How does your school deal with the Reception-Y1 transition?

[PinkIkeaZippys]

Small stooshie going on in ours atm.

The first year of school is very play-based here. Lots of adults around, huuuuge wing of the building devoted to the early years, very relaxed etc.

Y1 is in a poky classroom with 1 adult and no TA (because they are all in EY!).

The Reception teacher has been there for a long time and is very confident. She does not do whole-class teaching sessions, so the children don't learn to listen to a group. It is free-flow, so they don't learn to line up. She also insists that they shouldn't have to tidy up () so they have very little respect for property. Because it's so big, they can chat away to each other as much as they like.

The transition is, quite frankly, hellish.

AIBU for pushing for change?

I would change year 1 tbh. Are you the y1 teacher? Push to annexe some of their space!

I would push for change! I'm a TA in reception (4 yrs now) and I think your reception teacher has got it completely wrong.

We still have whole group teaching, lining up & the children absolutely have to help tidy up. Free flow means it's the time children can choose their own activity & develop their own learning.

It's all part of the EYFS framework which every early years provider must follow. I'm really shocked by your description tbh!

YADNBU!!

That sounds awfully managed! They need to make YR & Y1 more similar so it isn't as much of a shock.

In our school the YR & Y1 are very close in style - YR is very play based, but they also learn eg. to line up before entering the classroom, put blazers on before going for lunch and to sit quietly and still for perhaps 30% of the day, which may either be at desks or in a group on the carpet. From Reception they are also required to attend hour long church services once a week! The whole class teaching will mostly be story time, singing French songs and odd bits of academic work. Although the school very strongly believe in a play based curriculum the children still have to learn to follow a lot of rules to go with it.

Year 1 is very similar to YR - they still have TA, still very play based but with a little more sitting at desks to do writing.

I think it is possible to have a play based curriculum but still have lots of rules to work within and I think that's what you should push for at the school.

I think we have two problems, but they over-lap IYSWIM.

a) Y1 is too formal (but that's a necessity of space and adults)
b) the way Reception is being run.

The provision in Reception is amazing in so many ways but it really lets the children down because it is so all-encompassing.

Our reception year does do much to encourage or support transition into Y1. We want to see that reception are encouraged to work a little bit more on more formal tasks and try to do some independently.

There is no independent learning in YR at all.

So by the time Y1 comes along, the kids struggle to understand the formalities of Y1 and whereas we have some learning through play, we do have a group working independently and they can't because it is alien to them.

We need transition in the summer term more than ever now we have begun Inspire maths which begins with formal sit down learning at tables and if they haven't mastered it in reception, then it makes our job more stressful and harder.