Would it be possible for Primary DC to keep their current teacher next year?

[UndertheCedartree]

Just wondering how feasible this would be?

I'd love my Y3 DD to keep her current teacher for when she goes back in September (into Y4). He will be in the best position to help her catch up and will make the transition much easier. My DD is on the shy side and I feel having to get used to a school environment in September (hopefully!) again is going to be a bit stressful for her. I'm sure it won't take her long to settle back in though, once she's with her friends again. She really misses her teacher and would love to be back in a classroom with him!

I jumped Year 6 to Year 2 once, that took me a few days to get used to pitching lessons right!

EYFS is very different, though, to the key stages. While teachers are employed to teach anywhere in school, it would be a foolish head who removed a successful Year 6 teacher, who wanted to stay in Year 6 and didn't want to go to Reception, to move them down there regardless!

It's a tough call isn't it. In normal times, I could not see year 6 jumping to early years unless it was the teachers choice, but during this time, it may be an option that they have to consider. Maybe for only 1 term or so until they move to the years they should be in, not for the whole academic year.

@ThisIsMeOrIsIt - I have occasionally seen big jumps like that before! But generally the teachers move within the same key stage.

Many schools will have already decided and told their staff where they'll be next year. We found out the day before half term.

And to the poster who said children will be coming back with all different levels...that is what every year is like anyway! I teach Year 4 and before lockdown had some children working at a Year 2 level and some who could easily work at a year 6 level. Trust that they will be able to see where the gaps are and differentiate appropriately to fill them.

I asked the question, mainly from a part-time school point and was told school were looking at but it was easier said than done.

I think the idea of same teacher to half term then change is madness. The kids will just be getting settled and boof they are all changed again different teachers.

Even before COVID my son has had the same class teacher the last 2 years and will be having her next year, so years 4-6. Although I'm not sure how much of that is usual and how much it was planned as there are a couple of autistic children in the class (including him)

I couldnt do this as mine are off to high school. And my ht wouldn't send me down to reception as I was specifically moved up to year 6 recently due to a few reasons...including the fact that no one else wanted to teach in y6!

And I'd flounder for a bit in reception as I've not done any foundation work in 25 years.

The children were 2 weeks away from finishing their 2nd term in school when we closed so why parents keep referring to them missing half the year I don't know.

DD’s teacher is so useless I’ll be furious if she gets stuck with her again. The school generally hasn’t covered itself in glory over the last three months, and this particular teacher has been MIA.

On a personal level I hope not. DS's teacher isn't very good. She's the only ill thought of teacher in the whole school so I'm looking forward to going back to the generally good experience I've always had with our school next year.

@underthecedartree

Are you suggesting the kids keep the same teacher to then teach the following year so if I am Year 4 then I will teach my current class year 5? Or do I keep my current class and reteach year 4? I don't know which solution you are proposing here but both are equally ridiculous.

Also, I'm not quite sure where you are getting the idea I don't care about my class catching up. How dare you suggest this, I am currently on maternity leave with a 4 week old baby and although I don't have to I am still doing a few hours work a week liaising with teachers and parents preparing them for transition as it would be very difficult for them to do it on their own.

Can people not see that asking a teacher to change classes and plan and teach a completely different scheme of work is frankly out if the question? Teachers do not turn up to ready made plans and resources. It is not the fact teachers aren't trained in teaching other classes but everything else that goes with it.

Teachers already have to adapt next years plans to suit the new style of teaching, to take a new class, familiarise with the planning and then try to adapt this to accommodate new learning would be a colossal amount of work. When would this planning be completed?? In our holidays o doubt.

Saoirse7 I think what she was suggesting was this years Yr4 teachers move up to Yr5 along with the class.

But as others have pointed out it means that the classes end up having to stay the same. Which poses problems for schools who like to mix classes up.
And it means Yr6/P7 teachers end up in Recpt/P1 and teachers coming and going posses a different problem.

As our HT said sounds great in theory esp for p/t blended learning but easier said than done!

