Reception -KS1

[Iwanthertoloveit34]

Is there a big change from reception to KS1, how do the children cope and what can parents do to support kids during this change?

Depending on the school there can be quite a big difference.
At our school there is much more table based learning and not as much free flow play. It takes them a bit of getting used to especially as it's more group work etc rather than reception where not everyone has to do the craft etc!

IME, the teaching staff in Reception support the transition for all the children. Few Reception classes will keep th doing complete freeflow and following the EYFS exclusively up to July, they will get the children ready. Equally, the Yr1 teacher will ease them in, in September.

I think it's very school dependent. I had been told by friends that they D really noticed a difference but my children definitely didn't have a sharp jump at all.

School we moved away from formalised it incredibly quickly in a very tiny classroom. Current school they transition it very gently and even now the y1s get a good set of chances to get the trainset out. Was a factor in moving them

Schools vary massively. You're best bet is to ask the school how you can support your child with the transition.

I used to work in eyfs but our school was working hard to drive up attainment so there wasn't a huge difference between the two. The main one is from nursery to description.

*your.

*reception

It seemed to switch from mainly playing to mainly lesson time. The lesson time wasn't overly formal about half is hands on stuff (e.g. planting seeds while learning about the life cycle of a plant etc).

I think how the child copes depends a lot on their temperament. The more acquiescent children who don't mind sitting still colouring etc tend to cope very well. The ones that struggle tend to be the high energy kids (especially younger boys) who prefer to be moving about. They struggle to sit still when it's time to do worksheets etc.

Like I say - it was a big factor (and this is despite having DD1 whose idea of a good time involves a jaunt down the stationery aisle and then sitting colouring in pictures for all her buddies) in moving my kids. DD1 went for the trial transition day in Y1 and came out completely and totally freaking out at it at her old school - she was screaming at me, melting down totally, refusing to go back into school and everything because the change was that severe. She struggles with transitions anyway somewhat and we've had a few indignant wibbles over the idea of going into Y2 - but nothing off the scale like there was last year (and school are very on board managing this wibble gently for her).

Moved to an infant school where the ethos is much more small-child oriented (previous school was very very top heavy - 3 classes per year at KS2 as an infant school fed into them and the infants got a bit lost I always felt) and they are fantastic - the whole school had a wonderful global week recently where they all had boarding passes to different countries (teachers dressed as airline crew checking them all in and all sorts), measured their luggage to check it fitted size and weight, learnt about different countries (Y2 were painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling by lying on the floor painting on paper stuck underneath the tables)... that kind of learning goes on across the entire key stage which I think is fantastic. It was looking around the school and seeing things like role play areas and home corners set up in all the classrooms all the way up to Y2 that swung it for me in terms of making the move.

First week in Y1 in September - DD1's old class mates were getting stressed out over spelling tests and she'd been making gingerbread men as a starter for her literacy lessons and numeracy in terms of the maths they'd got out of the baking activity!

Yes it depends hugely on the school. As some PPs have indicated (and I have heard before on MN, and been told while viewing schools) at some schools they introduce formal teaching with lots of desk-based work half way through reception year 'to prepare children for Y1'. At the other extreme, Y1 is very similar to most reception classes in how it is organised and how children learn, with lots of play-based, child led activities even continuing into Y2.

Most will be somewhere inbetween with a gentle transition beginning towards the end of reception or in the beginning of Y1, and by mid-Y1 I expect most schools to be pretty heavily desk-based, structured learning; though you'd hope for some opportunities for play still.

Personally, DS (summer-born boy) thrived in the clearer structures and rules of Y1. He had found reception pretty chaotic (never knowing quite what to expect next, lots of 'unwritten rules'- much clearer and more explicit in Y1; but this need not always be how reception or Y1 are like) and the free-flow 'learning-by-play' in reception had been socially tricky. Neither format particularly supported his learning but again, that might be down to the specific classes/teachers, rather than YR/Y1.

It's really only your school, or parents with older children at that school if teachers have remained the same, that can tell you.

brilliotic that's really interesting about your son. We had been planning for my summer born to repeat reception but I'm now questioning whether she'll find the structure of year one easier and whether it would be a mistake to keep her in reception.

Sorry for derail!

regressionconfession, the thing is that play-based need not imply 'lack of structure'. Indeed one school I saw was highly structured in reception, but that was also the school in which play-based, child-led learning continued through Y1 and into Y2.

In our school, at the time when DS was in reception, there happened to be a lack of structure in YR. Your school could be completely different. As is ours, now, with a new teacher who changed a lot of things, incl. introducing a lot more structure (whilst keeping the play-based learning and actually urging the Y1 teacher to introduce more of that).

Also all children and what suits them are different.
And whilst DS thrived in Y1, I saw other children who really struggled.

So don't base your decision on what other people with different children at different schools experienced. Just maybe add how structured YR/Y1 are at your school into your considerations. If you feel your DD could do with another year of YR, is that because you feel she basically was 'too young' to get anything out of it, first time round, and is now 'ready', so should start again? That might still be entirely correct, and sending her into Y1 (which, at your school, might be all spelling tests and work sheets) might not give her that desired structure, but instead simply put her off school altogether. Your Y1 may in fact have less structure and more unwritten rules than your YR, for all I know.

Mine has also found yr1 better. But i think she found the running around or whatever in yr r exhausting and overstimulating. Not supervised enough etc. Also she was fine with the academic side and hit all targets.
The yr 1 work hasnt been very hard, but they are doing add/subtract and using partitioning which i think is a lot for the SB 5yos.
I would repeat if the child would fit much better in the year below. Or if their concentration wasnt good.