Dealing with being split from freinds after class shuffle - floods of tears morning, lunchtime & evening....

[2plus2plus1]

A friend of my DTDs has been seperated from all of her closest friends now she has moved to Yr1 & sobs every morning, apparently crys at lunchtime (when they get together & play) & when she comes out to meet her mum. I just don't know what to suggest.

It is not that she has a particularly small group of friends - there are at least 8 'closer friends' but she is the only one that is in the other class. The reason for being seperated from my DTDs is rational - they were in the same assessment group last year & these have been shuffled - it just so happens that all of her other close friends are in DTDs class too. I just don't know what to suggest - it is so difficult watching her and her mum deal with this.

Has anyone been through anything like this?

Doesn't she have any friends at all in her new class?
If so then I think that's totally wrong of the school to seperate her from all her friends, and I'd go and have a word tbh.

my son too is left without some of his mates and has just started year one. he cries in the morning just as they go in it's sad. but i tell him to smile and try to make new friends, hopefully he will. it's so hard though

My dd has just gone into YR4, her year has been shuffled into 3 classes and she was being put into a class where she knew one girl. She was devastated at not being with her best friend - I spoke to the teacher and he agreed to move her. Perhaps your friend needs to have a word with the head.

Yes she does have other 'friends' - thats why my her mum elected not to discuss it with the saff when the classes were announced. It's just that the friends that she either a) plays with outside school hours or b) walks to school with are in the other class. Of the 60 pupils in the year her top 8 or so friends are all in the other class IYSWIM. We are not just taliking about her being seperated from her 1 best friend. She is probably the worst one in the peer group to have seperated based on her level of confidence, but I don't think it was intentional.

Her mum has spoken to her teacher & she does't know why they were split. She is going to have a word with her R teacher to find out if there was a reason.

I (and the other peer group parents) feel almost guilty that she is going through this. I wondered if anyone has any strategies for dealing with it.

I would be worried that the getting upset will turn to 'habit' & that will inhibit her settling with her new peers.

Sorry if this sounds hard but children are in class to learn. Playtimes and lunchtimes are the times for socialising with friends. Children are very resilient and the teacher will be fully aware that there is a new mix of children within the class and will do what he/she can to smooth the way for all the children to help them settle in. This time next week you will wonder what you were worrying about. Best of luck.

Yes I agree that they are there to learn. But at the moment she is not learning anything for 50% of the day because she is spending so much time upset (& the teacher has admitted that). I am not saying she should be moved or anything - but I do think it is unfair for her to be the only one seperated like this when all her clasmates have a friend in their class.

I am asking if anyone has any ideas to help her deal with this sooner rather than later. We are already nearly 2wks into the term in our area & she is getting worse.