Focus/listening in class of 30: any tips?

[goldndiamonds]

My DS was in a class of 20 in P1 last year (there were 3 x classes of 20 in P1); the school then merged these classes into 2 x classes of 30 for P2. It was flagged up to me in P1 that my DS needed to focus more on completing written work in class and that he was also needing to be more attentive to verbal instruction (by no means the only child in his class with these issues!); he also is not as socially adroit as most of the other children ie a bit 'quiet' and 'keen to make friends', but not very good at doing it! (in this regard, I would have to honestly say he does stand out a bit, alas!); (he is average in school work: in the middle group in terms of reading and comprehension, quite good at maths). Now, in P2, I fear that the learning environment my DS finds himself in is not ideal for him, with regard to his improving on these listening and focusing skills: the increase in class size and the general 'buzz' of children getting up and down as they complete their various pieces of work and have little bits of chit chat is palpable; there are also confident boys in his class who have formed strong friendships, while my DS wants to be friends but tends to just act silly and annoying and so finds himself excluded (I help in the class so have painfully observed this firsthand!). We have been referred to Additional Support for Learning, presumably in an attempt by the school to get my son to adapt to these conditions before they affect his school work, and we have taken them up on this. Does anyone out there have any tips for us as parents on things we could do at home to improve his ability to concentrate and focus in the classroom? - some children have the ability to 'put on the blinkers' whilst in the classroom and get on with their work despite the general buzz going on around them - how do they do it?!

[frazzledbutcalm]

I'd first of all get his hearing checked. Then i think all you can do is support him at home, he'll learn how to adapt to the background noise etc in his own time. Just keep checking with teacher to make sure he's not falling behind.