Anyone else got a 5 year old heading to Year 1 and worried about the transition?

[Rhubarblin]

DD* age 5 (I'll add more specific details about DD at the bottom of the post to keep the main part as short as possible) has just finished Year R/Reception so will be starting Year 1 in September. She's in mainstream and overall coped well but obviously Year R is very play based. Her school is very nurturing. Academically she's done well considering her other needs.

Year 1... I'm just worried about things getting more formal and started this thread to see if anyone else is in the same position?

*DD is aged 5.3. Her dx are ASD and language disorder. Emotionally, socially, general personality wise she's more like a say 3.8 yo NT child (she's followed a pattern of about 30% less than her chronological age). She has an EHCP and school are extremely helpful and supportive. School really are brilliant and have put so much in place to support her, my worry is more of the general increase in demand on DD as she grows older (socially, academically).
DD has come so far but seems a lot younger than her NT peers. Progress has been brilliant, age 3 she had essentially zero functional conversational language, now she speaks in extended sentences. Communication has helped the emotional regulation, now she can say (and probably cry!) that she wants to wear the pink shoes not the blue rather than just screaming. Her main areas of need, particularly in a school environment are social communication, emotional and focus/listening/sitting still. I would say if she was almost 4 now, these things would probably be age appropriate.

@Annon12345 That's great re the submission. A good Ed Psych report should be able to make recommendations to help your DS and the EHCP would be the route to a different school, should it come to that. (I know it's never an easy/quick process though!)

I think we need to challeng our EHCP next year, we get funding for a full time 1 to 1 but no SALT or other help is specified... the school made an investment so a SALT comes biweekly but its not much really given the challenges ds has.

Sorry to hear its been a bad start to Year 1... it's been a bit mixed here. Academically I feel ds is streets behind and reading particularly seems to have gone backwards. However he is literally skipping in every morning to say we are 5 weeks into term he's only just showing some signs of tiredness. Trying to be happy with that win and not worry too much about learning for now...

@Bobobab - that's really good he's going in well each morning, I truly think their happiness is more important than any academic stuff.

The EHCP should definitely have speech therapy for a child with delays, I'm no expert but can you ask for an "early review"?

I've been thinking of this thread the past few days, so thought I would check in! Term 1 of Year 1 now completed.
It's turned out to be a very positive experience for DD. The structure I was worried about she seems to really like. With the adjustments in place of movement breaks etc, she enjoys the predictability of the day.
Academically the school app thing has told me she's at the expected level for reading / writing and emerging for maths.
On a personality level, DD is now 5.8 but probably around a 4.0 yo level. As her language develops, her emotional regulation seems to get better and of course the sass increases!! Areas of need still very much language, emotional and focus though.
Year 1 has a much fuller timetable and more subjects but they do get a good amount of play still. She's mostly supported by the class teacher now, sitting at the front of the class. Then a TA provides her adjustments like going to the sensory room as required. She receives weekly speech therapy and is very conversational.
How is everyone else doing?

That all sounds lovely and positive @Rhubarblin! We definitely have a lot more sass/cheekiness this year... part of me is excited he has the language to challenge but it is definitely more difficult to manage!
Overall the same challenges mainly sensory attention and writing are there still, thankfully we had a 1 to 1 full funding this year because I don't think he'd have managed without breaks... We've had a private OT assessment which has been helpful so we have more of a plan to work on. She agrees dyspraxia is likely but there seems to be no help in our area... hopefully the PT exercises will make a difference.
He was very much in need of a break because of the long term but also needs all that learning and activity, he's been pretty dysregulated in this break (Christmas and terrible weather probably don't help!)

