Does your primary stream year 1 children

[ReallyTired]

I hate streaming early on. Supposely its great for more able kids and awful for summer born boys who get stuck in low groups. However its dreadful for my daughter who is in the top stream and sat with the same girls for everything. The girls in the top group (including my daughter) get picked for everything. I feel that this is making all the children including my daughter arrogant and dismissive of children in other groups. The pressure of being in the top group makes the girls incredibly bitchy and competitive.

I want the school to introduce some mixed ablity teaching for subjects like Art, music, DT, ICT, registration etc. I believe that some mixed ablity teaching would improve respect and social interaction for every child. Is there any evidence for my theory that streaming actually harms bright kids?

[vkyyu]

My dd was in a school that is heavely obsessive with ability settings from year one. She was put into bottom set from year 1 so I worked with her at home continuely and religiously for one hour everyday to catch up. She cought up very well by end of ks1. So I prepared her for yr3 to ensure she would have a head start. But in yr3 again she was put in bottom set. At home she was telling me the teachers kept teaching things she already knew while her teacher complained about her not paying attention and day dream all day. When dd changed school in mid year 3 initially her new school really concerned her concentration level. The new school (mixed abilities) had a TA to work with her for a term then by end of yr3 she caught up with everything. Now her teacher is very happy with her progress and dd is very happy in her new school. She has been telling everyone how much she loves her new school because it doesn't put children into sets.
My 8yr old told me she really hate the old school because the top set children bully the bottom set children. I believe in the old school the work was too easy for her due to teachers' low expectation of the children. So not only did it cap her progress it caused her to have developed concentration issue due to long term boredom.
I don't blame every teacher in the old school but their school policy. Ime settings or streaming are distraction to learning.

[mrz]

I've done it that way with over 50%. of the class (17/29) by incorporating as much as possible into daily routines so only individual speech programmes were carried out in lesson time.

[spanieleyes]

Which would be great, except there is no way I could fit all my interventions into lunchtimes and before school-unless i started at around half seven! Nearly 40% of my class are on the special needs register, requiring daily intervention-from dyslexia support, maths intervention, tracking, visual discrimination activities, fine and gross motor skill programmes, to name but a few! Like hulababy, we have interventions during collective worship and during afternoon lessons but never during literacy or numeracy. We alternate timings daily so children never continually miss the same subject but feel that some of the children requiring intervention, certainly those who also have ADHD, need their lunchtimes ( and staff do to! I already work 7-5, lunchtime is the only break I get!)

[Hulababy]

We do one intervention before school for part of the year but would not be able to do others. Our experience shows us that the cc children requiring the intervention, at our school cannot attend before and after school generally. We tried it and it just doesn't work for those needing it most. It really depends on your catchment I guess and especially when long distances involving public transport is involved it isn't always practical.

And we never take children's playtime away. We have clubs and activities that children can opt for but no child is forced to miss their play time sessions.

But schools do what works for them and their children.

[mrz]

I do realise I'm lucky because this requires staff "goodwill" and not all SENCOs can rely on teachers giving up their own time unpaid.

[mrz]

Whereas we would carry out these interventions before school or during lunchtime so as not to reduce normal teaching/learning time at all. So any support is in addition to lessons.

[Hulababy]

Very rarely and only ever when it's recommended by the outside agencies we work with. The children never miss core subjects or things like pe either. Where possible intervention work occurs within the classroom.

We do however trust our outside agencies and take advise from them for what is best with our children. If that means 5-10 minutes a day at one side of the room or in a quiet space elsewhere we do it.

[mrz]

So children aren't withdrawn from the class or sent off to work with a TA?

[Hulababy]

Well yes mrz - in ours it is in addition to a teacher being there as well.

[ReallyTired]

I don't think that differentiation is a bad thing. Its how differentiation is done.

Labelling students as high, middle and low achievers is what is harmful. Putting a ceiling on the learning of children in lower tables by denying them the opportunity to do harder work is what is bad.

Allowing children some freedom to pick the level of challenge is a kinder way of managing differentiation.

[mrz]

It depends whether the extra hands are in addition to or a substitute

[Hulababy]

In our school every class has a teacher and a well qualified and experienced (a number are actually qualified teachers) TA so we are fortunate. The whole class is taught by the teacher initially but they are then supported by teacher and/or TA. But no one group ever just has the same person - lower groups are def not always with a TA at all. Extra hands are often a very useful resource, especially well qualified ones.

[mrz]

thejosevilson.com/differentiation-the-dirtiest-word-in-education-today/

www.matcheducation.org/puzzled/2010/10/04/fighting-back-against-differentiated-instruction

[Xmasmarket]

Dd is year one and stays on the same table all day with the same children. They are ability grouped and I'm very surprised that they never move.

She's just this week worked out why her table 'never gets any help' when the others do.

I doubt this is entirely true but I'm surprised they don't mix them up for different lessons.

[mrz]

In my school all pupils are taught by teachers

[rollonthesummer]

Dd school is two form entry. There are just ablity tables in the class.

This isn't streaming!

[Hulababy]

Spanish10

Definitely not in my school. The teachers and class TAs alternate which focus groups they work with most days/lessons. No one ever just has one group here, unless it is a specific intervention programme being run by a set person - but that will never be in place of normal english, maths, phonics, reading, etc. It is in addition to and it is often a TA doing that as they are the one who has had the specific training for it.

[mrz]

reflectionsofmyteaching.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/can-i-be-that-little-bit-better_31.html?m=1

[mrz]

websofsubstance.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/seriously-differentiation-really-doesnt-work/

[mrz]

www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/01/07/differentiation-doesnt-work.html?qs=differentiation+doesn't+work

[ReallyTired]

I think there is a difference between parents of second borns and precious first borns. My eldest is 13 and I know how much children can change. My eldest is mostly in middle sets inspite of being on the top table at primary. He is in the top set for science but struggles with french. Like every child he has his strengths and weaknesses.

I feel that five year old should not be labelled as gifted unless the have done something truly extraordinary like compose their first concerto, discovered a cure for cancer or have worked towards world peace. Telling a typical but bright five year old that they are a cut above the others does no favours.

[bookbag40]

also agree that is is usually the lower groups who get the TA and the top groups who get the teacher.

It really feels as though there is a two tier education system going on within our schools sometimes.

[bookbag40]

Streaming is terrible.

It just allows the children to fail before they have even started really and worryingly sets low expectations upon the children. What concerns me is that teachers start to talk in terms of "my low-ability group" or "my bottom set" and it then I think it becomes very hard to change their mindset about those children.

No one seems to really acknowledge that children's ability is in no way set at such a young age and can really fluctuate. In year 1 I was told my DS would barely be reading by the end of the year as he was so behind. Luckily I had faith in him and he actually ended the year on a very good level but it was worrying how quick the teachers were to write off a 5 year old and had it not been for my perseverance they would not have helped him reach his potential

You do also get a lot of arrogance in the top table children (and their parents!) and a rather defeated air about the bottom table.

I love the idea of children choosing the difficultly of their own challenges (with a bit of guidance) as it is far more stretching for them and far less labelling.

Our school have animal names for tables but it's fairly unsubtle as to who is top - think along the lines of Lions for top table and snails for bottom! Even when they have tried choosing different names within about 2 weeks the parents have already worked out which is which.

[Spanish10]

And it is normally ta who teaches the low group.

[ReallyTired]

mrz do you have any links? It's interesting that some educational professionals have the same views as a mere mum.