Struggling in Y5

[jennawadesdaughter]

Just after a bit of reassurance.

Ds is in Y5 and up until this year we were told that he is above expectation in everything and doing brilliantly.

He has moved to middle school (still have them in these parts) and seems to have stalled. We are giving him lots of help at home but the feedback from school is that he's actually decidedly average at English and Maths.

Feel a bit sorry for him as it's been a big knock to his confidence and also a bit guilty that as parents we should have spotted it and intervened to help him a bit sooner.

Not sure what to do to help him.

Being average is not struggling.
What has changed since the move? More able cohort?His attitude to learning? Does he find yr5 work challenging?

I think this is one of the downsides of the three tier system, and partly why it is being phased out. Children have to move schools twice, and it takes them a while to settle, and it also takes new teachers a while to assess them. (I say this as someone who was in a three tier system as a child and was happy, so I am not trying to ‘knock’ it!)

It’s probably a combination of factors. Maybe he was in a slightly weak class in primary, and so appeared in primary to be more able than he actually is when compared to a wider cohort. Maybe there are gaps in his teaching in primary, compared with what is expected in middle (I’m sure the schools try to minimise these but it must happen occasionally). Maybe he is finding a couple of new concepts a bit hard but will start to fly again once he’s got a bit further with them. Maybe he is just taking a while to settle in the new environment.

I don’t think you have anything to feel bad about as his parents! Just reassure him that you’re proud of him as long as he is doing his best.

SOMETIMES first/infant schools can overmark to make sure the children have made good progress whilst at their school but then they go to a new school and they mark them back down. This can happen just between years in schools anyway where a teacher doesn't agree with another teacher. has happened to my daughter (also in year 5). It is a huge knock to their confidence. it isn't that there is anything wrong with being at expected levels but often children who are above expected levels are perfectionists so they find it hard to suddenly drop and it is the same drop as a child going from expected levels to below expected levels and could mean they are not going to make their expected progress in KS2 so it is an issue.

What can you do about it? well just reassure him that if he is working as hard as he can and doing his best then that is all that matters. There isn't anything wrong with being average, that is why it is average but you can explain to him that everyone learns at different rates and in different patterns. So perhaps he is now settling to the level that is right for him or perhaps he is having a time of consolidation and will then make rapid progress in something. Doesn't mean he won't excel in subjects in the future and there are lots of subjects other than the ones assessed (I still laugh that my child who can program in different programming languages at 9 got given "average" for IT skills and knowledge. they only did about 10 lessons all year and barely did anything in them so the school had no way of knowing her ability).

it is really just working on building his confidence and he will then be able to thrive. Doing loads of extra work doesn't sit right with me, they are at school for 30hours a week and they need the time outside of school to do other activities, enjoy themselves, relax, read, play etc. We have workbooks but my children never open them. Sometimes I wonder if I am wrong not to push them to do some, i see their friends having tutoring and doing loads of extra stuff and I wonder if mine are lazy, or if I am lazy because I can't be bothered to fight them to do it but my children need a break from it and as long as they are doing ok at school and meeting the required standard then I won't push it at home. If they drop below expectations then that is different.