Hello lovely posters, I think you are my people! Little one is 4, August born and started school last September. He is very hyperactive and impulsive and has delays across a number of areas particularly communication, social interaction and understanding of the world (prob working at 36 months). He currently gets top rate higher needs funding, local authority have agreed to issue EHCP and I am awaiting the draft in the next couple of weeks. He's under the paediatrician and will be assessed for ASD when he's 5 and ADHD when he's 6.
We had meetings with the school long before he started with a view to deferring entry, but they convinced us it wouldn't be in his interests so we went with their recommendations. School start has been tricky, first 6 weeks got sent home early many times (school suggested part time timetable but I refused) but settled since the half term break. He hardly spends any time in the classroom, is usually in a side room with his 1:1 TA (who is SEN trained and lovely) and is currently not really accessing the learning at all. He can read 3 letter words but is very difficult to engage (cannot write, only scribble and draw circles) everything is on his terms and he mostly ignores his teachers completely..
However, he's also a very happy little boy who bounces into school and bounces back out at the end of the day, and his classmates like him even if some are intimidated by his boisterous nature.
I am concerned that the EHCP will not go far enough (no SALT or OT input despite my written request for these, as he's already on the waiting list for these via paediatrician) so am interested to know the provisions in section F that some of you have had in your children's EHCPs.
I will be amazed if he doesn't need to repeat Reception class, would be interested to hear from anyone whose child has done same - he's not really coping with what little structure there currently is so year1 expectations sound impossible.

Hi curlydiamond, I'm sure your story will resonate with many parents on this board. Do you think this school is the right place for him? Do you think he might be better in a specialist provision?

My DD's EHCP includes SALT, the NHS speech therapist contributed to the process. The ed psych wrote a really good report and the council followed exactly what she suggested.
For Year R, her section F had the following and specified the quantity (this has since been reviewed as she made so much progress in Yr R and doesn't need quite this level of support in Yr 1 now).....
Therapy type things...
Speech and language sessions, 3x pw
Bucket time, daily
Special Time play therapy with intensive interaction, 2x pw
Identiplay parallel play therapy, daily
Play therapy with peers, 3x pw
Sensory circuits, 3x pw
Social story, daily
Predictable routine with time in/preferred activities and movement breaks, daily

Then these general adjustments...
Total communication approach (visual, makaton)
Visual daily routine
Model/encourage peer interaction
Assessment of play skills
Daily monitoring of food habits
Daily opportunities for fine and gross motor skill development
Key adult to build trust, work on feelings and emotions
Daily scaffolding

@Bobobab - that all sounds positive for your DC too, the right support is the key to helping them succeed.

@Bobobab I meant to add, I think the development of their communication can't come without some sassiness too but in the longer term, learning to talk, I suppose, is key to independence!
DD probably also needed a break from school but we have to do lots of activities equally to keep her entertained. Or, she's like a puppy who hasn't been walked lol.

Hi everyone great to hear some positive responses from year 1 so far. Not so good for us. Asd ds aged 5 speech is worse than last year. Salt couldn't quite believe the decline. He has 1 to 1 and la accepted echna request and were hoping to name a specialist provision when we get the opportunity to as we all feel its in best interests all round. We thought he's love the routine and structure but sadly not the case and he's far too overwhelmed he seems to have lost his spark

I'm so sorry to hear that @Annon12345 :( Mainstream is completely wrong for some children and Year 1 makes it much clearer. I hope you get the EHCP finalised soon. Do you have any specialist provisions in mind? Are there any other options in the short term like a reduced timetable*/any kind of alternative provision?
*RT - I do understand this is very hard if you work full time and I don't agree when parents are against it etc.

Oh @Annon12345 sounds like you have been through it this term. I guess if nothing else it's obvious to you now that the environment isn't right...
The structure hasn't been great for ds either, he struggled with free play but the set times he knew he could move regularly definitely helped with everything.
Hope you can get sorted quickly xx

@curlydiamond welcome!

The difference in my ds from 4 to 6 has been huge, he is older in the year so we can't defer but repeating reception would really work for him now I think it would have been really good to do it again!

My ds really came on this time last year though after Christmas in reception... apart from writing he was meeting expectations which from where we started was very unexpected... the fact your ds is starting to read even with everything is a good sign.

Thanks both for your replies. We have a specialist school in mind which we feel would be suited and mainstream agreed. Draft should be end of Jan so hopefully will be moving forward then. Problem is special is always over subscribed here however I thing even if we're on a waiting list that would be a huge start. He's absolutely not suited to mainstream which is so obvious now which is a shame I always hoped he would. Crossing everything for some good news over the next few months! Hope everyone having a good Xmas

How is everyone doing now they've been back a week or so?

I've been reflecting a lot recently on the last 1.5 ish years, as this was roughly when DD left pre-school. She's really a different child since then, on the last day she couldn't even stay still on the little stage for 2 minutes to sing the farewell song, she screamed the whole time. She also really didn't understand she was leaving and starting big school.

