Keeping youngest children in reception for another year

[fishtankbrain]

Hello,

I would welcome some advice on a situation at my DS' school. Small rural state primary, 120 kids divided into 5 classes. Class 1 and class 5 are single year classes, other classes are mixed year which I have no problem with at all, in fact that was always the case in the schools I attended. DS started in class 1 inSeptember and is very happy.

His year was a bulge year so instead of the normal intake of 20 they took 28 under pressure from the local authority. Obviously there is a question as to what happens next year as class 2 (currently all year 1s and the younger year 2s) will not be able to fit all the current class 1 kids in.

A friend of mine has recently been told by DS' teacher that the plan next year is to only take 20 new pupils, but keep back some of the current class 1 kids in class 1 for another year. It's not been said how they will be chosen, but obviously one way (and the way that they work out the other classes I.e. which year 2s go up into class 3) is by age. They do this as apparently deciding by ability just caused arguments with parents.

DS is a June birthday. He is also, on the basis of everything we've been told by school and preschool, very bright. Had his reading age assessed at 7 on entry to school (school did this themselves without any prompting from us) and he is now reading ORT level 12 fluently. He goes into a group of class 2 and 3 kids every day for literacy on the school's suggestion and is happy and doing well. He is a quiet thoughtful soul who isn't into the rough and tumble of the other boys in his class and generally finds adults easier to relate to than other children, although he is getting better and is good on a one to one level. He is very mature in his speech and the way he conducts himself and I think other children find this a bit odd - I should stress that he is perfectly happy, loves his school and teacher and we've not had a moment's anxiety since he started. He participates happily in all activities, but really does have a preference for structured learning - his literacy group is his favourite part of the day.

I am very concerned that if he is kept back in class 1 for another year it will be harmful to his education - he is more than ready to move onto more structured learning and will be bored with another year in class 1 even if it is re-jigged a bit to take account of the new arrangements as the focus is so much on play.

I have real sympathy with the school who have been forced into this arrangement by the local authority, but I really do not want DS to suffer if the school persist in making the decision on age and perhaps pointing at the fact that some of his social skills with his peers aren't perhaps as good as they should be (although I do think that it's just his personality - he's empathetic, polite and has a great sense of humour, he's just not as interested in the other kids as they are in him - apparently both I and DH were similar at that age and have managed to turn into very sociable adults!). I also think he would find it harder socially if he is stuck in a class with much younger kids as I think his main "problem" is that he's a bit old for his years.

Any thoughts anyone? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Or do I have to really go into bat on this one if it comes to it? I am very loath to interfere in the way the school is run - I generally believe in letting them get on with their job, so it would have to be a big issue for me to raise it.

Phew. That's a long post. If anyone is still awake, I'd welcome your thoughts.

To be honest, you can do nothing really until the school have made a decision and shared it with parents. The staff involved will be perfectly aware of the needs of specific children.

It's too early to say whether you're overreacting as you don't know what the school will actually do yet, but if they do make this change then Class 1 won't actually be the reception class - it'll be YR/Y1. Many primary schools have these mixed classes from the start, so although there's a psychological adjustment to make I wouldn't get hung up on the idea of DS being kept in reception. It sounds as if the school are already giving him work that suits his abilities, and in a school this size he'd get to mix with pupils of all ages regardless of the registration group.
I don't have vast experience to call on, but from what I've seen in a handful of different schools the split is made on ability rather than age, and I don't think you'd be unreasonable to argue your case if it came to it.

Brecon - yes I realise that the class will be redefined as YR/Y1, but I guess I'm just concerned that with 20 YRs and only say 8 Y1s, the focus is inevitably going to be on the YRs and all the things that you have to do with them to get them used to being in the school environment etc. I have no problem with mixed age classes in other parts of the school, I just feel that the needs of YR children are very specific and lend themselves less to being mixed. It's helpful to know that some schools do do this anyway - I'd not come across it before.

honestly, i would go in and have a word now. not about which class he will be in but about how pleased you are that he has been allowed to move into higher year for literacy and how this will be met next year as a big fat reminder that he needs stretch.

I think mixed Yr/Y1 classes are the worst to mix really. It used to happen every year in our school because of the Sept/Jan double intake and whilst some children benefit other do not. Go in now and ask as greenfolder suggests, about how they plan to keep stretching your son. If they are selecting on age you will need to go back and argue your case calmly but thoroughly, and be aware that you may need to be persistant - he who speaks most firmly is usually the one heard most and all that...

Thanks all. I think I do need to address this early - we are due to have parents' consultations after half term so I will raise it then. I think it will be quite hard for them to argue that it is appropriate that he stay in class 1 when they themselves have, since week 3 of his first term, been taking him into other classes for literacy.

I may be worrying over nothing as the school have, so far, been utterly willing to stretch him, but I can see that no parent is going to be happy with their child staying in class 1 so they may adopt the age policy to prevent hassle. Whilst I am very wary of saying anything along the lines of "DS is special so should be treated differently" I think there are strong reasons to do so when he is so far ahead of his peers academically.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

This is always so tricky. My DDs are at a small school and DD2 is currently in a mixed YR / Y1 class and TBH it's brilliant - I can't imagine her being in the setup they had when DD1 was in the infants being suddenly launched age 5 into a busy Y1 / Y2 class (which at the time felt absolutely fine).

The fact is, when small schools have mixed classes, they have to organise them in the way that works best for everyone, and that could change from year to year. DD1 is in a Y4 / Y5 class at the moment, and I'd probably prefer it if it were Y5 / Y6, as it was last year, but there's a big Y6 group this year and it's just not possible.

IME there's no point complaining about how the school organise the classes and how they select which kids are in which class - that's down to them. What you need to check is how they will differentiate for the work for the different ages. In DD2's class the Y1s work separately in the mornings with a HLTA which is when they cover the literacy & numeracy etc in the Y1 curriculum. In the afternoons they are together with the YRs and do topic-based work and more 'fun' stuff.

The Y1s in the mixed class will still be following the Y1 curriculum.IME it will be done on ability rather than age, and my experience of this is that the focus is disproportionately on the older ones to get them caught up.

Bramshott - I think I'd be much more comfortable with a mixed YR/Y1 class if it was a permanent or at least regular arrangement involving all the YR and Y1 children. Then they would have to be well set up to deal with it and there wouldn't be another option. What concerns me in my case is that it is a "one-off" solution which will only affects few Y1s and there's a risk that it won't be well managed. Also the fact that there is another option (I.e. going into class 2) which I think would be much better for DS.

I think what I will do is go along to the parents' consultation and see what they are saying about DS' progress - if they're still saying he's far ahead of his peers then I can raise the issue of what will happen next year and how they plan to stretch him and if necessary book an appointment to discuss it further if they are planning to keep him in class 1.

Our school has 2 class covering YR, 1 and 2. The split in year one was done not on age but on overall maturity and need - there was an information evening at school where it was clearly explained that the children who were most ready for the more formal learning (decided by the highest overall score on the EYFS profile) would be mixed with year 2 and the others would be mixed with YR. It worked out quite well because there are currently roughly 10 in YR and 10 in Y2 and 20 in Y1 - so each class has 10 of each of the two year groups it covers. It seems to be working well so far and none of the parents have complained (AFAIK) about the way it was done.