Year 5 (prep school) DS really struggling

[MtnBikeChick]

My son is an August born year 5. He is currently in a large boys' prep school in South London. He is very happy at school, socially he is brilliant - lots of friends, well-behaved. However, he really struggles academically. His English and reading is OK, but his maths has always been a huge issue. He scores 97 on his CAT (with verbal being his bias). He scores below 50% on his in-school maths attainment tests. School learning support has been hit and miss, with teachers off sick and so on. I am now extremely concerned about his gaps and lack of ability in maths. He was assessed by an Ed Psych in year 2, with working memory identified as an issue. I think he probably needs to be assessed again. He is happy but he also gets anxious and frequently comments that he is rubbish. He can see others around him are stronger academically, but we have no real alternative here. We can't move him to state at this point, that would be ridiculous given he would only have year 6 to go. Our school goes to year 8 and there is the possibility that he matures later, but my concern is that the extremely academic environment is not good for him. One other relevant piece of information is that he has always been a resistant learner. He just wasn't school-ready when he went into reception, and has resisted help with a passion ever since. it is nearly impossible for us to help him with maths (particularly) at home. He does have a tutor once week. Any advice from anyone at all who has experienced anything like this would be so much appreciated.

It's a tricky situation op. Since his CAT score was average could it be that he's within average for maths too but is in an environment with largely above average students? Or is he possibly missing some foundations with his maths? What does his tutor say? Is he fluent with times tables? Or is it an understanding issue? What are your secondary options are there decent, less pressured environments for him from year 7?

When you say assessed again, what would you hope to gain from it? Do you believe there is more to it than the working memory already identified? Our Ed Psyc report had a list of suggestions to make life easier, or strategies that might be worth implementing. Have you investigated all those?

His CAT score looks to be right in the middle of average? It may be low for his school, but it's not worrying on its own. Or are you saying there is a massive divide, and he is getting brilliant Mark's in some sections, and very low Mark's in other sections which are hidden by an average score?

What secondary possibilities are there round you for Y7? Is there something there that could work? I think I'd be looking at moving him for Y7, and possibly Y6 (we moved this summer, my oldest is in Y6, it's not the end of the world). If he is a resistant learner, and struggling in his current school, it sou ds like it might not be a good fit for him?

We are working through the CPG targeted study books for Y6 at the moment. They seem pretty good at covering what is needed, and there are exercise books to go with it. If you get one of those for Y5 maths (English has been more useful for us) might that help identify where the gaps are - I'd say if they can be persuaded to work through them, it would be fine to do one your own, but we are doing them together.

So you are paying for a prep and a tutor? I think you have sadly put your boy in a school beyond his means. It’s a dreadful position for a DC to be in. He must be feeling dreadful amongst his peers who are likely thriving in the prep environment. Not all DC cope with the intensity and also from my understanding they are pushing for DC to be two years ahead. Well my DS school is as he is expected to be 2 yrs ahead in both maths and English by yr 1 to even get any chance to pass the junior schools entrance. I know if DC who are being tutored now at age 4. The ones that are not thriving in the prep environment and end up being tutored too don’t tend to cope if they get into the junior school. Having been drilled for years and can’t cope and struggle. So instead of parents finding a good alternative where there DC can thrive they throw money at it. I feel sorry for the DC in my DS school as there DP have only one focus. I have always chosen a school that’s suits my DC. Where they are middle to top and feel secure and the school does the rest. I would suggest you stop trying to ‘sort’ the perceived problem. The school is making your DS feel academically inferior and he has lost interest. I would suggest you look at either keeping him for another year and moving him to a secondary state or find a different private secondary that may meet his needs better which start at yr6

Have you spoken to the school about destination options for him? I would focus on getting a nurturing school for next stage as a priority, and then he'll have some tangible goals to work towards for their entrance.
Has his tutor spoken to school about which topics to focus on/consolidate/refresh?

What does the school think about his gaps? What are they doing to address them? If the answer is "not much" and you are paying for a tutor as well, I can't see why you think it is so ridiculous to move to state (or another private school)- he could have 5 terms there where he might actually make progress and rebuild his self confidence.

