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Primary education

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Original poster

dd yr 3 struggling :(

17 replies

clairesy1 · 26/10/2011 12:22

Hi ,

My dd is in yr 3 and was 7 at the end of june, basically she is in the bottom groups for most things and im desperate to help her but have no idea where to start.

She has always seemed to be quite bright to me, she's very arty and loves drawing, making things etc & talks for england lol. She's got lots of friends at school but she does seem quite shy & quite immature. She just seems quite babyish compared to most of her friends & she is 'mothered' alot by the girls in her class which she seems to enjoy & play on!
At home though she is completely diferent and is almost 7 going on 17 so im confused as to what is going there!?

She has got a younger brother with medical problems who has needed 2 major operations in the last 2 yrs which i believe to be part of the babyish behaviour & attention seeking.

At her recent parents eveining last week the teachers first comments were ' she tries very very hard but finds it difficult to retain information'

Just to give an idea for people that know about levels, her levels now are,
S&L-2b
Reading-2a
Writing-2c
maths-2c &
Science-2b
Science is the only subject that has gone up 1 sublevel since the her sats in may last yr.

Maths is what she struggles with the most, she just gets so confused & the teacher said it has no meaning for her!?

The teacher said she is working with support for everything & that no iep's are needed yet but they will monitor closely so she doesnt slip. Im so grateful for this of course but i just feel so sad for her & I desperately want to help, its getting me so down & even affecting my sleep grrr.
Most her friends are a 3c already & i hate to compare but at the moment i dont think she realises she is behind but obviously the older she gets the more she will notice & I dont want it to affect her convidence.

Has anyone any ideas as to what would help or has anyone experienced similar & seen there child suddenly 'get it' and catch up? This is what im dreaming of that suddenly things will click for her but 2 sublevels by summer term, i just cant see it.
A tutor is out of the question for now due to the costs.....

Thanks for reading x

OP posts:
missmapp · 26/10/2011 12:43

An average child is 2b at the end of yr2, so she is not that far behind and doing v.well in reading. Practice, practice with writing, ask ct what her particular tagrets are. if you google APP grids , then you can see what a child has to achieve to reacht the next level. In maths againm check what targets are and focus on those. Learning times tables and becoming quicker at adding in her head will help. Is this the first time concerns have been rasied? Keep in contact with ct , she is doing ok so dont worry too much.

IndigoBell · 26/10/2011 12:53

Yes, the first thing to note is that she is not behind. She is not on an IEP because she is fine.

Her school is obviously quite good / lucky that those scores put her on the bottom table - in my DDs class they def wouldn't.

Sounds like she is in a very able year.

Reading is normally ahead of writing.

Honestly - if she's not a level 1 (or below) you don't need to worry. She is fine.

And if she makes good progress every year (2 sub levels) she would be a 4a or 5 by Y6.

Original poster
clairesy1 · 26/10/2011 13:43

Thanks, yes she is in a very able yr, think youve got that spot on there indigobell, her class got the best yr2 SATs results of all the schools in our area. Never looked at it like that!

Is a 4a a average level for yr 6 then?
My daughters best friend is being pushed for a level 4 by the end of yr 3 as according to the teacher she is able to do it, she is a 3c for everything now.

Thanks for the reassurance, you dont know how nice it is to read :) x

OP posts:
Original poster
clairesy1 · 26/10/2011 13:46

Just to add, I like her teacher from what ive seen so far but thinking back to that parents evening she didnt actually say anything positive, except for she's got 'all the boys wrapped rnd her little finger' hmmm
One positive comment could of made all the difference here i think :/

OP posts:
Original poster
clairesy1 · 26/10/2011 13:48

Miss map, no its not the first time, we was aware last yr that she was struggling in maths as she was on a iep for 2 terms but was taken off it towards the end of the yr, maths was the only concern we was made aware of though no other areas.
x

OP posts:
LIZS · 26/10/2011 13:50

comparisons with friends are always dangerous. I find it hard to believe that teachers can reassess levels so confidently in the space of a few months Hmm and they are only ever a snapshot and can be subjective. As long as your dd is happy and working to her best avoid stressing too much , or it will rub off.

IndigoBell · 26/10/2011 13:50

Your daughters best friend probably won't be a level 4 by the end of Y3 - almost certainly won't be. :)

A level 4 or above is what you're looking for at the end of Y6. All kids who enter Y3 at a level 2 are expected to leave Y6 on a level 4. And your DD almost certainly will.