Yesterday she sat in the hall for over an hour and watched Jack and the Beanstalk. I understand she stayed sitting for 45 minutes and then for the last 15+ mins moved over to the TA and sort of leaned on her but amazingly didn't get up.

Equally though, we are still having tantrums like a much younger child a few times a week. This evening she got cross because the Christmas lights have been taken down she threw a drink across the room and screamed and cried. However, she can sometimes be talked out of it escalating. The tantrums peaked age 2 but have been progressively (in length and frequency) getting better since then, even if very much still present.

Speech wise she told me she was walking by herself earlier and to stop following her 😅

We've done a few playdates recently, some go totally smoothly. Other times there's a big issue over the friend organising the toys wrong or choosing a tv show or something.

Anyway, I've rambled on but it helps to vent and look back over these threads in the future.

Hello I meant to reply straight away but time got away from me! Things are very up and down here at the moment. DS having a few more meltdowns about relatively minor things (not minor to him obviously I just mean some things are going by without issue and he is fixed on things I don't expect).

Went to a party last week and he does seem to be building some lovely friendships which is great!

Still struggling with writing but we've put some recommendations in place from an OT (sensory recommendations too). He's definitely a bit keener to mark make than he was.

Hey! How is everyone?

My ds continues to be very happy and blossoming but getting a bit concerned about him academically... just with everything he has to learn and development needed it's probably understandable, still sad 😔

Anyone found any useful things that support learning at home for this stage?

Hi Bobo - great that your DS is so happy, this is 100% the most important thing. Is the handwriting still a struggle? Or just all the new subjects? (I can't believe how many more they do now!!) My DD watches shows with subtitles on - apparently this is really good for reading?!

DD academically is doing well with reading and writing (when I say well, it's well for her, just average really). But she struggles with the comprehension, it's the abstract "Why?" stuff she isn't quite getting yet. Maths again, just not understanding the instructions (although it's probably all there in her head, just needs unlocking).

Her language has probably been the biggest improvement in Year 1, she's now working at "BLANK level 3" which is generally the level of between the 4th and 5th birthdays. She can do a bit of "BLANK level 4". So when I feel she's like a 4 year old, this makes sense.

She likes school, her teacher and the TAs are lovely.

She has classmates that she plays with but doesn't stick to one child, so hasn't formed any particularly deep friendships just plays with whoever is nearby or doing something fun. I think this is representative of her emotional/social age. Party invites are either the all class ones or really friends of children where I've got to know the mum. Whereas I've noticed the other children are starting to form best friends and little groups. She seems accepted by her peers but I can definitely see this evolving into difficulties fitting in as time goes on sadly.

She's been on some kind of emotional therapy course at school. She still can get very cross, very quickly but is getting better at sometimes not getting into the 'red' zone. If she's in 'orange' we can often calm her down, once she hits 'red' she just needs space to calm down. It's still the same things that upset her like someone else has something she wants/or she just can't find it or she isn't being responded to quickly enough by an adult.

Sensory wise, she really likes to chew still. Improvement from when she is younger as she would chew and eat almost anything, all the time. Now she can needs chewlerly frequently throughout the day and ate a cardboard straw a few days ago 🤦‍♀️. She has unfortunately been biting her thumbs too, hard enough to draw blood, all I can do is redirect her to the chewlerly. I've ordered a trampette for indoors too (I read children that need to chew also love to bounce, which is so true for us. She loves to pull all the cushions off the sofa and bounce on the springy base!)

Year 1 has gone so fast, I feel like we're on the countdown to Year 2, which is even more academic and needs more sitting still 🫣. DD's focus has improved since Year R but still not always great.

Hi all, great to hear some good progress. Sadly not quite the same for us. We now have an ehcp, special school agreed can meet needs and waiting for a date they have room! Ms just is no longer the right environment, ds is so overwhelmed all the time.

Hey @Annon12345 that sounds like the right decision for him although have you been given any idea how long tou will have go wait? Is he having to deal with MS in the meantime?

@Rhubarblin it is definitely, we continue to get seemingly nowhere with writing... ds has similar struggles around comprehension and more abstract concepts which is a bigger thing this year. He always loved numbers but he's much more reluctant now...

Socially hes not really got a group but some kids absolutely love him some don't which is just a part of life isn't. I think this is the main reason mainstream is good for him and works is that he is very social. I just wonder if he had something more individual he would be progressing more academically but I guess there is time for that

Just checking in! How are we all doing?

