Tutor for Year 1?

[Sammiez]

Hi,

I am contemplating getting a tutor for my Yr 1 dd who has been in the UK for a year now. Her level of understanding of English bothers me and this affects her comprehension sometimes;maths,etc. I am worried that now she has gone into Yr1 it might be an issue. I have become so worried about this and now find it so hard to help her at home. I snap,cry,get frustrated. I have put her off reading already now. She will read but won't get into the book and enjoy it. To be honest,she hates reading:(

Plus the areas they are expected to cover is,to me, mind boggling! Geography,science and tech,etc... I,personally think this is too much for 5-7year olds. I sometimes have no clue what is expected of me. But this is where we live now so have to adapt.

I don't know what to do. I thought not to bother anymore and just let her manage with school which is what kids this age in my country do but the scope here scares me and makes me feel one has to be on ones toes. Is this so or am I paranoid now out of fear? Or do I get a tutor and see how it goes?

[Effjay]

I would start with talking to her class teacher at school first, to see if she has the same concerns and what she recommends. You really need to inform the school, if you feel like this.

[FranSanDisco]

I think Effjay gives good advice. Start with your dcs class teacher. If your dd has English as a second language it may take a little longer to get into reading books. Is your dd in a state or private school? The best advice I have is make learning fun for your dd and definitely no tutor - she is too young.

[LIZS]

Think you're overreacting tbh and a tutor could do more harm than good. If she needs language/literacy support that is one thing (but bear in mind not all 5-6 yr olds are even reading, let alone enjoying it for its own sake) to address with school but the KS1 humanities and science curriculum itself is very gentle and hands on so less limited by language. All that is expected of you is to support and encourage your child - share books, run through spellings, brainstorm ideas for homework and check it is done - if you are unsure how much you should help or interfere ask the teacher.

[Sammiez]

I know I am over reacting but honestly can't help myself at the moment. I am afraid because her teachers didn't feel she needed extra help(we come from an anglophone country) but then said in report that she couldn't use the vocabulary she had acquired to communicate. Maybe they feel it wasn't still an issue but that rang warning bells for me.

She is in a state school.

[gallicgirl]

I used to teach English as a foreign language and I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. Children of that age pick up language very quickly and it seems that school are aware of the issues.

Perhaps you could ask her teacher how you can best support her at home. I would reiterate the advice about making learning fun. There are lots of games you can play where your daughter wouldn't even realise she was picking up language skills. Other than that, I would perhaps suggest you speak English at home, if you don't do so already, so she learns by example.

[IndigoBell]

Sammiez - I remember some earlier threads you started about her language.

I don't know exactly what to say. Most of me wants to say 'she's only 6, don't worry yet' and the other side of me thinks 'school kept on telling me DD was fine when she wasn't'

So, I think don't listen to us. We don't know your kids. I wouldn't rush to get a tutor yet - but I would be trying to find out from school how exactly has she done.

Were you given her EYFS scores at the end of reception? You should have been. And this will tell you how well she is doing in all subjects compared to the 'average' child.

So if school tell you she's doing fine but she scored very low on the EYFS - then you need to talk really long and hard with school about why they think she's doing well when actually she is far behind (remembering that English is her first language).

However, obviously, if her EYFS is where you would expect it to be (ie 'average' if you think she is 'average'). Then you can relax...


Good luck. It's a really hard balance between stressing too much and letting everyone convince you it's fine when it's not.

[Sammiez]

Thank you all for your replies and advice.

The response I get from school is always vague and makes me feel they are hiding something. It is probably the general way here?

I know I am paranoid because of how different education is here but would have appreciated some insight. It has been a confusing and hard time for us so far.
I think I will back off for a while so she can breathe(and me too).

LIZS why do you think a tutor may cause more harm?

Indigobell,thanks very much for your response. Some of the areas on the report do not seem to touch on how the child is doing academically-physical.social,emotional,etc. so wonder if that is a true picture???

[LIZS]

A tutor seems unnecessary pressure to a young and perhaps already wary child, in addition to a long, more formal school day. Save it for when you have a specific issue in mind, otherwise you may find your dd loses interest in learning altogether. If communication may be an issue perhaps find an activity such as singing or drama which will help her express her ideas in a less formal way, take her to the library and look for activities there on a Saturday or maybe your local bookshop has story readings.

[IndigoBell]

Sammiez - I don't know much about the EYFS stage report - but plenty of people on here do. I know you get a grade out of 9 for each different area. I think 5 is 'average' - but not sure. Nor am I sure what the areas are.

Can someone help Sammiez make sense of her EYFS report to see whether or not she really should be concerned? Around what numbers would alarm bells start ringing to teachers?

[Sammiez]

Thanks you so again IndigoBell and LIZS.
The issue I think is I do not have a grasp of the educational system here so every little thing bothers me even when it probably shouldn't. Also it isn't the reception grades that bother me but the 'future' more structured learning.

So I guess my question is this... Does a good EYFS report automatically mean the child is doing well and is 'strong' enough for further learning even if not all the areas are related to academics? It is like that where I come from so not sure it does. Her reception teacher didn't tell me if her report was good,average or poor or whether she needed extra help. Just the report/grades and what her Yr 1 targets were.

Here is her report:
DA-9
SD-8
ED-8
LCT-8
LSL-9
R- 9
W -9
NLC-9
C -8
SSM-8
KUW-7
PD-8
CD-9

In my country,we would have something like this:
Maths-70%
English-50%
Health Education-60%
Fine Art-40%
French-80%
Music-75%

etc.

So you can see individual subjects and you'd know where the strengths or weaknesses are. Also,we didn't have any learning through play but we still enjoyed learning so don't know how to make it fun or as fun as her teachers make it. She doesn't like me 'teaching' her now. I think I allowed myself to panic and so now have too much pressure about it all hence my thought of a tutor who knows the ropes so I can probably watch and learn from her and also take a short break???

