Should twins be spilt in Reception class?

[cakemonster]

The Headmaster of the primary where twin daughters are due to start in September has advised it's his policy to split twins up. Feeling very anxious about this & have asked that they stay together for at least the 1st year. After that if they are relying on each other then seperate them. They have been at nursery since 9 months old & have always mixed with the other children and are very sociable girls. They are not identical so there would be no danger of them being mistaken for the other! Am meeting Head next week to discuss further but any one else with experience of either splitting them or not I'd love to hear fom you .

no experience but think you know your children best .. and a one size fits all policy with reception age kids is pants

how ridiculous to have a blanket policy to split twins

I taught twins in a reception class - discussed with parents prior to their joining what they felt would be best for the children. It was agreed they should remain together for the first as that was best for them. They went into different classes in year 1 and were very settled.

Thanks for those messages - I don't feel like such a neurotic mum. My gut instinct is to keep them together and then see how it works out, as I understand he spilts the 2 reception classes up at the end of the first year anyway! Ready for battle with him next week!

twins in dds year (year one) are split, but they consulted the mum first and she agreed

(they had been together in reception)

my twins are being split up in September and it makes me v to think about it.Irrational I know, but they have spent every day together since they were born, and were together in utero, so I feel a bit guilty. I know it will encourage them to be independent etc. I am a bit at a blanket policy, irrespective of parents feelings.

they're split in our school too. sil knows of triplets, where the twin (boys) have been split but their sister is obviously with one of them, as it's only 2 form entry. friend whose twins were split says they've got on remarkably well, especially her son who she was more worried about than the daughter. you sound anxious about this, but your daughters might not be.

Very poor of the school to have a blanket policy regardless of the needs of the children/consultation/discussion.

It would make me wonder if this is the right school for them? What other 'blanket' policies do they have?

They are CHILDREN fgs not objects to be fitted in where the school feels fit..............

None of the twins at dds school have been split up. We have 3 pairs of twins in the Early Years Unit at the moment and there has never been any talk of separating them. I think when they go up to Yr1 it will be discussed with the parents but the two pairs we had last year stayed together in Yr1.

I was consulted regarding my twins and I decided to keep them together, they are great friends but not dependant so i was of the mindset if its not broken why try to fix it. I will continue to keep them together as long as I feel there is no problem in doing so. It has crossed my mind to split them next year but there really is no real reason why I should do as they are both thriving so I will continue. Potentially starting school is a distressing time for some children, i feel splitting twins could potentially make the situation worse. that said i can also see reasons why parents do split, I recently spoke to an adult twin who had been sent to a different school to her twin and she felt that it was great, being seen as individual, own friends etc. I guess in conclusion it should be down to parental choice as we all know our kids best, good luck x

Our twins were automatically put into the same class (in Jan) without consultation which TBH was what we wanted. When they started we asked what the policy was & was told that they would treat each case differently, in consultation with us. I am not sure what their plans are for next year, we are going to make an effort to talk to the teacher next week. We think they are going to keep them in the same class, but consider putting them in different work groups.
I think you should press to have them in the same class outright - there will be plenty of opportunity to seperate them in future years when they have dealt with the stress of starting a new school. If they won't listen to your opinions in the first place you could perhaps suggest the possibility of same class different groups - they might be more prepared to meet you half-way.

If nothing else it would be an absolute nightmare when it comes to birthday parties (theirs & friends) as they are likely to have totally distinct friendship groups. (Even though mine are in the same class they have an 'overlapping' friendship group).

HTH

My DTs will go to a single form entry school (where their siblings are), however, if school had been a two form entry I don't think I would want them split. I don't think that they should or really are able to make blanket decisions like that. Possibly he thinks that if he says that you'll accept it.

I honestly believe it depends on the children. I also agree that the first year of school can be difficult for some children and keeping them together could be one less "trauma" (for want of a better word) for them. Of course they might do incredibly well apart, same as if they stayed together. Personally, I'm a great believer in instinct (kept me and mine safe many a time). DD1 has two sets of twins in her class. Identical girls, non-identical boys. They are all doing fine and always have. Our school has had lots of twins go through it and off the top of my head I can think of six sets there currently. When my DTs start a pair of identical girl DTs will start, so once again two sets in a class. Never caused any of the children any problems.

Talk to the Head telling him that you want them kept together and take it from there.

Sorry if I rambled. Brain still spinning with too much to do today.

I teach two autistic identical twins in a special needs music group. They are in the same new entrant class and would be devastated if they were apart.

Has he been influenced by that bit in Child of our Time where the little boy twins were much more confident when apart?

My twin DDs started reception last September and are in separate classes. It is the school's policy to split twins unless you object. We thought hard about it and decided it would be in their best interests, we wanted them to make their own friends and not be seen as a "unit". Splitting in year 1 wasn't an option for us as the classes do not get mixed up, they will stay with the same children until they leave in year 6. Therefore if they were together in reception and split in year 1 it would mean one of them leaving behind all their friends and starting from scratch with a new crowd which seemed unfair - how would we choose which twin to do this to?

One of them has struggled being separated from her sister, and still does to a certain extent.

I hadn't realised quite how much she depended on her, as she is the chattier more out-going of the pair, so I thought she would be fine. We did consider moving her into her sister's class at one point but her sister hated the idea as she was very settled and quite happy on her own. So we have persevered with separate classes. In the long run I think it will be for the best - they are very different academically already and i think it would would be very hard to see your sister steaming ahead in class and getting good results whilst you struggled.

Cakemonster - if you do get the opportunity I would say keep them together in reception then split in year 1. As the classes are all mixed up at year 1, this could be an option for you, unlike us.

Good News The head has agreed to keep them together & I didn't even have to cry!! I just presented him with an armful of info & research. So one up for Mums!