Advice for the move from YR to Y1

[littlemslazybones]

My ds1 will start Y1 in September. I'm aware that there is a shift in teaching styles between these years but I'm not very clear about the degree of change.

Could someone tell what the biggest differences are and how they influence the general shape of his day? I'm hopeful that the general playground chatter on this topic has been dramatised for effect but, if it is a total sea change in learning styles, is there anything I could do help this transition?

Thanks

Talk to the teachers. They should be managing changeso it is gradual, not a sudden shock to the system.
It also varies a lot from school to school. At my DCs school each year has its own outside classroom in infants, and even later on they do lots of outside work. So whilst things change from learning through play, they are still acting out Noah in year 3 or the War of the Roses in year 5.

I feel bad bugging the teachers about this when it isn't really a concern rather than a curiosity.

I think my teachers must have been hippies because I don't remember anything resembling the 'sit down and learn this' format I have been told to expect for ds's Y1. On the other hand, I think my son is of a temperament to be able to get on with it and I have faith that the teachers will manage the change fine (they must manage it every year, after all).

But I was that muppet who believed the nursery teacher when she said not to worry about teaching ds1 letter sounds as that was what Reception was for, only to find out that most of the kids had that nailed long before the first day. I was just wondering if I might be missing something again?

It really depends on the school. Our Y1 runs very much like reception.

Hi - exTA (male) here:

I have worked in very small schools, where YR, Yr1 and Yr2 were all in the same room with one teacher and 1 or 2 TAs. It worked fine, because the teacher was very good, and differentiated work according to child's age and ability. YR mostly did 'learning through play' activities, but one or two of them with more academic interests would sit-in on numeracy or literacy sessions.

Schools vary so much that it is impossible to compare them, or to generalise: this is very unfortunate, as a standardised curriculum and Ofsted monitoring should have reduced these inequalities, but this seems not to be the case. Even within one school teachers and TAs can vary so much that a child's experiences from one year to the next can be totally different, sometimes stimulating, sometimes rather unsettling.

In a good school the transition R to Yr1 should, at the start of the new term, be seamless and a child should sense little change. By the end of R they should have learnt to sit still, listen to instructions, started to contribute to discussions, etc, and if they can do all that then Yr1 should pose few problems. Yes, there will be more 'formal' lessons, more subjects with science, history, geography, ICT being introduced. A child will also be expected to accept some responsibility for looking after resources, equipment etc, tidying up at the end of a lesson, knowing 'where they should be and when' for meal times, PE, music, etc. But hopefully this should all be phased in gradually, and there SHOULD be some form of Parents' Meeting to explain to parents what is expected in Yr1 and how it all works.

Strong leadership and effective communication is essential to create a good and happy school (as in any other workplace, of course). I compare it to good and bad shops: There is M&S, and there is Lidls - both are doing similar things, but the 'shopping experience' is somewhat different.

Try and keep good relationships with the Head, class teachers, TAs, MTAs, the cleaners and the caretaker (who often knows more about what goes on than almost anyone else!).

MN parents tend to 'fret' much more than they need, in my experience. Just relax and enjoy sharing with your child, the new class and all it has to offer!

SORRY: I haven't rambled on like this for a long time!

At the dd's school year 1 is very similar to year R, maybe slightly more homework (in year R we just had reading, now in year 1 we have reading and spelling), the style of teaching is the same, they still learn through play a lot of the time, they do some sit down work (writing, spellings) but nothing too hard work. I think year 2 is where it changes (which dd2 will be going into in september).

mrz - Gosh, you are so succinct! I always admire your concise answers.

In our school, there is a little more time learning on the carpet or at tables, a little less time spent on active learning, but not much else is different. Oh - a little optional homework kicked in in the second term, iirc.

When dd1 made the transition, she missed her old class for about a week (on and off), which it turns out she has also done every year since - but that was all! Smooth and trouble free. A few of the kids (especially more active ones) found it hard to sit for longer, and missed Reception for half a term or so till they adjusted, but they all made it

dd2 can't wait, of course, being a second child

Ferguson and mrz said it all just as well - enjoyed both posts, fwiw

It's interesting to see that the move to Y1 will be closer to what I had imagined and not a shift to a Victorian schoolroom

He is able to sit still, listen, follow instructions and contribute to discussions so I'm confident should be fine. I think he'll get a lot out of the breadth of the curriculum, I didn't know that history, geography and ICT would kick in at this point.

I think I'd get a lot out of a Parent's Meeting like you described Ferguson. I'd love to have a more detailed picture of what his day looks like but all I get out of him was what kind of cake he got for dessert.

They learn history, geography and ICT in nursery and reception only they call it Knowledge and Understanding of the World.

I've been wondering about this too. More from the homework point of view. Someone told me that it won't be like practising reading and writing every day, will be more project type stuff with usually a week to get it done.

DD is quite happy to sit still for a good stretch of time and has good concentration. I'm just wondering about the homework so I can think about after school activities. She is keen to take up two more but I'm not sure...

The homework probably varies by school. DD has 10 spellings (some children have 5) and 1 piece of homework that takes about 10 minutes every week. (and we are encouraged to read as frequently as possible). I would be worrying if the volume in Y1 was so great that it impacted on ability to do out of school activities!

Again it depends upon individual schools we don't give project type homework.

Nooo not PROJECTS - have been dreading that...

And lazybones - ys I fell for that one too. Luckily ds seems to have caught up.