Does your school shuffle the pupils in the classes around each year/some years ?

[Broadwalkempire]

DD,s school is apparently going to do this at Years 3 and 5. Does your school do it and if so do you think it works ? What are the biggest problems you've found. I think it sounds like quite a good idea but as DD and I know parents and kids across the two classes I think that perhaps she won't suffer much from it. They will take many factors into account so I don't think it will be a random re-shuffle IYSWIM....

I've just seen another thread which touches on this and gives some good feedback I hadn't found it previously....so don't worry about responding unless you want to !! Thanks

My ds's old school used to do this as it meant that technically the children all got to know each other. When they moved up to the next school there would be familiar faces in every new class regardless of whether they were with their best mate / s.

Dd goes to a small village school so there is no opportunity for class shakeups, however, she does know every single child in the school. On the other hand there will not be as many familiar faces in the next school.

Ours does every couple of years to ensure an even mix of gender, abilities, friendship groups etc across the 2 classes is maintained. It is good preparation for secondary school as they know far more children well as a result by the time they move up. I think it is done in Y1, Y3 and Y5.

my Ds's school (he is yr1) shuffle the kids round every year but each pupil is allowed to pick 3 other kids they want to be in their class the following yr and they are pretty much guaranteed to get one of them.

It works well and all the kids get to know each other and they still meet up with their friends from the prevoius year and play/lunchtime...

Yes my dc's school does it every year. No negatives so far only positives.

Our's used to. At the end of reception (they had one class tarting in Sept then the younger ones in a separate class from Jan) o they mixedup the ages for the beginning of Y1. They would then mix them at beginning of juniors.
New head arrived when dd was in Y3. He stopped this mixing, said he would only do it if the need arose. Therefore dd's year was mixed again at end of Y3 because they'd had a lot of leavers/new children which left one class very boy heavy (22-8), and a poor mix of abilities and types.
Ds therefore has only been mixed at end of reception. He and I am happy with this. I didn't mind dd's year mixing because she was kept with friends and imo was in the nicer class each time

Our school does it. It encourages new friendships, learning new skills on how to deal with different types of behaviour from different kids, allows different levels of abilities to vary (ie someone might be top of the class for evrything one year but the following year only be middle of the class because of the different abilities in each class).
Teachers also have to consider the personalities of some children and may use this as an opportunity to split them up. Friendships are considered, but friendships continue outside the class if they are really friends anyway.

Negatives can be that sometimes topics that should have been covered havent, and they go into the next class and teacher assumes they have covered something so some kids can do it and others cant.

Other negatives, for children who struggle socially find it hard to have to start again each year finding a class friend.
On the whole it works, but when you get a good class one year it always seems a shame to have to split them up the following year.

Our school (Scottish) does this every year. It's a big infant school with 100+ children in each year and the classes get bigger every year. DD is in P1 this year and there were 5 classes of 21-2, for P2 there will only be 4 of around 27 or perhaps even 3 and a composite with the new P1s depending on numbers. Apparently it is good for the children as they get to know more of their peers. They try to make sure each is with a close-ish friend though. DDs teacher told us it is a bunfight when they are deciding who goes in what classes and sometimes even ends in tears from the teachers. It must be a nightmare trying to ensure classes are balanced in terms of sex, ability, behaviour, social background.

They do this every year for mine. I like it, even though there is usually a little disappointment that some friend will not be sitting in class or that some other child will be.

It breaks up unhealthy dynamics, and encourages everyone to get to know everyone else. The school also does organised sports and knowing everyone else from the earliest years helps team cohesion.

Parents and the children themselves are forbidden from input into the class makeup. This is strictly enforced.

They also separate twins, and juggle triplets (two in class together one year and a different pair together the next).

I went to a school where classes were never reshuffled, and I actually knew no-one from the other class when some of us ended up in the same school or class in secondary. It would have been easy to shuffle -- all girls, same basic socio-economic class, and some cliques would have been broken up.

Want to add that the teachers co-ordinate what they teach, so both classes are doing the same thing in any given week. Makes a larger pool to call when homework books are forgotten, etc. It also means that the same ground is covered by both groups and no group skips something.

We've had this alternate years, although I'd really like them to do so again this for dd as the dynamics of the class are not working for her and the friends she thought she had there have proved fickle (Year5) When they are about to they do a firendship exercise in class so in theory they will stay with at least one friend.

Happens at the schools DDs attend too and I think it is a good thing too. Have no objections and will be especially pleased next year that DD#2 will be able to get away from some of the children who are very disruptive in her current class.