Advice on primary school grade dilemma - Australia

[DinkyTie]

When we left the UK last year dd had just completed grade 2. When she started school in Aus in Jan this year she was put in grade 2 again.

I have given it some time and I'm sure she needs to be in grade 3. I've a meeting with the school this week and I'm pretty sure they won't do anything so just looking for some advice.

She was 8 in January, is performing better in some areas here and at level in others. I don't think she's gifted but I feel she needs to be more challenged, and in her correct peer group.

Dh feels she's actually gone backwards since starting school here, which I can understand, but I felt there was too much pressure in the UK.

Peopleshouldread she completed year 2 last year, in July!

And I don't get 'she's not in high school'? Surely it's better to move before then.

But a strong point is we will likely move back to the UK at some point. Keeping her in grade 2 now would mean she'd skip 2 classes based on age, in the UK.

It's also not common and quite rare to move children mid year in Australia even in private schools.

Maybe it does happen but I’m in my 50’s and have never seen this.

I’m sure there is some background to this angst but I’m not getting it. The crux seems to be that the child is not challenged which is where the school is falling down and the focus should be on this rather than concentrating on which grade they are in.

As I said above kids can start kindergarten (first formal year of school, named differently in different states) with an 18 month range in age. As kids progress the reality is that the gap in kids doesn’t decrease, it increases. I’m not saying the older kids forge ahead and the younger fall behind. There are studies indicating that age fails to be a factor in ability/performance around Grade 3 so kids who are held back to have a head start then face a level playing field. However, if you look at Yr 6 for example you will have kids learning and performing at a Yr 3 level and kids learning and performing at a Yr 8 level. It does not mean those kids performing at a Yr 3 level are shifted back to Yr 3 based on ability and some kids are sent off to high school to join Yr 8. It means that the teacher must find a way to address every child’s needs. For instance in Yr 6 my DS and another child were given an individual program whereby they learnt Yr 8 maths as that’s where their ability was. DS was not accelerated in everything though, while above average in English he was not a year ahead so did what was standard for his year, some other kids were extended. Some kids got extension sections for projects to challenge them and align with ability and development needs, others got modified versions of projects that were pared back and heavily scaffolded. So the whole ‘grade’ thing is quite arbitrary in regard to educational aspects and more relevant to social structure in my experience.

The other thing is that I have had several friends who have had kids taught in stages rather than grades. So the school has classes arranged in stages not grades so all 1/2 are mixed together, all 3/4 are mixed together, all 5/6 mixed together. I think a few high schools were also doing the stage approach up to Yr10 as well. So if you went to them and demanded your Yr 3 child was moved to Yr 4 they would think you were cuckoo. You would have to request a move to the stage covering 5/6 and this would automatically be bumped on the head for social reasons.

It seems as though the real problem is your child is not being challenged or extended which is the teachers responsibility.

@DinkyTie

I agree that is a while ago, but you did say she was on par with some things, and quite advanced in the other areas. So her ability is mixed. It is still quite unusual for children to skip grades mid year, and may depend on numbers. The Head though , may have already noticed if she is unsuitable for Y2 ( you'd hope) and have a positive answer for you.

My 'not in high school comment "was a throw away suggesting at such an early stage at school, I personally would be more relaxed about her not being intellectually challenged in the areas she does well in than I would for a high school student.Eight is still young. It's why I suggested the Kumon as a way to extend her but not unsettle her again after moving countries and then settling in at school and then changing classes and having to settle in again.

And depending on her age when you choose to return to the UK she will be out of sync with her UK counterparts in subjects and their content anyway regardless of what age group she would be in. Obviously in high school and the later years of primary our curriculum is focused on completely different things to the UK. Especially the social sciences and often language choices, and the English curriculum.
If you don't leave till much later in her school career, you should hunt down a school here that runs the International Baccalaureate programme.

I hope you get the outcome you are after.

Great post @ HoppingPavlova

Thanks @Peopleshouldread and @HoppingPavlova, things to think about.

I guess I don't see it as skipping a year, but being placed in the correct year. Dh settled them as I was working with a long commute.

I personally wouldn't have settled on year 2 but dh wouldn't make a fuss and when I spoke with the school they said let's just see.

Anyway, I'm speaking with them tomorrow and will have a better understanding of the situation.

It s irrelevant what class he is in during his stay in Australia, he LL go back to the relevant class in the UK later. Don't get hung up.by class names or by curriculum. You're stressing for nothing. Let your child go to school without this in the background.

If you're talking to me Nlds, I'm not hung up about (I don't think )

But why is it ok down the track to jump 2 classes but it's getting 'hung up' trying to get DD put in the correct class now .

It will be MUCH harder for her to catch up at grade 6 or year 7 than grade 3, surely?

I'm Australian, I went through the system, have lots of family and friends going through it now. There is no way DD would have been put in at 6 yo into prep.

I'm guessing you may already have had the meeting at school, but if not, can you pull up the English National Curriculum for Y2, and compare with the Grade 2 and Grade 3 work for your state? Show to school that she has already covered much of the Aus grade3 work (if this is the case).

Good Luck!

M y meeting is Friday, that's really helpful SunshineSpring

What is the correct class for date of birth?

They can start at 5 or 6. She is a Jan baby and would have started the Feb after she turned 5 if we had been in Aus at that time.

What is the correct class for date of birth in NSW school?

What are the youngest and oldest dates of birth for class 2 in NSW?

In year 2 the oldest children would be turning 8 mid year. Yes some might turn 8 at the beginning of the year but that is not the norm.

And you will still find year 2 children who are 6 and won't turn 7 until the middle of the year.

However I have heard private schools have their own policies with regards to school starting age, students are older and they use different cut offs. This may be the reason?

Meeting went well, principal seemed positive about my request and said she would have an answer for me next week.

Oh I'm glad to hear it. I hope she gives you the go ahead.

Dd1 is moving to grade 3 on Monday.

The fact she completed year 2 last year in the UK (and was tested at the start of this year as capable for grade 3) meant it was possible to do this and gave the principal a strong argument to request it.

My advice though is to push for the right grade from the get-go because it requires all sorts of approval to bump them up once they're in the system.

Fabulous. Enjoy the second half of the year in Grade 3, MiniDinky!

How much are you charged as expects for public education op?

I could have written your original post.. many years ago. My dd was only into reception in the uk tho. Could read and write after pre school in the uk. Came to Aus and bam.. omg. Culture shock.. we nearly died. We went through every hoop. 6 months I we were told we could move her up as she was the older part of the year and easily able to complete the work. However best advice we ever got was from a guidance officer who told us that the older kids in the year do better. Thrive. Better to leave her age appropriate etc.
so now she is 16. Just completed her first uni subjects while still in year 11. Smashing school. Healthy. Well adjusted. Yes at a good private school. But what we have learnt is don't stress about the comparison. Funnily enough. Australians also run multinational companies, become lawyers, doctors, eminent award winning individuals.. the uk in fact just because the push early education don't have a monopoly on success. They will integrate back into any education system anywhere in the world.