Year 7 (who is very good at maths) has been put in the bottom sets.

[ReevesJeeves]

My DD has always been very good at Maths. In Year 6, she achieved Greater Depth in her Maths SATS (achieving 115/120). Since joining Year 7, she has been in a mixed ability Maths Set. In the work that has been sent home from Secondary and that is set on Sparx, she is getting 80% - 90% correct, independently.

We have just had a letter home today, advising that Maths will be set after half term, and my DD will be in Set 5 of 6! The letter also explains that she has been assessed as finding Maths challenging and not to worry about sets, every child will be assisted individually. AIBU to think the school doesn’t know my DD at all, and to send an email querying how they came to this decision? I fail to see how she can now be finding maths challenging and in Set 5 of 6, having achieved 115/120 in her SATS only months ago. Maths has always been a subject she has excelled in, right down to her KS1 Times Tables test where she scored 100%. BTW this is not a selective school or grammar, it’s mainstream state, so it’s not as though the department will be awash with Maths geniuses (in the least offensive way). I also don’t want to appear as a trouble maker or someone the school will be fed up with, but I think this needs to be questioned to find out what has gone wrong so to speak.

My husband thinks I shouldn’t say anything as the school will just think I’m a neurotic mum, I disagree and I think it needs to be dealt with and questions asked pronto - something has clearly gone drastically wrong either with the teachers assessment of DD or in the way DD is presenting herself in class?!

Deffo query it. I was put in set 2 (set 2 - 6 were mixed, only set 1 and 7/8 were actually set) after I missed a test in y9 after being approved to go on a 3 week language exchange in France, missing the last week of an Easter term; it wasn't not organised by school (even though we checked it wouldn't be disruptive, got sent the work to catch up on etc etc).

So I was put in 2nd set for GCSE with kids who didn't care/like it and was capped so that the highest I could have got would be a B (remember that paper!?!). I got a high B in the end, but they never moved me.

As you can tell, 25 years later I'm totally over it. 😂But I do have an 'I'm not good at maths' thing which I suppose impacts me... but apparently this is rife amongst women (even mathematic-related PHd candidates. I saw a study on it).

I'd say query it with evidence: the SATS score, online maths score and what the teacher said. As PPs have said. You're her advocate.

Please do raise this - this happened to me in secondary school, I was put in the lowest set for some classes despite good test results and being a generally good learner. In turn my school experience was awful - I was in classes where the teacher’s goal was to manage awful behaviour and try and get kids learning very basic skills. I sat there absolutely bored out of my skull and hated every class I was in the lowest set for!

Definitely contact the school and query it. You are not being a busy body, you are advocating for your child.
Also let's say they have got it right, it's extremely concerning that your DD has come in at Greater depth and 6 weeks on is in one of the lowest sets.

I'm a primary school teacher. Anyone scoring 115 in a SAT hasn't done so by being coached by the school. That's a child who is naturally good at maths. I would definitely challenge (politely). Also, as a child myself who loved maths, I experienced times in secondary where the teaching was just poor, so it was difficult to learn, even with a mathematical brain. This can also be a factor in performance.

I'd say something. DH and I worried all through primary about not looking like 'that parent' and the only place it got us was our DD being ignored and never having opportunities. The parents who were on the door every day and on the phone asking for things all the time had their DC pushed to the front and given everything they wanted. I have decided to be more assertive now she's in secondary. I don't want to be but it seems like the parent cohort we are in does it so we need to step up.

I work in education- definitely email in. This is a mistake.
even if the school have tested her, it is extremely arrogant of them to think their test is more reliable than the very rigorous standardised tests of the SATs. Hate it when schools don’t trust the SATs that are standardised against hundreds of thousands of other students across the country and issue their own little tests for initial setting.

This is an incredibly unprofessional thing for a secondary to say and shows a complete misunderstanding of primaries. The consequences for maladministration in SATS are enormous - the number of primary teachers and heads willing to risk their careers over a random child's SATS results will be tiny. There have long been concerns about primaries teaching to the test but I'm not sure what else people expect - secondaries teach to the GCSE exams as that is what they are judged on. As a pp said, a child won't have got 115 without good mathematical ability.

Yes I would. I’d be concerned that she had dropped so quickly in such a short space of time. It’s a genuine concern and it could be a mistake definitely not a interference situation

Definitely contact the school.

it happened to my son but for reading. They were taking him out of lessons for extra reading at the start of year 7. He’d got greater depth at Year 6.

I asked and they clearly thought I was ‘that mum’ but then came back with a grovelling ‘you’re right’ email and the extra lessons stopped.

