Visiting Georgia-Maes new school tomorrow - HELP! (ALEX?)

Well as most of you know we are moving in just under 4 weeks and Georgie will be attending the local village CofE School.

At hr current school she started full time in Sept after attending their nursery from the previous January. She is learning to read and ad write and count and has come on leaps and bounds. She really enjoys this aspect of her school day and loves to write constantly when at home without encouragement. This January the second stage of foundation joined her class at school as they were the 'younger children'.

Georgia-MAEwas 5 last week, & her new school have told dp that she will be in Foundation Class 2, where they do more 'play'! Foundation 2 on their website is for children aged 3-5, and foundation one is the other class who are reading adn writing etc and taking home work.

I cannot help but feel that she is going into the 'wrong' foundation class for her abilities, that she has become used to in her current school.

Anyone have any opinions or advise me on what to say to the school?

We have our appointment with them at 10 am tomorrow!

B x

I don't have any experience but I would ask their reasoning for this, I would be the same as you thinking that this is not a good move for your little one. I would want to know exactly why they could not go into the more challenging class.
My mum had major issues with me and schools when I was little as they kept holding me back due to my poor handwriting and spelling. But my reading was well ahead of my age. My end of year results were always top 2 in the class but my spelling was pants. It turns out that I am dyslexic but was not diagnosed until I was 11. So the writing and spelling was an indication of that - not an indication of my ability to learn. In fact the more I was pushed the better I got on.
Anyway - the moral of that story is that they need to have a good reason to go against your intepretation of your child's ability. I know you will be a bit biased (and so you should be) but if you know what your child is capable of then you do not want them to be held back due to poor decisions made by the school.

Children that have delayed teaching, e.g virtually no reading or writing in the first year of school virtually always do alot better than those taught to read and write straight away. Personally there is no way I would have Mikey in class where working or homework is envolved.

Samuel said:
Children that have delayed teaching, e.g virtually no reading or writing in the first year of school virtually always do alot better than those taught to read and write straight away. Personally there is no way I would have Mikey in class where working or homework is envolved.

Crikey - i wasn't aware of that! To be honest they do not spend a lot of time working. There classroom is full of play items, house, doctors mock surgery / hospital, sand pit, painting easel, train tracks, bricks, water area and the new fandangle whiteboards etc.

I just hoped that they'd continue to encourage her writing and reading ability adn not just forget it all until next year? 🤔

The Scottish Education system is so different to the English one and I dont understand the stages you have or the January intake. We only take kids into School in August. Only Nursery will take children at August, January and April.

If you are worried, ask, Explain what she has been doing at her other school.

Although it may look like play, active learning/learning through play is so good for the children and they learn much more and at their own pace. However, the school should also push on those children who need their learning pushed and likewise assist those who are struggling.

I would feel the same as you, Summer was learning to read and write from the start of Reception and now in year one I can not believe her abilities in literacy work. She is reading at the level she is expected to be at in 4-5 terms time. For her to have moved to a different class which seemed to be based more around play would have bothered me. However, different schools structure their learning in certain ways and the bottom line is they must be working towards the same outcome layed out by the National Curriculum. You could always do alittle practice at home for 10 minutes here and there if it makes you hapier. Definately speak to them and voice your concerns. Perhaps get her current teacher to note down what she has learnt and is capable of so far so her new school can give her appropriate support.

I have to say I also think that we push kids a lot nowadays, i don't think it is appropriate for instance to be sending homework home for little 4yr olds to do. We seem to want our kids to grow up so fast nowadays! However i think the school georgia-mae is at now sounds like they have done a good job (along with mummy and daddy ofcourse!) in getting GM interested in reading and writing which is just great! 😀 I think this should obviously still be encouraged at her new school. Especially as she is doing so well with it hun. However i would wait until the meeting. The new school teachers may be able to explain the way their school works better and be able to put your mind at ease. It may not be quite as you are expecting hun and i am sure they would not want to put GM back when she is already doing so well! 😀 Let us know how it goes hun Xx

When i say homework she has a reading book and letter sounds / words etc (simple ones) that she has in her book and we do all of this in about 5/10 mins every other night.