(Average is a very misleading term - and not what you want for your DD either :) )

ragged · 26/10/2011 14:03

Gawd, I have little idea what relative ability group my y3 child is in, or what levels other children are on or what NC score he is right now. Or what other scores were like in his y2 cohort. And I don't think he's very clear on that stuff, either. But don't mind me I'm probably a social pariah.

Just thinking there might be such a thing as too much information.

ramblinrose · 26/10/2011 15:25

These levels do not suggest to me that she is struggling.
I don't know how she did in her SATS,but I was always led to believe that it's common for their levels to go down a little when first assessed in yr 3.
Try and relax a little.It sounds like she's doing fine.
(my son is working at around the same level,he's 7 too)

jamdonut · 26/10/2011 15:38

Could it be, as you said yourself, she talks for England,perhaps she is a bit of a chatterbox in class and misses vital information? Perhaps she just needs to switch off from the 'mothering' girls, and learn to listen a bit more. As a TA,(year 3 and 4) I notice that girls will often be doing things like playing with each other's hair at teacher's input and therefore are not completely concentrating, and have to be reminded to stay on task. On the other hand, it sounds like she is actually not doing badly, and I wouldn't worry too much....It's only the end of the first half term after all!

Original poster
clairesy1 · 26/10/2011 17:07

She talks for england at home but in school she's apparently quiet so sont think thats the issue, also on her table for most things it is her & 3 boys lol

She apparently does listen but still struggles to retain much, although if we are doing things at home & she doesnt understand she will just change the subject and start talking about something really random!

Thanks for all your opinions that she isnt struggling, i will try to relax a little now then but wish the teacher didnt make it sound as bad as she did then & said a few positive things then maybe I wouldnt have been so worried in the first place.

I have phoned up a local adult education centre today to enquire about a family learning course they run in maths so me & dd can go along together, just waiting for them to get to me with the details :) x

OP posts:
sarahfreck · 26/10/2011 17:32

"Your daughters best friend probably won't be a level 4 by the end of Y3 - almost certainly won't be."

Well Indigo, whilst it is above average, it is known for this to happen! A child I know got 3a in numeracy and 4 in literacy at the end of year 3.

Having said all that I too want to reassure the op that her DD is not way behind. I think the family learning course in Maths is a great idea!

You say she struggles to retain information. I have several students a bit like this and they mostly do fine with some additional reinforcement/practice. It is just that they need a bit more time to process the information so anything that you can do, like the family maths course, that gives her more opportunities to reinforce her understanding will probably help!

mrz · 26/10/2011 17:41

I would be very surprised is a child went from 3C to 4B (I'm saying 4B as that is a secure level 4) in a single year (not impossible but highly unlikely).

As everyone has said OP your child is progressing well so don't worry.

IndigoBell · 26/10/2011 17:42

Sarah - did you miss the fact that her daughters best friend is currently a 3c?

My daughters best friend is being pushed for a level 4 by the end of yr 3 as according to the teacher she is able to do it, she is a 3c for everything now.

It is possible to go from a 3c to a 4 in Y3 - but most children won't.

sarahfreck · 26/10/2011 17:55

Indigo

The child I'm thinking of went from 2a in numeracy and 3 (unspecified) in literacy at the end of year 2 to 3a in numeracy and 4 (unspecified) in literacy at the end of year 3.

I agree that most children will not make this amount of progress but the comment was about a specific individual child and it is quite possible that the child the op knows may do this! - Just saying Grin

Poppyella · 26/10/2011 18:08

I have a dd just like yours it seems.

She has just moved schools and has been reassessed differently to her Y2 SATs at the previous school and is below average in just about everything! We had been trying to move schools for over 2 years because we could see this coming! Maths is a weak point for her and she also just doesn't seem to 'get it'.

However the new school have put her on the SEN register and got an IEP in place for her and I can already see her coming on in leaps and bounds.

Your dd's levels are higher than hers! I would try not to stress too much and the fact that the school had an IEP for her last year is a good thing because surely that means they wouldn't hesitate to do that again if they felt the need.

I would echo the playing with hair on the carpet story! DD said to me only the other day, with an incredulous tone to her voice - 'at new school, everyone listens when we're on the carpet, but at old school everyone just played with my hair!' (they do alot of learning on the carpet!). This had not even crossed my mind and now I reckon she had 2 years of not learning anything because of her bloody hair!!! Grrrrr

And ps - I can't wait for her to get off Biff and Chip!!!!!!!

Chandon · 26/10/2011 19:37

sounds to me she is doing well, actually! It's only the first term after all!!!

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