How do mixed year classes work?

[havingamadmoment]

My dd started a new school this year and it turns out she is in a class which is mostly year three but with five fours in. She is year four.

She is one of the oldest in year four (birthday start of September) so a year to nearly two years older than the year threes.

How does it work? Won't she just be doing the same work as last year? She was in all the top groups at her old school and her report said she did well so I don't think she needs to repeat the work?

Does anyone else have a class like this?

No she will definitely not do the same work. In fact even in a class of all one year group, not all children do the same work as it must be differentiated to suit each age group.'ixed age classes are common, but remember she has not been held back, she is still in year 4. The teacher will ensure she is stretched, it will just be in addition to the differentiation the teacher does for the class anyway.

I've wondered this, when I was at litrle school the teacher would stand at the front and show us the work on the blackboard eg adding up and then set us work and go round and help us with it. The clever ones finished it first and given more.

Do they not teach like that any more (it does spy d quite okd fashioned) because if they do how do they differentiate the work?

Racmun that's what I wondered for example last year her class did about explorers won't they be doing that again this year?? Unless the 5 year fours get taken off to do a different topic?

I'm in Scotland so may be different, but usually there's a set of topics for e.g. P1, P1/2, P2, P2/3 and so on. May be different in England as it's a different curriculum but I imagine it's similar.

When schools have mixed year classes I think they generally have a rolling programme for topics so children wouldn't do the same things twice.

Dd's school have composite classes, though the split is usually half and half, for topics there is a four year rolling programme so that no one repeats the same work. For numeracy and literacy the classes are streamed by ability and sometimes the years are grouped and the children are taught in their year groups then.
This year dd is in a y6 class because the school has had two extra classrooms built on, it will be the first time she has ever been in a single year group class in her school life.

Hi OP

My Dd experienced this at her First School (we have the three tier system; she is now at Middle School Yr 5 - 8).
Year 1 & 2 were mixed between three classes and Year 3 & 4 were mixed between three classes.
As others have said the topics are on a rolling two year programme so definitely children do not repeat work. They were streamed into reading and maths groups. Grouped from all three classes.
So one year she would have older children in the class and next year younger children.
I think it helps the teachers to mix the classes based on personalities rather than age. For example if your have a group of strong characters separating them or 'naughty children' (yes I know maybe this not best word).

The advantage I found for my daughter that having mixed with so many different children she is very confident in new group situations. Before going to this school she was not. This will help in a work environment I feel. Children may not have been with friends in class but found them at playtime.

If she was at a different school last year (you mentioned old school) she may end up repeating a topic (like explorers) as different schools do things at different times, but that could happen if you change schools even in a single age class. I teach mixed age classes and just differentiate work. Eg we are doing partitioning this week and some will be doing 2 digit numbers and some 3, some 4 etc....

Teachers would be bored to bits if they taught same thing each year, especially topics.

Some material will be repeated, I'm sure. But why not? Isn't that how your education worked? Didn't you find it valuable to revisit times tables practice or the difference between a noun and a verb? I'm sure I learnt well doing things that way. Lots of school is about practice, no?

ime, mixed yrs they divide them up into sets and they all learn the same ideas but at different levels of difficulty in practice. Not had any trouble with mine being set appropriately, anyway.

I find dd repeated more when she was in a straight year group, her work has always been differentiated far better in the mixed class.

We found mixed age class ok academically (topics spread out over number of years for each Key Stage). Socially it was a nightmare (3 different year groups, less than 10 kids in all, very cliquey). It was a shame - could have been wonderful experience.

my son is in a mixed Y2/3 class (he is in yr 2) and was in the mixed Y1/2 last year also. I have to say it has worked very well - the kids look at the same topics but are stretched and worked to the different levels within each topic depending not only on their age and expected levels at those but also based on their abilities.
things like spelling tests the younger ones might get say 10 words a week and the older year will get 15 or so
I have no concerns with the mixed class based on my own experience of 1!