Year 1 reading to teacher once a fortnight

[stonethecrows]

Hello

Just had a letter from DDs teacher stating that she will be listening to them read once a fortnight, and we are to listen to them read for the remainder of the time (which I already do). My DD can read only a few very basic words eg mum, is...even struggles with the, and, etc.

Am I right in thinking that this is not enough? That the teacher should be listening to them read way more than this, and that as a side issue my DD should be getting extra support as she is struggling with reading?

There is no TA in this class of 31 (I think they are getting around this as they are effectively joined to the Year 2 class with 29 children) - what do I do?? I do not want to get on wrong side of teacher as this early stage of the year!

[HecatesTwopenceworth]

Talk to the school about your daughter's needs. Give her extra support yourself as well. I suppose it's hard for the teacher. If she listened to them all read every day, or every few days, she'd never actually teach!!

Perhaps suggest parent helpers?

Maybe volunteer yourself?

[lisasimpson]

yes, it was the same for us for our DS last year in year 1. Even when there was a TA it didn't seem to be very often. As a result my son got behind and we started extra tuition for him. Sadly I think this is common.

[stonethecrows]

Hecate - there are parent helpers, of which I will be one when youngest goes to nursery - but they do not listen to the children read, nor are they (in the majority) trained to pick up on problems.

Feel like you were having a bit of a pop there, but I'm really not one of those lazy mums who expect the school to do everything....but I was certainly expecting more from them than this.

What I'm really trying to find out is what's the average in other schools...maybe then I can adjust my expectations?

[asdx2]

You will see from my post further down that the new system at my daughter's primaty means that teacher's don't listen to the children read the reading books that the children take home. They do guided reading and teach phonics, and "tricky" words etc but a teacher never actually sits down to listen to just 1 child read as it's pretty time consuming. As far as I can tell most children read as well as is expected for their age so I can't see that it has been a problem at their school

[alwayslookingforanswers]

teacher listens to them every 2 weeks in DS's school.

[HecatesTwopenceworth]

I certainly wasn't having a pop.

You said you have concerns about your daughter's reading. So I advised you talk to the school about it.

You said you help her to read but she is still struggling. So I advised you to increase the amount of help you give her.

You explained that the teacher is alone and can only get to them once a fortnight, so I said that it is a balance and the teacher needs to teach a wide range of things, not just reading.

Teacher not having time to read is a reason to ask for parent helpers, who quite often take this task and it helps. So I suggested that you raise it with them as an option. (assuming it is not already in place or you would have said so)

And because it's always good to put your money where your mouth is, at the same time as suggesting it, volunteer yourself, to show willing.

I don't quite see what there is there that is an attack on you, but fair enough.

[cazzybabs]

i only have 18 and i struggle to make it onve a week....TBH once a fortnight of qulaity time is better than once a week of 1 mintue whist the teacher does something elser...

I find hearing childrne also really disruptive for the rest of the class too...

I would go to the teacher with your concerns...they may be ale to hear weaker readers more oftgen

[stonethecrows]

OK Hecate - sorry - having a rough day all round to be honest. Just really really worried about DDs reading, as I feel pretty much all other academic stuff hinges on this, and feel like the school (not the teacher's fault as clearly mega busy) not doing anything about it. From what I can see there are no catch up groups or anything similar.

[alwayslookingforanswers]

oh - and really don't worry about her not having cliked with the reading yet - not at all uncommon for children to be well into yr1 before they can actually start reading.

They're still very young and I found with my DS1 (who couldn't really read well until he was in YR2) that he still managed to learn lots of stuff in YR1 without the reading.

[primarymum]

Just work out the logistics, if a teacher has 31 children then even 5 minutes of individual reading would take 2 and a half hours a week, with the crowded curriculum pushed on teachers now, there's simply not the time. ( Teachers hate this too!) They will all be doing guided reading, shared reading and phonics sessions each day to support the learning but individual reading these days is usually down to helpers and parents. ( In the school I teach in, it is the teacher's mums who come in to hear readers This is by no means ideal, when my son was in Reception his school had a teaching assistant whose sole responsibility was to hear every child read, but it is the best that most schools can do!

