School Report Y5 Help!!

You can get exceeding in reception

It depends where you live.
In my area you have to be greater depth every year in every subject from reception, and tutored from year 5 to stand any chance of getting in.

If you need to go to review they ask to see all reports from reception to prove you just had an off day on the exam, and they look for exceeding throughout.

I think the reality is, if you are totally honest with yourself, that your child is performing at expected level and you are disappointed that she is not performing at greater depth especially with your 11plus ambitions.

If you had known she was "only" at expected level you would have been "filling the gap" iee tutoring to get her to a higher level.

She's not struggling - she's hitting all her targets. Don't push, it will effect her more than you realise.

I'm not sure if this helps, but DD when she was younger was lacking confidence in maths. I didn't want to have a tutor and in fact couldn't afford it so signed her up to mathletics which is quite playful as there are games there - and when she was bored on rainy days I encouraged her to do it. It helped. I think there is always a free trial.

I don't like the term 'Pushy parent'. I actually think parents should be involved in their kids' education, identify their strengths and help them reach their full potential.

I would be a bit miffed too in your position. You have done everything right. It almost sounds like the teacher didn't expect of her much or your dc was off their radar because she was going to do well enough.

The reports should be given out in good time to allow time for feedback.

The school is closed to children but if it’s anything like the school I work in there will be staff in for at least two weeks now.

Teachers just sometimes get confused about the middle of the road kids!

In yr1 to 5 my ds was greater depth at maths. At the start of yr 6 he was put in a group for kids that need extra help in maths, taken out of the class etc. I phoned school as I was v confused, so was he! They insisted they were right, but moved him out of the extra help group and back to normal lessons. At parents evening the message was 'he's greater depth in reading but expected at maths'. Bit weird as he isn't great at reading at home and always finds maths work easy!

Last week we got the sats results and sure enough, greater depth for maths and expected for reading 🤷 which reflects what we know of him, but not what the teachers have said this year! I think sometimes the teachers just can't get to know the whole 30 kids that well. And if child is in the middle they just get confused sometimes! He likes his teacher so I'm not too bothered. I'll be more concerned when we get to GCSE level as thats when it matters more :)

It’s not “pushy” to want your child to do 11+
OP get some of the practice books (check exactly what exam they sit in your area first). And start just doing bits and pieces at home with her, just 15 minutes a day helps.

Do her school know you are aiming for 11+? As a PP said if you are going from state to 11+ you will probably need more input. There is a slightly different curriculum and state schools don't tend to push that teaching as the majority of their kids don't need it. It doesn't mean she isn't doing well, it's just different teaching.

To actually consistently get greater depth a child has to be working well above age related expectations. These arent just children working at the top of the norm for their age, it's the much smaller proportion of children who are far ahead.

This is where taking out the more detailed levels has resulted in a loss of really useful information - "expected" covers too broad a range, you've got everything from a child who needed support/intervention to scrape to that level, to very able kids who are the top of age related expectations but miss out on greater depth because they're not quite ticking every box. It's simply not meaningful. Its a fudge term.

Teachers are paid to get as many children in their class to the expected level. That’s the sum of their job

What an unambiguous and uninspiring view. Teachers are there to help every child reach their full potential.

Our primary school report’s always came with a firm the parent had to fill in to confirm receipt and also had space for comment.

“And, yes, I wanted her to do the 11+ that's why I'm a bit disappointed.”

This one line explains everything. I think you are coming across as a pushy mother.

This doesn't stop her doing the 11+ get some bond papers and see how she gets on.
I am also very academic and my DD is bright, but her dream was not academic. Despite 8 &9s at GCSE she pursued performing arts and is now at one of the top drama schools.
The key thing is rewarding hard work and effort so she has the skills to achieve her full potential in whatever she chooses.

Emailing the head about this when school has finished is a bad idea.
It sounds as though she is doing fine. You need to take a breath, relax and let her enjoy the summer holidays.

These reports are a load of crap, something more to show when Ofsted come in.
My friend is a headteacher and she told me she is only encouraged to get the kids to expected and then to move on to other kids. Although verbally they can tell you the child is doing better.

Our experience is that the school got our DS to expected and moved on and we had no idea until lockdown learning that he was finishing all the set work by 10.30am. So we started giving him extra work as we were both working full time online and didn't have time to entertain him! He did the very competitive 11+ (Over 1500 kids for 150 places) and he didn't pass threshold. We moved him to a prep school for yr 7 and within a month they called me to tell me he has got 139 in his cat test and would it be ok to put him on gifted and talented?

I think you shouldn't worry one bit about that report but if you are bothered and doing the 11+ you should start topping up with tutoring or cgp books etc as they won't be pushing her

Sceptre86

I’m fairly sure that they can’t get higher than expected at reception. My daughter got expected last year and this year at the end of year 1 all greater depth.

She's what, 9 or 10? She's happy and healthy and not failing any subjects. For her sake let it go. She will pick up on your concerns and you won't be doing her any favours. Let her enjoy the summer holidays. Read some books with her and let her pick some books she would like to read.

Channel your inner Elsa and let it go.

You’ve asked the teacher if your DD is “doing ok” and whether she had any “gaps or struggles”.

The teacher has honestly told you your DD us doing ok and isn’t struggling. Her end of year report reflects that your DD is working at the expected level- which is definitely “ok” and shows no “gaps or struggles.”

I have no idea why you are upset? Is “ok” to you, top of the class? What would you even say to the Head about this? I see no grounds for complaint at all.

In addition teachers are not responsible for getting your child above expected levels so no idea why you are asking the teacher what more you can do? If you want your child to work ahead, then you teach them or you hire a tutor. Teachers are paid to get as many children in their class to the expected level. That’s the sum of their job. They cannot lavish extra attention on brighter kids to get them above that without harming the kids that need a bit extra to get to the expected level.

We had similar with our ds's report but he is 5. That he is working at expected level for everything. At his parents evening we were told that he was doing really well in maths in particular and was confident, engaging etc. Instead it said he was doing particularly well in English. I felt like it had been written about another child. We had also asked at his parents evening if there was anything we could support him with and we're told no but surely I'd a child is doing well in one are we should be supporting in others?

I feel that they expect a bare minimum from parents nowadays so if you are enthusiastic or offer to support your child it comes across as being 'pushy'. Our report was also given on the last day of term so we couldn't even discuss it. It just felt like a copy and paste job. I intended to feedback to school when it starts up again and I suggest you do the same.

The grading will be Age related, but still being the youngest will have an affect for a few more years. By 12 or 13 it evens out