Can year 2 pupil go into year 3 for ability?

[icklepicklesmum]

My daughter is currently in a year 1/2 class and has achieved the grade she needs to achieve by the end of year 2 already.

Next year she is going into an all year 2 class as our school does not have a year 2/3 split class.

This means she is going into a class where the remainder of the children are basically anything up to a year behind her.

Is is possible for a year 2 pupil to go into a year 3 class based on ability?

This year the teacher has worked with us to ensure she doesnt get bored which is what happens when the work gets too easy. Each time she has said she is bored or the work is too hard she has made it harder. She has ended up getting better grades than most of the year 2 pupils in the class.

If any teachers can help with this or if any of you have experienced this I would appreciated your help.

I plan on seeing the class teacher to discuss our concerns so it would be good to hear some of your experiences beforehand.

Thanks very much

Pixie - there is no GREAT need to move her up as you say.

and yes I am questioning a teachers ability!! .. unfortunately we are not all lucky to have good teachers. In my childs school there are children that are actually going backwards!!

I would be a bad mother if I didnt look into all this.

Hi Claire

There are so many bad schools in this town. The only good school is very hard to get into but its something to look into. Thanks for the suggestion, its much appreciated

If the teacher was aware of the meeting and failed to attend or send apologies that is also unprofessional. I would say there can be 101 things crop up unexpectedly in schools but would expect a teacher to make other staff aware at least.

sorry the thread was a bit long and I got a bit lost. have you already asked if she can go up for just literacy/numeracy? tbh though it doesn't sound like they are falling over themselves to stretch their students - I'd be questioning the teacher's ability too. otoh, with private tuition or even just you doing catch up work at home, it needn't have any great effect on her progress so long as she is happy in class. it's only primary school after all. if she's bored and doesn't feel challenged, that's a different matter.

By icklepicklesmum Wed 14-Jul-10 09:41:14
My daughter is currently in a year 1/2 class and has achieved the grade she needs to achieve by the end of year 2 already.

Can I ask what grade has she achieved exactly ?
It might help understand your concern ...

sanfairyann

She has been bored and not challenged in the past at this school. The school have a history of saying she is getting too far ahead of the rest of the class so they dont want to take her further forward. They seem to be happy if they get a pupil to 2B at the end of year 2. Its like they tick a box once they get a pupil to the level they need the average child to get to and dont want to take it any further. We have had meetings in the past and have seen the ticked boxes and been told she cant really go any further forward because of the other children. So far there is no offer of going anywhere for extra lessons - the teacher that might have been able to tell us if this was something they are thinking of doing didnt even turn up for a meeting tonight when she said she would come!!
It might only be primary education but when you have a child that enjoys learning you would think the school would want to encourage it.

This is a bit of a side issue ickle but I think I would aim for some sideways stretching stuff in terms of activities. Normally I am very pro physical activity clubs, and of course it depends on how much running around the school offers (and of course it depends on what your daughter wants to do) but I wonder if you'd considered a chess club and/or a musical instrument, especially an orchestral one?

Imarriedafrog yes I'm teaching Y2 at the moment

Hi,icklepicklesmum. I do think moving your dd up a year would be a short-sighted, temporary solution to your problems. What if she continued to be top of the class - would you want her moved up yet another year??? Or if she struggled - could she cope with being moved back down a year? Or if she got to the top of the school a year early, but because of the level to which the school was generally teaching this wasn't actually any better than average for children a year older than her: would you want her to go straight on to secondary school, where some of the children will be coming from far better-performing primary schools, and where she may well feel overwhelmed and miserable at that stage, wishing she was a year older (and a year closer to puberty)? Or would you want her to stay twiddling her thumbs without extra provision for another year at a primary school whose ability to teach bright children you seriously doubt?

I think it far better for you to sit down now with the school and work out a long-term solution to the problem of how they can keep your dd stimulated appropriately, eg with the help of an IEP, whilst keeping her in her appropriate year, than to attempt a temporary, bodge-up of a fix to a long-term issue. In fact, to move her up a year as a supposed fix to the issue is just letting the school get away with it - there just should not be an issue with giving your dd appropriate work within her year group.

I've ahd related discussions with our LEA- although I wanted to hold ds3 (ASD) back a year- same basic thing though (and high fives Lingle even if knwoing it's immature about SN board).

basically the answer generally is a simple no as they then have major issues what to do with the child at age 11, 16; would you want your child progressing to Comp / Gramamr at age 11 with all teh associated social issues adn freedoms that go with it? Leaving school at 15 / 17 (depending on where you are- where I hail from kids elave at 16 to go to tertiary college, no sixth forms)?

So that generally is an LEA's take on it, and school ahve to go via them.

Hi rabbit

I would love to sit down with the teacher but having gone to a meeting at the school tonight she failed to turn up!

We are now waiting for a meeting with the HT to discuss it.

I will definitely look into the help of an IEP, thank you

I'm glad that you will be taking into account the suggestions for how you can help her within her own age group.

If the teaching really is that bad, then I think TBH you should be looking at another school. There is no way that a teacher shouldn't be able to differentiate between pupils who are 1 or 2 years apart in ability. There is also no way that a child who is bright and willing to learn should be bored all the time, as usually children like that they are self motivating and so find things to learn. Obviously your daughter and the school are not working well together, which is a shame.

I was teaching reception but have been back in Y2 (after a long break in reception) since Christmas

Hi Imarriedafrog

We havent discussed much at all as the teacher that was supposed to tell us what she plans to do with her next year failed to even turn up to the meeting.
Some enrichment courses sounds good,I will add it to my list of things to discuss.
Thank you

yes my daughter does some club but not attached to the school. She does gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and swimming

icklepicklesmum you won't be guaranteed an IEP for your daughter. We no longer use them

icklepicklesmum, you are coming across as being quite passive aggressive. Do you mean to be?

Hi domestic

Its a little hard to find things to learn when there are no books on the desk and they are split into groups and are not allowed to leave the desk. But if she could find something to learn from she would.She does that at home all the time.

just do a bit at home if you are concerned....

still very young - i think they should be painting with water on paving stones at this age

As I say then, the lerning environment in the school clearly isn't meeting her needs. Find a better school and she will thrive in her own yeargroup^.

DS2's teacher isn't perfect in every way, she makes the odd decision which makes me a bit but she does teach a class of 30 year 1 and year 2 pupils at a level suitable to each child. Which, TBH, is what I would expect a teacher to be able to do!

quite a few y1s are reaching 2bs at our school, it's not uncommon and certainly a y2 teacher should be able to cope with entry at this level
they probably resist y2/3 mix as it crosses key stages and for this alone your dd would seem best in y2

I'm genuinely not being awkward, but your last statement:

"Its a little hard to find things to learn when there are no books on the desk and they are split into groups and are not allowed to leave the desk. But if she could find something to learn from she would.She does that at home all the time. "

Why does she need books? Why can't she busy herself counting the ceiling tiles and looking for mathematical patterns, or ordering the shades of a colour she sees, or thinking about how they make a chair, or whatever? It doesn't have to be a linearly academic activity leading to a test result to be learning.