Hitting my head on a brick wall

[ourmaminhavana]

I agree completely LFH. It shouldn't be that difficult at all Mystery, although to be fair they did have SATS last week.
I think Mystery is doing it at home, but I think it's very demoralising if her DD is being demotivated and not learning at school. I too was concerned about the gap in the work being set betwee ndifferent groups as we have that too so it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and they can't catch up without parental intervention. Although, fortunately, I don't think it takes very much input one to one at home to make a significant difference at school. I think the problem comes where the teacher has certain expectations and refuses/is unable to see your child differently. We benefitted massively when the class teacher returned from maternity leave and had a completely different impression of our DD!
LFH that's awful! I hope you complained about the teacher's appalling way of telling you?

[mystery]

All good advice, and I have no problem at all doing the work at home with her and am already doing so; I'm not patient enough though to put up with 6 years of her receiving trimmed back work at school and filling in the gaps at home. Scarlett is my heroine, but I don't have her patience!!

I'm going to do my best to talk to the teacher (again) before Thursday. It shouldn't really be seen as going straight to the head should it, as I have communicated with the teacher several times during the year about trying to get a grip on what the gaps are and have got nowhere? The teacher is very nice, so I don't think that even if I do "annoy her" it will have an impact on my child for the remainder of this year do you?

I think the teacher might be acting within limits set by the head.

[ourmaminhavana]

Very good luck Mystery. I agree entirely, that it shouldn't be a case of constantly having to fill in the gaps.
I think the putting everything in writing is a good approach too, Mystery, and think that you've already done that in the past?

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Your daughter is bright so a different case but in general the groups are split because of ability. It doesn't mean the next set down is missing out. The first group may be working beyond Y1 as may the the next group down. I'm not sure the benefit of parents wanting their kids to be in the top sets if they simply aren't capable.

[fatbananas]

I would ignore anything going on in the school and do it yourself. My DS wasn't top table at maths in Yrs 1 and 2 but all but one of the DC on tables 1 and 2 went on to get level 3 in KS1 SATS. There probably isn't a lot between the two tables in terms of ability. Table 1 seemed to get more 'enrichment' on the same topic, whereas table 2 needed to build up more confidence in their skills. Table 1 was also the table where the DC had a lot of external maths support (kumon etc.) so had already had the repetition and practice etc outside the classroom that Table 2 were getting inside the classroom.

Am now editing to answer your new post: you may not have to do this for the next 6 years. You may have helped her on with her wings for a year or two, so that she can continue to fly thereafter.

And now Ourmam and WFG have posted! I think it's impossible for a teacher to cope with a multitude of abilities in a class of 30 in 45/ 50 minute lesson slots and for each child to get sufficient attention. I just don't think it can be done; hence working at home.
I think WFG has echoed my point above. Now I shall see who else has posted.

[Looking for help]

LFH that's awful! I hope you complained about the teacher's appalling way of telling you?

Well it so long ago now I can't quite remember what I did. I imagine I just went home and presented child with lots of work so she could catch up. I do know the teacher had some personal problems, it might be that we let it go . However sometimes I find especially with maths that if the teaching isn't that great at school the difference in the child is quitedramamtic. We had a couple of not so great teachers in the ealry years, but it definitely picked up in the juniors.

WFG - I don't think mystery is suggesting her daughter isn't capable, more likely that as she is setting her work at home she is able to see what she is capable of, and that doesn't tally up with the schools view. The worry for us parents is that our children are missing out on work because they are not getting the same work as those in higher groups. That worry goes on ad infinitum - here we are at y9 desperate to be in top sets so we can do triple science, etc etc. Sometimes the methodology behind how the school works these things out is open to dispute, and I would think the 6 year old's parents probably know their child better than a teacher who sees them for a few hours a day with lots of other kids running amock and distracting them

[mystery]

If I could see from her file of work at school that she was either: learning something new, or, practising existing skills to mastery, I would be happy. But I see neither. I just see, mostly, the homework, and a small amount of some very tatty and incomplete looking classwork which seems to leap around randomly from topic to topic.

For example, I could count the number of additions she has done in one year at school, according to her file, on one hand. If I could see that she had been sent homework b instead of homework a because it gave her badly needed practice on something or other, then I could understand, but when I just see that it takes one minute and she could have done homework a easily I don't see the logic. I really don't care which group she is in as long as she's learning something and enjoying it, and progressing at an average or above average rate at school (rather than at home!!).

Of course I'll do the home stuff, in moderation, but just sick of school being a place to forget things rather than consolidate old things or learn new ones. Some (not all) of the parents consider their children progress in the maths they do at school - want mine to be one of them!!

[Waiting_For_Godot]

LFH, if you read my post I did say that my statement didn't relate to Mystery's daughter but parents in general. On the whole, if a child is not in the top set it is because they are not able to achieve, usually through ability, what the top set can. It doesn't mean they are missing out on the curriculum for that year.

[mystery]

I so agree LFH. If I were a teacher in a class like that I would be extremely pleased if a sensible parent came up to me and told me, or showed me, what Little Johnny could do in maths at home. To me, a big bunch of kids is a nightmare, and so difficult to work out who can do what, especially when they all sit next to one another and work together.

I don't really get this "ability grouping" thing fully either. It's so hard to judge a child's "ability" at school. You can see what a child can and can't do (that day - they do vary) and you can see how they respond to you teaching them new stuff (a combination of their ability to learn and your ability to teach them) ....... but I'm not sure that you are measuring "pure ability".

Why do you think a child can't miss out by being in the wrong group WFG? They really, really can. They get different classwork and different homework. You get told that week " we are doing doubling". OK, the bottom group is counting plastic teddy bears on plates, and the top group is doubling 6 digit numbers using short multiplication. If your child is wrongly in the bottom group, are they missing out? I think the answer is yes!!

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Missing out on what though? Missing out on what little Johnny is doing or missing out on the proper Y1 curriculum? Is doing six digit multiplication part of the Y1 curriculum? If not then the children in the other groups are not missing out.

Your child may be like my son. In a 1-1 setting he can do many things beyond his years but in a class environment his maths goes to mush, so what you are observing and what the teacher is observing could be two different things. If that is the case then the teacher will not be able to address this need in a class of 30. In a class of 14 it couldn't get addressed with my son.