Be honest… would you be ok with your child in a classroom like this?! Apparently common in state sector

[Mrppp]

our daughter is due to start school next September. We learned today that the classes are merged from ages 5 to 9. So 5 and 6 year olds in one class, 7 and 8 in another etc. This means in some instances children with be two years apart, depending when they are born, but in the same class?

surely this is crazy? Development is huge over a year at that age?

I'm Australian and 51 and this describes my entire primary school years and some of my secondary.

My Dcs are 14 and 12 and they have been at an independent small school since aged 4 and each of them have had this experience also at various points of their primary education. (In the UK)

This is pretty normal in schools here, schools are small and there’s not enough students to have a class for each year group. In one of the schools my dc were at it meant that they were both in the same class (2 years between them) which was a bit too much, I took them out and moved them to another school as we were moving house anyway. Most classes at the 2nd school were 2 year groups, it caused arguments as parent would complain if their child was kept with younger children when half the year group were moved up a class 😬.

I remember having this in primary in the mid 90s but it was y 4/5 and 5/6 and and a stand alone y6. We weren't rural but I don't think it effect any of us, except when y6 went to the local comprehensive taster day and some of the class weren't there and obviously when we left. I think it was the oldest of the lower year / youngest of the higher year merged but I could be wrong.

Anyway as others have said it's fine.

I think it's great. I'd love my children to be in mixed age groups. I think it'll create diversity and the older ones can help the younger ones.

I was in classes like this in the 90s and found it beneficial as when I finished my year group work I'd often get given the other years to do after 🤣 was always on the hunt for more work even in Primary.

To be fair to the OP re: the question of why she’s only just found this out - some schools only do it when they have to, so it may not have been clear on open days that it was a possibility for the following year. Our local primary serves three villages and has to take however many children need a place. Sometimes this is over 30, so they’ve had to do mixed year groups to keep the class sizes down. And sometimes, as for the last few years when the birth rate’s been falling, there’s a much smaller intake (17 in the current reception year) so they don’t get enough funding for a teacher for every year group. My children have both had a mix of 1 class per year and merged classes over their time at the school. I was similarly wary of it at first, as DD went from a reception class who had really bonded as a cohort to being split between two Yr1/2 classes. It’s generally been fine (better when they’re in the younger half as they get pushed; DD coasted a bit as an able Yr2 in a class with a lot of summer-born Yr 1 boys, who needed all the attention). But I have definitely preferred the years when they’ve been with their own year as they do gel differently as a gang (obviously this is different in really tiny schools where there are very few of a given age). I’m also enormously grateful to have avoided mixed classes in Reception and Yr 6, which are very specific stages when they benefit from being a separate cohort. Generally though - don’t panic! Normal and will be fine.

The school my eldest 2 went to did this. There were 4 classes of a mixture of Year Rs and Year 1's, 2 Year 2 classes, then 4 classes of a mixture of Year 3 & Year 4's. Then they would move up to Middle School for Year 5 - we're in a part of the country that still uses the 3 tier system. It worked so well. It gave the younger Year 1s a chance to almost repeat Year R where needed, and the ones who were more at ease with being 'older' had the opportunity to lead by example. They still had the staff and resources to stretch all the children that needed it. Also, it meant that the children had a variety of friends in both the years above and below them. Nothing but positives here.

I work in a rural school and we have nursery and reception together (3-5), year 1 and 2 together and 3 and 4. We’re a first school so don’t have 5 and 6.

Came to say exactly this.

There can be children born in the same month working at levels that equate to ‘two years apart’ or more - teachers are trained to plan and teach accordingly.

I’d be fine with it honestly, assuming I was happy with the school overall.

Yes, split classes are common.
The only problems my son had when in split classes was doing some the same things twice.

It worked very well for my children.

It's not new. I taught classes like this doing supply in London in the 80s.

This happened to me at points in primary. It was advantageous for me in year 4 and 5 where I was with children in the year above. And advantageous for the small number of year 5s who joined my year 6 class. Think it's a good way to let children learn at the level they are ready for.

Composite classes are hardly a new thing.

