Would you put a 4 year old to a Year 1 class?

[rrbrigi]

Hi,

I have a son who will be 4 in July and will start the school in Sept 2012. I have lots of concerns which scholl to send him. He is a very bright child, I am not sure if he is gifted but academiccly very bright. He is very good in reading, math, computer, languages etc.
I would prefer to send him in year1, because he already knows everything that a reception year old child needs to know.
I heard even if a teacher does some extra work with gifted children it still would be the same work with more practice. E.g.: if children learn the phonics (s a t p i n) in school, the gifted children will learn the same phonics (even if he already knows them), he only will do extra works, so he does more practice but won't learn anything new. It means for me that he will loose the possibility to learn more quickly than others, and he will loose the interest about learning (doing the things that he already knows)and I think it can lead to behavioural issues.
Because of this reason I probably would like to send him in a private school where I will pay so I might have voice in his education. The other reason why I probably need to send him to a private school is because there is no option to start in Year1 instead of reception year in stat schools.

I would like to hear some comment from you, how your child school helped your child to develop his gift or brightness from reception year. Or if you have a child who started in Year1 at the age of 4 instead of a reception year euther in a state school or in a private school.
Please write to me if you know any good school for a bright child in West Sussex (Horsham area).

Thanks for your response.

I would prefer to send him in year1, because he already knows everything that a reception year old child needs to know.

Its not just about learning in Reception.

Yes, she was nearly 5 but she still miss the reception year.

A friend who's DD has just started in year one kept her back because her birthday is Aug 31st. She did an extra year at preschool, she didnt skip a year like you plan.

I think a year of Reception, playing with other children, would be a very good thing for his overall development. You seem very focussed on his academic development, but not to rate other skills as being important - people who are happy in their life are usually not those who have focussed exclusively on academic success at the cost of human relationships.

If you put him into an older class, his chances of making friends will be reduced - is that really what you want for him?

She missed it at school, but she did it somewhere else. You are planning to skip a year.

Yes, she was nearl y5, but she still miss the reception year.

Sorry I posted twice.

I have a DC with an August birthday and one with a September birthday and I promise you life is much harder to be young in your year. I actually tried to get my DC put down a year so he would be older (but didn't succeed).

There is so much research out there about disadvantaged children with late summer birthdays are at so many aspects of school life - socially immature, smaller, less good at sports etc etc. Please read some.

Your child is already at a disadvantage with a July birthday and it would be foolhardy to make it worse by putting him a year ahead.

And just to reassure you that I care nearly as much about academics as you clearly do, let me say my August DC just got 11 A*s at GCSE [proud mum emoticon]. Really, relax, let your child be with his peers and let him learn to socialise as well as to study.

She really does not do the reception year. I mean academicly. She did not learn the phonics, or adding number together in the nursery. She spent one more year in the nursery, being with children from 2 to 5. I understand that the one extra year in the nursery probably helped her socialy and phisicly.

I will admit a bias up front - my sister was labelled "gifted" and hot house most of her school life. She hated it, suffers socially and has taken almost 20 years to get back to enjoying being gifted ... she spent those years pretending to be average to avoid having attention drawn to herself. Its only now that she is shining her true potential and revelling in it.

I know some people will see this as scare mongering but I can't think of another way of showing how important the other side of school is. If your DS is not happy playing with other kids after 2 years of nursery then a year focusing on that as opposed to learning new things will help him so much more in the future. If he needs to jump a year then fine, but wait til he is older and more socially ready to deal with it

I'm also going to make a huge assumption - I don't think english is your first language. We are a bi-lingual family and some of your patterns are similar to my husbands. Apologies if I'm wrong. What is your son's first language? If its not english - this may be a reason he isn't so comfortable with his peers, it may also be a reason he prefers to sit and learn with you than in a group. Again massive assumption and sorry if out of line.

WorkingItOutAsIGo

If he as celever as I think, it really does not matter where he was born in the summer or not, because there will be time when he will be the youngest one in the class. If not in the first year, it will happen later. Beacuse I trully think he will be able to skip year sometime.

