Mixing up classes in primary school

[Faciadipasta]

My dc has found out today (with no warning) that their school has decided to mix up the 3 classes in their year group as they move from year 2 to year 3 in September. They are the only year that this is being done with. A LOT of the children were in tears at pick up today. I'm really worried that they will all have difficulties making new friends, and a lot of them are already saying they don't want to go to school any more now. If this has happened to your dc how did it go? Were the kids happier in the long run?
It just seems really mean, I'm sure they have reasons for doing it but I feel like these kids have already all had so much to deal with, being the cohort that were in reception when covid hit, so they've missed so much in terms of continuity and security within school and now they are having their friendship groups broken up as well. I think I'm almost as upset as my DS (who has been in tears since he got home) the reasoning the school has given is that the class sizes are uneven. They currently have 2 classes of 24 and 1 of 30 so they want to make them more equal. I do understand that point but I think only 2 children have actually left the year since they joined so why couldn't it just have been more balanced from the beginning?

They do it all the time. The kids are fine. The parents are just the problem.

At my school (3 form entry), we usually remix Reception as they enter Y1. This year we are remixing Rec ➡️ Y1, Y1 ➡️ Y2 and Y2 ➡️ Y3.

As other posters have said, there are various good reasons for this. For instance, in one of the current Y1 classes there has turned out to be very high levels of SEN and a group of children with very challenging behaviour. These will now be distributed between the three classes in Y2.
In the current Y2 classes, one class has turned out to have a high proportion of very able children. Another Y2 class has had several children leave so that class is much smaller than the other two. So they are being redistributed in Y3.
The whole year group will still get to play together, have lunch together and do multisports together. They will still get to see their old friends but will make new ones.

Hmmm. "The parents are the problem". I see this too often when schools want to minimise struggles that children have.

Often kids with additional needs (anxiety or autism for example) will "hold it all in" at school and then meltdown/ cry at home. The parents tell the school this and instead of using this information blame the parents. I see this is in some groups I run.

So they shouldn't do it for that reason, even if there are compelling reasons to do so and/or for the wider good?

The school I worked at mixes the classes at the end of reception. They then remain in those classes for the rest of their primary education. The 2019-2020 cohort were the only ones that weren't mixed, because of the lockdown, to create a bit more stability for them going back to school. They were mixed at the end of year 1 instead.

A lot of thought goes into the mix, friendships that benefit the child remain, friendships that disrupt learning might be at risk. They still see each other at break times and after school. I can assure you that it's not done out of malice and the teachers have the best interests of all the children at the forefront of their decisions

DD's school has done this. In reality DD is one of six children being swapped with six children from the other class. She isn't with any of her friends now and with two children from her class who have been repeatedly unkind to her. I'm very worried about next year.

Teddy - that makes some sense as they are not mixed on the most part - if they are together for yrs 1-6. My kids would have loved that.

I guess there are downsides to that too as most schools do mix.

I’m struggling to see how much more warning you would have liked? It is still a few week until the end of term and then 3 months before the mix up happens.

You say it would have been better to tell the parents first but then some will tell their kids, some won’t then the gossip will start, then parental pressure to influence the mix. It can do a lot more harm than good.

There is still time this term to get to know the new classes, get some contacts and maybe set up some play dates over the summer. A wider friendship group is good.

It's completely typical to mix up classes from year two to year three. The move to juniors from infants. It's also the point where new children will join a school.

The only unusual thing is that it hadn't happened for two years because of covid.

Was there no one with older children at the school who could have said that this was typical and was going to happen?

You need to chill out. The kids take their cues from the adults. If you feed into the drama you will make them think it is worse than it is. They will likely consider friendships and make sure kids are with someone they like. They also get to play with anyone at playtime. It makes sense to have equal numbers.

Generally speaking I'm a fan of mixing. It's a good opportunity to rebalance ability/gender/additional needs & in the case of my dd2 tomorrow get her away from the horrible Queen Bee who isolates her from her other friends.
I think it'll be strange because this year's year 2 have been together since reception coz continuity was considered important during/post-covid but I'm sure they'll be fine.
I'm am disappointed that there has been no communication at all regarding staffing/transition day classes. Normally they announce Friday before so that those with children less keen on change have opportunity to big it up. Apparently not this year now we have no headteacher acting head & acting deputy head are mia.

I'm going against the grain here, mixing up classes is rubbish for the DC & parents.

