can mixed classes ever be better than a straight yr class?

[mumofthreebeauties]

DS is going to be in one with younger children.

it did dd1 the world of good as she got to be 'group leader' adn showed her natural aptitude at looking after young children -hence her confidence improved

my dds confidence improved tenfold too & she still got a fantastic education. (just got mainly level 3s in her year 2 sats) next year she will also be in a mixed year 2/3 class with only 22 children in it. the nearest school to us has 35 in their year 3 single age class

no
latho lal are mixed to a degree
THE WORST ones are the infant/junior mixes( liek firestorms)
odnt touch em wiht abarge pole

the infant/ jjunior curriculum is so differnt that our head will do her lal to avoid any overlap

No. It is a planning nightmare for the teacher. Bas enough to plan a single year 'set; class without adding different ages into it. The children lose out.

deffo

that's really interesting because I have just accepted a place at our little local church school about 2 mins from our house. we originally had opted for private and then because of a low birthrate where I live were phoned by the school and offered the place. the only thing which put me off was the mixed class thing. I'd be really interested to know people's experiences of this.

think it really can help the brigther ones of the lower aged group iyswim...
no experiecne otherwaise though

I've heard such mixed things no pun intended. 3 little girls took me round the school and one had been in a mixed and one had never been (both year 6) they were all gorgeous girls, really articulate and lovely. the one who was in the mixed said she thought it had been a great experience the one who had never been in them said she thought they weren't good. she was the one who had passed an exam for a very academic selective school but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. the head said its nothing to do with being academic but I'm not sure I believe that.

my dd has just started at a mixed class school so would also be interested to hear of peoples experiences as I worry about it working efficiently

they dont miss out

thats bolleaux

dd1s schgool fab and they have to do it (small class sizes)

enid, has your daughter been in both situations ie. the youngest in the older class and the oldest in the youngest if that makes sense?

never youngest in older class

but oldest in youngest

she came on in leaps and bounds and the standard of work is fab and much higher than another local primary even if I say it myself

that is really encouraging. actually when I think of it when ds1 joined a new nursery following us moving house, he was just 2 in a 2-3 year old class. almost all the children were nearly 3 and it seemed they were worlds apart. I was very worried about him but the nursery encouraged me to give it a go. within weeks he had moved on leaps and bounds, his speech, everything just improved dramatically. this year he is the oldest in 3-5 group. he is 4 and a half and some of them are just 3. I thought he'd be bored silly but he has loved being the big boy and his confidence and sensitivity have improved dramatically. hmmmmmm, am thinking it is a good thing now.

honestly she loved it

I was worried at first tbh

but it was the absolutely best thing

she gained soooooooooo much confidence

but what if they havvvvvvvvvve confidence

then they usually go up

they choose half to go and half to stay

I am a primary school teacher and have taught both mixed and single year classes. IME mixed classes are not good for most children.

why tilly

hoooooooray Tillyrose ...i despair of mixed age classes and have longed for many years to hear a teacher say that ..THANKYOU

Moved dd2 (10) and ds (9) away from a mixed class school and so glad I did. It just can't work for all the children. Hasn't worked for any of mine. Able dd1 lacked stimulation and had very few bright kids to mix with in a small class, able dd2 but 2 years younger found herself in the same maths group as dd1 - ludicrous - and taught by a TA. ds was constantly put with younger less able children because he is dyslexic. Maybe it's just a bad example of a small rural school, but as a sometime teacher I'd go for single year classes every time. My children are much much happier.

mine too sweedishmum - I moved mine and despite the upheavel it was THE BEST move i ever made...mixed age classes suck for bright or OLDER age children

well explain absurdly good ofsted then

ofsted is not the bea l and end all

Our area its the same - ofsted one week of the year me and my kids 52 weeks - I dont believe if education authorities had all the money in the world that any would observe this absurd system