school want to move my dd up to yr 2

[razors]

My dd is 5 - 6 in July and currently in year 1. The school have recognised she is a bright little thing and want to move her in to year 2 after half term. I'm quite happy for her to do this if she is happy to of course but my query is how does this pan out in future years? will she then have to do an extra year in year 6 and all her classmates catch up with her later on in the school or will she go to secondary school earlier? I did ask the Head but her answer wasn't clear and thought I'd ask if any of you have experienced this and how it worked out for you dc's. I'd appreciate any advice, thank you x

Is she just going up to year 2 for the final term of this year (then repeat year 2 with her current class)?

If not, I would definitely NOT do it. The cynical part of me is saying that the HT wants the space in yr1 to give to someone on the waiting list. But if this is not so, then it's just laziness on the part of the yr1 teacher if she feels she can't give her appropriate work. Loads of yr1 children work at a yr2 level .

So cynical, Hocuspontas! Maybe the point is that her daughter might be 'older' in terms of interests and maturity and would be better off mixing with other year 2 kids. Don't think the year one teacher is being lazy - how much year 2 work can she realistically give when most children -if not all- will be doing year one work. The state sector is always critisised for not challenging the brighter children so we should applaud this school for actually recognising this child's potential.

You have a point, exexpat, although history O-level had to get in the way at some point. Basically, you weren't moved up a year to stretch you, because you still found the work easy - you were just moved up a year so that you could get out of the system a bit quicker. That doesn't suit every bright person. And I agree it is definitely a mistake to keep pushing someone up through the years until they are stretched academically, however far in advance of their peers in school years they end up. This happened to one relative of mine who was then deemed far too young to go to Cambridge, had to twiddle his thumbs for a long while and was still far younger than almost everyone else when he got there, because most of those he was there with had done their National Service, first. He was utterly miserable at university.

I do, however, know a few people who did appreciate being moved up just one year, like you, so that the work could be marginally less boring and they could get an extra year of freedom to do something else at the end of it, so I can see that this would be good for some people, if they are emotionally and socially OK with it.

I would say hold off if you can, I went through secondary a year early and ended up being not very good at sport and mid stream academically because I couldn't cope with the social complexities as I was emotionally young. At a level I did v v well but felt that I was a average for the first 6 years at sport and all the rest - not great for confidence and becomes ingrained at that age. Might just have been me but I wouldn't do it for my DC's.

I was always ahead and just tutored extra within the year group. Ultimately I did better than the girls who were moved up a year (they did still get good results and went to excellent unis though). I just can't see why it's beneficial to hurry, other than making the school's job easier? Particularly with a child already young for her year group. I wouldn't like mine to be with kids who are nearly 2 yrs older than her, even if she could match them in brains, it is not good socially - particularly with girls.

Depends on how mature she is for her age missfairlie. Also I believe that children who think they are much much brighter than everyone else all the time is not a good thing. They can get complacent and arrogant. It also depends whether the child is happy at the moment with her peers. If she is that ahead then her peers may be jealous of her which is not a good thing. The idea that 'one size fits all' should not prevail!!!

razors - how ahead is she?

I think the social thing can be overstated as well - I was about six months younger than the next youngest person in the class, and the oldest was at least two years older (the school also kept some people back a year) but it really didn't seem to make any difference.

In fact from the age of about 15 I spent a lot of my time out of school hanging out with friends in their 20s.

But I suppose that some academically able children do lag behind in social confidence - it's a very individual thing, definitely not one size fits all - but unfortunately most schools aren't able to be very flexible with age groupings.

People so often insist that children should be kept with same age peers for social reasons - but they forget how different a child who is way ahead will seem to others in the class. It changes the dynamics sometimes. I was always seen as very different - I just had different interests, ways of thinking, all sorts. I was seen as a helper, a bit of a teacher, someone that they others went to if they needed something. Not as a friend, not as an equal. It wasn't because I needed to learn to mix with children my own age - not a lack of social skills - but just that I didn't really fit in because they saw me as being very different. I didn't end up learning the normal socialising skills that you do from being part of a group, sometimes being top, sometimes not, sometimes being the helper, sometimes being helped, etc. I was just set outside all that.

My parents had the choice to move me from Year 1 to Year 2, and didn't. I don't know whether they made the right decision or not. I ended up feeling out of place in my year in many ways, and chanelled by energies into becoming perfectionistic about everything instead of thinking creatively and widely.

Moving a child up a year isn't not necessarily the right decision, and I'm not sure I would generally encourage it in most cases, but there are times that it might be suitable - and the argument about children needing to learn the social skills to fit in with their peers is just not always a helpful one, because sometimes the very fact of being so different makes ordinary relationships with peers unlikely anyway.

That is very well said Cloudsaway! I wish I could have phrased it better. My father was 2 years ahead of his peers and moved up a year. He said it helped him hugely as he was finding the work very easy and he was seen as 'odd'. But even in the year ahead he didn't bother much with friendships because he found adults more interesting to talk to. He also said he had so much to 'work out' on his own and he was in his own world. Got into Cambridge at 16 but had a gap year before starting. Got a first but didn't fit in there because he said it was full of toffs! His family tried to make him socialise more but he just wasn't interested.