I encourage aot of learning through play at home so i'm maybe just getting alittle worried and over the top. I think dp may of confused things a little too.

Anyway we shall see - setting off soon! 😀

(and Alex i thought the Jan intake was rather strange too - i've never heardof it until nowe and many of my friends childrens school don't do this?)

Thanks all ever so much for your help! xxx

Just so as you know hun, the Jan intake thing has been around for years and years (they were doing it when i started school!) I think it was supposed to help the younger members of the year as some of them could be almost a year younger than others, which at that age is quite a gap. Obviously you could have a child born 1st Sept and one born 31st August the year after in the same year so they tried to make it less hard for the younger end to fit in. As far as i know a lot of schools stopped doing this quite a while ago as i don't think it was benefitting the children in the way they hoped? I know a couple of schools in our area still do this but not many. Most of them just do the one intake in Sept now. Hope this helps hun Xx

Oh and i hope you didn't think i was attacking you with the homework comment. It's just i heard that they are wanting it to start even earlier now - even preschool children! They apparently also want to start testing children on things earlier too which i have a real problem with! Hope all goes well hun 😘 Xx

Goodness - no i didn't think you were attacking me with the homework thing babe! I'd be horrified if GM was bringing home 'real homework'!!

Well the school is lovely! 😀 😀

Very small - BUT extremely friendly, as you'd expect Georgie was very apprehensive at first - but then she met 'a friend' and they went to play outside together out the back of the foundation class in the seaside hut/shop! Yesterday the class had a trip to a pet shop in a nearby town and bought a fish, so they were all showing her that. Her teachers are really nice too - alot more approachable than her current teacher if i am honest.

In the morning they are mixed with the nursery class and do learning through play, classroom is very well equipped and being re-decorated in half term, they have a new log cabin and outside area being developed then too. In the afternoon she will be in a class of 5 (all boys except her) for literacy and reading and they then join the year ones on certain days for other lessons such as a litle bit of french, PE etc. Bt it's all very very friendly and she loved it straight away.

We left her playing and went, to look around the rest of the school met all the teachers and staff, and even watched a guitar lesson that class 6 were having! 😀

They do have a service at the church once a month and collective worship with the reverend every week too in school. Lunch is made on site and smelt gorgeous (i think bump even got excited at this point).

Her class mates are a stage ahead of what she is currently reading, but her teacher reads with them Mon, Weds and Fri afternoons, whereas at the moment her teachers are getting slack with reading and changing her books, which is something i have been discussing along with parents at her current school.

We bought her cardigans and book bag, water bottle etc and she played in the playground for 5 mins before we left too. She asked if she could stay all day and said she cannot wait to go back. 😀

So far - so good! 😀

Seems i was worrying about nothing - but it's a VRRY big change for her.

In 4 weeks she will be mving house, then school and then becoming a big sister to a baby brother!! 8O. She seems extremely happy with all of these at the moment though!

Thanks all xx

Glad it all went well and even gladder that she likes the school.

Glad it all went well hun.... I think Georgia-Mae will adjust just fine.... Aaralyn's been through a lot of changes in her young life and I think she's doing fine too... Just make it as exciting and positive for her as possible, as I know you're doing already 😀

I'm so happy all seems to be falling perfectly in place for you babe!!

Aww that is fab news hun! I think the school sounds fantastic, and, a class of 5? Wow, that is great. Lots of time for the teacher to spend with each child. I'm sure GM will benefit from this for sure. It sounds like they have a good mix of play and 'work' too hun. Awww it is all going great at the mo for you, i am sooo pleased! 😀 Lie tammy says, i'm positive GM will take all the changes in her stride hun. Just keep up the positive attitude and all will be great Xx

Thanks all i feel so much more at ease!

And you are right Tammy - Aaaralyn has adjusted so well to her changes... 😀 😀

xx