Could you look at other private schools? They aren't all extremely academic, maybe a smaller more nurturing environment would suit him better for him.

The year median on this term's CAT is 125. His result put him bottom 10% of the year. He performs badly in tests - he rushes, he guesses. The above is very helpful. I am starting to think this may not be the right environment for him. The problem is, there are very few 4-18 options in our area of London. Our local state secondary is an outstanding, but it's also entirely lottery entry system, nothing for catchment. We live 400 metres away. There is another prep (co-ed) a few miles away that has a very small senior school - only added a couple of years ago. They have a reputation as being smaller, less hothousey. I am tempted to move both boys there. The advantage being that they go straight through into the senior at year 7 without being tested.

Hi OP. Has he been assessed for Dyscalculia? Poor working memory, maths anxiety, the rushing and guessing are big red flags (especially with interventions like tutoring already occurring ) Perhaps another assessment? Apologies, I am not at all familiar with your schooling system but my son presented with very very similar behaviours - we had an assessment with a behavioural psych and subsequent diagnosis.

We had discounted dyscalculia after the first assessment but he was only 6 at the time. I think it was potentially too early so going to get another assessment. Thank you.

Yes, we were warned by the psych prior to testing that a diagnosis under 7 was very very unlikely. Our son is at the severe end of the dyscalculic spectrum and was diagnosed at 6 yrs 10 months. I have been told that many children aren't diagnosed until 9 years + due to the difficulty of testing and behaviours/ coping mechanisms kids develop/ learn to hide their difficulties.
Recieving the diagnosis was hugely positive for our son (and us as parents) absolutely life changing!
Good luck OP

He may just be at the wrong school. DD was struggling at her last school which has a reputation for being quite hothousey (whereas I actually think the teaching wasn't very good). She had huge gaps, especially in her maths.

We moved her somewhere more relaxed and her learning has come on massively, she's probably in the top 1/3 of the year now.

If you have 2 boys at the school, I wouldn't necessarily move them both. Especially if your other son is doing well.

Sympathies. My ds is in y5 of a prep. He didn’t thrive academically at all from Reception and I suspected he has processing issues but was bright. This wasn’t reflected in his work - lots of gaps, found maths hard, seen as low ability by his teachers. I had an ed psych assessment done last year, which confirmed slow processing but good working memory and cognitively very able. He had a maths tutor and caught up. In is recent assessments, he did extremely well (far beyond what his teachers expected and one stupidly said to me they checked his paper to make sure he hadn’t copied from another child 😱😱😱) BUT his CAT was below average. So, he can study and pass assessments very well but CATs won’t reflect his ability as they are strictly timed and he rushes through them. CATs are great if your child can work through things at speed. I don’t see them as a fair reflection of his abilities. I don’t believe children’s brains develop linearly and it’s important to understand his learning style so that you can advocate for him. Don’t hesitate to let his teachers know (in a nice way) if he needs support. It could be a gentler environment might boost his confidence.

From what you say op it may well be he's a perfectly average boy (with normal strengths and weaknesses) but he's become so under confident in his current school environment that he underperforms due to stress. Are the tests differentiated?

Pm'd you, OP

If his CAT is 97 and the school average is 124 he is definitely in the wrong school....

I would start by moving him to a less academic school. I wouldn't move your other child until you are sure whats best for him.

People (kids included) do best if they are in the lower end of the top quartile, something to strive for, without being at the bottom.

If he was tested at 6 and is now looking towards senior school entry you absolutely do need an up to date assessment. It has to have been done within the last two years in order to ensure that he gets extra time/considerations that the Ed Psych has suggested. Please look for a gentler, more nurturing school. I work in a Surrey Prep and we have a constant stream of broken children coming to us from the high pressure/super academic London schools. The kids are so down because they think they are not intelligent/capable and it takes months or sometimes years to put them back together again. I am a great believer in 'if a child is happy they will be able to learn!'