Ive not read all the comments but there are so many schools that combine years, so a very young year 1 can be socialising with a very advanced (socially or academically) year 2. They are expected to mix together. So having a child move up shouldnt really be such a problem.

I presume in the OP instance that the school has deemed the child to be a suitable candidate for the next year, they wouldnt/shouldnt be doing it just for the academics.

As a parent I would happily have allowed my children to move up and be a bit more challenged, however, our school is really strong making sure that everyone feels equal, that other skills other than academics are just as/more important, and that everyone's uniqueness is developed and encouraged. They wont allow a child to follow just one track and so generate well rounded/grounded and happy children.

I don't understand why they want to move her.Almost and classroom will have children working a year or tw0 in front of their chronological age.They just differentiate the work

'Almost any class'

Oh - that state sector obsession that everyone is 'equal'!!! Nah, they aren't.

Just noticed the age of your DD, yes, I would hesitate about her moving up, I would be very surprised if the high school would accept her.

How would you feel when all her friends are roaming the streets, wandering round town, going to parties, etc and the pressure she will be under to be part of it.

What will the reaction of other parents be and the backlash this will cause as well if their children are older than yours and yours has moved up. It will cause a lot of issues with jealous parents.

What's interesting in reading this thread that there are a lot of parents who consider their children are not being stretched, and yet the teachers on here tell us that all schools meet the needs of all children!

I would not support this.

They need to differentiate the work properly. She could do the year 2 set work, and stay in her own class.

hocuspontas That hadn't even occurred to me.....I don't think so though - the Head is v.good.
magdelene she does mix with older children already - one of her best friends is 10. Where we live all the children play together so she has friends of varying ages and year 2 is next door to year one and they will all play together at playtime. I am pleased they have recognised she is bright and looking to do something about it.
stoatsrevenge not sure - she is outstanding in most areas and in the top group in class.

She has been moaning about school being boring and she's only 5!!!!!

coldtits Having given this a lot of thought I would have preferred it if she could stay in her class but thinking about it I believe it would be difficult to teach a class with one group doing one thing on the curriculum and another group doing something completely different

Roadart - other parents will just have to get a grip! They need to realise that some kids are brighter than theirs - that's life!

Razors - wow, she really needs to go up a year - sounds like she is not getting a full education at the moment. Not good to be bored at 5.

standard practise in many schools to teach two years simultaneously, and a good teacher will have no difficulty with it.

Wow really? never knew that

In theory yes, coldtits, classes spanning a 2-3 year age range should be fine, if the teacher is good and has the time and resources to differentiate appropriately. Unfortunately in the real world that does not always happen.

My DCs used to go to a school (not in this country) which was multiage by design, and had at least a three year age span in each class, plus two languages in the classroom and at least half a dozen native languages spoken by the children.

It worked really well - but classes were never bigger than 20, there were two full-time teachers for each class, and extra teaching staff to provide additional support for non-native speakers of the two classroom languages, plus specialist teachers for art, PE etc. So the two main teachers were very rarely teaching even ten of the children at the same time, often only five or six. Not surprisingly, they were able to differentiate for all the different abilities extremely well. Even so, at one stage they were thinking of moving DS up to the next class a year early because he was in an ability group of one for maths and English - the fact that his other language lagged behind, as did his writing/motor skills meant that in the end he stayed in his original class.

However, most state schools in this country which operate a mixed year system have one teacher in charge of 30 children, possibly a teaching assistant some or all of the time but often the TA's role is to support specific children with particular learning difficulties or EAL issues. The ability range of the two-year age-range is likely to be at least four years.

Yes, a really good teacher can cope with that and provide good and stimulating differentiated work for even the most able pupils - but realistically even a brilliant teacher will sometimes struggle under that workload, let alone an average one.

DD was in a mixed-year class for a couple of years at a UK state primary, and while she did very well and enjoyed school when she was a bright one in the younger half of the class, the following year when she was one of the oldest as well as one of the most able, there were definitely times when the work did not seem to be particularly challenging for her, to say the least.

I'm not trying to say that children should be moved up and down school years willy-nilly, but I also don't think that there is an overwhelming need to be in a class with people who happen to have been born in the same arbitrary 12- (or even 24-)month period if in other respects a child would fit in better with a different year group, whether it is higher or lower.

I think you need clarity on the outcome - if it is temporary then I don't think I would do it.
Have a look at your local authority's policy on 'out of peer group' children moving to secondary school. Some are very good and say that once the child has moved up they stay woth that cohort and move on to secondary early too. Others are much more ambivalent an some children end up repeating Yr 6 - possibly the worst thing to happen with so much of it being SATS preparation.
My DS has been a 'year ahead' (currently Yr 4) since Reception because he needs the company of that age group - the younger children are just not the appropriate companions for him socially and emotionally. He will remain with his current year group throughout his school life - there is no way I would accept him having to repeat a year. He understands that he is the youngest (purely from a birthday timing point of view), but it is no big deal to him or them.
The sports point is interesting and he does miss out a bit, but the school are good in trying to give every child some sort of chance in school teams.