Confused by call from school

[scorpiogirly]

So my daughter who is 7 just went back today in year 3.

I get a call half an hour before I'm due to collect her to ask me if it is okay if the teacher who helps out takes my dd in the mornings in a group of about 10 to do maths. Apparently not that she's going to be taught anything different, just taught slower. What the hell does this mean? It's her first day back and they have never said anything like this before and she has always seemed fine with maths.

They also always tend to have mixed classes. When I questioned it, apparently it is nothing to do with ability. But strangely, they have split two year 3 classes and 2 year 4 classes and mixed them together. Whats the point of that?

IN fact there were quite a few children at my son's selective school who had slow speed of information processing. Possibly a higher percentage than many other schools as the school screened for these things.

You can’t just say “oh my child is a bit slow with processing so give her another 30 mins”

There has to be some kind of professional opinion and diagnosis confirming extra time required

Of course there does. You have to be below a particular centile or have a certain number of scores below a certain centile. I think the test y son did was Weschler but there are others.

Unfortunately, due to time, resources & money many children who might benefit, never get tested.

And this is why as a teacher I hate parents like you!
If you think your able to do so much more than us why don't you just home school her after all you know that she's a maths genius because she's done a bit of maths with you in the car and are therefore much better than any teacher out there!

What a jump. I said no such thing!

In my opinion any opportunity for more focused, smaller classes should be grabbed and received wirh thanks,, regardless of ability.

It’s not necessarily about ability, it could be, it could also be about the learning styles of the children v how maths is being taught to the majority of the class, one size does not always fit all. Anyway, sounds like a good intervention to fill gaps and build a strong maths foundation!

To be fair, there's always going to a first time you hear about it. You're always going to wonder, at any point, why you weren't told sooner. It's possible that they had a start of year maths assessment the first week back (though first day back does sound admittedly harsh) like my Year 2 son had (maths and reading for him) and gaps were identified or confirmed.

Also, at the school my sons are at, most parents do work with their children on maths and reading and writing over the holiday - we did. So it may be more than other children are leaving ahead. I remember one holiday when my son went from one of the worst in the class to one of the best at reading, so naturally the teacher's attention for additional support moved elsewhere.

If I were you I'd just be glad that the school is doing something 'extra' and perhaps ask for more info on how she is going, and what you can do to support from home. Working WITH the school rather than against it will serve your daughter best in the long run!

Exactly. And also, she might have the ability but not the attainment (they are different things).

This exactly! It's well known that a child's progress can regress over the summer holidays. She may have regressed (perhaps forgotten times tables etc) while other children have progressed more (eg my son did maths workbooks to keep on top of his skills). Thus, the gap widens.l and becomes more noticeable.

When you say 'teacher who helps out' is this a qualified teacher, employed by the school or a teaching assistant working under the direction of the teacher? I would be a bit unhappy if my child was not getting any input at all from the teacher for maths for the whole year. Maybe some pupils are progressing faster than the rest of the class and your daughter is being taught at a more normal pace? I would feel wary if the school is focusing more on the high achievers who are getting more of the teachers time.

Splitting the classes sounds like it is to do with ablilities, but could also be to do with staffing and how to accommodate the number of pupils? Is it to do with behaviour or special needs? Are they repeating a years work if they have two year groups together?

Speculation aside, the only way to resolve this really is to go and have a chat and ask lots of questions!