New school year - balance between catching up and making progress

[Secretroses]

My son has just gone into year 2. I know it's been a funny year but I just wondered what other people's experiences had been with combining catch up from missed school time last year and pressing ahead with the current year's curriculum?

Everything so far this term seems to be recapping not just year 1 but reception level work with a whole class approach... My son is finding it very unchallenging! I know it's difficult but I guess I had hoped that those who had engaged well with home-learning and weren't significantly behind would be learning the new stuff so they didn't fall behind with this year's curriculum?!

Interestingly - and can see why posters on mumsnet get fed up with teachers Even if the parents were doing a great job they're not trained teachers this is a rubbish attitude towards parents, to be fair a primary teacher mum in my daughters class was as disparaging towards parents as well I was shocked. Apparently no point marking homework as parents do it!

I am getting frustrated with my daughter in year 1, I stuck to all the work my daughter was set, know what level she should be at because I am a teacher.

I am really frustrated about the work she is doing - she was doing harder work before lockdown and continued to work at this level throughout. I told her new teacher this and it has been ignored, she is doing easier work than her brother in reception!

Next door neighbours DS is in year 2. Both his parents were working stupidly long hours from home during lockdown so he did little or no school work. There are huge numbers of children in the same position. He is now back enjoying school and racing through the work which stopped in March. He’s an incredibly bright boy so hopefully will be back on track quickly.

Why is that a rubbish attitude?

We had parents emailing us all the time asking for help because they didn't know how to help their child with a maths topic or couldn't get them to write. We then responded with methods that we know work in the classroom.

How would someone know which methods work if they have never taught before? I wouldn't expect to know how to be a doctor just because I've done first aid on my child. It's not an attitude to say that being trained in a job and having experience in it means that you might know a bit more than someone who has never done it before!

I suspect the focus on phonics might be because some kids have picked up bad habits over lockdown.

My yr2 was initially given reading books a bit lower then where she had been before lockdown and has been moved up two levels in the last week now they know that they have a rounded assessment of where she is.

I did wonder to start with why they had put her on lower books but trusted her teacher knew what she is doing! (Which she does of course)

I don't think it hurts to ask some questions though.

I think parents would understand books a bit lower and then a quick revision upwards after assessment. What seems unreasonable is a very big reduction in level of work/books and no revision due to no assessment.