I’d like to think they’d have noticed eventually but he wasn’t complaining because they got biscuits 🤣

Edited to add - he had been frightened immediately before the test they did by an older boy who had said something to him and he thought he was going to be bullied (which was nothing in the end). Thats why his result was so bad.

But your daughter could get a bit behind if you wait for them to notice.

Could you take a different approach and ask for a meeting to discuss your concern about your daughter's grades dropping so dramatically in one of her favourite subjects?

It leaves the door open to an error, bad results at that single test, or other issues that haven't been uncovered yet.

I’d email in bit word it with wanting further information on how to support dd.

So thanking them for the letter and stating those in set 5 will receive extra support.

Followed by DDs says results and Sparx results and therefore you’ve never had it identified before that she struggling and what with - so can they advise what she needs to work on.

That way if it’s a mistake it’ll be found on looking into what she needs help with.

Of she has areas of weakness not previously picked up because they are secondary subjects then you’ll get that information.

I’d definitely query it, there’s no harm in asking. I’m sure you won’t be the only one.

What’s the harm in pointing out she’s very good and refer to her grades. The school should be grateful for it since she’ll have to sit SATs for them.
I’d wonder if they even know who she is?!

@ReevesJeeves

I would gently query this. At a random guess there will be a typographical error. The thing is that the teacher who knows the students, will look at and mark the tests. Then they sre passed to either an admin or the head of department depending on size of school. All the classes are then combined in a list. Then the head of year will assign sets taking into account any SEN or special circumstances.

In your case if the people who don't know your daughter did something as normal and easy as typing a wrong number next to the wrong name when adding a 100+ results it might not have been picked up. The head of year wouldn't have any notes next to your daughter's name because the teacher knows she did well and expects her to be in a higher set.

Secondary school teacher here. Your husband is wrong. It sounds as though this is some kind of admin error so contact school and get it sorted out. Even if they do eventually realise she’s in the wrong set it won’t be great for her to be in a low ability group. Mistakes do happen.

You can frame this as a purely factual query, so there is no reason whatsoever for the school to think you are fussing or being a busy body.

Definitely email school.
Likely an admin error, but if not it'sconcerning that dd is now 'struggling' with maths after a few short months at the school.
I'd want to get to the bottom of it ( especially for a subject like maths) so being 'that ' parent wouldn't concern me at all.

Yes, I would politely ask the question. If she got GD in her SATs it is very unlikely they would be in such a low set. In my experience secondary schools make lots of admin mistakes and don’t know their students. My DC struggles with maths, is in the lowest set and his Y8 report said he was in the top third (we ignored this as we knew it was incorrect).

I think you should raise it. One of the things I regret with my first is not advocating for him enough and going with the flow when things felt off.

At the very least, if it's not a mistake, they'll explain and you'll know instead of wondering.

My brother was incorrectly put in the bottom set for science and it took my mum months to get the school to admit it was a mistake.
He never really caught up again and his confidence was blown.
Definitely raise it.

Get it checked now - once they have settled into sets it will be harder to change as children tend to change one group at a time. Plus they will not cover topics in enough depth in the lower groups.
The schools say they use many factors to decide on setting but it is hard work to know the abilities of around 240 children in each subject in just a few weeks.

I'd query it straight away. Maybe it's an admin error? It sounds like you have plenty of evidence in your favour. If she's put in a set well below her ability, she could find it confusing and disheartening. She'd also miss some of the stuff she should be learning.

This is how I would approach

My DC are older now, but I have questioned my schools about things like this. First I must say that I never bothered the teachers, but this is when I did.

Also, from my experience of schools here and abroad, they don't always have a good maths provision and DC who don't have pushy parents fly under the radar.

So, when my DS was about 7 they said he needed to go to maths support. He got sent there, and immediately got sent back by the teacher as they said he was actually very good at maths. A few years later, he was put in the bottom set of 2 sets. I gently questioned this as he had 3 end of years tests and scored 100% in 1, and over 95% in the other. He was then moved up. Turns out the more stronger personality teacher put all his favourites in the top set, and others got bumped. This was a small town school.

Over the years I can see that schools struggle to get maths teachers and when they do, they aren't always that great. Also, I have had my DC in international, private, and state schools. I don't let the school take control of my DC's education. That is up to me to manage.

My advice to you would be to talk to the school but also do your own thing. If you can afford it, get your DC a maths tutor once a week. My DS had a maths tutor and he got 9 at GCSE, the highest grade in Additional Maths and A* at A'level. For me it was worth it. Also, take control of your DC's reading yourself.

Jesus, your DH needs to get a grip. Asking a perfectly valid question does not make you a neurotic mother!