Bottom set in English

[Awcw1234]

Just looking for some advice.

My daughter has just started Y8. She is dyslexic but just about managed to meet expectations in her SATs (well almost… scaled score of 99) with the support of a private dyslexia tutor. In Y7, English wasn’t set but in Y8 there are 4 x set ones, 5 x set twos and 4 x set threes (large school).

My daughter has been put in one of the set 3 classes. I have been in touch with the Head of English as I was unsure as to why she has been placed in this set. She is exceptionally well behaved (not a single bad lesson score in Y7) and she has scored average in all her assessment, hit her targets and nothing has been raised to me as a concern.

Naturally, I have concerns about set 3 such as behavioural issues and her not reaching her full potential due to the content being taught. I have however been reassured that all pupils follow the same curriculum and she will be challenged.

The Head of English feels like set 3 is the correct class for my daughter. She will be able to get more support as there are only 16 children in the class. Apparently she has been placed in a class with calm children who although are chatty at times, are keen to do well.

She has suggested giving it a two week trial to see how she gets on. She is happy to move up her to set 2 but unfortunately due to timetable clashes, the only class she can be moved to has 28 children with lots of children with challenging behaviour.

My concern is the that by staying in the bottom sets, she will struggle to get out of them and she won’t be pushed to meet her full potential (I’m not expecting miracles but I would like her to score at least a 4!).

What would you do? 😟

Trust the professionals!

I think it sounds positive OP. 16 kids in a class sounds like she’ll get extra attention, which she may need if she’s dyslexic. And it’s year 8, plenty of time for movement up to set 2 if it’s appropriate before she starts GCSEs

I would say that the school and teacher has far more experience in this matter than myself and I would trust them. There will be reports giving information to you as a parent as to how well she is doing.

Smaller classes are much better as the teacher has more time per pupil. At my son's secondary they had a form of 25 which consisted of children who needed more support whether organisation or educational. It also meant they had a TA in there too meaning 2 adults to go around.

I would see how your DD feels too. They can give differentiated work. In my child's year 11 History class there were children on a grade 3 and those on a grade 9 and everyone was catered for.

Easier said than done. Her dyslexia tutor (who works in both secondary and primary schools) has unfortunately put doubts in my head as she said they are pretty much set up to fail in the bottom sets.

Don't trust the professionals. Its a numbers game.

Get a decent English tutor if you can afford one. It will do wonders for her confidence and give her the best chance of maximising her potential. Every year she is working below her ability puts her further behind.

This isn't about being academically pushy. it's about giving your DD the best chance in a system that, ultimately, only really looks at the cold, hard grades.

Real life is a bit more nuanced than this.

That is what part of me is worrying about. Is it possible she been put in a set 3 because there are too many kids in the set ones and twos?

I have a kid with a very spikey profile. Gifted in some areas but very low processing speed, dysgraphia, autism and ADHD.
For two years he was in a SEN unit doing very basic work.
The low level of the work did bother me, but we stuck it out for the sake of the pastural care and I supplemented at home with tutoring and online lessons.
Could you do something similar OP?
Let her have the small class sizes and individual attention at school, and ask her tutor to stretch her at home with material the school isn't covering?

I think it varies between teachers too. Some are not as good as others. I worked in a primary school so saw this sort of thing first hand.

You can have regular meetings and updates with the teacher, you don't have to wait for parents' evenings or reports to come out. My child's school was exceptional and you could tick a box in their planner to get a phone call within 48 hours. I cannot fault them at all. You can also look at her work book and see what she is doing in lessons too and make it something you talk about. You can help her too.

Not all schools are terrible and neither are all teachers.

If there are only 16 kids in the class it should be easy to differentiate the work?

I would definitely give it a trial because it is only Y8, there is plenty of time, and on the face of it a class of 16 sounds really good. I would keep up the tutoring though so there is no opportunity to fall behind.

Schools often mean well, but the reality is that the education system is still heavily focused on grades. What might count as “good progress” for your DD according to the school or education department’s measures may still be well below what she is actually capable of achieving.

