Moving down a group end of yr 1

[hoping2016]

Hello

Feeling a bit low today as it seems my dd will go down a group in yr 2. in yr 1 she was put in the top group out of 90 children, however teaCher has said she doesn't always get maths first time and not using enough wow words in her work and also switches letters around for words where she actually knows the spelling!

we were thinking grammar school material but after today left feeling a little deflated!

Your child is going into year 2. Grammar school is a long way off. 2nd group out of 90 kids is still great. Stop feeling the pressure and enjoy that your child is doing well.

Really really your thinking of secondary school when your child's only just finished their second year in primary school.m?

There's 3 more years before year 5 when most parents start thinking of secondary, there will be lots of moving of groups between now and then. Even then the 11+ isn't taken until the first term of year 6. You child isn't even in year 2 yet.

Aren't children under enough pressure with SATS, league tables and peer pressure

Much better for your DD to be in the right group for her than to be struggling in one where the work is too difficult.

Groups change all the time at this age. Sometimes it takes a child a bit longer to fully understand a concept. Sometimes a classmate will have a sudden spurt of progress and 'leapfrog' over them.

It's far too early to know whether your DD will be grammar school material.

Thank you for speedy responses......maybe I'm being pfb! any tips on what I could do at home in preparation for yr 2?

She's doing fine and is still very small, grammar school is years away yet:) don't let her see you are disappointed and don't give her the impression that being clever is better than anything else. So what if she is going down a group, focus on whether she is kind or whether she can paint really well. Find something she is good at and praise that.

Groups are fluid and they change in- year. If it helps my ds is now in year 6 and since year 1 I've been told he is g&t in maths. Every parents evening it was all oh but he is so good at maths/ he's on a table by himself for maths etc. Last year he slipped and was put into a group down in maths, totally unexpected (for me, not for him as he had started struggling). So he's still a group down but suddenly his writing has flown and he's writing stories all the time and planning films and this has completely eclipsed maths. He's now g&t in literacy instead and is just bubbling over with stories and writing.

My point being that you cannot tell what their strengths are in year 1 and their strengths can change along the way. Focus on your lovely dd as the complete person, not just the education results. Maybe she will go to the grammar, maybe she won't, it doesn't matter quite yet

Speaking from experience, you may find that moving down a group is the best thing that could happen to your dd. She will probably be at the top of the next group down, which may well give her more confidence and less stress than hovering around the bottom of the top group. I firmly believe that children learn best when they are not under a lot of pressure to perform.

My ds1, years ago, was in the top group for maths when he started junior school, based on his SAT result, Level 3. It soon became apparent that he hated the fast-paced, quick-fire nature of the top group, and wasn't doing particularly well. 3 weeks in, the teacher had a word with me, and was, I think rather taken aback by my enthusiastic response to the news that he was to be moved down. It really allowed him to relax, and he remained in that group till year 6, when he was moved up again. For what it's worth, he did pass the 11+, but there were some children in his old group who also passed, and who got level 5 in their SATs too. Worry not!

Is she one of the older children in the year by any chance? If so, it's very common for some of the older children to start off in a high group and move down as the summer borns catch up. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. She's still doing really well.

dd is early June born...

How many groups are there? Surely they aren't put in the same groups for english and maths - many children are stronger in one than the other. In KS1 in particular grouping should be very fluid as children progress at different rates through the year.

I actually don't think the teacher should be discussing it with you and making it a big deal, the children should just be moved around as necessary.

Oh, OK. Ignore that then! But I agree with other posters that it's good for her self esteem to be the top of a lower group than the bottom of the highest group.

Best preparation for year 2... read nice books together. Use wow words in conversation. Chat lots.

