Primary School class split

[Mummaearth]

My son currently attends a small primary school and is currently in a year 3/4 class. Have been spoken to by the head and told they are restructuring the classes and his new class will be going Y4/5/6 from September. However, due to numbers, a couple of the children will have to move to the Y2/3 class which they will call a Y2/3/4 class but the majority of the class will be Y2 & Y3 and there will only be about 3 Y4 children in that class. They have told me he is one of the ones to stay in that class with the younger year groups as he struggles, which he does because he is dyslexic!

AIBU to think that this is a horrendous move that will destroy any self esteem he still has or am I just being an overprotective Mama bear whoe doesn't want her son hurt?

It does sound tricky to have 3 years in one class. How big will the class be?

I would say though that children who struggle a little, for whatever reason, struggle far more when their parents push for them to be in the older class. His self esteem is not going to be increased by being at 'the bottom' of the class and seeing yr6s knowing all the answers. At the top of the younger class though he will know the answers and will feel more confident. A decent teacher with a reasonable sized class can still ensure he is learning new things and not just learning at yr 2/3 level again.

I'm not a teacher, but my husband teaches a yr 4/5 class. He gets very frustrated when he has or struggling yr 4s in his class with the very bright yr 5s, they just struggle even more and would be better at the top of the yr 3/4 class.

Unfortunately this is the problem with small schools and mixed age classes. The school has to cut the classes somewhere and unfortunately because of numbers, this year it looks like they can't manage a straight split and so the classes have to get messy.

From your son's point of view, so long as it's been done fairly (ie the 3 youngest rather than any 3 pupils) I don't think you can say much. Personally I'd rather my DC were the oldest in a younger class than struggling in an older class. He's going to have years 5 and 6 in the next class so another year would be a long time to be in that one class. Also, if he's struggling, how will his self-esteem fair being in a class of Year 6 pupils? The pace will be quick and as good as the teacher may be, the year 4s will not be top priorities this year.

I'd go in and ask to see plans as to how the year 4 content will be delivered in both classes to ensure that your DS covers what he needs to for year 5. You can make the point that you would have liked him to remain with his peers but there can't be many in his year anyway?

career change a fair split will never be achieve by just choosing the youngest. What if one of the youngest is actually the most able? And conversely, if children old for their year need additional help and support? I've seen this in the mixed years my DC have been in. I've seen parents want to push their children into the 'higher' class but then admit at the end of the year that their child has progressed more in a class with lower years. Good teachers give the older children extra responsibilities and being the best in your class when this has never happened before is fantastic to boost the child's confidence. However, I've only ever experienced 2 year groups in one class, not 3. It may be strange to consider teaching 6 year olds with those 8 going on 9. Again, depends on the maturity and development of those older children. However, with the year 4/5/6 class, a year 4 child may get lost at the expense of the concentration on the year six SATS. My eldest's year as a year 5 in a mixed 5/6 class was a bit of a waste of time, lots of farming them out with a TA whilst year six did SATS work.

Why would it be fair to have the 3 youngest? My DD is an August birthday and was one of the brightest! In y3 she was streets ahead of some DC.

Quite frankly hiving 3 children off will never be “fair”. They appear to have selected on grounds of attainment and he will be the oldest but he should be doing the KS2 curriculum, not repeating KS1 because it’s easier for the school and the teacher.

I think he should go up with his peers but if the class without the 3 x year 3s has 30 pupils,I can see the issue. If it’s 27 or smaller, all the children from year 3 should go up together. If he’s being picked out due to SEN, and the other children as well, I’m not sure this is fair but exactly what is fair?

Yes, the nice nurturing small school gets tricky with low numbers and mixed year groups. YR is presumably separate and must be tiny. That’s an expensive model if they have a full time teacher.

Is it worth staying there? What about sport and other things he might be good at? What about friends? What about school trips and sport? Will he do anything with his cohort? Christmas play? I assume he will get to join his cohort next year but I don’t like any child being hived off: not younger ones and not SEN ones. Luckily we could avoid schools like this.

Sorry, my mistake: the majority will be KS2.

Questions I would have...

• trips... Will they go have the same opportunities to go
• will they repeat any topic work?
• sport- will they do things like swimming lessons with their year group?

-how big will the class sizes be?

Rather than starting another thread, it would be better to ask for the original one to be moved.

Oh I didn't know they could be moved. Someone suggested posting under education and so I did.

The Head seems adamant about her decision and the letter will go out informing all the parents about the changes tomorrow unless she's had a change of heart over the weekend.

I'm hoping he would still be included in all the activites attached to his year group.

He's a very mature 8 year old and I just can't see how he will want to be in a class with 6 yr olds. I think we're just stuck between a rock and a hard place as I also think he'll drown in the older group :(

Primary class sizes and splits are just fine in primary education thread.

He should have differentiated work in the older group. He would need to work on improving his attainment whilst studying the same curriculum. It what a small school has to do! If he’s mature, it’s even worse! No teacher should allow him to drown and the work should be set to his ability but with challenge. They might need a TA to help in maths and literacy but they need to address how they will do this in the future anyway! It’s a total luxury to give them off.

I guess if he struggles then may benefit academically although doing work over 3 year groups I imagine will be incredibly difficult. I am thinking it from the point of view of my nearly 7 year old and 9 year old (so Y2 and Y4 being put in a class together and I think from a social point of view it would be awful. They are poles apart in terms of social development.

It's a shame and I wouldn't be happy (primary school teacher). I definitely think write a letter outlining questions above. Also ask how they will promote socialising with children this age. If he does struggle, it could be good for him academically. There it's no bad thing for him to revise everything already taught especially it he may have not fully embedded the learning. I would be worried about the social side though. I'd say wait until Sep and see how it goes. Perhaps ask to meet the teacher every two weeks for an update.

It's 'fair' in that there's a clear cut rule from the school's point of view. If you start going on attainment and other factors, it leaves the school wide open to every parent questioning every decision. I'm not saying it's necessarily the best thing in each individual case but I can see why the head would make that decision. If they've done it based on other factors then there's more scope for parents to question it (including those year 2 parents who either want their child in the higher class or don't want their child mixed in with year 4s - it works both ways).

It's certainly not about shoving them with year 2 to make it easier for the teacher Mixed age classes are incredibly hard to teach, trying to balance the needs of all. But in a small school and the way budgets are being slashed as they are at the moment, decisions have to made.

How big will the yr 4/5/6 class be? Presumably that would have been their first choice but it's just too big without moving some children into yr 2/3/4. My local school has 3 classes and the splits are always messy. It's the main reason why my DC don't go there.