@Saoirse7 - how dare you keep being so rude. I have not suggested either proposal - I did ask if it was feasible for a teacher to keep their class and teach them the next year. Some schools are doing this, apparently. So again you might not be able to manage but other teachers can. Your sweeping statements covering all teachers that you are trying to use to attack me are absurd. You yourself said you don't care about the DC catching up so to not understand 'where I got it from' is frankly ridiculous. Your repeated argument that teachers can't possibly teach a different year group, when many do it every year at my DD's school, is clearly false!

I sincerely hope not.

I really don't like dd's teacher this year. I'm not teacher-bashing at all - sometimes kids don't like their teachers and this is one of those times. If they are going to keep the same teachers this year I will seriously consider changing schools.

@Coffeeandteach - it's not that I don't trust that my DD's are able to deal with the different levels - I just felt it was going to be a tough challenge for teachers and wondered if it could be made easier on them. Do you not expect for the differences to be greater this September? Won't many DC who were behind have slipped further behind and many who are ahead be even more ahead?

Same here professor and it does seem to be this particular teacher. I have friends with dc in other years/classes and they've had a completely different experience. Other teachers in the school have been calling every two weeks. We've had two calls since March.

The other class in the year (two form entry) actually has a completely different timetable/work to do.

@DrMadelineMaxwell - I've not said they have been off half a year. It will be 1 term and 2 weeks if my DD goes back in September. However, I know she has missed a significant amount. For example they use Maths workbooks 2 per year. When the school closed to most DC they had almost finished the 1st book. So a whole book of Maths they haven't done.

@Blackbear19 - I hadn't thought about mixing classes. My DD's school don't do that, though.

I can see why some don't want to keep the same teacher if they have not been happy with them, as well!

@Saoirse7 you are being ridiculous and really rude.

Op is not teacher bashing. Teachers move years all the fucking time, its not like last years lesson plans are going to be relevent this year anyway. Teachers teach whole new subjects in secondary some years.

OP is perfectly entitled to put this forward, and in some cases it might work, not all. Personally I think a fresh start is probably needed.

@ChubbyPigeon - thank you. I'm not teacher bashing in the slightest. I have enormous respect for teachers.

Apologies OP if I have come across as rude but every post I read on here recently is about teachers being disposable and just adapting to any new ideas people throw out without guidance. I'm basing it on my own experience, having spent the last three years creating plans, making and buying (with my own money) resources that match my plans and I'm finally really happy with them. To then move to another age group in 8 weeks time having spent so much time, effort and money preparing for my current year group.

Omg, I have just reread my initial post at where you think I said I don't care about children catching up. This has been completely misconstrued. Please let me clarify what I mean by this, I said 'I am not overly concerned about catching up', what I meant by this is that teachers catch up every single year in September. I mean I am not overly concerned that we won't catch up because I would be confident kids will get caught up on what they have missed. Not that I am not concerned whether they catch up. A good teacher builds on prior learning, I always revise and often revisit what they already know as do most other teachers I know.

Please accept my apology if I came across as rude, I am just fed up 😪

I also didn't say teachers can't teach other year groups, I merely put forward the argument that people don't understand the amount of work teacher put in to planning for their particular age group. To have every teacher then teach a different age group the following year is a serious amount of upheave for each teacher who will often have to plan again for themselves.

Please tell me someone understand what I mean, I am not saying teachers cannot teach another class, I am saying it is a really unfair proposal for them to have to teach another age group they are not familiar with and THEN have to adapt this to the new way of teaching.

Saoirse7, most of us non-teachers never really thought about resources for teaching. We probably all assume that they'd be a cupboard somewhere in the school with the things needed to teach each year group or subject, not really thinking of teachers own stuff or having to hunt stuff out. Back in the day of school books half the work was already done.
Pick up the next book and off you go.

BTW I really appreciate the work my DSs teachers have done these last few months.

DD's teacher announced her pregnancy just before they closed so it definitely won't be the case for DD.

Several of our teachers are moving up with their classes. It’s not practical for everyone eg some have already taught their class for more than one year so will be better for those children to have a change.

Personally I think it’s good for teachers to move year groups every now and again (tho 6 to EYFS is pretty drastic!). Yes there are challenges to moving, extra prep etc while you learn a new year group’s curriculum but I still think staying in the same year group for years & years isn’t necessarily the best. And when you move up with a class you have the benefit of knowing the children so that kind of trades off the new year group learning.

In short, it will work for some schools / classes but not for others.