My dd is 5.5 and in yr 2 at school. we moved her from the school she was in for yr 1 because we found it unaproachable/excluding - we couldn't get any idea what was going on except academically. Her new school is lovely but the extra informal contact with teachers has been a blessing and a curse. I have found out that she plays alone, even in class, and the teacher has said she is having difficulty getting to know her as she is so guarded. This is heartbreaking for me - although I would not say I was a terribly social person - I can find big groups daunting - at school I was never without a best friend. she seems not to have any friends and often says she plays alone and she likes this...i think this is just a cover up though as she doesn't seem happy to me, she goes in with trepidation every day. The teacher also said at parent teacher mtg "she's an only child isn't she?" (she isn't - she has a brother so this hurt me too) The wierdest thing was that after she moved school, she was a dream for about 5 weeks, we thought she was relieved to be away from whatever was going on at her old school, she was co-operative, there was a light behind her eyes (naff I know, but true), she was fun, everyday I dreaded it ending, and unfortunately it did - she is now back to being insular, disobedient..I dread picking her up - its a puzzle to us. she tells us no-one wants her to play, except to be the playground 'baddie' who chases everyone else, and she doesn't want to do this. Oh what a rant, but good to bore someone other than my husband!!