DD struggling a bit in Y2

[Youcantcallacatspider]

My dd has recently moved to Y2. She has moved from ability based tables in Y1 where she was in one of the top ability tables and did very well, minimal (if any) complaints about her behaviour, well above average work especially in English.

When she started Y2 she was put on a table of kids who are generally nearer the TAs and a couple of children who she's told me are noisy and disruptive and 'hardly do any work' (her words not mine) I haven't had any feedback from the teacher really (until today) but was getting the feeling she was perhaps struggling a bit to settle in. Lots of complaints (honestly not encouraged by me) that the kids next to her are noisy and scream all the time etc etc. Sat out of class a lot the other day as she had a headache. She also bought home her first Maths worksheets which I have to say I noticed were way too easy for her (reception ability I'd say and she's pretty good at Maths) I challenged her about this as I suspected she was dragging her heels a bit in class and got 'but I'm going as fast as I can. The other kids are putting me off'

Today I was flagged by her teacher after school. She said 'it's just dd has been saying she doesn't want to sit at her table because of the other kids. We've got dd on that table because she doesn't always understand what to do without the teachers supporting her but if she isn't happy I'll move her '

Firstly, I'm mortified because it sounds like I'm being totally snobby about these kids and that's not it at all. My instinct though is that she tries extremely hard to stay on task, probably harder than her teachers realise. However, I feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation as having her closer to the support that she apparently needs means that she's also closer to kids who are also struggling to stay on task which she finds really distracting. I just want to do what's right by my daughter. She is a really very bright, curious and able child when she focuses and I have no idea how I should approach this or how I should be monitoring it.

Is this resonating with any parents/teachers out there and what have you found works?

She is telling you that there’s a problem, so get her moved and see if she copes in the new place.

I mean this is kindof my feeling too...Teacher was lovely about it but I still couldn't help but feel like 'that parent' The thing is I probably am a bit overprotective of her. She does so well and is bright but the concentration doesn't come easy for her. I'm not massively concerned about ND at this point and don't like to use an ND term but I think she masks at school and works really hard to do so. I can see why she was put where she was put but like you say I think she'a communicating that she isn't managing there.

Even if she is eventually diagnosed as ND, that place doesn’t suit her, so they need to find another way to help her learn.

You've done the right thing OP. We have to advocate for our children because they can't advocate for themselves. She needs the right conditions to learn and hopefully now she will get them.

The distraction from the disruption at her table is going to pull her down. If she has weaknesses that in the teacher's eyes justify her being at that table, work on those with workbooks or worksheets.
Have her moved.

Agree to move her to a different table. Tell her she needs to listen extra carefully if she wants to stay there. If she is still struggling to understand instructions then you know she needs the additional support.

My DS had this issue last year. He was sat on a table with a disruptive pupil and he found it difficult. He brought it up himself and said he would prefer to sit with someone 'sensible' (his own words),

I don't give a rat's ass if it made me 'that parent'.

I spoke to his teacher, explained he's struggling to focus next to Pupil X and would it be possible to move him and see if it helps?

She moved him and it has done him the world of good.

Luckily they move the kids around every term but they've kept him in mind and he is still sitting next to someone 'sensible' in his new class.

There's no reason why the TA can't get up to support your child if sitting on that table isn't working for her.

I’ve taught this age group. It is definitely the right thing to move her to sit somewhere else. If a child is not comfortable in their environment it has an impact on their well being and their achievement. I would move her to sit with a group of calmer children. If she is sat with calm children, she will be able to focus more and therefore achieve more. I would also ask the teacher how/ why they feel she is struggling with the work when she did well in Yr 1- it can be as simple as who she is sat with, if there is an underlaying reason for it, what are they doing about it? It’s also the teachers job to oversee all the children in their class during each lesson, not just sit with those who need more support. It is likely that whilst a teacher may base themselves with those who need more support they wouldn’t not help anyone else in the class who puts their hand up for support. Finally I would say don’t worry about being ‘that parent’. Your concerns are valid and need to be addressed.

My son is very bright and has mild ADHD. He is i secondary and sits as close to the front of the class near the teacher to help him with distractions (my request, he approves). Listen to your child

I really feel for your poor dad. And agree with other posters.
Just wanted to suggest trying something like IXL or CPG to support her at home to help her regain her confidence.

Thanks all. She's being moved elsewhere today so we'll see if it helps. She definitely finds it hard to focus and has some sensory processing difficulties I'd say. I'm keeping an open mind about these things so far as generally she seems well liked and has been doing very well at school and on the whole she's an absolute delight. She can be quite defiant about doing things and can get inside her own head a lot and sometimes when she's decided she can't/won't do something then that's it. This shows itself mostly in her Maths I've found. She's very able, picks up concepts really quickly but just has zero interest in becoming more fluent. She'll happily add and subtract very large numbers, will figure out multiplications (she was able to tell me what 15 x 3 equals quite quickly the other day with no help and no paper) However the next minute she'll be using her hand to calculate what 3+2 equals 🤣 It's a confidence thing mostly but she probably does need just to be egged on a bit not because she doesn't understand it but because she needs reassurance. She's slowly getting more mature and I'm not massively worried. I think she will do very well at school but the teachers and I will need to remain mindful of her learning environment at least whilst she's younger and I guess as pp have said I'll have to just accept being labelled as 'that parent' if needed.

@Youcantcallacatspider Is she fluent with her tables? 2x tables - not necessarily 8x. Easy recall might help.

Also the only person advocating for your child is you. New teacher this year should have all the handover info from y1 and it’s still KS1. I would say you must advocate for her and she might well be better off with quieter dc. They cannot all be noisy! Having been a school governor I would not like to hear screaming in a y2 class. Or much noise above group chat in a maths class. Dc working with a TA should be guided and working.

Also meant to add: is she secure with number bonds? She might also like the visual security of fingers.

She is secure in the sense that she completely understands what a number bond is and can real them off or figure them out if she's in the mood. I wouldn't say that she seems to apply them much to figuring out problems quickly though. Same withe counting in 5's and 10's etc. We've been working together for the past few weeks counting in 10's, counting forward in 10's starting from none-multiples of 10's and doing the same backwards. She does it amazingly and definitely has good concept of larger numbers. However persuading her to use it to figure out simple sums eg (20+10) has been a real slog. She's just starting to do it sometimes. It doesn't help that she's really reluctant to do these sorts of number games. Weirdly she has never had this problem with phonics. She took to phonics like a duck to water. To me the 'point' of phonics is far more abstract and I would understand a child taking time to apply it but I guess we're all different! I've tried explaining to her that number bonds and counting games are like phonics for Maths and will help her get quicker and more accurate but she doesn't seem to be motivated by it.

She is fairly fluent with 2, 5 and 10 x tables, again depending how she feels. Again with times tables she understood the concept of multiplication before she was 3 and could figure out basic multiplications eg 2x3 in her head even at this age but she just has little interest in commiting them to memory.

@Youcantcallacatspider So it’s about applying what she knows. Maybe a quieter table will help. I would not rush to a sen judgement. This just might take a bit of time and practice. My DD1 was next to a boy in YR who kept prodding her with a pencil. When asked to stop he crawled under the tables. He was bright but not aware he was a nuisance. He improved but found infant school challenging. I knew this boy would not be sitting next to some dc. Their parents would have been in that school in a nano second! I took a bit longer but these dc need to be “shared out”. My dd didn’t deserve to be poked for a term and a half. It wasn’t all day obviously but DD liked school and liked the formal writing lessons.