Paired learning - Covid

[LetItGoToRuin]

Is anyone else's child complaining of having to work in the same pair for everything?

I'm assuming Covid-19 is a factor here, as they won't want people mixing too much.

DD (Y5) is fed up of coaxing responses out of her uncooperative partner, and the teacher said he's not even thinking about when he'll rearrange the class.

I don't think this is a universal covid thing. My DC don't tend to do a huge amount of paired working now or before covid.

Children are likely to be sat in the same places at the moment and yes it's because of Covid.

Particularly higher up primary (and even more so in secondary) seating plans are being used. It helps with schools SI policies.

If everyone has a set seat they use all the time it means that if one child in the class tests positive they don't have to necessarily send the whole bubble home for a fortnight - only those within a 2m radius.

Pre Covid we had 'talk partners' for our younger primary which stayed the same longer term, mainly based on their carpet place.

The class I work in has children sat 2 to a table so rather than sitting in different ability groups for different subject (as we would have done before) children will be with their learning partner all day, all week or for as long as the teacher sees fit. Maybe send a discreet message to the class teacher asking if your DD could sit with a different partner next week. We have moved the class around several times but unfortunately most kids get irritated with their working partner after a while.

The kids are used to sitting around a table of 4-6 so don’t have to talk to the same person every time discussion is requested. But at the minute they only have each other and if one is less confident/able the other can feel like they are doing all of the work. This doesn’t really help your dd but hopefully it gives you some idea about why she might be feeling like she is.

My DD has been in the same pair this term, but loads of kids in her Class have been shuffled around. And her school is very paranoid about covid typically.

Thanks, everyone. It sounds as though it's a combination of Covid and school policy.

DD is on a long row of six (the back row), with this lad on the end, so they have no choice but to be in a pair. The person on DD's other side is one of her best friends, and DD likes sitting next to her so much that she didn't want me to rock the boat by asking about changing the seating plan during yesterday's telephone consultation with the teacher.

We'll look upon it as 'character building' for DD to learn how to respond to him telling her to "shut your face", deliberately insulting things she holds dear (favourite animal etc), being uncooperative in paired discussions and copying her work! I guess many have to endure worse...

I’d still be tempted to highlight what you have just mentioned. Also letting the teacher know why she doesn’t want you to say anything! It might be that the boy is better placed in the middle of the row where he has two people to talk to and isn’t just the burden of your daughter. Being uncooperative during discussions and copy her work is one thing but but being verbally abusive to her isn’t really acceptable and must be horrible when it’s day in day out. ☹️

I can’t imagine any teacher would be happy to hear this is happening to one of their pupils.

Would definitely speak to the teacher, it sounds like she’s tried quite hard so far. Maybe there could be a change in the seating plan for next term.

Half term I mean