Should I contact DD’s primary school to explain she’s bright before she starts in September?

[OutnumberedDad]

I had a lot of excellent feedback from this forum two years ago regarding my dd (thread linked at the bottom) and I’m dipping back in for more advice please.

DD4 starts school in September and my wife and I are confused if we should contact her primary school in advance to explain that she’s quite able, particularly at maths?

DD is the bright “hears it, gets it and remembers it” sort of child. She has good literacy skills and can read basic books but she prefers being read to. She will definitely benefit from working through properly taught phonics so even though she’ll be a little bit ahead I’m not sure I’d even mention this.

However, in maths, she really shown a very good mathematical brain. Inspired by Numberblocks (watching it with DD2 reignited her interest) and spending more time with us in lockdown, she’s really immersed herself into the world of numbers.

She loves watching videos on YouTube to learn and she knows her times tables up to 12 x 12. Although some of that is rote, she can add double digit and single digit numbers applying the patterns she’s spotted in the times tables and without the need to count on. She loves to use maths to compare all of our ages, working out how old family members will be when she is x years old etc.
She can also double and half effectively by breaking the numbers in to parts (eg 23 + 23 = 20 + 20 and 3 + 3) and she has grasped things like division and remainders and working out 97 + 7 = 104 or 997 + 7 = 1004 so her understand of place value is quite good without being “taught” (we have tried to answer her questions by explaining things a little bit but nothing formal or curriculum based)

All of this is gladly very normal in this setting which I am very grateful for and you will also know that I’m not bragging when I say these things.

Essentially, for the most part, a lot of the first couple of years of dd’s maths aren’t going to be very useful. DD is happy and fairly confident but not showy so she may blend in to her surroundings and quietly get on with work that she has already mastered. She will absolutely benefit from the routine setting of reception. I just don’t want her to get stifled in maths and feel maybe I should give her teacher a subtle heads up if possible.

Ordinarily, I think I would mention this to her teacher in the home visit, but there are a few issues:

We may not have a home visit or a normal transition for dd due to COVID-19
Schools have a lot of pressing priorities at the minute which I am mindful of
I am a secondary maths teacher and I really don’t want to be that pushy parent from Day 1!!
A teacher doesn’t always appreciate being told how to do their job before it’s even started.

What do you all think that I should do?

Many thanks and apologies if there are any typos!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gifted_and_talented/3182253-Another-gifted-at-2-y-o-thread-You-bet

Do you really think they wouldn't notice if it wasn't flagged in advance?!

This!

Anyway, even if you don’t have home visits-they’re will be some sort of phone call/transition conversation where you can say in passing to the teacher how much she loves maths, if you really feel the need.

One of mine was like this across the board. I never mentioned it to his teachers, on the grounds that it was obvious and that they would very quickly notice it. They did. They also kept him profitably occupied.

She sounds very bright and her teachers are bound to notice. If you mention it yourself though, you’ll only get eye rolling. I’d probably frame it as “she really enjoys maths” or something.

Is she already at nursery/childcare setting? They will normally do a report for school so will mention it...therefore no need

I wouldn't mention it, my September born was already reading when she started school and was still sent home for the first term with picture books with no words in, then very, very simple books after Christmas.
Being in school is a very different experience than being at home and from what the teacher said Dd hadn't shown she could do it, but I suspect as an only child she was more interested in the other children rather than doing more of what we did at home. So we read the school book once a week then read the other books she was more interested in for the rest of the week. Children have so much to learn beyond academics in their first years of school.
Once she was in Yr 1 things got better she was more settled with the social side of things and the rhythms of the school day/year and she moved through the reading scheme quickly.

No, please don’t. You’d be surprised how many parents do this & it’s cringeworthy. Teachers know who is ‘bright’. They don’t need a warning.

Don't.

A good teacher will soon spot which children arrive with advanced skills and should then encourage their development.

Plenty of time to discuss her abilitiy level and progress with the school later, after they've got to know her and she's found her feet with the other children.

In my experience the teacher will spot it and perhaps do a small bit of stretching within the work set for the year group but realistically your dd won't be given work that is years ahead. (And any stretching probably won't take place very quickly).

My own ds is similar and whilst being very capable and just naturally understanding how numbers work, he has plodded along with the rest of his year, fortunately he's in a composite class this year and so the teacher could give him the work that the year above were doing.

Following their peers is great for filling any blanks and allows them to feel confident but any real stretching won't take place at school ime.

Ds is really happy at school, loves "being good at maths" and only occasionally complains that he is bored so I'm happy not to push the teachers/ds too much and at home he does maths for fun.

No, I was tempted to do this with my DS. So glad I didn't. There's usually a parents evening in October, so only a few weeks in. I'd be prepared to talk about it then, in case they haven't picked it up. As you've probably gathered from posting on here, it's not that unusual, so they'll know what to do.
DD started a year earlier, age 3, at the school nursery, so the school already knew she could read fluently, do Year 2 mental maths etc, going into Reception. I was just as happy with how they stretched DS as DD, even thought they hadn't known when he started.

I phrased it like 'she enjoys maths' and preschool wrote a handover note which said she was smart. Similar skills to your DD. School rolled their eyes. I seriously doubted we had done the right thing.

Took a while I think, the first term I would say and suddenly she was off like a rocket and the school really went with her. They were much better than we were at spotting the gaps too. So times tables for example, she knew and they knew she knew by Christmas in YR. But they worked on speed of mental recall of any calculation than just e.g. repetition of a song of the numbers. So she always felt she had a challenge.

