My dd is in year 3. By way of background, she joined the school in January and was put in the year 1/2 class then, as that was where the space was (there are 45 in a year - so a year 1 class, a year 1/2 class and a year 2 class). She's now in a year 3/4 class, with half the children from the old year 2 class, so she's in a totally new group of kids and has left her best friend behind in the infants. As a result the new academic year has not been the easiest for her!
On several occasions we have had tears, mainly about friendship issues, but also about maths - she says she really struggles. This morning she didn't want to go in because of the maths. She says her table and another table are 'independent workers' while the other tables have an adult working with them (there is a teacher and two TAs). She doesn't seem to know what she's supposed to do when she's stuck/whether she's allowed to get up and approach an adult etc. She also says the boy she sits next to - and is supposed to work with - is mean to her. He always shows off about how much he knows and makes her feel stupid so she can't ask him for help!
This may well be her being over sensitive, or even competitive! But the pairing is obviously not working for her and is causing upset. Should I encourage her to persevere? She says there is a spare seat on the other equivalent table and she wants to move there!
Do you think I should raise this with the teacher? And does it sound right that two tables have to work independently?