Back into school questions.

[IslaValargeone]

We are temporarily (we think) Home edding our dc, with a view to going back to school this September/October, into year 5.
After a year out, how is she likely to be assessed? I am concerned that if it is just informally in class, she may look like she can't do something, if I have taught her a different way of doing something, such as division/ multiplication etc. I have heard some schools do 'chunking' which is not the method we followed.Is it likely she would be made to relearn whatever method that particular school uses?

I've got no experience of HE.

But based on changing schools generally and different schools having different teaching methods.

My dc had to learn different methods, esp if it was a case of that they had already covered a topic at previous school, but was new topic for this class, they would be taught the new way. They just got on with it, so there are things that they have a number of different methods to do something. But this is not a bad thing, as dependent on a particular question they use the method most relevant.

Bumping in case any teachers are around.
Thanks lowprofile.

DD2 went back into school in Y5 after two years out - she found some of the methods different, but the school were happy to work with her (and by Y5 they've learned different techniques for thingslike maths anyway, and can use which ever one they find appropriate).

She was assessed informally by the class teacher, and had "an eye" kept on her by the TA. I think they were concerned that she'd be at Y3 standard, but it didn't take them long to work out where she should be placed in sets. In Y5 they kept her in middle groups for things so that she was able to catch up with stuff she'd missed, but by Y6 had settled into where she needed to be. There wasn't a great deal of learning different techniques, more having to leanr how stuff is assessed (the school is very keen that all DC know the different criteria to get a 4 in writing for example, which was new to us).

Worked out very well for us (initially the head was very dismissive about HE, but totally changed his mind after the KS2 SATS results came in ), but that was mainly because it was DDs choice to go back to school (she'd always intended going ot secondary, and because of changes to admissiion criteria for the school she wanted to go to, she needed to be at a particualr primary to guarantee a place).

School were also concerned that she might be marked out as weird adn have problems with the other DC because of the HE and advised that she say as little about it as she could, but DD refused, didn't make a big deal about it, but let it drop into conversation. The other kids seemed quite impressed that 1. she'd done somethign different, and 2 that she'd chosen to come to their school.

Good luck!

Thanks for replying, I have been quite concerned and probably getting into a bit of a tizz, because I know we are likely to be met with rolling eyeballs re the Home edding. I am keen to keep her as up to date as I can, as I don't want to give anyone the excuse to point out what they see as 'gaps' in her education. I might be being over cynical but I just fear that that may be the default response from the school iyswim?

I should avoid double guessing the school and what they might think. Just try to let your dd settle in and if there are things she needs to look at again, or is taught slightly differently, remember this could happen between two different schools. Home ed is in many ways a certain kind of "school" after all, esp if you have taught your daughter rather than being on the autonomous end of the home Ed spectrum. I'm a teacher.

Our school always emphasises that they teach a variety of maths-calculating methods, any of which is fine as long as it gets to the right answer. I think they aren't usually welded to chunking or any other single approach.

I find chunking quite intuitive (not that I was ever formally taught it), so she might pick it up quickly, anyway.

littlebylittle yes, you are right, I should avoid guess work re the school, and obviously her being settled is my main concern. She can be a bit sensitive and lacking confidence though, so I am worried (perhaps overly so) about her confidence being knocked if she feels she can't do something the other kids can do.
I did try and find out if chunking is the method taught in all schools, and it appears not. Also, two books I have bought, Galore Park maths and Carol Vorderman's Parent guide don't do this method.

Even if your dd's school was fixed on one method, and it's nor good practice to be, they will still look to see if your dd has an efficient, accurate strategy that suits her. So don't worry about chunking. There's more than one way. Chinking is just popular because it makes sense to a lot of children and the same basic method works whether you're doing short or long division.

In our school the teachers talk individually to the children to ascertain how they got their answers, and the children explain their different strategies.

Many children calculate in different ways, and schools will teach lots of different ways as well because what suits one child will not suit another.

They will do the same standard tests on all the children initially and go from there. The teachers are assessing all the time.

There will be basic steps that all children need to know and sometimes children can do the more advanced stuff but not the basic stuff. If the teacher does find this then she will take children backwards and rebuild from there.

Also, dont worry about gaps in her education, even children who go to school full time have gaps. They might not have been in school on the day, or they might not have understood the topic. the schools build up on prior knowledge, but if a child hasnt understood the first steps they may or may not understand the next steps.

If for any reason the teacher does give your child easier work than you believe she is capable, use this as a relearning opportunity to revise what she already knows.

I am sure your child will be fine so try not to worry, because if you do your child will feel it as well.

I really don't think you need to worry.

My dd went to school for the first time into Y5, with almost no experience of formal education, having been autonomously educated. The teacher started her out with a very easy set of spellings and maths worksheet. I think this was a start at assessment without the risk of discouraging her by giving her something too hard. As far as I know, the assessment was all fairly informal and she wasn't aware of it.

The teacher and other kids were great at welcoming her and showing her how things worked at that particular school. I had thought she'd be slightly on the back foot because they knew the ropes there and she didn't, but that wasn't the case at all. She brought different experiences which they welcomed: new songs and playground games, different knowledge to contribute to the history discussions because she hadn't learned the same things as everyone else. And besides, settling into a school and learning new ways is much easier for a nine year old than it would be for a four year old!

I was a bit at the headteacher's assumption that my dd would naturally have a lot of catching up to do academically and would have to learn social skills!! as if she hadn't spent the previous nine years learning and spending time with other people. He taught her class two days a week and I feared he might rub her up the wrong way with his assumptions. But he didn't share his prejudices with her and he quickly realised he'd been wrong, so that wasn't a problem.

As others have said, kids come and go from different schools and systems all the time. Some come from abroad where they may have been taught in a totally different way and have a new language and culture to struggle with as well. Your child has only been out of school for a year so I can't think there will be any major problems.