Maths for Y1 child. How to approach this with school?

[Cheeseandcrackers86]

My dd has just started Y1. For Maths she's very able but a bit disengaged at times. I think she's still in one of the top groups but not the very top. They've just had their first bit of homework and she honestly finished it with ease in less than a minute. I wouldn't mind but I know that a child in the set above her was given slightly harder work but she could also have done this with ease. I have also told her teacher before the hw was set that she can do this and it sounds like they've been doing it in class so they should know her ability

I realise that there has to be a cutoff somewhere and that not every kid can be in the 'top set' but I think that refusing to give my dd work that she can easily do that they're giving to other kids in the class isn't effective use of differentiation. It's sucking up to Ofsted and beaurocratic nonsense. They've paid zero attention to what she can actually do. I don't want her getting bored in class as this will just make her more disengaged and I don't think it's fair that some children will have a much better chance at being taught to a greater depth level just because of where they sit in class. It's fair enough if she can't do the work but I'm quite sure that she can do it

How (if at all) would people approach this with school? Would you ask them to send home the top set homework? Would you just tell them outright that you think what they're setting is too easy? Or would you just spend 10 minutes expanding on the hw with your child yourself? The school is fantastic and I don't want to upset them at all but I just want what's right for my dd

I'm surprised they are setting for maths so early in Y1, and it certainly isn't "sucking up to Ofsted and beaurocratic nonsense."

Its early in the year and the teacher will still be working out what all the children can do. Perhaps your DD doesn't show her ability in class, or doesn't appear confident, so the teacher felt she would be more suited to something easier for her first homework.

At my DD's school they used to send home all the maths questions, and the children were instructed to attempt section, A or B or C, depending on how confident they felt.

I wouldn't make much of a fuss at this early stage in the year, but if you really wanted to say something you could perhaps stick a Post-It to the homework with a comment that your child finished the work very easily in less than a minute with no parental guidance. If your DD is keen to learn more, you can always extend the work yourself as well, as you suggested.

Like you say, she's just started year one. I'm sure they'll realise how incredibly clever she is very shortly and put her in top sets for everything.

How do you know what homework another child has been given?

Yes I do appreciate that they haven't had long to fully assess what she can/can't do. I also strongly suspect that she's being daft/bashful with them which will make it harder to figure out. However, I wrote a note to her teacher telling her what she could do (which is way more than the work that was set) and they've made no acknowledgement of this in any note back or in the work they've set her. You don't get it both ways as a teacher. If you want parents to engage with you then you need to engage with them. I know what work the other kids are doing because I actually care about my child's education and have talked to a friend about what their child was given. This isn't a crime. I think I'll just get her to do a little extra work at home and make sure that she's absolutely rock solid with the easy stuff so that they have no ammunition to hold her back. Like I said above it's the fact that I've told them what she was capable of and they've totally snubbed what I said. I know they're busy but it isn't exactly difficult to slide a different piece of paper into a child's bookbag

Often schools give homework because it's popular with parents who believe that it's the sign of an academic school.
My experience was that maths homework in primary was very easy so that the school didn't get complaints and homework didn't become a battle.
It's all about whether or not she demonstrates her ability at school. Sometimes teachers keep kids down a group because they need the confidence of being the smartest in an easier situation or because the mix of personalities of a group don't gel so they split up the group. You mention that she is shy at school. This will make it difficult for assessing her and possibly why the teacher keeps her in a lower group for confidence.

She isn't exactly shy. She becomes awkward about answering questions and becomes disengaged quite easily. She quickly defaults to 'I don't know' or giving answers that she knows aren't correct, sometimes with a smirk on her face. I'm trying to work on this with her but it's really difficult. If you tell them off they just become more like it but at the same time I don't want her thinking that this is an acceptable way to behave because IMO it really isn't. I'm not sure that holding her back is the best approach though. She will just learn that the more difficult she is about doing the work the easier they will make the work and the less they'll make her think. She gets on great with all kids and the table that I think are top ability are some of her best friends so it isn't a personality thing I don't think. In fact, the table she's with sound a lot more boistrous and more likely to encourage defiant behaviour

It’s only a few weeks into year 1……… and your child is 5/6 years old. please just be patient and give the Teacher a chance to get to know all 30 children. Honestly - they can’t set 30 different pieces of homework directly geared to each pupil. As my kids have gotten a little older at school they often set a maths sheet with 3 different options (easy, medium, hard) and then the parent and child decide which level to do. And parents are welcome to supplement that with more work if they feel they are capable.
If you feel like the homework set isn’t sufficient enough then you are welcome to do extra work with your child after school or hire a private tutor. Don’t be “that parent” pestering the Teacher telling them how special and clever your child is.