DS primary did it every single year- 120 kids randomly placed into 4 groups.

So all the friends they made during the year, poof gone! And while some DC are fine, they make friends easily ect. others struggle. Plus, it's near impossible to have that one close friend though (primary) school...
Same for us parents, you build relationships with others to facilitate DC's friendships, And each September/ October you start again while trying to hold on to the ones from previous years. Utter nonsense!

Dd’s former primary mixed the children up at the end of reception, missed a year then did it once again the following year. So 3 times. They were due to be mixed up for year 6 but the children asked not to be so they remained in the same class until the end of primary. By this stage, many children had friends in both classes.

My dd didn’t like the change either. She struggled changing from one school year to the next as there was different classroom and teacher. However, I think the change was good for relationship building and stood her in good stead. When she went to secondary in year 7, a computer programme allocated a class at random.

The school didn’t mix the classes at when I was at my primary school and I think it is an advantage to change around to get used to the concept.

Ours mix yearly. They prefer this so that when there are issues one year mixing them doesn't cause a big issue. It really isn't a big issue, opportunities to meet new friends.

Far better for classes to be appropriately balanced.

This happened to my DS. They’d had no mixing with the other classes due to covid, and then had it sprung on them at the end of term. The school took 3 classes and rearranged them into 2 and a composite, in age order. DS wasn’t happy at first however it has worked out really well for him!

A lot of the kids were upset and the school did realise they’d messed up and apologised. I think they hadn’t realised just how much covid and the strict no mixing had affected all the kids.
So I totally get why you both feel a bit upset about it.

Happened in our school to help give kids the support they need. My yr2 ds didn't bat an eyelid at the news, although parents were informed first. I'm sure the kids will be fine, it's healthy to meet new people and develop new friendships - it's not a punishment.

Sounds like it's been handled badly and over dramatically, mine would have no idea if other years had been mixed, or any sense of injustice about it.

I thought classes being mixed up/more children in the year group to be friends with was part of the point of going for a 2+ form entry school rather than a 1 form entry.

DC’s school do it every year, DD is currently Y5 and the mixing every year means she’s friends with everyone by now, so not bothered at all about which class she’s in and which other children are with her. She still has her ‘best friends’ who she sees at break/lunch and PE but also has a wide circle of other friends. It’s worked well for us.

The are doing it at end of reception in this year for first time - as an infant school only they don’t normally mix. It is driven by budget issues.

What it has meant is that a number of parents have relooked at the school to see whether they are happy with teaching, leadership etc as they no longer feel tied by maintaining the kids social bonds. So they are moving the kids to other schools (including us).

They can still play with their usual friends at lunch and break and after school.
In the classroom they are usually sat with whoever they work best with, not with their friends. As teachers always say, lessons are for learning, playtime is for playing.

My DN's infant school have done this for going into year 2. She just got handed a slip and had a meltdown when she got home. She's autistic.

So all the friends they made during the year, poof gone! And while some DC are fine, they make friends easily ect. others struggle. Plus, it's near impossible to have that one close friend though (primary) school...
Same for us parents, you build relationships with others to facilitate DC's friendships, And each September/ October you start again while trying to hold on to the ones from previous years.

I agree to an extent - the chopping and changing tends to favour socially adept children, who nimbly make new friends while children who are slower to find their feet socially get relegated each year. And it is more difficult for parents to prop up friendships when the faces at pickup keep changing.

I accept that shuffling may be necessary for the best management of the school, and I think to some extent they are making a virtue of a necessity.

So all the friends they made during the year, poof gone! And while some DC are fine, they make friends easily ect. others struggle. Plus, it's near impossible to have that one close friend though (primary) school...
Same for us parents, you build relationships with others to facilitate DC's friendships, And each September/ October you start again while trying to hold on to the ones from previous years.

I think that's a bit dramatic. Your children will see some familiar faces in their new group, and your own friendships can carry on exactly as before. Surely it's not that hard to hold onto friendships?

Your children will often be going separate ways for secondary, and fights can break up friendships between children any time, leaving parents' friendships in an awkward position.

It's wise not to put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to friendships. Branch out. Join a community group.

I don’t think doing it every year is great. But once or twice. Otherwise the kids are stuck with the same faces for 7 years!

I love the assumption on this thread that children will a) readily and easily make new friends, and b) have the opportunity to mix with the other classes at break/lunch.