Going straight into Y1

[Voyageuse]

We have the opportunity to go abroad with my job for 2 years. I'm very keen to take this for various reasons, but my main concern is my DC's education.

We would be coming back when DD1 is due to start Year 1. The country we would be in doesn't start primary school until 6/7 years old, so she wouldn't have done reception but would most likely go to an international or bilingual nursery there.

Is it difficult for DC to settle into Year 1 if they haven't been in reception? Are there things we could do with DD during the reception year to help her settle into Year 1 when we come back?

I think going straight into Y1 is definitely doable. YR still involves a lot of free play and the syllabus doesn't have a huge amount. Y1 gets more serious.

I would definitely teach my child basic phonics while away (look up youtube videos about pure sounds, buy some resources e.g. Jolly Phonics books and some phonics reading schemes and just go through at their own pace - a little every day). The "expected" reading band level was 3 by the end of reception but the reality was that there was huge variation - some were still on L1 others were free reading. Much better to just do a little bit every day and not put too much pressure on DC.

There isn't much on the maths syllabus either - numbers up to 100 (not all kids even get this far some just went to 20) number bonds up to 10 or 20, simple addition and subtraction using a number line if necessary. So I would make sure DC is comfortable with this before starting.

Kids also begin learning to write in reception (usually using cursive) so I would buy resources that show you how to form cursive letters and do some practise. That said my eldest had awful handwriting and when he started Y1 it was barely legible let alone recognisable as cursive or otherwise. Most of the emphasis in reception is just getting them writing without worrying about spelling at all. So mine both wrote in a "diary" about what they'd been getting up to. Even at the end of YR it would read "I went to Peeza Ickspress It was yumy i went to the parc it woz fun". I would try to get DC writing (postcards to granny, a little diary etc) but don't worry about accuracy they're just working on basic pencil skills.

If they're at an international nursery the social skills and getting used to an environment where they're sharing attention with lots of other children, need to follow instructions etc will already be there. Presumably they'll also be developing independence so will be able to put their shoes on, take themselves to the loo, speak up if they need something etc.

So I would go for it - then just cover the basics with DC at home.

As a year 1 teacher I would say that reception is extremely valuable and as much as there is free play- there is also lots including phonics, literacy and maths skills. I think if a child came in to my Year 1 class without reception learning , not only would they initially maybe struggle with the learning/ pace- but they may need lots of confidence boosting.
If this is an option- and it sounds fab- then I would suggest looking at the reception curriculum- getting games etc.. like the PP has said- and making sure they are ready for the schooling when they get back.
Do you have a school in mind or would you have to apply once back? xx

Slightly different situation but my kids' prep doesn't have a reception class at all and most of the kids join in year one after nursery. I think if you choose a nursery that's more 'school' than 'play group' he should be fine.

Personally I wouldn't worry at all. The time spent as a 4yo learning phonics and 'maths' and handwriting in a English reception class is much better spent (IMO) learning about the world through direct experiences, immediate and concrete, and building gross motor strength and skills through active play.

Starting Y1, your child may be put into 'bottom groups' along with the children who cannot write well yet due to a lack of upper body strength and are poor at phonics because they simply weren't ready to learn yet, and have now become discouraged and built a self-image of 'reading is not for me'. But unlike those children, your child will catch up quickly, as they will have the upper body strength and the only thing they need in order to learn to read is to be taught, and to practice. And they will know that the only reason they are 'behind' the others is because they haven't been taught yet, rather than that they are 'just not as clever as the others'.
I don't know about PP who is a teacher, but in the past teachers on here have often said that children joining from education systems that start formal learning later tend to catch up quickly.

It depends on the child as much as the school. When mine was in Y1, two children from Reception used to be in his class in the morning because they already knew all the things they learn in reception - so they were basically in Y1 without doing Reception, even though they were Reception aged. It might be worth having a look at what is on the EYFS curriculum and making sure your DC has covered what is normally done in Reception as others have said, but you may find that your DC picks up the content organically anyway.

It sounds a great opportunity by the way!

