Progress with reading.

[whitby1]

dd ended reception on red reading books. Is now in year 1. (in a year1/2 class The school has an intake of 45 each year.) So far this year she has moved up to yellow and is now on blue reading books. Is this satisfactory progress. I know other higher up the school have said that they spend more time on the children struggling in the mixed age classes (ie year 2's) Should I be concerned?

[Shaxx]

ds1 has been exactly the same as your dd and is on blue at the end of yr1.
I'm very happy with his progress but I don't think blue is reflective of his ability as he gets through them very quickly. I'm not bothered as we go to the library and he reads other books too.

Children will learn at their own pace.

[camicaze]

Your dd's progress sounds within normal parameters but to be brutally honest if it was my own child I'd be a bit concerned. The question is really whether its the pace and style of teaching and amount of practice available that is dictating the amount of progress made. Most children could be further than that but it depends as much how they have been taught.

[whitby1]

That was my concern. Especially as children in the year 1 class seem to be making better progress. Her teacher has admitted that they listen more frequently to the ones struggling. Feel a little let down really.

[FeyaB]

The school's rarely push children, but don't worry too much, at this stage they are still very young. In many other countries, children have not even started school by this age.

The best thing is to find books your child likes, that are easy enough for them to read at home. There's lots of evidence now that home reading, and parental involvement, is as important, if not more, than school's involvement.

[whitby1]

Thank you

[letthembe]

I too would like to add reassurance to this thread. My DD (August b.day) finished Y1 last year BB6 and a 1a (just) National Curriculum. This year, with a fantastic teacher, her reading has just flown. I think she'll be assessed as a 2a, but more importantly she loves reading.
My DS (a Y3) doesn't love reading, and we have to get him to read in sneaky ways - newspaper articles that interest him, comics, wildlife magazines, instructions to board games, recipes etc. It is taking longer but he's getting, probably also about 2a NC.
For my DC, it's not been about the Book Band levels or even the National Curriculum levels for that matter, but helping them to find the purpose for and the enjoyment in reading.

[camicaze]

It just depends what would make you concerned. I know I'm being entirely not Mumsnet in even hinting that concern is reasonable.
After all it sounds like there is no reason to think your daughter won't continue to progress and read effectively. Feel free to chill!
All I mean is that as far as I am concerned I don't blame you if you feel a bit fed up that the school isn't doing better. I don't see why reading should be made harder than it needs to be, which is why I would be wound up by a school that uses methods that produce slower progress. As letthembe said, her dd had to wait for a fantastic teacher in yr2 to make progress.
I've seen four different reception classes myself as well as hearing about friends' and the average rates of progress has varied enormously because each teacher has been different and had very different approaches. The intakes have been very similar in our largely middle class area.
Personally I would just do lots myself at home - thats what I did when dd2 ended up in a class where the reading was being taught really badly. It just meant I was able to stop being wound up.

[sarahfreck]

Hi - I'm a tutor and have experience in helping children with reading problems.

The blue books have a rough reading age of 5 years to 5 years 6 months. I'd want a child to be higher than this in actual reading ability if at all possible by the end of year 1. (Though not necessarily if they have been experiencing particular difficulties). Is she young in the year, as obviously this makes a difference too?

If she is reading the blue books fluently, it is possible that she can read at a higher level, but the school is being slow at getting through the books or have not assessed her accurately/recently. In this case I'd just make sure that she has access to more challenging books from the library ( both for her to read to you and vice versa) and not worry too much about school.

If she is not fluent on the blue books (I'm assuming this is level 4 ORT) I'd be asking questions and getting some more support for her (ideally both in school and for you to do at home) - though not panicking - she is probably not a long way behind where she should be, even if this is the case.

[smee]

Don't panic! DS hadn't clicked by end of Yr1. Have just looked back, and he was 1b. He suddenly got it Autumn Term Yr2 and has zoomed along. By Easter he was already confidently assessed by his teacher as 2a. His teachers were never worried, and said it wasn't at all unusual. Key to them was keeping his love of reading going and not pushing him before he felt ready.