Primary school teachers - advice needed

[SwampWitch84]

I would be super grateful for some insights from a primary school teacher. We will be moving over to Scotland from abroad in July/Aug this year. My DS (turning 6 in May) will jump from halfway in reception year here, to the start of P2 in Scotland (basically fast forwarding 18 months and missing half of reception and the entire P1 year). Our schooling system works differently here with the start of reception in January of the year you turn 6.

He will not be reading or writing yet and would only have started learning phonics. How can I best prepare him for this transition? Do I not pressurise him now and take it as it comes? Or should I be trying to teach him a bit of phonics and if so what is the best resource to use?

He’s a smart boy and has been at what we call pre-primary since age 3 so has been in a classroom environment for a good while already. Our school system just paces things differently and works in calendar years.

Thanks!

Sorry, not a teacher, but could you ask your current school to detail out what stage he is at for various key areas and ask the new school where they think the biggest gaps are for P2 and if they can suggest any resources to support you.

It probably wont be as big an issue as you currently think it is.

Hi OP. Primary teacher in Glasgow here 🙋🏻

I'd say don't be worrying too much. At the start of P2 there's such a wide range for skills and abilities in a class that he won't be the only one not independently reading or writing. Depending on the class it could easily be up to half still not quite there.

If you want to do anything with him I'd focus on initial sounds and number bonds. If you have a wee look at the curriculum for excellence at the start of P2 most children are starting first level, having completed early level in P1/nursery but plenty are also still at early level. I'd have a look at the benchmarks for early level if you want to know the sort of thing he'd be expected to know going into P2 but I would also say don't stress and don't stress him. A big move brings enough stress without worrying about this. He'll catch up and find his feet quickly.

Do you know which school he will be attending? If so can you contact them to find out which phonics and reading schemes they use? The school mine went to used Jolly Phonics and Oxford Reading Tree, both of which have lots of resources available to parents

Hello, I have taught Reception in England and P2 in Scotland. I’m not sure how similar your reception is to England?

Phonics wise, for starting in P2 I would say a good average would be to work fluently with all single-letter sounds and cope with a few digraphs. A higher achiever would be coping with consonant clusters. This average would be where a lot of children finish Reception, but as you say he will be leaving half way through.

Maths, I think the biggest difference between reception and P2 would be the recording and written work. Half way through reception there might still be a lot of work to be done on operations. I’d speak to his teacher to find out what will have been covered by the summer.

Thank you so much for all the insights and advice. I am taking everything on board. I think I’m going to do a bit of work at home in anticipation of the move (nothing OTT) and will then have to work with the teacher when I get there to help get him up to speed. It is going to be a bit of a process but I think if we tackle it calmly and in a fun way, we will get there. I did basically homeschool my DD during Covid for 6 months whilst working full time so at least it has mentally/emotionally prepared me for taking on that teaching supporting role 😂

And I think its awesome that UK schools don’t hold kids back but force them to go into the year they are meant to be in - it’s just gonna take a bit of extra dedication which can also be confidence building once we get to the top of the mountain. I will just have to keep having convos with my kiddos that it will be tricky at first but that we will get there.

Very very excited to become an honorary Scot. x

Good luck with the move and everything that comes with it!

My kids are going through the Scottish system and we are immigrants so learning as we go.

Since it's (almost) entirely based on age, each classroom has a huge range of kids. They split up in different groups for reading and maths but it's all quite fluid and kids move between groups a lot. My son is p4 and I volunteer at the school library so see what they're reading and there's a handful of children who aren't reading books yet. In p2 my son wasn't reading at the start though some of his friends were - by p3 he was well into beast quest.

The education should be at the child's level so I really wouldn't worry. Of course keep reading together etc.

This puts me so much at ease. Thanks!