since he's pretty quick with numbers / shapes etc but I think the fact his fine motor is hopeless might be stopping him from recording things and setting things out very well. For instance he would write 25 - 2 as 52 - 5 in all likelihood. And it would not be neat.

I'm less surprised re literacy because his handwriting is not good either and there are some really able children in his class.

But Aibu to feel a little sad that instead of improving he's slipping down the class?

No, I think it's natural to feel like that sometimes.

I found out recently ds2's maths is lower than I first thought. I was a bit gutted. I'd love a mathematical genius in the family...

I can understand why you might be upset but I would be careful of thinking negatively about your son's academic prowess in Year 1. At 5 he is just a baby, so much can change in such a short time at that age. Moving down a group can be a positive step, it will mean he is getting work which will help him to progress in the areas he needs to.

There is lots you can do if he is 'average ability or below'. I would speak to his teacher and see if he/she can give you some specific ideas of activities you can do to help him at home. If his fine motor skills need development there are lots of fun games which can help with that. Things like putting pegs on the edge of a paper plate, playing the game Operation, using tweezers to pick up cotton wool balls, picking up Millions (or other tiny sweeties) using pincer grip. Not sure if I have explained very well. There are lots of ideas on the internet.

OP, please stop this. Five years old is too young to decide if he's "average ability" or not. These groups at school do not, and indeed can not, measure "ability", they can only measure acquired skills.

Why not decide that with effort, your child is capable of just about anything?

My DD was moved down to middle ability group when she was 7 or 8. She was devastated and it knocked her confidence. I would rather she had been put in that group when she was 5 and wasn't so aware of her "position" in the class. She stayed at the top of that group all through primary.

She has now started high school. I expected her to struggle academically but she has really surprised me. She has learned how to work to achieve and as a result is starting to really excel - she has been moved up two levels in maths and recently won a science award.
With hindsight she can see now that the move downwards was a good thing - she didn't have to worry about keeping up with those in the top stream and learned to work hard at her own pace.
I know it is difficult but try to see it as a positive thing in that your son is getting teaching which is tailored to his abilities.

This thread has upset me. He is 5 years old. 5!!!
I have no idea what ability group my 6 year old is in, neither do I want to know. I have never thought about what I need to do to improve her ability. She's happy.
He's 5!! Please please let him be. They are already at school all day long.

It is very hard not to feel sad and I know what you mean. My own DS absolutely rampaged through reception, learning to read very quickly and whomping his way through the infant library. By the end of yr1 he had read the entire library to the penultimate colour band. However his teacher started to let us know that his handwriting might become an issue. He was also having issues with concentration and very rarely finished any work he was set in class.

Now in yr2 he hasn't moved up a reading box for a whole term. His reading is still great, but he just hasn't progressed. And now his handwriting is becoming a real issue and he's slipping. He regularly gets comments about not concentrating and not finishing his work.

It doesn't bother me much and I know the important thing is for him to be happy and confident and to enjoy learning. I'm certainly not going to dent his confidence even further by coming down all heavy handed. Also I know he is very young and that a lot will change. I guess it's hard because in reception he was just a whirlwind and even his reception teachers said that yr1 and yr2 would be a total breeze for him.

So... it's not the end of the world, but yes, it's sad.

He is 5

He is in the middle group.

You have years ahead

Children go up and down with their progress throughout their schooling.

Do not make this an issue because he will sense it and then you will have problems.

Gosh I didn't even know what group DS was in Primary 1, never mind if he had been moved up or down.
If you are concerned and I don't think it's necessarily wrong or a bad thing that you are, then go and speak to the teacher, they will be able to explain why it's happened and reassure you that everything is ok.

You seem to be guessing as to why he may have been moved. Just go and ask the teacher and ask if there is anything you can be doing at home to help him.

Yes I will at parent's evening in a couple of weeks.

The thing is although on mn I always read of people saying the groups change etc and children learn at different paces (which is true) generally from teaching I know that you find that children are either able or not. In my classes (taught years 1, 2 and 3) basically the children were grouped by ability and generally the top ones stayed the top. There were exceptions to the rule but pretty much that's how it was. I know ds is summer born and I know there are a lot of autumn borns in his class. It's worked out that at least half of them are already 6 and it can still make a degree of difference at this stage.

Don't take it personally. Children are all different, and I would think that they have moved your boy to a set where they think he will be more comfortable and able to flourish.

Could it be just a way to allow him more time to complete tasks in light of his visual impairment? Isn't that possible? Perhaps it has been necessary to position him so that he is much nearer to the front of the classroom and has a better chance of seeing the whiteboard properly.

Two of my three daughters (eldest and youngest) have always been in the top sets all the way through their school careers. Their sister (middle child) struggles much more academically, particularly with maths and sciences. You just have to accept each child as they are and is the complete opposite of them. It is no reflection on your parenting, and you sound as though you are doing all you can or should anyway.

He is only 5. There is plenty of time yet and there will be lots of change to adapt to along the way. The main thing is for him to be happy and to enjoy learning.

teachers where i work say that the birth thing (summer/winter etc) is largely irrelevant.

i'd be pleased that he's being set work that's for his level, whether they go up or down, he's in year 1 (said with hindsight).

please try not to stress about it too much. it sounds like you've got all your bases covered (with supporting him at home etc etc. do you use playdough for fine motor stuff?)

