helping my dd (6yrs) with school

[mumof2rugrats]

my dd1 school was a good school when she started in nursary but since then it has gone right down hill there arnt any other school in the area that is any good. a couple of weeks ago the head was suspended for unknown reasons now we have a new head and he has come in and changed the school and i dont know if it is for the better.

on thurs evening i got a call from the school telling me they were having a meeting at school on fri would i be able to come, only 8 parents from my dd class got the phone call and it was about them changing the way some classes are set out, they are -taking 8 children from yr 2 (dd class) and putting them with half of the yr 1 class and it will start on mon my dd is one of the 8 children. im very and as when ever i have asked the teacher about her work she has never told me of any concern that she might be behind but now they have put her in the yr 1 class.

has anyone got any advise on how to help teach my dd at home so she can move back to yr 2 with her friends as some are already taking the p**s out of her for it.

Did they explain why they are changing the classes? Or how they decided which children to move?

Some schools have mixed-year classes because of the numbers - sometimes they keep the children down because they think they will do better to go a bit slower, but sometimes it is just decided by age - if your dd is one of the younger ones in the class, then it doesn't mean that they think she isn't doing well.

They haven't put her into the Year 1 class - they have made a mixed Year 1/ Year 2 class, so you don't have to worry about her being a year behind, or need to get her moved back up to the other class.

But I think you need to ask the school how it was decided, and how they are going to teach the mixed class. And also tell them that some of the children are being nasty about it - they will need to sort that out!

Hi

It seems strange that so much change is happening at once.

Have you spoken to the school yet? There may be some very good reasons behind it as MIS said above. They may think she could do with a confidence boost or to go over things she has already learnt.

Perhaps you should find out if there is anything you can do at home that can help her if it is because she is falling behind.

I think at the moment, your best approach is to act like it is a good thing (in front of DD at least) as you don't want her worrying unnecessarily(sp?)

Good luck

Is she very young in her year?

If numbers are too heavily weighted in one year group for one class but not enough for two, schools sometimes make a mixed year group and some choose to take the younger end of the older year group and put them into a mixed year group class.

Lots of village schools who have small numbers of children teach in mixed age groups. It's not ideal but quite do-able for an organised teacher with TA support to ensure all the children are stretched to their potential.

Remember there might well be bright children in the year 1 class who are working at year 2 level.

she not young for age she is quite clever but cant seem to sit still long enough to show anyone. most of the other children that have changed class with her re all from the same table