P5 Class re- organisation

1. P5 Class re-organisation May 2019

2. What is in this Powerpoint? • How we currently re-organise classes at SMPS • The rationale behind re-organising the current P5 classes • The positives and negatives • Comments from parents and children • The plan and time-scale • How you can support your child

3. What have we done in the past at SMPS? • Classes always mixed at the end of P1 • Some classes mixed at the end of P3 • Three times classes mixed at the end of P6

4. What is the rationale behindre-organizing classes at the end of P5? • It has been so successful in previous years that we have made a decision to re-organize classes at the end of p5 every year • It’s a cluster decision • it teaches children the skills that they need as they move forward to high school • Reorgansising classes at the end of P5 gives children the chance to build lots of new friendships before they go to high school

5. What are the positive aspects? • Children widen their circle of friends in preparation for high school • Children learn the skills of making new friends and maintaining existing friendships • Children learn these skills in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere • Feedback from parents and children about all previous re-organisations has been overwhelmingly positive

6. What are the negative aspects? • Change is uncomfortable! • It is unsettling initially for all children • More unsettling if a child only has one close friend or finds making and keeping friends challenging

7. What parents thought….. • New friendships have formed and old friendships continue • It has encouraged wider social groupings across the year group • I’m all for it- change in a known environment is great preparation for transition to high school • While the old class was settled and happy, this has opened up new opportunities and has been a good thing • It took her a while to find her feet and Term 1 was a bit painful, but she is more confident and has better friendships as a result • I think it has been a positive experience for my son. Life is about meeting new people.

8. What the children thought…. • I think its good preparation for high school- I definitely have more friends now • I thought it was a silly idea at first but I have made lots more better friends • I used to be quite shy and now I’m not so it has helped me overcome my fear of meeting new people • I’ve definitely grown on the idea because I have made loads of new friends as well as keeping old friends • I felt positive, but I felt nervous about the change. It has turned out a lot more positive than I had originally thought. • I used to be shy in my old class but now I get along with everyone.

9. What the children thought…. • “I have made new friends and found new interests” • “I felt a bit sad that I was moving classes and wouldn’t be with my old friends, but I’m really glad I did it.” • “I talk to more people and have a wider range of friends. I like my new class and I’m very happy we mixed up” • “I’ve made lots of new friends and now have a bigger friendship circle, but I’m still close to friends from my old class.” • “I thought it was a bad idea but then I made loads of new friends and it’s honestly made my life even better!” • “At first you feel scared because you don’t want to detatch from your friends, but when you move class you definitely bond with new people who may end up being your life long friends.” • ”I have found it good because I have new friends, but I still hang out with my old friends.” • “I have got to meet so many new people and have made loads of new friends.” • “I have really enjoyed being in a new class because I got to make friends with people I never thought I would.”

10. How will the classes be re-organised? • We will look at: • GenDer mix • Ages • twins • Even mix across 3 classes • Existing friendships (but will NOT ask the children for friendship choices)

11. What is the time scale? • Classes will be re-organised by Mrs Morgan by the end of may • Draft of New classes will be shown to class teachers and adjusted in light of comments and suggestions • Children will be told about their new classes before the end of term • they will have the opportunity to spend some time with their new class doing team building activities • They will meet their new teacher as a re-organised class before the end of term

12. How can I best support my child? • Don’t be surprised if your child thinks it is a terrible idea! • On the whole children do not like change. In the feedback from the current P6s and P7s about the class mix ups last year, 100 children said they didn’t like the idea of mixing classes and 17 were positive about it. • However, it is important that you stay positive. • In the feedback, 115 children said that they had made new friends, and only 2 did not mention making new friends.

13. How can I best support my child? • See the ‘big picture’ – concentrate on the long-term gain for your child • Be positive about the change- don’t share your anxiety with your child • Model a growth mindset about how to manage change • Empathise with your child’s anxiety, but don’t be overwhelmed by it • Build in as many opportunities as possible for your child to practice the skills of making new friends- and support them • Contact Mrs Morgan if your child’s anxiety is seeming unusual or extreme

14. If you have any questions, or want to alert us to a particular situation, then please contact Mrs Morgan, either by phoning the school office on 447 5446 or by email susan.morgan@southmorningside.edin.sch.uk (all lower case!).