Holding a 5 year old back at school!!

[LisaJane3]

My 5 year old daughter started in Year 1 this september! Before she started we we made aware (weren't given a choice) that she and 5 others would be in a mixed class with reception children as shes a bit behind the rest of the year! She was still meant to be doing year 1 work but at a pace she could cope with. Have found out she has been doing same work as reception kids so have asked for her to be put back with the other year 1s then to be told she wouldn't cope as shes too far behind!! So my question is what should a 5 year old be able to do? My daughter can count up to 20, write her name and surname, all our family's names and her 3 best friends names! She can spell small words by sounding them out on her own. She reads stage 2 of the chip and biff books fine and she knows the alphabet! Do you think there right to be holding her back?
Thankyou in advance for any help on this x

sounds great to me!! perhaps they mean that on the specific work they are doing she wouldn't be able to catch up in the time left rather than her actual ability iyswim

My dd same age and yr1 is very ahead but the general for her class mates is stage 4/5 reading lots of blending sounds. Can write a simple and short sentence. Number bonds to 10 most even to 20 and simple number sums. Hope this helps. Iiwy I would have her put back with her yr1 peers and do extra work at home to build confidence.

I would ask the school what they are expecting her to do. Its really hard to say based on things like counting to 20 as most of the work they seem to do in year one is less structured than that. For example if she can count to 20 but not understand the idea of one less, one more etc etc.
Personally i would talk to the school and if they have concerns take their advice on what to do - if she is struggling with year one work and she feels behind then it may simply make her miserable and put her off schoo altogether.

Are you sure that your daughter has been 'held back' because of her ability, rather than being placed in a mixed class due to numbers? A lot of schools have mixed classes if they have over 30 in a year group, in which case it would make sense to choose the Year 1s who would most benefit from a less formal teaching style for another year IYSWIM.

Has your daughter been placed on the SEN register? Does she have an Individual Education Plan? It sounds as though the school are acting in her best interests but are not communicating well with you about what they are doing and why. If I were you, I would ask for a meeting with the class teacher, and ask some of the following:

*What specific areas is she behind in, what does she need to do to catch up and what support are they giving her to achieve this?
*What are they doing to ensure that she doesn't fall further behind her peers by being in a reception class?
*If she doesn't have an IEP, why not?
*What are their plans for re-integrating her into the Year 1 class- do they have space in the Year 1 class for when they feel she is ready? If they don't have space and intend for her to remain in a mixed YR/Y1class, what will happen when she leaves the school (and presumably will be rejoining her year group)?
*How do the school feel that you can best support your daughter's learning?