[mrz]

I think we should always make time to hear those children who need the extra input might mean grabbing five mins before school or assembly time or just before lunch when other children are washing their hands

[staroftheweek]

Teacher listens to each child once a week here, I guess for about 5 mins.

[slinging]

I teach Year 3 and hear all children read as part of Guided Reading once a week and write detailed comments in a home school link book. My TA (mornings only) hears every child once a week and feedbacks to me and parents.

I am very shocked that in Year 1 its only once every 2 weeks! When I taught Year 1 I heard every child read once a week individually, did key words and phonics once a week individually and my TA heard them once a week too!

[alwayslookingforanswers]

they try to get someone to read with each child once a week - but the teacher only does it fortnightly, there just aren't enough hours in the day to listen to them all read.

She does it during break/lunch/assembly times once a fortnight with them.

[slinging]

I disagree there are not enough hours in a day. The children are in the classroom (not assembly/play) for 4 1/2 hours a day, thats 22 1/2 hours a week! Hearing each child read for 10 mins takes around 5 hours. At Key Stage 1 reading is the most important aspect of learning, without it


After more teacher/TA guided learning in the mornings the afternoons are set up to be child led and so the teacher is free to observe, hear readers, carry out assessment etc.

[primarymum]

At my school during the 22 hours we have to fit in
literacy ( 5 hrs per week)
numeracy ( 5 hours per week)
PE (2 hours per week)
science (1 1/2 hrs per week)
RE ( 1 hour per week)
geography
history
art
dt
music
pshe
ICT
guided reading ( 25 mins per day)
If I could fit in an extra five hours for individual reading I would!

[slinging]

ummmmmmm not if they teach in a cross curricular approach and work within a creative curriculum!

[Cortina]

In most independent schools I know of this happens daily!!!

Weekly for us I think. Wish it was more.

[primarymum]

But not all schools do! We cover geography, history, art, dt and music in this way but the other subjects are taught disretely. We also have one afternoon of enrichment activities each week,so the timetable is very constrained. My children are all heard once a week, and the strugglers twice ( or in some cases each day)but not by me! I teach reading during guided reading, shared reading and phonics, the children practice during shared and individual reading. It's the best I( and many other teachers) can do!

[alwayslookingforanswers]

so you'd be happy if the teacher spent the equivalent of a whole school day not teaching your child?? As I sure as hell wouldn't.

I've had one slow reader, one quicker reader - can't say I've been too bothered that the teacher didn't listen to them read every single week. The slow reader got extra help, but his reading actually improved not from the individual reading, but from phonics lessons and the like.

[Clary]

slinging that's a whole day of the teacher's time.

I would rather DS2's teacher taught the class than spent a whole day hearing individual children read - and not doing anything with the other 29.

I agree with what hecate said. In our school children are heard every week - but often by TA, parent helper or sometimes the teacher.

If she is strugglign OP, can you ask her how you can help? But really, don't worry, lots of children are well into yr 1 before they get it.

[Cortina]

How are independent schools able to do this daily generally (it seems)? Smaller class sizes?

[Cortina]

Meant to add is it such a big deal? Does it really help them progress as opposed to other class reading related activities?

[Goblinchild]

More choice over the curriculum and the timings. Smaller classes. Possibly fewer children who need a lot of support because they struggle with a curriculum area. Fewer SEN.
Is the school day longer in most independent schools? It is round here.

[SleepingLion]

DS is at an independent school, Cortina, and is heard at least four times a week by his teacher or the TA. Smaller class sizes probably help; there are 16 in his class so ratio of one adult to 8 children.

As to whether it helps, I can't judge because I don't know how DS would have been if he had had fewer one-to-one sessions. He reads very well indeed but I can't say whether that's down to being heard read every day...