Dear Parents/Carers,
At Coleham, we mix our classes at the end of EYFS, Year 2 and Year 4. Soon, our staff will begin the process of organising the new classes for the next academic year and we want to let you know about the process and its benefits so that you are more informed and better able to support your child if they have any anxieties about the process.
Mixing the 2 classes widens our children’s social horizons, allowing them to make new realtionships with children they perhaps don’t know so well. Eventually, all the children will be forced to make new relationships when they transition to secondary school, and we find that children from Coleham, and other schools that mix, fare better than others when this time comes.
Our experience tells us that many children have made new friendships after a class mix, whilst retaining and strengthening existing friendships. Making these new relationships (including those between children’s families) helps to further grow and strengthen our school community. In addition, there may be negative relationships between some children in-class that can be broken.
It is natural for your children to be wary about being in a ‘new’ class, however, please remember that your children already know all (or most) of the children in their year group. For some, it can feel as if they are moving to a completely new class in a completely new school with new, unknown children, but this is not the case. Any children in their current class who are mixed into a different class will still be there at playtimes, and they will remain with many of the children they are currently with, whatever the mix.
The process of mixing is not a light undertaking. We know the children really well here at Coleham, and we have a good understanding of the relationships in and out of class. When mixing classes, we do not rely on any one source of information, but instead use a combination of soures to ensure that the best mixes are arrived at. To find the best mixes:
- we consult the children in a child-friendly way over their preferences;
- we make use of ‘sociograms’, where relationships are mapped out through survey data;
- we work as a team to use our professional knowledge of relationships, both social and work-wise;
- we will also consult parents.
I attach a link to an optional form where you can, confidentially, share any strong feelings you may have about the makeup of the mixed classes; the form is not compulsory. Please be assured that we will seriously consider any parental recommendations or feelings, but cannot guarantee anything at this point. We are most likely already fully aware of positive and negative relationships that your children have, but if you are concerned, I recommend you fill the form out. If you choose to use the forms, please fill out one form per child.
EYFS Class Mixing Form
YEAR 2 Mixing Form
YEAR 4 Class Mixing Form
These forms will automatically close at 11:59 pm on Sunday 21st April.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch.
