To think this is not good enough?

I could read before I started nursery so DM just got books from the library for me. We didn't have school reading books to take home (old) just read what ever was available at home and school books at school. (I was allowed to take my own in for school) I don't think library books need to be phonic books- just books.
DF was a great fan of collecting books so I used to trawl around charity shops and choose some. Most charity shops have loads of early readers for pennies.

Is it possible she holds back at school ? My grandson was like this until we started commenting abou him reading fluently at home. He was the second free reader at school now.

Sometimes, she's already read the book in school, and I can tell within 3 seconds if she's reciting. So... Sometimes reading school books at home lasts no more than 10 seconds ha ha

That time is better spent practising her writing for us!

One book a week at that age seems very limited to me. Also the reading same book every day takes all the enjoyment out of books and stories. However, as a state primary there are massive financial constraints. Reading schemes for an entire school cost tens of thousands of pounds. Maybe they just don't have enough books to be able to provide more than one a week to every child? Sad and unacceptable but a sign of the times. And so many kids don't return them on time/at all. I have seen reading books with school stamps on them in local charity shops 🫣

My DD reads a book once and memorisises them, she just recites it... So the weekly reading book is pointless after night 1... So we just play games and read other stuff and practice hand writing instead.

Go on Amazon. Buy the book: how to teach your child to read in 100 lessons. It's American but fine for UK.
She will be reading chapter books by the time she is finished.

Mine both went to state. I did this and also added Oxford reading tree books in.

The purpose of the book is to teach your child the sounds that they are learning in school. It's supposed to be repetitive.

Do that and buy/borrow books. Visit your local library. Promote reading to your child. Reading is about learning but it should also be fun.

You’re unreasonable to have had an issue with the school for more than a third of the year and then to come on here to whinge rather than having a quick word with the teacher months ago.

I would expect her to get one book a week and to read it every night if she is learning to read. This will lead to her being a better reader over time. I wouldn't expect her to read it perfectly the first time (if it is appropriate for her level). Practice makes perfect and all that. She can surely read other books with you too for fun.

This ^

Support your local library. Make a trip of it. You can usually borrow 5 books so you pick a couple and let her pick a couple too

I'm not 100% sure as I'm not at school right now, but I think that reading scheme is designed to be read multiple times.

Is there a list of words in the front cover of the book?

There should also be a guide at the back telling you what to do over three reads. (Decoding, prosody, then comprehension).

That is a useful explanation @fuckityfuckityfuckfuck since DD’s school moved to an approved reading scheme she’s been sent home with books far too easy for her. It might be a requirement but it’s certainly not better.

What worries me is that I am supplementing her reading with more advanced library books but what about the children whose parents aren’t? There’ll be a widening gap between those who parents are more proactive and those that aren’t.

The thing is it is not easy to supplement as the (rather boring Biff and Chip books do follow a step by step phonics programme.

Luckily there are literally hundreds of books in the series. There aren’t huge numbers in our local library (there are some, but all turquoise band for some reason). So, I search by the author in the library online catalogue, and order ones we haven’t read before. You can google the title if you are sure what band each book is.

We’ve been doing this since year 1, DS has always been crap at swapping his books and also randomly chooses completely inappropriate books because he likes the cover (bringing home a lilac book, ie no words, when he is reading brown band books at school). I also make him read some of his own story books, just a paragraph or so.

I suppose that for me is the problem. I spent hours and hours in the library as a child. I loved books and was a voracious reader. I read every famous five and secret seven book in the library by the time I was nine. Then it was Malory towers, Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys.

I just think that giving small children books that are “not for enjoyment” and turning reading into a painful repetitive chore will discourage children from reading for pleasure as they grow.

buying books for your kids is the best money you will ever spend.

if budget is an issue, pop into the local library and/or second hand book store.

These books aren't really there for enjoyment, they're given to practise actual reading and fluency, which requires re-reading. All reading scheme books are dull, so we encourage children to take home books to read for pleasure too.
You can do that yourself. Get down to the library or get her a set of interesting books to work through alongside.

Reading scheme books and the whole hassle of changing them and checking records is a headache for us teachers anyway, especially with 30+ kids. When I worked in EYFS I used to spend two whole lunchtimes writing in home school records. Urgh.

Not all phonic books suit all children tbf. My eldest really struggled with reading. I found the ORT project X books really good and much more interesting than standard biff, chip and kipper. Really can not be made to repeat books ( possible adhd as well as dyslexia) but language was really repetitive so was able to pick it up across books but wanted to keep going as was engaged with the storylines. None of the other children are fans though.

I think what I’ve learned is there is no one size fits all approach to learning to read. I don’t think phonics is necessarily the best way of teaching all children to read.

I find attempting to decode phonics an absolute struggle. My brain just refuses to compute.

My dd was also reading in reception. In year 1 she got the roald Dahl series for Xmas and we stopped reading the shit the school was sending her home with. I got a note in her record book shortly after saying could I please start reading with her regularly or she was going to fall behind, she was still coming home with biff and chip books when at home she was reading Danny the champion of the world every night. I just started signing the record book like she was reading them when she wasn’t 🤷🏼‍♀️
Op have you got a good library, the one by me actually borrows books from other libraries if you request one you haven’t got. Also you can get phonic books for free on kindles, they have pictures as well as text. Also trawl the charity shops. And if you’ve got an iPad there as so many apps you can use. This is more for learning to read and write than for reading whole books, but I thoroughly recommend reading egg. I taught my ds to read within a couple of months with this app

I think if you feel strongly about this, talk to the school. If it’s a funding issue, offer to help the PTA organise an event (e.g for money for new books, a cheap book sale for affordable variety , a book amnesty for non returned books etc).

its likely a ‘scheme of work’ choice, to meet the curriculum.

As has been said up thread, reading isn’t just about graphemes association and phonics - it’s also about; semantics, comprehension, information extraction, early exposure to grammar rules (subject, verb, object order. Capital letters for nouns etc).

These areas scaffold the child’s learning, so that they can expand their vocabulary and reading skills.

It’s probable, that the schools’ approach to hitting all of these teaching milestones involves reading the same book all week.

This doesn’t preclude, reading other books for pleasure, which is of course heavily linked with good educational outcomes.

This is Little Wandle (Collins Big Cat). It is not the school's doing. It is a direct result of Ofsted lunacy.

Ofsted have forced schools to commit to a single phonics scheme or they will get RI. The biggest schemes (so most choice of books) are RWI and Little Wandle. Both require the same book to be read multiple times over the week for prosody.

The majority of teachers think this IS a bad thing (not repeating a book. That is good. Only having one 'brand' of book is the bad thing). But teacher's don't actually get a say in education, despite being the trained experts.

Our primary has currently been advised to do exactly this by the phonics/reading advisory team.
One book per week and the child has to have read it at least 3 times before it can be changed.
I’d bet school have been told to do this or they’ll fail their Ofsted.
It’s all part of the current phonics obsession. Children are not to be allowed to read anything unless it links exactly with their place in the phonics scheme. ☹️
Just wait, in 5 years time they’ll be a national scandal about a generation of kids who all hate to read.
Do the bare minimum for school and then read other stuff with Dc at home.