In answer to your question: No.

My DSs are March birthdays and I am delighted that they are all near enough 5 1/2 yrs old when they start school (in Scotland - no reception year).
Personally I think to start children earlier than their peers, no matter how gifted they might be, is to their detriment: socially, emotionally and possibly also academically.

My DS1 is talented in maths (now P4, doing S2 work) and his small town State school is doing really well supporting this whilst not neglecting his other needs (he is not at all more advanced that other children of his aged emotionally for instance).
The school is also encouraging his second language (my kids are bilingual).

I do come from a country where children start school after their 6th birthday so can just about cope with the thought of an over 5 year old at school, but even some of my DSs' 4 3/4 year old friends had problems adjusting to school.

Also consider his later development: what if he enters puberty at a late/normal age, but being (by far) the youngest in his class, he will be far behind as far as physical development goes.
He friends will turn 17/18, start learning to drive, go out etc and he won't be able to participate.
And why would you want him in formal education before he has to be, only to then enter the workplace v young and to have time to work longer until retirement, rather than allow him longer with a less structured day?

Most children's academic ability will have evened out by about 7-8 years of age, so IMO, tread carefully. Play with him, read to him/with him, go on days out, enjoy him.

They are adults soon enough.

I think you need to have a long hard think here and also talk to several headteachers of local schools.

DS is young for his year and very academically able. I am not boasting but he's streets ahead of his peers academically. But it would have been a disaster for him SOCIALLY to skip YR. He developed so much as a person in that year. The school have been fantastic and he does most of his actual learning with the year above (and for some things the year above that), but for most things class based, he's with his peers. And if there's one thing I can assure you is worrying about your child socially is heart-breaking. Reading, writing, maths - you can teach these with ease if the child is bright but they don't equate to happiness. Navigating the intricacies of social relationships are very hard to teach to a very young child - much harder than trying to teach academic skills.

Also you say he can't dress himself. Think about that. Being able to dress yourself, following rules, socialising, getting on with peers - those are all far more important life skills than what level your DS can read at or which sums he can do.

And not least, his right to a childhood. Get a good school and they will differentiate no problem for his 'brightness' within the appropriate year group, but prepare yourself now that as his parent he DOES need to learn to socialise with his peers and all the other skills which it would appear aren't coming as easily to him. And they are just as, if not more, important than academics.

My son first language is Hungarian. We only speak Hungarian at home. But his teacher from the nursery told me his English is perfect and he is thinking and reasoning in english as well as Hungarian. And he learns German in the nursery as well, and our new au-pair form Spain is just coming to teach Spanish form him. I trully beleived that languages made him as clever as he is now.

don't rush, let him be a child. Gifted or not.

It sounds like you have made your mind up anyhow.

The UK system does not routinely let children 'skip' years (even in independent schools) but instead a good school should provide extension work for gifted children. What you need to be asking is, if he turns out to be gifted (rather than just ahead at one particular point) then what will they do to extend him. Look round a range of schools with that in mind.

Ds is now 8. He has an IQ of 150+ and is classed as highly gifted. He functions at about 6 years ahead of his peers in educational terms.

He has never understood his peers and found it difficult to get on with them.

I have had to take a good hard look at what I want for Ds, particularly from the school environment. It has not been easy, but I urge you to focus on what you want the outcome to be and what you see in practical terms happening for your son. I have agonised over this for a long time and the issue only became easier to deal with when I looked at the long term.

I see no point in accelerating ds through school, I don't want him to do GCSEs at 12 and go to university at 14 - what would that do for him in life skills terms? He would never learn to get on with his peers and would always be the slightly socially unacceptable geek.

As it is, ds works with his peers. He gets frustrated by them. They get frustrated by him. He learns from this. He learns to be tolerant of the fact that they are not as clever as him and appreciates the fact that they have had to learn to tolerate his social difficulties.

A good primary school can provide work at differentiated levels and his school does this, but you have to accept that they won't cater for your child's every need. Ds is in a class of 31 so the teacher cannot focus on him all of the time. This too is something he needs to learn to accept.

