How best to help my DC in reception class please

[craziedaisy]

My son is in reception class and started the year well and was in the top group but has recently been moved down. At the risk of sounding like a pushy parent I am a little dissapointed. I am going to have a chat with the teacher to see if they can advice on how best to help him at home but wondered if anyone could reccomend any books etc to work through please. He finds numeracy the most tricky so I think we need to work on this the most.

He brings home 2/3 reading books a night and also practices his spellings for a test once a week. I don't want to feel like all he does is school work but I am keen for him to keep up with his peers. At then end of the year the school choose 6 children out of the year to stay in reception. I am keen to make sure he is not one of them as many parents with older children at the school tell me that their children never catch up with their year group when they go back into the class the following year.

Sorry for the long email, many thanks.

How did you know he was in the top group? My DS is in reception and mutters about building structures when I ask him what he does at all day. There are no spelling tests at our school. I think you can best support him by backing off and not putting pressure on. Let him learn to love school and learning.

I know when I reread my email that I do sound pushy and I don't think I would be worried if there wasn't the possibilty of him staying down a year. We were told at parents evening that he was in the top group.

How bizarre. Even my children's reasonably pushy school don't tell us which groups they are in (we have to work it out!)/give only one book a night/no spelling tests. Surely telling parents that 6 chidlren will stay down just panics the parents?

Our children seem to work best when the pressure is off, so I am not sure I would be doing too much at home at that age.

Our school set up is like yours and 6 or 7 usually stay in the reception class during their year 1. They tend to look at the whole picture - age, social skills/confidence and academic ability when making decisions about who stays and who moves up.

My DS1 stayed in reception class the extra year and it was really great. He was more confident as he was one of the older ones, completed year 1 work despite being in the reception classroom and had the luxury of enjoying more free flow creative play then the other older year 1's. The other older year 1's quickly got fed up with the new heavier work load and seem to briefly loose their love of school.

He came out of year 1 in the reception class with excellent maths skills but having done less written work. Year 2 bumbled by and he was set on the middle tables - when previously he had been on the top table for most subjects. He coasted along but then surprised his teachers when he got level 3 for most sats at the end of the year.

Year 3 and 4, he excelled and is now in the top 3 of his class. Looking at the class now, about 1/3 of the children who stayed in reception class for their year 1 are now top set. While 1/3 are now bottom set.

Really, do stop worrying. I was in a split class (I was the youngest) and always ended up in the year below with differentiated work. I still ended up graduating at the same time as my peers, it won't be end the of the world. However it does sound very unlikely that he will be one of the six.

Spelling tests in reception? Eugh!

In DD's year the "top" children at the start of Reception were not the same "top" children by end. Not because they'd got worse or stopped progressing, but because some of the "slower" starters had caught them up.

DD is one of the top children in her Y1 class - but she wouldn't have been had she been in DS's Y1 class.

... trying to point out that comparing your child to others in their class is not very helpful. looking at your child themselves and seeing how/if they are progressing, is.

Craziedaisy, in answer to your question about books etc. I would say the best thing to do is to have a look in WH Smiths or Waterstones at the KS1 books or BBC KS1 Bitesize.
I have a child in the top set and certainly believe a few extra minutes of learning, at a steady pace, each week, have been worth it. (She is now Y4)

I think your school is pushing a lot.

DD gets one book each night and they do some tricky words each week. But all homework is more about learning by playing or reading. For example last weekend they had to "research" two facts for a chosen animal and write 2-3 sentences about it.

For maths: we bought a couple of workbooks at WH Smiths. DD does them if she wants. But I think it is more fun doing games. Either make up a couple of games or look at Orchard Toys or Fun Learning. Both do good starter games. We also found that DD needs to see the numbers and Smarties are a great help with basic maths.

How do they choose the 6 children which remain in Reception? How do they then cope with the new entrants? Do they only allow 24 for they school?

Out of curiosity: is your school state or public?

Wow DDs school is known for being pushy but in reception it was 2 books a week. In year 1 they have less homework than you describe. Very rare I say this but relax a.d let him enjoy other things too

I second orchard toys! The games are fab, my 3 year old can count and subtract fom a very fun ame or four. ( visitors play games :-))

Help with concentration, turn taking, winning, loosing etc etc.

From an game. Ipad!