Why can’t my son have a higher level reading book

[WeRTheOnesWeHaveBeenWaitingFor]

My son has been on the same reading band for 6 months or more. When I asked his teacher why he isn’t moving up they said because he is already on the highest band for year 2 and they don’t allow them to go higher. Why would they prevent a child from moving up? He has just had his report and it states that he is achieving expectations in reading but they won’t let him go higher so how could he get exceeding?
I don’t want to ask the teacher because I’m already ‘that parent’ and don’t want to add to my reputation.

Had it with DD1 in reception - the higher level books were in the next classroom along and it was too much aggro to let her get one - so we whizzed through whatever had gone home and then did our own thing until they realised I wasn't some kind of deluded parent and that she could read the print off the bloody newspaper and relaxed about it a bit.

Hit another somewhat wall in Y2 because of it being an infant school so only going so far through the book bands - by the end of Y2 a fair few of them were just bringing their own stuff in to read (I was often the person who heard them) and school very much took the line of - they're reading = win.

However I'd advise any parent to plan trying to get moved through book bands carefully and minimise the amount of time you have to spend enduring the fucking Rainbow Fairies. Strategy matters here.

@Lemonmelonsun

Hi op, welcome to the shady world of reading level books. I have two dc with very different academic attainment at the moment. Dc 1 wasn't charging ahead with anything until late year 1 by which Rome somethings clicked and she soared, she was reading and re reading lemony snicket by year 2, it's wordy and clever, her teacher then seemed to adore her and totally said she's got the understanding etc.

Her reading books were always kept surpressed even by the time she left she was never a free reader.
Thankfully she had the books at home to choose and we got what she water to read, took her to charity shops etc and kept the flame burning because I can assure you, had it been left to the school she would have been bored to death sadly.

Teachers seem rigid about it and then I have heard its something to do with figures and progress? I'm can't wait understand it, I get all the variants above but.. From my own case study it was rigid

It has nothing to do with "figures and progress". Schools do not see book colours as a progress measure - parents seem to.

Parents might know their child best but schools know education best.

Truth

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

This thread is the epitome of entitled customer culture amongst parents.

By all means, let your child read whatever they like at home. But you can't huff and puff your way to a higher book band. At this stage in this year it's largely pointless anyway. But why would anyone trust the teacher?

The whole reason I’m not asking the teacher is so my curiosity is not mistaken for ‘huffing and puffing’ I’m Genuinely interested in why they do this. If the teacher had explained that they keep the whole class capped at a certain level for a sensible reason or in fact has communicated at all about it I wouldn’t be asking on here. I don’t cap what he reads at home. He is allowed, encouraged and provided with a bloody ton of books. It would just be nice if he could get Decent books from school or I could understand why he’s not allowed them.

My dc's school had similar policy re ceiling of book bands, and my ds stayed on the same book band for very long time. But he actually really liked to read any book so it wasn't much of the problem.

Anyways, your dc will be ks2 soon, so I'm sure his teacher will check his level and assign the books appropriate for his level in Sept.

There must be some reasons why some schools are rigid about holding dc back and when it comes to reading with a 6 year old I beg to differ on how much parents can understand what they are hearing and seeing of their own child.

I know some on mumsnet really hold parents in contempt but haggling over a small child's reading ability takes the biscuit.

Op my older people dd is well into the secondary and with another dc going through this process, I'll never understand it.
Many schools do have free readers when dc hit a certain stage ours doesn't.
The problem is it shows the child what a sham the system is...

You will never understand it, just keep an eye on his well being, keep him buoyed up and his enthusiasm going.. Which can be hard under the weight of a slow peden school reading scheme m

Our school holds them back on the reading levels. The way it was explained was the scheme ends in year 2, so if there are 12 levels and they reach level 6 before the end of year 1, they stay there til year 2. I thought it was bollocks myself but hey ho, she just reads what she likes at home and does the school books at school.

• never be cowed into not asking about your dc.

Ideally it should be a two way street and many teachers welcome the help dc get with reading at home, they welcome when you mention they seem to be getting level blah and assess or heard them read and moved them up.

That’s bloomin crazy and one way to put him off reading! As others have suggested- get higher level books from the library.

OP I have explained why.

It's because many children regress over the sumer holidays when they don't read at all.

It's more beneficial to the child to consolidate their current reading level than to overshoot and end up struggling in September, when lots of other things are new for them. Particularly this year when transition will be different.

