Move another year ahead at maths or bad idea?

[duplofrenzy]

DC summer born y2, going to y3 for maths, gets the concepts v quickly and then no point in more repetition. Merit in going onto y4 for maths or terrible idea in terms of child happiness/ overall well being?
Anyone any experience of similar / any advice?

Is she being taught with her year group - ie in top set or -not set - but different work? Or would this be with an older year group? DD in top set yr 6 and they are working at level 7/8 on certain topics but she is with her age group so I'm happy with that. Not sure I'd like it so much if she was being taught with an older group

DS1 is in similar position except it's made easier by the fact that he attends a small school with mixed year group classes, hence he spends mornings with the year 3/4 class doing maths and literacy and then goes back to the year 2 class for the afternoon.
I think the thing with maths is if they've got the concept then they've got it, I'm not sure what endless repetition of work thoroughly understood would add except boredom. DS1 likes it when he is set problem/ puzzles or challenges that have involved finding patterns in maths etc so that helps.
The only issue I'm having is that he is now saying he would prefer not to have to go back to year 2 in the afternoon!
I'm worrying a bit more about what will happen when he is in year 5/6. It's so hard to know what is best for them isn't it...

DS is Y1 and in YR went to maths in Y1 and now goes to Y2. He is not the only one, which helps, but he seems to find it all quite normal. When in Y2 class, he and a couple of others work at Y3-4 level all the time but I think there is some general work where the language used and concepts better presented in the older class.

I am wondering already what will happen in Sept as Y3 is 5 mins walk down the road!

Its a great idea to be taught at a slightly challenging pace, ensuring along the way that all concepts have been thoroughly learned. This seems to be what your school has been doing.

Its a horrible idea to ask a child to go years without ever breaking sweat but still comfortably achieving full marks every time. This is the alternative.

However, its not a good idea to get too far ahead either because the system just isn't built to cope with it (and it tends to push back causing stress for you and your DC).

Both my Dc are very good at maths. DS2 in particular has spent years repeating work that he can calculate faster, and with greater accuracy, than anyone else in the room, including the teacher. Its boring and makes him feel unimportant as its very plain that no one cares.

However, Ds1 has now reached a point where he's so far ahead that there isn't another level available. He's got 1 1/2 years to kill or he do his GCSEs early. However, even though that sounds like something that might be good, I have to think about it against his other subjects. He could do a GCSE in maths next year, before the rest of his year even start the GCSE course. But then what? I wouldn't want him to not open a maths books for two years and then start the A Level course, and I wouldn't want to jeopardise the other GCSEs by simultaneously doing his maths A level.

So, having been almost all the way through the whole system, as much as I hated what my Dc went through at primary school, I think its better to progress at a snail's pace with the rest of the class than face the consequences of racing ahead.

Duplo, have you asked the school what they will do in years 5 and 6 to continue your child's education in maths? Will they be able to give 121 if no other child is at this level? Talking to the school about this could help you decide. Also, how will they progress at secondary?

There are plenty of threads outlining the problems of enrichment, but at it's best it could offer a viable alternative to going further ahead.

I did chose to let dd go ahead, but then I was having problems with primary school not recognising she was ahead at maths. Your primary school does seem much more helpful.

Var, I believe A level is going to one end of course exam, so have you considered the option of dc doing the A level over 3 years?

Give it a try.

y2 DD sat with y4s for English. There was one yr4 who gave her grief for being a swot, but fine otherwise (that yr4 was annoying to everybody). DD pushed herself & managed in English with her peers after that.

I rather like it when they are taught in their year group if they are still doing primary school maths (i.e. upto the end of keystage 2). This includes, for example, a year 2 child doing year 4 work etc. nrich has great problems for enthusiastic math pupils. It is nice if they are with friends. The problem is when they are working above P6 level. Can the teacher get input from a senior school?

It's worth searching through past threads as there is loads of infirmation about different ways of supporting children and like Richmal says, all schools seem to take different approaches which will then influence what you do. I think it also depends how able a child is to work independently and extend themselves. My DS has always been very self motivated and I can honestly say he's never been bored. For him it was always really important that he stayed with his class.

We've been lucky that we've never had to push as both schools have recognised his ability without question. He had half an hour a week 1:1 from year 5 in primary but always worked with his class; he was really able to work independently, sometimes on class work and sometimes on his own work. He reached level 8 in year 5 and by the end of year 7 had consolidated so there were no gaps in his understanding up to and including level 8.
Now in secondary he gets an experience that sounds very similar to kittens DD, with weekly 1:1 outside of lessons which focuses on GCSE and some A level work, plus a mentoring session working on UK Maths Trust material. He works independently but with his peer group.
If a child is also able in literacy you can use this to help them broaden their thinking and skills. For DS in primary it was Murderous Maths, and now it's the Simon Singh books that are really developing his broader thinking, such as Fermats Last Theorem and the Simpsons books.

Thanks for the book recommendations Ahbut. DS has reread murderous maths so many times that I'm bored of seeing them around the place. Amazon here I come. Are they suitable for primary kids?

DS is year 8 and a strong reader, so I think they are more secondary level. My impression is that you ned to understand enough about the mathematical concepts to 'get' the books, which he wouldn't have done until last year really. The Simpsons ones are the most accessible, Fermat is a much more advanced read.

I have just ordered the simpsons book and one about codes for DS. He is only year 4 so if he doesn't like them they can sit on a shelf.

Hope he likes them ??

The UKMT mentoring scheme is really good. Can your DC laterly start looking at these.