Who if you were a teacher in this age group, then surely you know that children develop in different ways at different ages?! Not all great readers at 5 will be in the top group by Year 6! Plenty of children don't even learn to read til 6/7 or even older, my dd didn't and she's now a whizz at reading.

You sound overly concerned with academic achievement, and I do get it, I was too until I had dd2 who has found it hard to learn to read.

I think this is one of those parenting things you need to think through yourself, chat with a partner/friend but in no way let this leak through to your child. He's just fine, he's five, you have to value him for him. This can be hard for parents who themselves are quite academic.

The school should have access to an advisor for the partially sighted if you think this is having a significant affect on his learning

If you think eye sight and lighting could be hindering his progress speak to the teacher. I would say that whatever group he was in.

Don't feel sad. Think about what you want to happen. Do you want to domestic at home? Do you want to speak to teacher and find out why?

Children do fluctuate because they all progress at different rates. Others may just have had their boost.

But if I was concerned about my child's progress I would not just accept it as one of those things. Also bare in mind middle literacy could still be expected level. That's different from average. Averages will change year on year dependent on cohort.

He is 5.

I wish I could get you to look a few years ahead and see how, sorry, silly you are being.

Is he happy? Does he feel good about himself? Is he resilient? Is he secure?

Really really have a good think about what is important RIGHT NOW to a five year old

Another possibility - is it simply to do with where he sits in the classroom? If the top sets are at the back of the class then perhaps they are just too far back for him to be able to see properly?

When my daughters were at primary school the top groups were generally furthest away from the teacher. It wasn't until year 4 or 5 that it became clear my eldest daughter (top set) was having problems seeing things at the front of the class. Her eyes had tested within normal range a couple of years before, but when I had her checked again at the opticians it turned out that she was pretty short-sighted. She simply couldn't see what was going on more than a few feet in front of her, and had to move forward to sit with a different group until her glasses were ready. Her handwriting had always been atrocious, but improved enormously once she had her glasses.

Just saying that these things can be connected, though you already know that.

DD(8) was moved up and down groups last term and the knock to her confidence when she was moved down a table(group) was such that I made an appointment to talk to her teacher. It turns out that while her reading and comprehension are miles ahead, she needs more time to complete tasks because she has hypermobility in her wrists, which means that she is a slow writer. The teacher moved her down so that she would get the extra time and support that she needs.

He also said that because she's so competitive, she was putting herself under a lot of pressure to complete tasks, resulting in falling behind and then getting upset because she was able to do it, just not fast enough. We (DH, me and the teacher) sat her down and explained the reason why and she has been so much more settled in class and willing to try different approaches to her tasks because she is working to the speed that she can manage.

I spend a lot of time at the weekends doing extra literacy and numeracy work with her so that she doesn't lose interest. just because she can't write as fast doesn't mean that she's not capable of working at the higher level, just that there isn't enough time in a classroom situation.

Are the school aware of the problem with his eye and they doing anything to help him.

I've taught yr 1. We had groupings but I wouldn't have moved a child in maths because they were reversing numbers as long as I knew that was what they doing.

But what group your child is in at 5 or 6 isn't a reliable indication of their potential. It's just where they are working at that point in time.

Here in the States in Elementary School (infants?) you can be kept back a year if you're not up to the required skill base.

A very good friend of mine was devastated when her son was kept back in Kindergarten. Best thing that ever happened to him. The extra year allowed him to blossom, 20 years later he's doing life saving research with a major pharmaceutical company and has a Ph.D.

from teaching I know that you find that children are either able or not

If you think that, then I'm very glad you're not teaching anymore. Pigeonholing very young children is ridiculous, lazy and very damaging.

Do people really not know what group their child is in? Dd is in reception and they are grouped for guided reading. (The class ability seems to very from reading pretty fluently to not yet recognising the letters - which I think is pretty normal for this age.) Dd talk a lot about school. So I know who she is grouped with and what "box" her group are on. And also who all her friends are grouped with and what box they are on.

She's quite observant I guess but I assumed everybody knew stuff like this just from vaguely listening to four year old prattle whilst trying to chop the carrots. (I also know huge amounts of detail about who is good at "sitting smartly", which of the three Amelias she likes the best and the intricacies of a game they play that seems to be a 4 year old version of sardines.)

It's largely true.
I mean academically able. Of course they all have strengths and weaknesses. I had a child who really really struggled with numeracy. Couldn't touch count to 10. He was 7. But he was absolutely brilliant at ict. He just got it.
Generally if a child is very able or really struggles with a particular subject or even all subjects academically it doesn't change. There might be a bit of movement in the middle groups but it pretty much stays the same.

I Don't think that's true. I remember at school there was a photo of the 10 or so of us who got 3 As at A level. Of those who had started at year 7 I'd say about half were "predictable" and half were really quite surprising. And there were also a few who you'd expect to be in the group who weren't.

And that's just the 11 - 18 movement. It will be much greater for 5 - 18.

I mean this in a helpful way, but surely this move is not based on ability but on attainment, i.e. what the child has actually achieved. Not the same thing. As for the lack of mobility, that's another thing. I'd be asking the school just how they accommodate raised attainment, i.e. what if the next group up is full?