Parents who spend a lot of time fretting about reading bands... take your child to the library and bookshop over the summer. Use any subscriptions your child's school pays for. Give them choice to read what they like at home.

When your child's teacher thinks they are ready to be moved up, they will be moved up. Spend your energy reading with your child, not arguing with the school.

I used to read with a little girl at school who’s mum would always send her in with books much too far advanced for her. We’d read a bit and then we’d talk about what we’d read. Without fail, every week, she wouldn’t have a clue what she’d just read. She didn’t understand any of it. It was so frustrating. All she learnt was that books are difficult and meaningless. Yet mum would write in the diary every week that we weren’t pushing her enough. I wish I could have written back that the reason we weren’t pushing her was because she didn’t understand what she was reading!

Interesting those quoting Ofsted and not stretching children etc

The most up to date view- published this week

Children practise reading only with books that are decodable for them at that stage of their learning.

In reality there is little more than a week left in most schools (in England anyway). My school have collected in all home books for auditing. Putting a child up a reading band today would be inconsequential as books have been removed from boom bags except free choice books.

My dd is year 2 in an infant only school and they can’t give her the books at the right level as they don’t have them high enough. So her and another boy in her class are allowed to read whatever they want. She is currently reading the lion the witch and the wardrobe.
Her teacher is more than happy for her to read the books we think are suitable and just lets us get on with it. If she wants books from the reading scheme at school she can choose from any level as an extra when ever she wants.
Holding them back on too easy boring books seems a great way to put kids off reading!

In my 15 years experience there is no ceiling. It's what is practical for a child to achieve within the limited time, resources and adult support available to us (see Tory government cuts to education) without artificially inflating their book band for the next year's teacher to have to deal with.

Decoding is only one part of literacy, comprehension and interpretation are also important, many children can manage the decoding part of a higher band but haven’t developed cognitively to manage particularly the interpretation part - which is about child development, not intelligence. Keeping them on a band where they can easily decode helps them develop the comprehension and interpretive skills they need for more complex reading later down the line.

There are lots of ways to help kids stay interested in the book band they are on, which would also help develop the other areas of literacy.

Absolutely @Jellycatspyjamas hence not
rushing them ahead just to please the parents.

Nobody respects a teacher's judgement anymore.

In the nicest way possible the majority of parents think their child is at a higher reading age than they actually are.
This is why books have different coloured bands or reading groups have animal names instead of numbers which they change every now and then as parents try and find out what level their child is.

A primary teacher once said to me they need to be really confident in the book they’re reading as if they struggle with it parents can put pressure on them (not meaning to) and it can be detrimental to their progress. In class they will be reading the level that they are at.
If you want to have your child reading a higher ability book then you could choose one from your local library.

Parent, not teacher here.

My reception age DD had picked up reading very easily (we've read to her from tiny and she loves books, which helps I guess). She flew through the reception band ones but the teacher stopped short of moving her up to the 'top' band for a while. When I asked why (because DD was getting a bit bored reading the same old Biff and Chip ones) she said what others have said here, her decoding was excellent but her comprehension needed to catch up.

They changed her books to ones with actually less words and more pictures and again, the words were easy for her but we've spent a lot of time talking about what's happening in the story, how people feel, etc etc. They also gave her some non fiction ones about going to the market, travelling, space, etc which she loved. Over time she's levelled out and moved up to the other band at half term.

Trust the teachers, they know what they're doing. Nothing wrong with a polite enquiry of course!

No people do respect judgement but who's judgement is going to be sounder, the parent reading with the child every single night and endlessly asking about the story, comprehension, inference, what words mean, what will happen next or the teacher who may not have time to to hear them read at all or only hear them once a week for ten minutes? And base their judgement on a small snap shot

I found sometimes dd got stuck on a level and in such cases, I wrote a very polite, please could dd try the next level as she seems to be finding the book easy in her reading record - this was including comprehension btw. I was always correct.

The trained professional should be trusted to make the decision.

You decide what your child reads outside school.

The end.

Dear Lord. If teachers are so redundant just do away with us altogether and home school your children. Then, voila, you can make all the decisions!

Unless, oh wait, you actually want them to be in school?

@Lemonmelonsun

No people do respect judgement but who's judgement is going to be sounder, the parent reading with the child every single night and endlessly asking about the story, comprehension, inference, what words mean, what will happen next or the teacher who may not have time to to hear them read at all or only hear them once a week for ten minutes? And base their judgement on a small snap shot

Do you say the same to the heart surgeon? After all it is your heart and so you know it best.