They will notice but it may feel, particularly the first term, that it's slower than you would like. Our school took part in the pilot assessment so she had 1 on 1 time with the teacher and could show in the first few days she could identify 1765 etc. it felt like they shrugged this off. They did however, and do, have a much bigger focus on phonics and reading in reception than in maths - the idea being once they can free read, they can learn anything.

So no, don't be that parent until Jan/Feb if you feel progress is slow. Reception have a different focus, at least at our school. Learning about school routine and socialisation which, in hindsight, is far more important for their school lives.

The other advice I would say is something you probably already know but trying to get her to always show her working out. If she is ahead because you have taught her then she possibly already does this. Ds wasn't particularly taught, he will just know the answer but it has (and still is) taken many years to get him to show working out both in English and maths. His answer for mental arithmetic is generally always right but he can't always explain or show the method, similar for English comprehension- no marking on the page. Don't be surprised if they team her up with a child who can't do the maths. They will be wanting her to develop her ability to verbalise and show her working. As you know this will be important for secondary school. As it stands ds is at risk of losing marks on SATs because he goes straight to the answer without being able to show how he got there. Whilst being able to do complex mental maths quickly is great for some questions and as a party trick, being able to show the working out and explain it using a taught method is vital too.

yeah, no, don't mention it, the school will likely immediately classify you as one of "those" parents, maybe just mention she really enjoyed it?

unfortunately I would not expect them to necessarily notice either, my DS2 is quite good at maths and does easily get through his 4 years older brother's maths, nobody at his school has noticed, he did have one teacher in his third year who picked it up, so he got extension materials that year (not just in maths), we thought we had turned a corner but the following year we were back to normal, in fact, he even got a fairly average mark in maths that year

we have given up, we just do extension work with him at home, there are plenty of good online resources, in the end, what matters most to me at this stage, he is in primary, is that he is happy and has good friends, which he is and does!

we do homeschool for part of some years when travelling for work, so that's our chance to cultivate his interest and talents

teachers have lots of kids, and if a child is quiet it is sometimes difficult for them to notice!

The other advice I would say is something you probably already know but trying to get her to always show her working out. My friend's son is an Oxbridge maths undergrad and really struggles with this aspect as it comes so naturally to him.

My son was and is the same remembers everything etc brilliant at reading .. I didn't mention but the school picked it up ... he is not great at handwriting but that is fine ... don't say anything let the scholl come to you my friend son is e exceptional and the scholl advised them

No. They’ll find out in their own time.

Maybe she could skip school altogether and they could put her to work on solving the coronavirus vaccine?

You can add it to the forms they will send out.

My son was very capable at maths also. He is typically developing, but was asynchronous. There was plenty for him to work on. He has just about evened out at age 14.

We have been talking about this because out little girl is an all-rounder, and it is so much easier.

I'm a teacher. I was also a child who was way beyond my class and was bored (academically bored - I still loved school!!!) until I got to Y3 and a teacher started pushing me. I would mention it. I think a maths ability that far ahead could easily get missed.

PS I think if you explain it just as you have here, especially the bit where you think she will benefit from phonics, then you will come across well. I've never taught Reception (and haven't actually taught for 4 years since becoming a mum) but I would want that sort of information about a child entering a class at any age. It would help me plan what I am going to do with them. I would not want to discover it for myself, potentially six weeks in or longer! Waste of time!

I would tell them what she is able to do. When I taught reception I would ask about their counting and 1:1 correspondence, so it may come up naturally. She is significantly ahead of the early years curriculum in Maths. Like you say, no doubt she will benefit from other areas of EYFS but I would want to know as the teacher so I could borrow some resources from higher up the school.

One of DD's friends was in a similar position when they started school. Yes, the parents mentioned it - why wouldn't you? This child could read fluently and add up, subtract etc long figures before reception. The school - run of the mill, underfunded semi rural primary - is able to stretch him. There is lots to do and learn in school and he found some other things challenging.

I would see mentioning this as helping the teacher save time - but for the love of God be subtle! I wouldn't use words like "bright" or "above average" - be specific, brief and objective. If you say that she likes adding long numbers or doing division it will speak for itself.

Yes, please tell them. Just so they know exactly what they are dealing with.

I guess it depends on whether or not you think the school will be able to see her abilities. I'd be worried about a school that couldn't, given that they're full of education professionals.

I don't think she'll have nothing to learn. They'll be teaching her building blocks in maths that you might not have taught her.

Also, one of the best tips we had for getting kids ready for school were make sure they can use cutlery, get dressed and undressed independently, including shoes on the correct feet, can use scissors safely and recognise their own belongings.

School is way more than maths at that age.

I only ever mentioned it when the child got into trouble for correcting the teacher. Mostly they worked it out. Maybe once a year I’d have to send a reading book in because they were given one from a dull reading scheme they’d been able to read since nursery. Generally they were put to good use helping peers who struggled or doing jobs like counting dinner money.
There is so much to learn still from getting dressed to the way to tell someone you don’t need counting sticks. I’d not worry. Bright children can fill their minds from their own curiosity.
What they do need your help with is telling someone without causing offence that work is too easy and their understanding that others will have different skills.

Reception will ‘baseline’ all children so will know her abilities but as someone else has mentioned pupils also have more to learn than subjects and also get taught building blocks to learn. Something home schooling has highlighted to many people. You’re not teaching then the knowledge but the skills to learn on their own. The teacher will mention it to you if she’s exceptionally bright. Please don’t tell them - you’ll be ‘that’ parent 😳