No continuous provision in year 1

[Fizhy]

Just want to see what everyone's thoughts are on this and whether this is still the norm in most primary schools? I thought there was a strong push which recognises the importance of play into KS1 and not just in the eyfs. All the research etc shows how beneficial this is for children in supporting their learning.

my daughter is currently in reception and due to move to year 1 in sept. Her school do not support continuous provision and from year 1 there's an expectation that they are sat down at a desk from 9-3 apart from at break times.

Talking to other mums who have older ones in the school they've all shared how much their kids struggled with this transition. My daughters teacher has also raised it's a big transition and adjustment and there's some concern around this. The schools rationale for this seems to be around the fact that it's mixed form entry so year 1 and 2 are together which they feel encourages a more supportive learning environment and individual approach...

Talking to my friends who have kids in different schools they all find this baffling and that their kids schools still very much have an emphasis on play in year 1.

whats everyone's experiences with this? My daughter is a summer born and my heart breaks a little bit for her knowing that just after she's turned 5 there's going to be these huge expectations on her which seem unrealistic.

In all honesty we didn't factor this in when choosing a school. Little naive in hindsight but we were focusing on the eyfs provision (which is very much play based) and she went to the school nursery too so maybe we just stuck with what we knew without questioning it too much. We did question whether we should defer her but this was discouraged because academically she's bright. And academically she is doing great but I don't think we really considered the bigger picture for her.

we're wondering whether to consider a move for her but she's currently settled and enjoys school so I'm not sure if a move would be more detrimental? Interested to hear others opinions/experiences on this.

Nope! DD is in y1, and though they are working towards more desk time over the year, they have a lot of play time and learning though play. I can't imagine how miserable the kids would be if forced to sit at tables all day

My daughter’s school have just extended the continuous provision in to year 2. They do 3 afternoons a week which is a bit less than they did in y1 I think.

That's my worry that she will be miserable. I just don't think it's reasonable and seems a very old fashioned approach. On the flip side the school do pretty well academically around here but that's not the be all and end all for me I want her to be happy and enjoying school/learning. I'm just struggling to understand why the school are taking this approach. Maybe I should question it more with them.

My DC is in a mixed y1/2 class. No continuous provision, no play. It’s taught as a Year 2 class in reality. Honestly, it’s turned them from a child who loved school to a child that hates it. And they are a working at greater depth autumn born child, it’s even harder on the younger children and those with additional needs.

DS is in Year 2 and has a bit of ‘golden time’ at the end of the day but most of the time this year and last was spent at their tables. My impression is that most of the lessons are quite fun though and of the many, many things that parents complain about in our WhatsApp group, this isn’t one of them

Year 1 teacher here. We don’t do continuous provision in my class. We do whole class activities but they are very active. Lots of manipulating objects in maths, lots of discussion and partner talk, lots of outdoor learning where possible, lots of brain breaks during the day. I would look at their curriculum objectives for the beginning of the year before making any decisions. Things may be table based and completed as a whole class but no less fun.

I had this worry when DS was due to move into Y1,
yes there's a lot more desk work but they do make it fun.
the children still have opportunities to learn through other activities than just sitting down. They're free to movement around, work on the carpet if they wanted etc.

its of course a lot more formal than reception but they dont, in my experience, throw them straight into sitting all day.

We don’t do continuous provision in Yr 1 in my school.

My children’s school does more formal learning from Year 1, but my son is really academic so this really suited him, he was bored in Reception. His progress has been phenomenal through Years 1 and 2, he loves writing and learning about a range of topics, eg Science, History and Geography in more depth. Everyone seems really happy at his school, both children and parents. Some children do benefit from more active, play-based learning for longer though, so I guess see how your own child responds then go from there. Good luck!

Anecdotally, my children were happier in year 1 with slightly more formal learning. I wouldn't move a child who was happy.

Interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on this!

So part of me does wonder if it will be good for her. Academically she's not struggling and she's really keen to learn. During their free time she can go a little rogue sometimes and she does struggle with friendship dynamics a bit which I think is just down to her lack of maturity at the moment being one of the younger ones. So a more formal/structured environment might actually benefit her but then I still can't help but feel really sad for her that there will be no time for play when she's still so little. But I'll definitely try and find out more from the school. If it's still made fun and enjoyable I guess it's less of a concern. I'm still a bit worried though after hearing other parents experiences with their older ones who have all said how hard they found this transition.

One thing I would say is that a lot of kids struggle with the transition from reception the y1 across the board. It's a well known phenomenon, as the expectations ramp up a bit.

I would talk to the teacher to address any concerns.

You keep saying play, the children in Year1 aren't restricted to their desk. They do alot of fun activities.
Realistically, school isn't for play.

transition to year 1 is hard for the majority of children. The staff are aware of this and tend to take a light approach to settle them in.

It's not old fashioned, it's a new approach. In the 80s/90s - even 15 years ago - 5 year olds were mostly playing.

They will be taking this approach as they believe more time sitting, quiet and adult directed will improve test scores, academic outcomes and league table positions.

Reception and even Nursery classes are becoming a lot less play based than they were in the past - curriculum expectations in the last 12 years are getting higher and the belief is that more adult directed time is 'better'.

@Sunshineclouds11im saying play because that's how it's been explained to us by the school. That from year 1 they won't have the opportunity to free play and they will be sat at their desks. I know school is primarily for learning but I'm just wondering if this approach dismisses the benefits of learning through play?