Mine is in a p1/2/3 class. I do think it’s harder for the p3s as the classroom is set of for play based learning.

Next year (when my son is p3) it will be p3/4/5 which I think is better.

The school in next village has one class p1 to 7 but they know someone who moved to that and found it a better fit than the nearest school for her child.

It’s common in those scenarios for the kids to have maths, English etc lessons in the morning based on their age and then in a merged class in the afternoon.

I Was in a combined class like that and it was fine

I guess if you’re not happy with it you can try and change schools

My ds was in a reception/Yr1 class, and then a Yr1/Yr2 class, then a 3/4 class and then a 5/6 class.

Academically it worked quite well. My ds is August born so there were children 23 months and two weeks older than him in the same class.

It was only a problem when in a class of yr5 & yr 6, and his Minecraft friend, Hannah (not her real name), declared her love for him. She was nearly 12 and very grown up, He was 10 and didn't have the faintest idea what she was going on about. Confusing for both of them.😀

I had the same when we moved - was only availability. Out of that year of 9 kids, one is now at Oxford and one at Cambridge, another Durham, not so shabby! It certainly did not disadvantage them at all, in fact they loved it. Both my kids really benefited from a small school environment and these happy days will carry them through life. Enjoy, your kids are lucky.

My DH went to a village school with 16 pupils so mixed age classes was definitely a thing.

My DS was in a big year group. With only 30 pupils allowed in an infant class and 37 pupils admitted into Reception class, the only way around it was to mix age groups. DS was one of the ones who ended up in a class which consisted mainly of Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. As a bright child who was reading before he started school (self taught) he actually thrived being in with the older children.

@ittakes2 You can only do this in a school with sufficient teachers. This school won't have that luxury. Dc will stay in the blended class for all subjects but curriculum must be differentiated and age appropriate. It's tough to do this and particularly stretch the brightest. Plus loads of schools do maths and English in the morning. It's fairly normal to have other subjects after lunch.

No school really wants this. However schools need to be efficient with resources so tiny classes with more teachers are very expensive. Many village schools don't have room for more classes doing their maths and English. A shrinking school might but it will be short of money if roll is contracting.

I’ve taught in two small rural primaries where mixed-age classes were the norm and it works really well. I taught YR/1 and the new reception children settle incredibly quickly because there are already Y1 children in the class who know the ropes and are delighted to look after the new intake.

In terms of academics, teachers have to differentiate work whatever the demographic of their class, it’s just usually a wider spread in a mixed age class. It does however mean that your children can work in whatever ability group works for them regardless of age, so YR children who are flying through their reading and writing can work in a group with Y1 children if needed and the opposite is true. It also often means that your children are in smaller classes. Our classes averaged 24/25 children rather than the 30 you will get in bigger schools. This means that more individual attention is possible and that pupils and staff all know each other very well. There’s a family feel that you just don’t get in a larger school.

Honestly If I had my time again I’d send my DC (both adults now) to a school like this….your children will thrive I’m sure.

DS is in a two form entry school, so about 50 kids in each year, and they also stream by ability for phonics in year 1-2. So the most able year 1s are in with the year 2 children, and the less able years 2 children are in with year 1 (there are 5-6 sets so in the middle sets it isn’t obvious, the children are just mixed up).

It is nothing new. I started primary school in the late 90s and it was the same then, classes merged together.
So reception and year 1 were together. Year 2&3. Year 4&5 together. Year 6 were on their own.

It's fairly common outside the central belt of Scotland. Both my DC are in multi-composite classes. DD1 in a P5/6/7 and DD2 in a P3/4/5.

I far prefer multi-composite as a teacher. There are real opportunities for leadership and true peer support. The younger pupils tend to make better progress than those in a straight class. The range of attainment is no different to a straight class.

Ds2 was in composite class (2 years in one class) all the way through primary.

In Scotland composite classes are capped in size which was one benefit. He was youngest in his year, but middle of the composite which meant he had more chance to work and play (sports) with kids closer to his age than if he'd been in a one year class.

Worked well for him. It was common in his school so the teachers were used to working in that environment.