My dd is end of year 1 and has always been a high flyer in the very top group but this year she has slowed down a bit and isn't quite keeping up with her friends of a similar level. It knocked me a bit too so I totally understand how you feel. But after a while I realized that it was much better that her teacher noticed and acted on it so she feels confident and supported rather than struggling as she was very aware that her best friends were doing things faster and reading better etc but she thought should be keeping up so never said anything about it, by acknowledging it we could let her see that it doesn't matter and everyone is different and its ok to just do her best. They have put her to work with some other children and its done her confidence so much good. I hadn't even realized there was a problem as she is still well ahead of where she should be but I am glad now it was recognised.

Surely its better she is in a group she can cope with she is 6ish you need to unclench a little bit top group seems to be a boasting tool its fine for her to be in the group she needs to be

Children learn in peaks and plateaux and the occasional trough. They do not necessarily all learn at the same pace so movement betwen groups is inevitable. At our infant school I never knew if DD was in the top group or the second group or the third group. 30 out of the 60 children got a place at the grammar schools in the area. So what did it matter? Relax.

she is way too young to be worrying about whether she is grammar school potential or not yet honestly. Try to look at it that the school have picked up on a few areas she isn't as confident in and now they have identified them they can make sure she is in the right group for her. Being the bottom child in the top group, or the only one struggling would be very hard for her going forwards and if she will be much more comfortable in the next group down then it will really boost her confidence.

One thing that a lot of people don't realise is that groups need to be fluid and change regularly.
New children join the school, other children leave the school, children who have English as their second language get more fluent in English, some children who just happened to have learned to read early or whatever then find their natural position among their classmates. Some children will find some subjects or some topics easier than they do others. So they will get moved around. Bmy children think they are pretty poor at maths but their teachers think otherwise at the moment, I wonder myself if they would be more confident about their ability in the next group down but they are holding their own where they are at the moment so it will be interesting for me to see what the teachers think as they change classes in September.

unless the teacher says to you "x needs to do more reading over the summer or could you perhaps practice x y or z a little bit as she is behind" then you haven't got to do anything to prepare for Yr2 other than have fun over the summer. Obviously if the school make suggestions then it would be a good idea to do them but I can't imagine there is anything in particular.

The other thing you must remember is that some children do just process things at different speeds, nothing to do with intelligence or ability, their brains just process things a little bit more slowly - sometimes these children actually go on to achieve more in the long run because they are just as capable but ponder things before doing them.

Anyway there is nothing wrong with not being top group, if your child mentions it (they may - some children do feel disheartened at the thought of moving down groups but lots actually feel relieved because they know they are struggling a bit) then just reassure them that this way they will be more comfortable with the speed of the work and move on.

"Groups" are as much a reflection of your child's peer group as your child!! Focus on what your child is doing, not what they are doing in relation to anyone else!

DD went between the top and middle group ending up in the top of the middle group. She is not remotely interested in Maths and definitely doesn't try as hard as she could!

I once tried to explain why Maths was essential in every day life by telling her that when I made a batch of cupcakes for school I doubled the recipe and I wouldn't be able to do that without Maths. She told me she would just make it twice. You can see what I'm up against!

She still passed the 11+ and got into our first choice school. Then she was given the SATS paper in June and got 91%. (That sounds impressive but loads of her classmates got 100% so it wasn't, but it was okay.) Now she is in Year 7 at her new school and the Maths has gone off again which is probably my fault for telling her not to worry too much as it was only the first year.

I wouldn't worry just yet. It's a long time until she'll be taking the 11+.

Groups change all the time at our school, teachers have said that they will be very fluid and we are never informed of any changes.
The good news is that the teacher is very specific about the things your dd needs a little extra support with and they are things that are not road blocks to grammar school 😂. They spend a tonne of time in year two on spelling, wow words etc so if these are areas that your dd can improve on-great. Sounds like a good school relax!

should also say that our school went from ability groups in some years to mixed ability more social groups but with differentiated work in others and then back to ability groups and so on. One of mine is currently sat with mixed ability but gets top group work for maths and English, the other is in a mixed ability English group with top group work but an ability maths group, then both have social groups for all other subjects. I believe next year will be different again, it depends on the teacher's preferred way of doing it I think.