@marcyhermiti think by old fashioned I mean it doesn't seem to take on board all the current research which shows how beneficial play is in supporting our children's learning, even through ks1. It seems a lot of other schools are really recognising this and taking it on board with a more gradual approach to reducing how much play time they have before it becomes all formal learning at a desk. I think you're right about why they're taking this approach and I guess it is having some success for them - but at what cost? If she's happy and it works then great but I just worry it's a big expectation on a just turned 5 year old. I guess it feels harder knowing she's one of the younger ones 🤷🏼‍♀️

The school have told you why. Mixed Y1/Y2 class is not conducive to free flow. The curriculum expectations mean you cannot get through the content with free flow. In the majority of schools - there is not enough funding to provide decent activities for free flow for older years. There is definitely not enough funding to pay enough adults for effective free flow.

Your friends find it baffling because you haven't actually listened to what the teacher's said.
The children are not going to be at desks from 9-3. There will be carpet time for input, group work, talk partners, practical activities, outdoor learning, movement breaks, whole class activities and a plethora of other strategies the teachers use. There will still be an awful lot of play-based learning - just not free flow.

Parents with older children in the school are right. It is a big transition from EYFS to Y1, but it's a hell of a lot worse if they do the transition to formal learning suddenly at the start of Y3.

Why would it be worse to transition to formal learning at 7? Do countries that do that find they have worse outcomes?

Year 1 is a struggle for many children. It was fine for both of mine as academic girls but even then they complained a lot about reduced play. A lot of the boys really struggled in both of their years and it was the year that behavioural challenges started to emerge. It’s a sad state in my view that 5 year olds are having play time reduced and saying they don’t like school.

Interestingly, my eldest missed a lot of nursery/ reception for Covid. For her year, they extended continuous provision into year 1 and basically did an extra reception term before moving slowly into more formal learning.

@unbelievablybelievableits not that I haven't listened to the school. They haven't actually told us a great deal about it at all other than they are preparing them for the transition and they have some concerns about how the younger ones will cope/adjust to this. I haven't had any detailed conversation with them about what it will actually look like but what they have emphasised to us is that play time stops and formal learning at a desk starts. So I'm not sure I've misinterpreted anything and that's partly why I've started this thread to get insight from other people as to what this actually looks like in reality. What it's highlighting to me is I need to find out more detail from school as everyone's experiences seem to vary slightly around what this actually looks like. Others responses have been really helpful actually and putting it into perspective for me and maybe I don't need to be too worried. Is the transition worse in year 3 if it was gradual though? How it's been explained is that currently they do 20% learning and 80% play. Why can't it go 50/50 and then 80/20? I'm just genuinely curious not trying to be critical.

@marcyhermiti think if you look at the research from most European countries who don't start formal school until they are 7 the outcomes are not worse at all. I don't know loads about it but from the bits I've read they actually fair pretty well overall.

It varies by school. We chose one that got to desks quickly in year one (with some continuous provision in the first term) as DD1 is very academic and it is what she needed. I am now wondering if it will suit DD2 who is quite different! There are plenty of schools round us who do continuous provision for all of year 1 and one that does it all day right to end of year 2 (but the junior school next door says they struggle with the year 3 transition).

I think it really varies. Our area has two schools: one is very child led, continuous provision through to yr 2, not much desk work, no streaming of tables etc, the other has no continuous provision in year 1, and even in reception they seem to spend most of their time at desks.

We factored this in when choosing to delay reception for our August born child (we delayed and went for the more academic school, I think if we'd sent him at 4 we'd have gone for the more child led one).

That said, if your child is happy I wouldn't change schools now. It might take them a while to get used to it, but the upheaval of a whole new school would be harder, imo.

It varies from school to school. My school doesn’t do playbased learning beyond Reception and by the end of the year Reception only spend a few hours actually engaged in child initiated learning opportunities.

The current rhetoric in education is based around ‘the science of learning’, which champions bums on seats, sitting at tables / desks in rows, explicit instruction from a teacher and a gradual release model of I do, we do, you do.

Is it good for child development? Probably not but does it boost test results? Almost always, which is why more and more schools are following this route. It’s sad, but playbased learning doesn’t work if you need kids to be able to sit tests and assessments and get good scores.

Find out more information before dismissing year one as not right for your DD. I'm a Reception TA - year 1 at my school don't have free play in the same way as Reception kids do IE choosing toys to play with, free access to the outdoor learning area etc. However they start yr1 with a similar structure of the day, just with fewer toys to choose, and mostly indoors. The amount of indoor play decreases over the autumn term, as more at-desk learning starts to happen. They get a 15 minute break on the playground with year 2 morning and afternoon, as well as lunchtimes. As with any system, it works well for some, less well for others and it's not always really possible to predict in advance how individuals will react. Those that struggle get extra interventions with TAs, differentiated learning tasks etc.

'More formal learning ' doesn't mean sitting at a table doing worksheets all day. There will be input while they sit on the carpet when the teacher explains the learning, asks questions to check understanding etc. Then they go to their tables to do a task. This might be a worksheet or writing task, but is also often practical things like cutting and sticking, manipulating resources to demonstrate a maths concept, or an imaginative drawing task etc.

I would let DD start yr1 and give it until Christmas at least. It can be a difficult transition to start with, but that doesn't mean it won't work out ok in the longer term.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm feeling more reassured now that hopefully the transition might be a little more gentle/gradual than it sounds. I'll find out more from the school but hopefully because DD does loves the academic side of things she'll be ok and adjust to the transition.

@ICareNothingForYourCameras my only worry with that would be DDs school got rid of all the TA's last year. The only ones left are 1-1. DDs reception teacher has been honest about how difficult they have found it as in their unit they have 40 kids, 2 teachers and no TAs. So I think the option to provide more individual support is quite limited sadly.