Above all I want my son to be a happy, well adjusted person. In my view, this is best acheived by him learning the social lessons he needs to. He is bright enough to continue to learn in any situation you put him in and although he is seldom challenged at school he is happy there and does not see himself as in any way better than his peers.

Op in reply to your answer to mine: you are not hearing what I said, or what so many others have said. It's not all about whether you are smart but about whether you get on with people, develop persuasive and influencing skills, enjoy sports, have hobbies, have friends. What's the point of being a year ahead? None at all.

I am now going to say what I didnt say first time: you sounds very clearly like all you value is academic performance and you are going to push your DC regardless of anything any of us say. Be very careful - I know too many kids who were pushed and miserable. Some of them killed themselves when they were at cambridge with me.

Focus on the wider aspect of learning which many respondents have written about very eloquently here. Your son sounds way behind his age group in many vital skills.

I'm another making the assumption that English isn't your first language and I note you said you have taught your DS almost everything.

I understand you want your DS to do as well as he possibly can I think if I indulged myself I would be a very pushy parent (which is where school helps as I get frustrated when my DC can't do things as well as I think they should) however sometimes children need to learn to be children too and that can be just as important

theotherboleyngirl

We are not english. We moved here for 6 years ago. I do not know any scholls in the town. I mean I know thier name, but I do not know any more from thwm. what is in their prospectus, it is not the real life in the school. I just do not want to end up like other in this forum, saying thier child is not challanged enough, because the school does not let them do tis and this or, because the class teacher does not cooperate with them. choosing a good school in a country where you were not a child is very hard and is just a guessing. How should I choose? Who smiling better is better? I mean whoose prospectus are nicer it does not mean it is better, or whoose class teacher are nicer etc...

My kids are fluent in 3 languages and has been most of their lives - well as fluent as small children are. Yes it helps stretch their brains and I am a massive fan of encouraging this.
My son is older than yours - he's 5 now. Not in UK system so has been at "school" for 2 years already. The social side is hugely important and even if they can speak to a teacher or one 1-2-1 basis in multiple languages this is very different to playing in all the languages. Playing at 5 is very different to playing at 3. At 5 my son and his friends are like little dynamos - running, shouting, jumping when they play. I have observe its harder for my son to do this in his second and third languages than his first. Imagine doing that with kids who already think you're the "baby"?
Its your call - and you need to speak to the schools. But hand on heart - especially with the language - I would keep him in his peer group to focus on the social side. And if you're really worried some after school stuff.

I'm sure you'll find all the schools will be happy to arrange open days or visits for you to see how they work and more "inside" than printed prospectus. I'd start there and then speak to other local mums. I'm guessing the teachers and mums at the nursery can give you a very good view of the schools in the area.

go and visit them. Make appointments with each of the heads - ask to be shown around and have a chat with them. Talk to them about the concerns you have outlined here - ask what their approach would be. I think you will be surprised at how many ARE capable of differentiating for academic levels, but nurture the whole child. Also speak to his current nursery leader. Ask them their opinion. Ask ask and ask - every mum you meet, ask their opinions of local schools (do not mention your son's giftedness you might alienate them!). And also organise play dates with your DS to help him with the social side - set them tasks like scavenger hunts or craft to help him focus if he struggles to initiate play or play on the same level.

If you're worried about a school not being very good at stretching a child or catering to their particular educational needs, then this will happen whatever year they're in and all you'll do by skipping a year is give your ds the added complication of trying to navigate a peer group he is not socially equal to.

A good school with accommodate the child you have in the age appropriate year group.

I chose dd's school based on one factor in the end. Visits. I went to all the local schools. I went several times. I watched lessons, I talked to pupils, I talked to staff and I talked to parents. I read ofsted reports and school prospectuses yes, but I made my decisions based on what the school was not what it claimed to be. Do this. Go along, ask questions, observe the class. You'll be surprised how you have a gut reaction.

And your ds is struggling socially. The other elements of reception probably really will help him.

Although at 3 lots of children don't like playing with other children.