'I want a new school with harder work'

[SylvanianFamily]

So how do I deal with this?
Specifically, my Y2 DD says:

• she gets fed up of the other kids always asking her the answers;
• she wants to move on to division, but the class 'has' to stay on multiplication; and,
• the teacher 'doesn't believe' her group when they say they have finished their 'reading book' 'six times' (no, I don't quite follow either).

She's kept bringing this up since the start of the year and I feel I have to respond in some way to her concerns. AFAIK, there are no 'social' problems driving this - she has a close best friend who is also a 'nerd', and several other chums across different classes.

At parents evening last term, the teacher said she was streets ahead on reading (and indeed was the class talking-dictionary for tricky words), and keeping up well with the top end at the maths. I believe she does find the work easy - although she is also getting a touch conceited about it. She also has some clear weaknesses in my eyes, like handwriting and fluency/speed in doing sums. She has a super full out of school program, including language, music, sport and drama.

In my Y4 class I have a child whom I am certain will be assessed at level 6 in maths by the end of this year - just because some children in some schools aren't being stretched/assessed at higher levels etc. doesn't mean that this is true for all schools!

It sounds as though your DD may benefit from some of the SEAL activities encouraging her to look at her strengths but also those of others. I would be inclined to ask the teacher if you could speak with him/her at the end of the day at some point this week and get your DD to explain how she feels. It may be that there are reasons that her group's book hasn't been changed and I'm sure the teacher will be happy to explain why s/he's taken a decision that it's best to be secure with multiplication before moving on to division. At this chat you could ask about your DD's handwriting etc. and hopefully come up with a plan of action that means she feels challenged (even if it's in something she'd prefer not to be challenged in such as handwriting) and the teacher is able to address concerns such as other children always asking her questions.

Use, I know. But it never happened for us! No harm done in the end, however.