Missing playtime because work isn't completed

[m0therofdragons]

I'm trying to find out if this is normal. Dd3 was upset tonight because when she finds her work too hard and is too slow her teacher makes her stay behind in the class to finish. This means she's often missing some of her play time. Is that normal? It feels harsh. Dd is an August baby so in my mind it's unfair to expect her to necessarily do the same work as her friends who are 11.5 months older. Am I being a bit precious?

Thanks to the poster who pointed out I didn't mean 38hrs prem (that doesn't make any sense). And thank you to the helpful comments, including those who feel it's fine and I'm being precious - I do take that on board.
I didn't mention how upset dd was as my actual op was asking if keeping dc in at break was standard so it didn't feel relevant. Besides, if dd wasn't upset I wouldn't be worried. I did double check I hadn't accidentally posted in aibu as some of the comments felt better suited to that.
I seriously considered keeping dd back a year but there was no compelling reason and I do believe we made the right choice but I did so accepting dd may struggle and need support(which dh and I give) but I'm uncomfortable with her being punished for it. (If that is the case).

I have 3 dc so she's not pfb.

This happened to my DD2 who is in Y3.

She was told to come back at the start of lunch time to complete some work she hadn't finished in class then kept in so long that she only just had time to get her lunch and missed all the lunch play. I was really annoyed, particularly because she was very upset by it and had been so hungry she couldn't concentrate anyway.

After a bit of digging, I found out that she hadn't finished her own work because she was helping other children who were struggling (DD2 is v bright, but easily distracted) which made me even more cross.

I was all for going in guns-blazing but DD2 said she didn't want me to make a fuss but if it happened again I would be in there like a shot.

I also agree that being prem can make a massive difference. My DD1 (now Y7) was born 8 weeks early at the very end of August instead of the end of October so bumped up a year. She struggled hugely with emotional immaturity in the early years at school and even now comes across/looks much younger than many of her year group.

Thank you Speckle for making me feel less daft. I spoke to the ta this morning and asked for a meeting as dd is a bit unhappy so her teacher is calling me this evening.

I read a news article a while ago about some recent research that had tracked summer born babies through to gcse. Quite vague on details, but the general gist was there was still an impact on attainment at this level. In my area, we have 11+ and one extra point is awarded per month for birthdays after March. At 5 your daughter's age will definitely have an impact on her levels of concentration compared to children up to a year older than her. In my experience schools are generally aware of this, but I would have a word with the teacher. Your daughter needs to play out, just as much as children who work faster. Playtime is not a reward, it is essential.

This happened to my DS. They kept I'm at break and lunch because he didn't do enough work, and then complained that he then hadn't done any work all afternoon either.

They knew he was going through assessment for ADHD (which he was later diagnosed with) so why they couldn't understand that keeping him sitting still for the whole day would not help with his concentration I don't know.

I home educate now because the school never did get it.

I think that's very poor for the first half term of year 1.

Tbh I wouldn't get too tied up on how old your child is compared to the others. DC1 is now in year 2 and some of the oldest children are in the lowest groups for maths and reading etc. So I wouldn't pay too much attention to this.
Your child could well be exaggerating but if you ate concerned speak to their teacher.

As a teacher I do this fairly frequently to the children in y6 if I feel they have not focused enough and I feel the time given was reasonable. The other issue is, if it doesn't get finished then then there honestly isn't any time at any other point to finish it off so it has to be done in the time allocated. That said I don't keep them all lunch/break and make sure they have time.

I would never DREAM of using the same technique with year 1. To be honest I think y4 would be my limit and then only 5 mins or so. I wouldn't like this.

Not the end of the world if she is missing play-time... Play-time is usually 15 minutes and your child will probably learn that concentrating is better than chatting or day-dreaming. I would support the teacher but if not happy might be worth asking what your DD is up to during classroom tasks.

I will confess I haven't RTFT just the Op. I will say that as a quite an experienced TA, teachers will only keep back the children they know haven't made the effort or produced the work they are capable of. Perhaps your dc is spending half the morning chatting to her mate instead of doing her work. You need to ask the teacher.

She has probably only been kept in for a couple of minutes so the teacher ensures she understands. The teacher has given up her break to ensure she has some 1:1 time.
I agree with Bestthingever and add that it maybe to check your child's understanding.
We keep the Yr 3sand 4s in. You can soon suss out who is not understanding and who is just messing about or being lazy. You only have to do it once or twice. Then the cotton on.

How did the phonecall with the teacher go OP?

I feel very very strongly about this. It's just wrong. Once maybe, but if it needs to be done more than once, teacher should speak to parent.

But then my situation was different. Ds2 was in year 2, going through ASD assessment, and I found out he'd been kept in a lot for the first 6 weeks. Why hadn't I been told? . When I found out, they refused to stop it. Was the start of a 5 year horrific ordeal.

Don't do it teachers. Definitely not more than once to the same child.

I think it's very wrong too. It's far more important for them to play at 5 than it is to finish their work. They shouldn't even have "work". In most countries they would be in kindergarten.

My ds was kept in at break time when he was in YR1.
I think it really depend on each child, and hopefully teacher can see if they are struggling or just messing about.
My ds did benefit from this, he was capable, but not putting in effort. If he was left to get away with it, he never learned to apply himself when he needed to.

In my country, they are in kindergarten, doing similar things to reception and yr1.(Reading, writing, maths.) A lot of play based learning.

Talk to the teacher and find out how often this is happening.

If it happens occasionally because the work is within your DD's capabilities but sometimes she needs to be a bit more focused, then it isn't a big problem - she may just sometimes need a reason to get on with things.

If it happens regularly, then clearly there is a problem and your DD shouldn't be sacrificing her break (important socially and physically) just to keep up.

Okay, as expected teacher's version is very different! Dd has stayed in once to finish work and only for a few minutes but she'd said she wanted to finish so they let her. Regarding her struggling, her teacher was shocked and this morning she showed me her books so that I wouldn't worry. Dd is doing amazingly and racing forwards.

Dd3 is a scarily good liar! I didn't go in all guns blazing just asking for clarity. Dd's teacher was great.

Phew!

Children's books are often scrutinised by SLT and inspectors and teachers ARE held accountable if a child hasn't completed their work especially if it happens lots of times. Going in all guns blazing is just going to make more teachers leave the profession; we are criticised no matter what we do.

Raptor, OP specifically said she didn't go in all guns blazing

I have not criticised any teachers I simply asked if it was common in year 1 as I wanted to chat to the teacher and wanted to be prepared. My school regularly tells us to talk to them if we have any worries or dc is unhappy and has a very strong emphasis on dc mental / emotional health as well as academic. I'm happy with how I dealt with it and don't think the teacher will be resigning over a friendly conversation

OP how premature was your daughter? Has she been signed off by paeds? Is her prematurity still affecting her?
If it is still affecting her then teachers should take that into account. If it was only a few weeks and she is signed off from paeds then she is in the same position as any other summer born - some summer borns are very able and some find it harder the same as some Autumn/winter/spring borns. Our school keep children in if they have not finished and haven't achieved what they are capable of.