Like I say, the grades she gets can have a huge impact on the choices available to her afterwards. Giving her some extra support isn’t about being pushy. It’s about building her confidence, whilst helping her reach her potential and keeping as many of those choices open as possible.

IME small classes were no match for a good English tutor.

New Report: GCSE attainment gap for dyslexic pupils unchanged after more than a decade - British Dyslexia Association

Yes, we intend to arrange a tutor. We are waiting to see if her old dyslexia tutor can fit her in.

My other worry is her getting stuck in set 3. I’m being given the opportunity now to move her up but this may not be possible in the future.

Is it possible she can still achieve a 4/5 in English in the lowest sets? Does this even happen? I don’t want her being given low targets.

Interestingly, she came home today and told me she enjoyed her first class. She said she found the lesson easier as she was able to put her hand up more and received more help than usual. I asked about behaviour and she said everyone was well behaved. She also told me that she was taught the same as her friend who is in set 2 (she walked home with her today and they discussed English as they both enjoyed the lesson).

My son sounds very similar to your daughter, dyslexic. He was in the bottom sets in Y7 and Y8 and the smaller class with an excellent teacher helped him massively. He did not find the behaviour of other children disruptive because the school has a fairly strict behaviour policy. He learnt to ignore any low level carry and that can happen in any set.
He's now in middle sets for Y9. We spend a lot of time focusing on what he is good at to make sure he has good self esteem. We are introducing the idea that he may be better doing a less academic path (BTECs/apprenticeship). It took a while for me to accept, as I am very academic but I need to think about what is best for him.

With a scaled score of 99 in SATs, the school will only be aiming for your daughter to get a 4 or 5 in GCSE English. I would stick with the set your daughter is in and continue dyslexia tutoring and consider subject specific tutoring.

This

Honestly, if she can achieve a 4 or 5, I will be very proud of her as that is a pass. This isn’t me being a pushy Mum, I just want her to be challenged enough so she has options at 16 for college etc.

if she’s moved up and bottom of class… will impact confidence

Is it possible she can still achieve a 4/5 in English in the lowest sets? Does this even happen? I don’t want her being given low targets.

ask the school

That is true. I just don’t know what is best for her.

I plan to but not sure how I can ask without sounding critical!

At the top of the bottom set will do wonders for her confidence. I’m glad she’s found out she’s doing the same work as set 2. I’d keep her there because 16 in a class is a dream, get regular progress updates and if the tutor can perhaps not dismiss low sets that would be good (are they projecting their own teaching practice?!). I both teach and tutor - I would never write off my low set kids. If they want to work I can work wonders with them!

”is a 4/5 possible in this set?”

Give it a bit more time than day 1 for a start

You won't get an honest answer.

Good grief you have a real issues with teachers

Good grief live in the real world...

and have first-hand experience, like many parents of children with an SpLD like dyslexia. Parents like me know many, many other parents in similar situations, and we share our experiences. Unfortunately, a great many of those experiences are far from positive.

For every parent who says their child had a great experience and received fantastic support, there are many others with a very different story to tell.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, nor is it exclusive to children with dyslexia or other challenges. But don’t take my word for it.

The Rose Report (2009)
House of Commons Education Committee: Solving the SEND Crisis (2025)
House of Commons Library: Support for Dyslexic Pupils at School (2005)
British Dyslexia Association: GCSE Attainment: A Decade Without Progress (2026) - Linked above.

Schools have budgets, targets and constraints, and that’s before we even get to behaviour and the other challenges teachers face. It’s generally not personal, but that doesn’t make the impact any less damaging.

Post 16 and post 18 options are highly competitive and grades matter. When a child with an dyslexia or any other SpLD doesn’t receive the support they need to reach their potential, the consequences can genuinely alter the choices available to them and impact them for years to come.

So yes, I have an issue with the education system. And yes, I have an issue with some, not all, teachers. I give credit where credit is due. There are some absolutely brilliant teachers out there. I can acknowledge that without pretending that everything is all rosy and that the system, or everyone working within it, is doing a brilliant job. The evidence and the experiences of many families says otherwise.