Y8 daughter struggling in class

[bagsthisseat]

hi
My daughter spends a lot of time on homework and finishing of lesson work at home, I think she is struggling in class. She has told me the science topics are hard and teachers go too fast and usually don’t notice if you understood or not. Do I raise this with her head of year or not?

I think her form tutor would be the best place to start. There may be additional help on offer which they can discuss with you. I doubt she will be the only pupil funding it tough. Escalate from there if they don't want to engage (which I'd hope was unlikely).

Also - appreciate this is a bit random - check eyesight and hearing. DS didn't mention he was struggling or that he was borrowing his friends glasses during lessons!

@bagsthisseat I certainly would. She is struggling and it's your responsibility as a parent to try to help.

I'd approach it by reporting what your daughter said and asking about extra resources. Are there people who can tutor your daughter? If there aren't and you can afford tutoring to get your daughter caught up and feeling confident, can anyone suggest a good tutor?

If you're wondering whether it's OK to report a problem with teaching, it is OK. Teachers need feedback. A good teacher will be happy to know about any problems.

I would mention it. Schools are stretched and in some cases things slip.

Yes, I would report it to her teacher

Totally.

Teachers can't help if they aren't aware

If this is across a number of subjects, I would contact form tutor in the first instance, with a question as to whether she should be seen by the SEN department for processing / handwriting speed tests.

If it is just science and she only has 1 or 2 teachers for that, I'd contact those teachers in the first instance.

Is she mainly in sets or mainly mixed ability classes?

My DS is also Yr8. I tried to help him with his science homework the other day and was surprised at how hard it was (alkalis and bases). He's in a 'bog standard' comp.

I would definitely raise it. My concern would be if she's struggling now she's not going to have a strong foundation in subjects to build on at GCSE. I do agree that schools seem to speed through topics - I imagine it's the pressures of the curriculum.

How have her reports been? Could it be that she's doing better than she thinks?

re Science. May be worth investing in a KS3 Science guide.