My daughter started in a different education system (officially started school at 6) upto the start of year 3 and the kindergarten’s do teach school readiness, fine motor skill work and pencil control. This is with out the pressure of continuous testing. It’s a great opportunity to experience another country and culture make the most of it

Although there is this view that many countries don't start school til 6 or 7, in my experience it's not quite true, and the vast majority start full time education at a much younger age. It may not be called school but it is still a rich, valuable learning environment.

Although there is this view that many countries don't start school til 6 or 7, in my experience it's not quite true, and the vast majority start full time education at a much younger age. It may not be called school but it is still a rich, valuable learning environment.

I know that some countries that 'start school late' do in fact have a school-like pre-school system, but I'm not sure about the 'vast majority'. Finland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, ... actually do start late. France has a very school like pre-school education system. So regarding only the ones I know about, the 'vast majority' goes the other way...

In my home country, children start school at age 6 or 7 (when they are deemed, by their parents, to be 'school ready' rather than strictly by age).

To be school ready, children need to by physically appropriately developed (size, stamina, strength, balance etc); socially and emotionally mature enough (able to navigate and behave in groups, emotionally stable and competent, a certain 'work attitude') and have the 'intellectual' preconditions for the first year of school learning. The latter comprise:

• showing interest and curiosity for 'academic' stuff
• being able to visually distinguish symbols (e.g. see that b is a different symbol than d)
• being able to copy symbols (e.g. letters, numbers)
• being able to sort objects or situations according to criteria (big/small, round/corners, fast/slow, long/short)
• being able to compare amounts (more/less)
• being able to recite numbers forwards and backwards (e.g. 5-4-3-2-1-blast off)
• being able to observe and copy motor activities e.g. in craft activities and painting
• being able to apply language with correct (albeit simple) grammar
• being securely able to auditorily distinguish sounds (e.g. b/p g/k c/t)
• being able to copy/recite simple sentences/number sequences
• being able to lay out in language, in a logically and temporally consistent way, current happenings, past experiences and future plans
• able to concentrate, stamina, frustration tolerance

So these are the things that pre-school education (age 5-7) focuses on. If a child is deemed to only partially fulfil these criteria, which is a fair number of children, they join a 'starting' class where the curriculum for the first year of school is split across two years.

Note that children who start school, even if they are 7 already (my DS was sitting his KS1 SATS before he would have started school back 'home') are not expected to even be able to recognise their name or count objects. Though many do, of course, and a small minority will be able to read already.

Pre-school education is also far from full time. Usually it is something like 12-15 hours for 5-6 year olds, and 18-20 hours for 6-7 year olds.
Mind you, primary school children won't have 'full time' school either (e.g. three afternoons off, with school in the afternoons only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is typical).

I totally agree that the pre-school offer is 'still a rich, valuable learning environment' but it is not just 'not called school', it also looks nothing like school as we know it. Not in how it is structured, and not in what children are meant to learn, academically. But the expectations for the children are a lot more age/developmentally appropriate IMO. And it is amazing how fast the children do learn to read, write, and do arithmetic once they do start school. IMO because their pre-school experience prepared them for academic learning in a very good way, rather than trying to get a head start by introducing academic learning early.

So children who switch systems will be missing the head start, but will have the advantage of being very well prepared for the learning, which is why they tend to catch up quickly.

I would only do it if you feel comfortable teaching your dc phonics and letter formation yourself while abroad. The reason European countries can start so late (at age 6 or 7) is that it's much easier to learn reading and spelling in romanic, scandinavian and germanic languages than in English. E.g. in German, you have 20 odd letters, and each letter is one single sound. So when I started school at 6, maybe 3 to 6 months later I was able to read fluently, about the level of someone at end of key stage 2. German also has a much smaller vocabulary than English. English kids have so much more to learn. At end of year 1 is the English phonics test. If a child fails it, they would be offered extra help and resit it in year 2, so of course there is a chance to catch up, but I would be worried about my dc self esteem if they enter school and immediately 'fail'.

We moved back to UK from Austria & DD started straight into year 1 with English as second language. It was absolutely fine, she didn’t miss out in anything and I think actually benefitted more from the extra year in the Kindergarten she went too.