I care about my child is education but have never compared what work they were bring given with another child to see how they measure up.

It's year 1. You've got years of this ahead. Lighten up.

And how do you which table are top set and how she behaves in class?

I don't think my child is crazily special or clever. I think she's very bright and I work hard to stimulate her. I've never said she's rainman. I'm sure some of the kids are better/more engaged with Maths than she is. I just expect that if I'm putting the effort into supplementing what she's being taught that she's taught to a level she's capable of not one that's way way below it. I don't think that's much to ask

Why don't you just give her harder work like from twinkl, primary resources etc. I done this with mine, I didn't feel I needed validation that they should be getting harder work. They have only been back at school 4 weeks.

What I would do is...

1. Understand and respect the fact that the teacher knows far more than I do regarding teaching year 1 maths, so I would let her do the teaching

1. Rejoice in the fact that my 6 yr old finished her hw in one minute and thus could get on with playing

1. Not be that parent and the actual reason teachers leave the profession

Also to note that when they start back its always easy, it's like they restart the maths section again: place value, addition etc.

Just get her a work book and other resources if you want her challenged. I always done work with mine at a weekend

I'm a bit 😮about the idea of having maths sets in year 1.

How long till the first parents evening? I'd probably try and wait until then to raise it. At my DC (also yr 1) school, homework is supposed to be easy so it boosts confidence and isn't a battle to get them to do it. It's supposed to just repeat what they cover in school, not supplement or stretch it.

Who says I'm going to be 'that parent'?! So far I've sent one note attached to a previous homework to tell them what my dd can do which they completely ignored. That is the extent of their involvement with the above. I haven't complained. I haven't even asked for harder work. If they can't handle that and work in cooperation with the child's parent who knows the child much better than they do then perhaps they aren't in the right profession

As a year 1 teacher myself I can say that when I set maths homework I design it to be something that the child can do independently. You would be surprised by how many parents don’t want to engage in school work with their child and sometimes the children are embarrassed about not being involved in homework activities when they want to be.
For me it’s also about building a positive attitude towards sharing learning outside of school. They’re still only little and they don’t need to be spending copious amounts of time completing more work at home. A quick 5/10 minutes is sufficient for the more engaged parent to get an idea of what topics are being covered and build upon themselves if they want to.
I will say I’m surprised that the children are in sets though. That’s not the recommended route these days.

It's only a few weeks into the school year! If you want your daughter to extend herself, then give her extra math a home. Our DC are very comfortable with math, so we give them extra math a home and pay for a stretch math club on the weekends. I leave it up to the school to assess math levels and set homework at that age. And they do (he gets an extra session of tuition during assembly). DC tables change every term, so none are in the "top set" table. 😂

My DC are not in reception anymore, but at that age, there is a lot of learning around more structured classroom behaviour, listening, and participation.

And if they haven't acknowledged a note, give the teacher a hot minute to settle 30 children! Bring it up at parent's evening and chat face to face about it.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will take the approach of just teaching my child myself what I know she's capable of and as pp have said. I never said I wanted her to be receiving extra learning as homework but the homework she's been given she could have about done before she even started school. Anyway, point taken. There's no real point raising this with school. They'll make their own mind up what she's capable of

Some good resources are math-aids, CGP books, twinkl, primary resources, bbc bitesize.

Don't get too hung up over school, they said my son was underachieving in maths but he showed them when he went to grammar school. I think with classes being large some children are unseen especially if they are quiet- we just done our own thing and thought of school as fun time.... hes now enjoying a more challenging environment

I would definitely raise it and let them know. My DD is in Y1 and they've just done some baseline assessments for Doodle Maths log ins to ensure the content is pitched at the right level.

If she's not engaging well at school, I'd look at something like Maths Factor. We started it in lockdown and it has helped DD with maths and dealing with timers a lot. We do school homework as well as Maths Factor. Other apps like Sumdog might work too.

An app gives less opportunity for amusement with deliberate wrong answers which is handy with some personality types!

I 100% sympathise with wanting to do the best for your child, but personally at this age I would focus on ensuring your child is enjoying maths/the school/life. Suggesting that she is being 'daft' in school sets my spider senses tingling that you might be being a bit pushy with her. Ultimately happy and confident children learn best. At this age I'm sure teachers give easy homework to practice what they have done but ensure that kids are not overwhelmed - I doubt homework is the place for being stretched.

The Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org is 100% free and uses algorithms to tailor a learning program to each child.
Leave the homework. It doesn't matter. Let your daughter finish her homework in 1 minute and then spend 20 minutes or so on Khan. This will improve her ability way more than a generic homework sheet.