Helping Summer Born Close the Gap

[TwoProngedFork]

This is about how to ensure your summer born child is not struggling to keep up with their peers. My DD was born at the tail end of August and so is effectively leaning with some peers who are a few days short of a year older than her. I'd like to know how other parents/carers make sure their DC don't lag behind.

I'm finding I'm having to teach a topic before it's taught in class at least a week or two ahead of when it's taught in school. It's the only way I can ensure my DC is able to answer and engage in class discussions as she is slow to grasp new topics easily. More importantly, it helps with her confidence. Is anyone else having to do the same? Are there smarter ways of dealing with this? Is it better to wait till she is taught in school first and then work on what she struggles with after (one for the teachers )?

How old is she?

6

I’m not sure really OP but all I can say is that 2 of my 3 Dc are summer born, one currently yr 6 (11) and one year 2 (7). They seemed behind in year R and year 1 but both have had good year 2 where suddenly the gap seemed to disappear

One thing you could do is to make sure they don't slide back over the summer, e.g. by doing a daily diary & reading, and some regular maths.

The other thing though, is talk to the teacher. You shouldn't need to teach things in advance, and the fact that you are, might mean that learning issues aren't picked up by the school. I'm not saying don't do it, but school might think she picks things up really quickly, when actually it's the opposite.

I will do. Thank you for the pointer.

She starts year 3 in September and I'm already apprehensive about asking about which topics will be taught in the first half of the term.

What thing I didn't mention is that she's now becoming dependent on me teaching beforehand and so is less confident of doing set work if "mommy has not done it with her before". I was told this the other day at pickup.

I guess I could inform the teachers in school so they're more likely to challenge her and find holes in her understanding perhaps.

Did the gap close without job having to do anything at all?

Pre teaching is definitely a strategy that schools would use with children who are struggling. The evidence is that the summer born children ‘gap’ is even noticeable at GCSE level, although as a teacher I found it was usually very noticeable in EFYS and less in KS2.

I second speaking to your child’s teacher. They should at least know the level of support. It’s possible there are other facts beyond just age going on.

^factors, not facts.

Feeding the baby and typing!

What thing I didn't mention is that she's now becoming dependent on me teaching beforehand and so is less confident of doing set work if "mommy has not done it with her before". I was told this the other day at pickup.

That's quite worrying territory. It just isn't sustainable for you to pre-teach everything. Is it all subjects or just e.g. maths?

I used to do something similar with my DDs for maths at secondary, but more introducing a topic in a 'this will probably be a bit hard for you right now but' and then show them e.g. Pythagoras. But I didn't then ask them to do questions. It was only so it sounded familiar and thus less scary when taught.

Maybe you'll need to scale back from full teaching towards just some basic mentioning?

You might want to search up flipped learning.

I also have an August-born DD in Year 2.

Are the school worried about her progress, OP? Have they told you that she is working towards, rather than at, age-related expectations?

You sound like a really conscientious parent. However, you shouldn't have to pre-teach anything at home, unless you really want to. I say this as a KS1 teacher, also.

I assume by you post that your child is really struggling, rather than just middling in the class when you’d prefer top?

I agree with the other poster, make sure that school are very aware that you are pre-teaching, otherwise they might not be aware of the extent of the issues.

A school should spend a lot of time with the struggling children to make sure that they don’t fall behind. If your child isn’t in the lower groups, they might not get this level of attention because they are seen as “managing”.

I’d be contacting the current and next teacher to make sure they’ve spoken about this specifically and to ask what they suggest.

It's just maths and English.
There's a marked difference in ability to tackle problems set for homework and when I don't. When I do not help, she's not able to do her work unassisted. I literally have to spoon feed. Sometimes it feels like she was not in the class. When I ask for feedback over how she's doing during pickup no concerns are raised. The few children I know who are high performing in her class are all being tutored and get to cover the topics beforehand.