Advice on repeating year 1

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Just after some advice/opinions and my dd repeating year 1, little bit of history, my dd was very prem, due to her prematurity she has a servere hearing loss, at the moment she is very behind most of the class, she has missed a lot of school due to appointments and is due to have a coclear implant in the near future which will put her back again, the school have asked if we want her to repeat year 1, they say she is clever and this would give her a massive confidence boost.

Problem is she has a lovely little group of friends and I worry taking her away from them will upset her, the school seem to think she will be ok as she is a good mixer, but now she is too far behind them to ever catch up.

We can't decide what to do for the best.

What would happen when she got to end of Y5? Would they expect her to miss Y6 and go straight to secondary school? Just a thought.

Oh wow, tricky one. We were asked if we wanted dd to skip a year, but kept her with her peer group as we wanted her to stay with her friends. It was the right decision for her, but your dilemma is much more difficult.

What is your gut instinct telling you to do? Without knowing your dd, it's hard to say, but I think if she is quite confident socially, and you think she'd cope with it, I might get her to repeat the year.

Sip she would just finish school a year older than everyone else, my hubby was kept back a year when his old school shut down and his new school was a lot better he says himself he wouldn't be where he is today if that hadn't happened, degree, masters and very good job.

My head says keep her back my heart says let her stay with friends, school have said she can still go into old class for art and few other things and she will still see her friends socially as I am good friends with some of the mums.

Thing is, friendships are quite fluid at that age anyway, so she'd probably adapt. But I wouldn't like to be in your shoes, it's a difficult decision to make. Sounds like your DH thinks you should keep her back?

Just wondered how that would work with funding for schools. I.e being secondary age but still in primary. Is it a common thing in your area?
The only children I know who have stayed back have had additional needs in terms of learning and cognition and have then transferred to specialist provision.
I can imagine it must be a hard decision to make.

I would say get her to repeat. Great opportunity to get her back on track. Surely you'd rather that, than have her behind in every subsequent class, struggling, watching her friends do things easily that she can't master, getting upset/frustrated etc. I have children like this is my class...seemingly, once they're behind, they generally stay behind ( I say generally, not always, but generally). She's only little. She'll make new friends. The reception kids coming up to Year 1 won't care, she'll fit in just fine. :) Good luck!

Check with your local authority what would happen at secondary transfer. Our primary school have a policy of not allowing pupils to repeat because at the end of Y6 they would then be made to go straight into Y8 which would be disastrous. On this basis, I would not do it.

We have two children currently in Y2 who are actually Y3 age. They will move to the junior school along with their current cohort. They will finish school a year older than everyone else. They won't be expected to miss a year later on. Have another child in Y1 too in the same situation. These children all started school a year late though.

She can still see her friends at playtimes and after school. She will make new friends. She is 5/6. They may seem close but it's pretty fickle really . So.... unless there are other reasons for her not to repeat year, I would go for it.

I would say repeat the year too, she will make new friends and still see her older friends at break/lunch times.

Does she know any of the children in the year below her?

I meant old friends not older!!!!

Repeat the year.

It's far easier to make new friends then to catch up :(

Repeat you will be giving her a massive advantage.

She will make new friends.

Why can't she be kept in her actual school year, with her friends, but be given work that is suitable for her? Differentiation?

She will have 6 weeks over the summer holidays where her friends wont be doing any work, could she do an our a day with whoever looks after her. Intensive but FUN study?

Just thoughts, they may not be good ones. I have always gone with my heart by the way. Wishing you and her all the best whatever you decide

Yes, actually, I think the last poster has a point. Especially if you consider how they don't start school until much later in other countries. If it was me I might consider playing catch up at home- especially if she is bright, she will catch up quite quick with some one to one time each day. If it was Year 3 she needed to repeat then a little harder, but Year 1, I think not too hard to catch up? Half an hour most days over the holidays and you've probably sussed it.

I suppose it depends on if you feel confident to teach her yourself, or have an adult who could do this for you?

Hmm some Local Authorities are very against children being out of year so do be careful with this.

We repeated a year and I honestly don't know if it was right.
Dd still asks for old friends (we changed school too) and has been teased about being older and repeating.
But , if it means she will be a year older all through school till she leaves, it could be worth it if you feel her difficulties will not be temporary? It does give her a precious extra year to 'cope' and friendships are easily made at that age.

If school thought she could catch up with a bit of extra work over summer - they would have suggested it.

It's very unusual (in the uk, in a state school) to be asked about repeating a year. They dont do it lightly.

My DD was very behind at the end of Reception, and now at the end of Y4 is still very behind. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The more they 'differentiate' the work for her - the further behind the class she gets.

But I would be wary even if they give you cast iron guarantees, they may end up not honouring them. A few years ago Brent allowed a lot of kids to stay back/repeat a year, and then made them all jump to the correct year in senior school (with government backing).
If your DD can hear she may make fabulous progress, I have known children make huge jumps with just grommets.
Is this a state school?

Hmm- a tricky issue on many levels.
Problem with hearing impairment (especially from birth) is that it's not just academics that need to be caught up on, it's language delay also which can take alot more than a year even with a CI. Language issues need addressing as a matter of priority- simply repeating the year may not do this.

Let me ask a few questions-

Does she have a peri Teacher of the Deaf?
Is she under a speech therapist?
Does she have a statement for the HI?