Anyone had their Year 1 EHCP review and had to name for KS2 (Year 3)?

I've just had this, I put the Juniors of her current school as I don't know where else she would go honestly! The general consensus was the biggest improvement over the year (not actually a whole year but end of yr r to now) was her communication. Her emotional regulation is better than last year but this is still felt to be 'a big hurdle'.

She actually got invited to a party where the child only picked a handful of children and I've barely spoken to the mum, so this was lovely. This child is one of the few friends she's bonded with on her own. Although they are now moving schools but it was more the sentiment, she's currently mostly talking about someone else anyway.

We did some playdates in the half term, it was 50:50 in terms of success. One was absolutely lovely and they get on so well (a slightly younger child). Then we met a few kids from school at the park and it was an absolute disaster, she was super emotional. Another day we went to the park and she made friends with another child who was four and a half, she was completely on DD's level communication wise and socially and they play beautifully for an hour!

She went to sleep straight away tonight (tired from school!), bedtimes can take a while as she will keep calling out for a drink, another story etc. DD is actually still in her SEN safety bed as she just can't stay in a 'normal' bed but this is something we are hoping to address in the future, possibly next year. I guess it's the equivalent of a younger child needing a stairgate (but this would be entirely pointless at 123cm tall!)

Hey there. So got an ehcp in March. Named ms school despite them acknowledging he needed special. Submitted appeal which is ongoing however does appear he will be started a ss in sept thankfully as he really needs it. It's become more apparent Ms is not right for him, he's struggling immensely

Hey! I can't believe it's the last term already!

@Annon12345 Good on you for persevering! Have you visited the new school?

@Rhubarblin no mention of naming a school for KS2 in our annual review! Sounds like dd is doing amazing, the social stuff is bound to be tricky but it is for all kids isn't it... I hate playdates I just feel on edge the whole time! DS loves parties though and you wouldn't pick him out.. I did wonder if invites would dwindle a bit when they get into smaller groups, we shall see next year. He does have friends and seems to mix with kids in other classes which is good.

Emotional regulation is probably the thing that has got worse this year, despite speech improving and us understanding sensory needs more. He has become quite competitive and really wants his own way... hoping its a 6 year old thing but working through it.

Academically he is behind for Ks1 but progressing in everything but reading where he is pretty much where he was at the end of reception. Bit unsure what to do about that but we will try to work on it over summer, I just don't want to put him off!

@Annon12345 I really pray that all the appealing is successful and he can definitely start in Sept and that the new school is amazing.

@Bobobab I think all 6 year olds can have a lot of attitude and be competitive. This time last year we had quite a difficult phase with a lot of not listening and moods. It's better than a year ago but she's still feisty.

She seems to have moved on again with a different 'favourite' friend than I mentioned on the 6th 😅 People tell me she is well liked amongst her peers and she's very sociable. I just don't think she has the attention span to play with the same one/two friends every single day as she would be distracted, although there are the same few names that get mentioned generally. The party invite child has been the strongest friendship and, although not constantly, DD seems to have regularly played with them since Year R (so a shame they are moving really as it has lasted long term).

Maybe it's a council thing. The SENCO said the schools are named 2 years before, so for secondary you would name in Year 5 ready for Year 7 also.

Hello everyone - wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe we're parents of Year 2 children now. Especially as I started this thread at the end of Year R.

How are all your DC finding Y2? Anyone changed school? Any EHCP news?

DD2 ... she's now 6.6, socially/emotionally around 4.6. Language wise probably a bit more, she can easily have conversations with children/adults now. It's just sometimes those pesky abstract concepts we're still now quite there with. Recently had her amended EHCP through... the LA even changed everything I suggested on the draft, so that was surprisingly good. Year 2 is a real step up again though. All of the day (except lunch, break, assembly etc) seems to be learning time except one snippet of "golden time" on a Friday. I guess it's all prep for the move to KS2/Juniors in a year. She still kind of drifts around friends but the same few names do come up. One of the other children (also ASD) who was her first/only friend at pre-school is a lovely pal for her.
DD2 can still get very emotional but the teacher seems like she's dealt with many children like DD before and is very experienced.
DD2 is making progress to stay at the desk/stay on task (with movement and sensory breaks as needed).