I am so sorry I didn't mean to have such a long post.

[IndigoBell]

Sammiez - those are brilliant scores! She's a very high achiever! There is absolutely no way she needs a tutor.

Relax. She's doing fine and will continue to do fine :) Her Year 1 teacher will know exactly how to keep her doing well.

[saucetastic]

Wondering if it's more a cultural thing. I switched anglophone countries around yr 3 and it took me two years to comfortably understand what was being said in the UK! I was petrified and had to plan my sentences before talking. My vocab etc was ok in my home country.
My mum took me to some drama classes outside of school in yr 4 and that helped immensely, as there was less assumed knowledge and a common starting point for communication which was collaborative, physical and imaginative. May help. And will give her confidence, more so than a tutor.
I wouldn't worry too much about the reading. If you can read to her and provide her with a shared, enjoyable environment at the same time it will give her much more than forcing her to read. I wouldn't want to formalise learning any more by getting a tutor.

[seeker]

Those figures are "out of 9" I think, so your dd is doing very well indeed. She got a 8 for Language for Communication and Thinking - and I think this is the area you were worried about?

It honestly looks as if she's doing much more than fine - so, if you can, relax!

And talk to the teacher if you're worried about anything - but no need for tutors in my opinion.

[seeker]

I don't know why I said "out of 9" I think. I know that they are wout of 9. A child scoring 9 has met all the skills and achievements expected of them.

[mrz]

A child scoring 9 is consistently working beyond expectation

[seeker]

Bumping for sammiez - don't want her to miss this.

[Sammiez]

INdigobell-I am a little bit encouraged by what you said there about, 'Her Year 1 teacher will know exactly how to keep her doing well'

saucetastic you got it! Even I am nervous and have to think before speaking many times. Writing for me is better. I have tried drama class because she had confidence issues when we just got here but it didn't help her and as it was too expensive,we stopped. Now she does after school club-storytellers.

For my daughter,I feel I sometimes ruin what she has learned at school. My pronunciation is different so for example, I still don't know the differnce between /er/ and /ar/ or between /ir/ and /ur/. It seems it is assumed that everyone would know.

After trying to reinforce /ar/ and /er/ sounds at home,she started writing 'after' as 'erfter'. It seems I am doing more harm than good.

Mathematical terms are also hard. The one she struggled with over the hols was 'how much more/less than this is this'. I still don't have the courage to try 'less' even if it was part of her target. I know she will mix it up.

Do I hands off then? I will have a word with her teacher about my concerns about the linguistic issue and if she could give me pointers on how to help. She is Asian so she might understand why I am worried, I hope.

[Sammiez]

Thanks so much seeker,thanks.

[seeker]

Honestly - she got an 8 for Language for Communication and Thinking - please stop worrying!

Do you know what all the abbreviations on the report mean? I could link to a useful website if you like!

[piscesmoon]

Do stop worrying! You will put her off completely-relax and enjoy being with her. Read together for fun and enjoyment.

[mrz]

Sammiez a score of 6 is considered a good score!!!

[Sammiez]

Yes please Seeker.

Given my explanation,do you agree I might be doing more harm than good with my background(pronounciation,methodology,etc)? Do I stop then and only read together then? I know I am beginning to sound like a pain but I am determined now to know! I have been worried sick,so worried about being ignorant and lost.

What methods do I use? Teachers keep saying, 'kids who do well come from homes where parents take active interest in their education'. I am interested,very and really want to help but the methods I know are different. I would greatly appreciate some tips on how to 'teach' or what other mums do at home with their Yr1s at least. Do they really need our help besides reading to them?

Would it help if I post her targets here so someone could if possible(please) give/teach me ways to help her with them?

Or do I stop worrying and only read to her? Will that do?

[mrz]

Sammiez there is interested and then there is over anxious and if you start to become the second you are going to make your child anxious too which can only harm her education. Try to relax she is doing better than most children her age (nationally) so stop worrying!

Speak to her teacher and ask how you can best help her - read stories to her - hear her read her school books - if she has homework encourage her (don't do it for her!) work with the school and try to relax she is doing very well.

[seeker]

Don't teach her anything. Share books. Read her loads of stories. Do cooking together if you like - that involves measuring and mixing and all that sort of stuff. Do painting, if she wants to. Mainly pust play, play, play, play.

here

But you are ONLY allowed to look at that website if you promise use it to remind yourself how amazing and clever and brilliant yoru dd is to have exceeded all that is being asked of her. She has results that would be brilliant, even if it wasn't for the language issue. So STOP WORRYING!

[magicmummy1]

I think you should stop worrying!

My dd is in year 1, and is doing very well at school - so well, in fact, that the school suggested at the end of reception that it might be better to accelerate her straight into year 2, but we decided that it was better to keep her with her peers. If it's any comfort to you, we don't "teach" her at home at all, but we do read a lot and we talk a lot too. We also play games, cook together, go on outings as a family etc. If she is interested in something, we help her to explore it. If she asks questions, we try to answer them.

My OH is from another country and has a "foreign" accent. DD is growing up bilingually. I don't think this needs to have any bearing on her progress at all, and although she occasionally "corrects" his pronunciation, it hasn't had any noticeable impact.

From the EYFS scores, I would say that your dd is obviously doing really well. I very much doubt that she needs extra tuition, either from you or from someone else, and there is a danger that your anxiety about the whole thing may actually put her off. It really doesn't sound like you have any need to worry, so I would just focus on having fun together as a family - read with her by all means, and talk to her about school, about her interests, about anything she wants to talk about. But leave the formal teaching to her teachers in school - they are professionals, and that's what they're there for!