Primary schools pushing kids academically

[Kiddiewinks2008]

Interested to know views on this. DC go to a nice school where they are happy but another mum was complaining that her kids arent beinh challenged academically and she was going to move them.
I am more bothered that my kids are happy there and feel that they will be challenged later in life at secondary school but worried now that I am being too laid back about it!!
Aibu?

I've heard variations of this point from 2 types of parents.

Type 1 - my child can easily do the work and is being left to coast and getting bored.

Type 2 - my child is not doing x, y and z that my friend's children at another school are doing.

Type 1 is an issue and should be raised with class teacher in the 1st instance.

Type 2 (where I've heard it) nearly always applies to things that other children in the class ARE doing, but the parent's child is working at a lower level. Whether this is an issue comes down to if the child is working at the appropriate level for them.

For example, in Y2 one parent complained to me that the school was awful as her child still hadn't mastered their 2,5,10 times tables whereas her friends' children in other schools had moved onto 3,4,6s etc. My DS was in the same class and had also moved onto 3,4,6s. Was this a school issue?

As ops have said, it's different for different people.

I want my kids to be happy, but I also want them to reach their academic potential.

You may not have anything to compare it to, but I would imagine you would know if you child found school very very easy.

It may be that she does lots of academic work outside school with them and so knows they could be doing more at school.

I knew dds school was wrong when they kept saying her writing was fine. Because I could clearly see that children her age had much clearer writing. I moved schools (for other reasons) and discovered I was right.

Waiting until they reach secondary before they start being academically stretched, is (imo) a recipe for disaster.

Dd is very academic and she has found this first half term at secondary quite over whelming. But she has managed on top of it, but plenty of kids are not.

I prefer my dc's to be pushed. They'll have to work hard at secondary school so I'd rather they gradually got used to it than it becomes a horrible shock at 11/12.

I was never pushed or encouraged at all. It didn't end well.

I think predictions of disaster if children are not "academically stretched" are just hyperbole tbh.

For a start, what does "academically stretched" even mean? In my experience it often means placing unhelpful expectations of ever greater perfection on brighter kids.

"Reaching their potential" is also very open to interpretation. How does anyone know what a child's potential is? How do you judge when it's been reached?

Exactly what iama said.

misti actually you are right to a degree. I didn't word it properly. I couldn't think of a clear way to put and wasn't clear.

What I mean is that if a school concentrates on only keep the kids happy and doing the basic work and not stretching those who are capable of doing more. Secondary will be a huge shock to the system. The OP has said she expects her kids to be pushed at secondary.

The work load increasing on top of all of a sudden being pushed to do your best, plus the new environment, often stricter rules and more freedom is going to have a negative impact.

Which is why I believe there should be a middle ground.

And stretched, to me, isn't being pushed beyond what can you are capable of doing. It's being pushed to do a little bit more than you can currently do.

So ds is doing number bonds to 10 (sums adding up to ten) he is doing well, so we have started trying number bonds to 11,12,13 for example. Not telling him to work out the area of a triangle, because that is way above his capabilities at the moment. But just 'moving' him on a little and not in a study environment. Usually when we are driving to or from school to keep him occupied for example and make it fun. Not making a 4 year old sit and do sums for an hour a night.

That's what stretching is to me

I definitely want my children to be challenged academically. I remember my own primary school years, sure I liked the school and the teachers and my friends but I was bored out of my mind, that didn't make me happy. You don't need anything to compare it against, if you know what your child is capable of, you can see if what they are taught is at an appropriate level. I personally wish I could afford private education as I'm tired of telling the teachers that DD is ready to move up a reading level and DS is way past the maths exercises he is given.

Why don't you go and talk to their teachers before you do anything? We've just had parent teacher consultations and this year they were really good. We got a sheet saying what they needed to achieve by Christmas, and they'd ticked off what they already had done. It was explained how much they needed to do to be meeting age related expectations, and exceeding age related expectations. It was the first time I felt confident I knew what was being covered in class and how far they'd progressed since September. It is good to ask before worrying about other parents and children!

Also, there are various workbooks and apps that you can access easily, that can give you an idea of what your child can do, and whereabouts they're working in relation to the new national curriculum. Google new national curriculum, you can print it off for the relevant years, and go through with your children and ask what they've covered this term.

Happy engaged children will learn. They don't need to be hothoused. My girls work at slightly different levels, but they're motivated and keen to learn. They are stimulated at school and interested in their topics. That's all I want tbh, not automatons who can spout the 17 x table to 143, but can't function in real life.

I was one of those kids who liked school and learning. All I remember about primary is being bored and annoyed all the time because the pace of learning was not fast enough (because I was already practicing reading, writing, maths on my own and was reading kids' books on biology etc). I actually got in trouble a lot for talking, playing and generally misbehaving a lot because I was bored. When I was 10 my parents moved me to a more academically challenging school and I was MUCH happier. Everyone else thought they were bein pushy parents and I remember my grandma making the exact type of comments you're making - let her be a child and play etc. It's all about knowing your child and what they can do. I preferred reading to throwing a ball around.
Oh, and I agree with posters who say secondary will be a bit easier if they get used to working a bit in primary.

I think it is a fine balancing act.

Of course it is important that the child is happy. On the other hand, it is important to push children academically to a certain extent- allowing them to coast doesn't help them in the long run. Also, if not pushed they can get bored which can lead to naughtiness or can put the off school as it's "boring".

At primary school we weren't pushed, often held back as they didn't want some children "racing away" in front of the rest of the class. I was bored stiff, I really didn't enjoy the academic part (although liked being with friends etc). My parents complained about the fact that I was not being stretched to the point of boredom and nothing changed.

I moved schools, and was pushed more. I thrived and loved it, although was sad initially to leave my friends. I'm glad my parents took the decision to move me.

OP I think your children would either be bored witless if teh work was too easy and would be unhappy if it were too hard.Your children are happy so I think this suggest the work is fine .

It would be enormously stressful to be 'pushed' or 'challenged' all the time at school.Part of the time needs to be consolidation

Agree with Misti
My experience of having a self driven bright dd is that no amount of challenge would ever have been enough for me or her to feel she was being pushed. A child like her or like I was just learns and sickeningly there is very little effort involved. If you do push you just instil an ethic of work for the sake of it rather than for an improved result.

In English there is plenty of scope for open ended reading and writing and in Maths the correct sort of project work can give the same effect. Children can therefore self challenge and developing the skills for self directed learning are the most valuable tools for later education.