AIBU to think there is too much pressure and expectations put on infant school children

[BazilGin]

This may be a huge cultural difference that I will never get over. I started primary school at the age of 7. I move to the UK 10 years ago and my August born daughter started reception just after her 4th birthday. This in itself is wrong, but I am honestly shocked at the curriculum the teachers have to follow. She has just started year one and is given spellings every week that the teacher tests on Monday morning. AIBU to think this is too much too soon? She is doing well academically, but said she is sad they are not allowed to play and "in the morning it's literacy and we just have to get on with it". At this age I though they are just learning through play! Clearly not !! I honestly believed that infant school will be more play based, but they were doing lots of writing/ready ng etc even in reception. DD went to a wonderful Montessori preschool and somehow I thought that infant school will be just extension of that, sadly not. I wish the whole system was different. If my circumstances were different, I would home school as it breaks my heart.

Not rtft but will go back and read it because im very interested in this topic...

A few links people might like to read:

www.cam.ac.uk/research/discussion/school-starting-age-the-evidence

www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029435-000-too-much-too-young-should-schooling-start-at-age-7/

I'm in the states and have been under huge pressure from everyone to send ds to school since he's been 2.

He's almost 3 now and all of his same aged friends have been at pre school a year already.

A lot of them know their days of the week and how to recognise them written down, how to write most of their letters etc.

I heard his would be kindergarten teacher bitching the other day about how she hates 'the dumb kids that don't do two or more years of preschool and arrive like babies as its so much more extra work'.

Overall I believe that our children in the UK should go to school later etc and that the OP is not being unreasonable at all.

However, I actually moved DD whilst she was in reception to a more education focused primary as that was right for her and she was miserable at her play-led school where she was, in her own words, bored at not learning anything.

She is also doing spelling tests on Monday mornings now she is on year one and is loving having them as homework during the week. I have a better behaved child because of it.

I think that mainly shows that there is not a one size fits all model for education that really does need to be addressed in the UK.

For anyone saying that they can't homeschool as they wouldn't be able to do it justice, I think it is worth pointing out that, for the primary years at least, it may be easier than you think. I think teachers in this country do an amazing job. They have to meet standards, encourage, motivate, support and monitor so much. The marking, planning and paperwork is huge.
With homeschooling you only have a very small number of children to teach (for most families) and it is easy to know exactly where they are educationally, what motivates them, what time of day or routine works best and so forth. It is a totally different kettle of fish. There is also loads of online support and access to easy resources these days. I can easily check where my child would be according to the national curriculum and focus on that, if I feel it is necessary. There are apps, workbooks, free and paid for curriculums, ideas on Pinterest and in many areas of the country, lots of home ed groups. Money is a limiting factor but educationally it can be much easier than people assume :-)

It also saddens me that, although we all bitch about this and how they start too young, there are still competitive parents who go into school in Year 1 bitching that their kids are not being moved up the reading scale quickly enough, should be given more homework, and should really be on the top table for maths.
I am soooo glad to be out of Primary....... maybe its just the snobby competitive town I live in

its like that in the primary I teach at too

Minions - ironically it's the same parents who loudly campaign that 'kids should be kids' who are the worst offenders of the competitive parents.
Because their snowflake isn't ready to learn at 5, there's no way on earth another 5 year old might be

I have a Y1 son. When I questioned the transition between R and Y1 where there are rows of desks and academic timetable, the teacher said that I was not to worry as they started formal, sit down writing and maths in the last term of R. She presented this as a brilliant idea. My heart sank as this meant these poor children had even less time to enjoy being, y'know, children learning through play etc.

Don't get me started on learning nonsense words for the fucking stupid fonix phonics test. Let's not let kids enjoy reading stories or anything like that.....

my experience is somewhat skewed as my eldest child (ds) is autistic... but i'm a homework refuser.

DS needs the downtime at home to be able to function and i point blank refuse to do anything with him once home, and DD is only just 7 and i don't agree with any child doing homework they can't complete by themselves.. this year, if any comes home that she wants to do and can do without me, she can get on with it, but the moment she needs help or gets annoyed, it will be forgotten.

The only thing i do with them is reading (We read every night and i use this time for them to read to me before i finish the story) spelling (they have 10 words each week and i run through them before school) and occasionally maths if its number bonds or times tables.

Absof
The second article states the starting age was set at 5 for mothers to get back to work. That really only works for the youngest child 1870 it wouldn't be unusual for mothers to have 10 kids. When I was hunting around for the history of school starting age the answer I found was MPs wanted kids to get 5 years of education before starting work at the age of 10!!! Two MPs argued that age 6 would be better but they were over ruled.

Scotland followed suit a couple of years later with a leaving age of 12 if i remember correctly then England upped the leaving age too.

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/sats-mps-launch-inquiry-after-upheaval-years-tougher-tests

Let's hope they make some positive changes

As long as the current system of testing and measuring at primary continues the pressure on kids and teachers to perform will remain.

I have yet to see any evidence that the introduction of SATS testing has improved education or the outcome for children. The only outcome I've experienced is fantastic teachers at my DCs school leaving in droves and having to deal with stressed kids who feel they are complete failures.

Farawayhills - my experience of sats is different. At dds school, the children didn't know they were sitting them. The parents didn't know when they were either. You didn't need to find out your child's results. So no pressure at all.
So, I'm not sure if they improve a child's education (though I guess they help compile ofsted which many parents do like) but they did nothing at all to harm it. Ime.