Should I be worried?

[Notintheframe]

My son is in year 1. He will turn 6 next month. In reception he was considered a very bright boy and his reports were always strong in terms of his academic outputs.

Today, his teacher mentioned that LittleNotintherame is a very capable boy but sometimes forgets himself and gets carried away with his conversation and not his work.

We won't get his report until the end of term but should I be worried that his performance has slipped?

Any suggestions on what I should be doing to stop this from becoming a problem?

Thank you

I wouldn't worry too much. He's six. He's feeling a bit more confident in his second year at school and is obviously forgetting that he needs to work and just wants to talk with his friends.

I would ask if you could go and see the teacher with your ds and see if a chat with the teacher in front of him about not concentrating and not doing his work would help. You could sort out a reward chart for him at home so if the teacher gives him a tick to say he's done ok that day he gets a sticker at home.

He's only 6. He will be fine. He just needs to keep chatting to the playground.

No don't be worried, just encourage him to do his best, read with him and do what you can at home. Year 1 is a big change for some children and some take time to adjust to the new work/play dynamic.

Oh thank you both for the reassuring words. He really likes to play and Champagne your point resonates. I think it could be the case that he is taking some time to adjust.

I am just worried that his potential will be undermined by his behaviour. But I am probably worrying needlessly. I just had visions of "very capable child but not achieving standards in his school work"

I wouldn't worry just yet. Just talk with ds and remind him that he needs to concentrate in class. That's all I would do at this moment. He is still young. I may be slightly worried if his level of work goes down significantly though.

My ds was always a day dreamer and away with fairies, and sometimes chatterbox in KS1. Something has changed in KS2. He gets on with it now.

He's still so little, he has years ahead of him so please don't place too much emphasis on not meeting standards right now.

He sounds like a typical six year old.

Mycat, that's the thing. Striking the right balance. Encouraging him to meet his potential while not pressuring him.

Irvine, what did you do to ensure your son's work did not slipped?

The work my son comes home with always looks good. They have maths and spelling tests every week. Nothing too difficult. From time to time he makes a silly mistake but his spelling and maths tests are always 95-100% correct. I imagine that it is his day to day work that his teacher is referring to.

Based on what I see of his work I would not have known his chattering was affecting his work. Although any question about what he did in school, what he ate, etc is nearly always met with an 'I don't remember'. He rarely remembers instructions his teacher gives about bringing things in.

He lost out on a class reward because of his talking. I asked the teacher for more details. It was during that brief conversation that she made the comment.