Why Is My 8Yr Old In Bottom Sets At Sch Even Though The Teacher Says She Is At The Right Level?

[Skids]

I feel very confused? My 8yr old daughter has always been quite bright and we have always had great Sch reports and parents evenings. At the last parents eve we were told she is right where she should be and that they were really pleased. She does sometimes get a bit distracted by another girl on the table and can be a bit chatty but he wasn't concerned. However today I found out that she is in the bottom table for all subjects and she is getting told off a lot for chatting! I'm confused as to why the teacher would tell us she is doing well and not behind when she is in a bottom set for every subject. Can someone help with any answers??? They also have a teaching assistant on her table to assist some of the children but not her!

[Old_Geezer]

Whist I do not know it occurs to me that she doesn't need the teaching assistant because it not an issue with her understanding but with her concentration. As for the good reports to you, might that be a lack of courage by the teacher wanting to find something encouraging to say to all parents ? Ar you aware of other parents who had a less favourable report of their child ?

One might hope that if your daughter is bright then during exams she won't have the opportunity to chat and thus will show her true potential. But my impression is that exams are not favoured these days are they ? Isn't the emphasis on pupils losing marks throughout the year instead ?

[sherrardk]

Couple of things - there is a range of attainment expected in each school year and provided your daughter falls within this range then there isn't a problem. Teachers are not supposed to give negative reports, you have to read between the lines or directly question them. The teaching assistant may be 'paid' to assist specific children within the small group that your daughter is in (one or more of the other children might have a statement of special educational needs or an individual education plan). If it is any consolation, I have five year old twins - one with an individual education plan (who gets a teaching assistant evy morning specifically for him) who is doing really well and the oth one is in the 'special' group (perfectly bright but really can't be arsed).

[sherrardk]

Sorry, meant to add that statement and IEP attract additional funding that follows the child through the school or between schools.

[Mosaic]

in addition to the above advice, you really ought to book time to have a talk with the class teacher to see what's the best way forward, and also perhaps talk to your child about how nice it is to listen to her teacher and do as she is told.

[Old_Geezer]

"Teachers are not supposed to give negative reports"

I think that must be one of the saddest things I've learnt about our education system for a long time. So the instructions are to avoid being honest, just keep the parents off our backs, since their kid isn't performing as well as they ought and we don't want to be blamed. Well that's going to help the kid no end.

And I sometimes wonder if it's just my outlook on life, or whether things really are just going from bad to worse in society.