"Accelerated learning programme"

[manchestermummy]

DD1 (y2, just turned 7) has come home with a letter today that informs us she will be working in a smaller group on an "accelerated learning programme to focus on areas of writing she finds challenging".

At parents' evening the week before last no concerns were mentioned at all. And she finished y1 with a 2b for writing.

I'm going to phone school tomorrow but in the meantime, what does this letter mean. What is an accelerated learning programme?

Anyone? The letter has come from the school SENCO. Her teacher said at parents' evening that she was "higher ability" so we are very confused as to why she needs additional support: the letter does seem to suggest she is struggling. She writes in long sentences, is joining her letters, uses appropriate punctuation a lot of the time, spells very well and uses a wide vocabulary.

How fantastic. The school has noticed your child is achieving well and is still keen to give her small group support to develop further.

Make a fuss if you like. It sounds overwhelmingly positive to me. The SENCO is probably responsible for organising intervention groups, not just for those with difficulties.

I don't know much about any of this, and I hope a teacher comes along and can give you valuable and competent insight. Thinking of my two girls, a 2b at the end of yr1 would be better than the norm. I think a 2b is the expectation for the end of yr2. So, to me, it doesn't make sense to put her in a booster group because she isn't at all behind.

In any case, I wouldn't be shy about simply asking her classroom teacher or the SENCO to clarify.

The majority of the class are likely to be working below 2b, so taking a more able group out to challenge them makes sense, doesn't it?

Agree - it sounds as if they're putting her in a booster group to ensure she continues to progress rather than plateau while the others catch up. And that the school has a master letter that they send out to the parents of all children who are in groups for additional support, for whatever reason, which is why the wording is confusing in this instance.

Sorry, Asleep, wrote my post without seeing yours. My comment about competent advice was an aspersion on myself, not you!

I wasn't taking it personally! It could have been a great put down though (I'm an intervention group teacher - don't always feel competent!).

Thanks. I agree that it should be positive (I know from newsletters home that there are things for children who are ahead/working well in areas) but the letter is very generic and suggests a problem.

We work hard to support our dc at home so we would like to know the full picture.

Thank you for not suggesting I'm slightly mad for wanting clarification.

Why don't you ask the teacher for clarification. Do you have any idea who the other children who are in the "accelerated group" with her?

She's at breakfast and after school club so I can't unless I ring, which I will do in the morning.

I did ask her if any others in her class had had a letter and she didn't know. She seemed a bit upset about the small group with a different teacher though so I want to reassure her, as well as understand what is going on.

So dd1 went to her group session with two children from the other class (2 form entry). I don't know anything about these children so am none the wiser.

DH called school and left a message but no-one called back so I am going to try tomorrow.

The more I think about it the more I think we really should be told why she has been selected for the group and what the purpose of her attendance is.

Why don't you email the school. The teacher might be able to answer your questions better than mumsnet. In my experience teachers often reply within days of a polite email from a concerned parent.

Our school doesn't reply to e-mail: they told me as much!

I only put the question to mn so I could get some sort of inkling so that I could ask in a measured, semi-informed way.

Update: dd1 is apparently working at a very high level, so is working in a small group to achieve more. She is our pfb so we never know what a child of her age should be doing if that makes sense.

I questioned the letter, in particular the part that said they would be working on things they find challenging. Her teacher was surprised, and understood why we would be concerned.

Thanks for the update. It's nice to hear a "happy ending" to a thread. I hope your DD blossoms with the extra attention.