School-Age Preemie – Hold Back or Not?

Hi. My daughter Daphne was born @ 27 weeks is now 7 years old. Through-out pre-school and into SK she had received continual support via speech/language and OT.  Her first year of school was SK and when we moved to a new area the school felt that Grade 1 was the place for her, despite the lengthy list of delays. Here we are approaching the end of Grade 1, with a fairly radical modified programme in place she has been assessed at a pre-Grade 1 level.  I’m not surprised by this but when I tabled the thought that perhaps it would be best for Daphne to repeat Grade 1 the idea was squashed. The school wants to promote her to Grade 2 with what I would expect would be an even more severely modified education plan in place. If anyone has had any experience or input with this sort of situation, I would greatly appreciate hearing from you. I obviously want to do what is best for her but knowing that she will still likely need resource support throughout her education irregardless of potentially holding her back. The issue for the school is that they feel it is too early to tell whether they are looking at a delay or a learning disability. I’d rather not be faced with holding her back at Grade 3 where socially it would be more impactful to Daphne.  Thanks, Nicole