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.

No more lovely childcare and being able to pass the buck to someone else... ?

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

The trained professional should be trusted to make the decision.

You decide what your child reads outside school.

The end.

Amen.

We restrict the children Oving ontouch higher book bands because sometimes the subject matter might be suitable for a 10 or 11 year old but not suitable for a 7 year old.

Sometimes it's because their reading is fluent but their comprehension skills don't match.

I always tell.aprents that we are looking for, and to develop, specific skills in reading in school but that they are free to let their children read whatever they want at home.

With regard to meeting expected standard and exceeding it, that's got more to do with comprehension than fluency skills.

Good grief - moving on to!

Enjoy

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-reading-framework-teaching-the-foundations-of-literacy

Gets the popcorn out and waits for Mum knows best.

Also, whether a child is meeting or exceeding expecting standard is generally down to their performance on a test under test conditions and not reading with a teacher.

My son still complains about the boring books he was stuck with in primary, he's in his 30's and I can remember the frustration of having the same book sent home week after week. He was exceptionally bright, but definitely held back. He now has a phd in mechanical engineering and working as a senior research scientist, but it was with no help from his primary school, we did more at home that he actually did enjoy.
Reading should be a joy, not a boring box ticking exercise.

This is not customer services at Argos when they fucked up your order.

You can't just brazen your way to get what you want. Teachers have the child's best interests at heart, which is not always what the parents want. See also, class lists for September.

There may be children in higher years who need the books more. Not all schools have enough to go around. Some higher level books are not suitable for younger children, my DS brought some home in year two that were from a scheme with content aimed at struggling 10 to 14 year olds, he was six.

Just give him plenty of books and don't worry about the school ones. Picture books written to be read to children are good, they can have more difficult vocabulary than easy chapter books.

My son still complains about the boring books he was stuck with in primary

Well did you supplement them with a wide range of other texts, online and real texts, from the library or buying them?

Why is his reading diet solely the school's fault? Do you realise how underfunded schools are for books?

DD was a ridiculously early reader. Was reading novels by Y1. But she had to read every book in every level each week at school (and I got harassed for not enforcing this at home).

How good is your child's comprehension skills? I've worked with lots of kids who can read books many years above their age, but ask them what it's about and they don't know. If you think he can read harder books take him to the library and get some.

I took no notice of the reading band books, beyond one read and a scribble in the diary.
In the meantime, the children did their own looking at pictures/reading on their own/ reading to me.
They all did just fine. It's a hoop to be jumped through at school. Poor old teachers have so much to do, so if the kids are engaged and enjoy reading, that's one less thing for them to worry about.
IME, obviously. I think there's a lot to be said for them just enjoying books.

My school gives out a reading level.book (read in a group twice a week), a supplementary book on the same level, and a library book chosen by the child, all of which are changed weekly. We also have access to a wide range of texts on Bug Club.

Often the parents who complain most about reading bands are the ones who actually read with their child at home the least. I know it's hard with work, other siblings etc. But pushy parents really need to step back and trust the professionals.

I was working in year 2 a couple of years ago and we let the higher readers move on to short chapter books - we borrowed some from year 3 but also let them bring their own books in if they wanted to.

It can be tricky … my child has read all the books the school has at the top book level for their year. School this half-term has refused to let them read next level as they say the content is not age appropriate. So in class reading time every day has had no books. No idea why in 3-4 months they suddenly change to be able to accept the content!

I have not spoken to the school as no point.

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

My son still complains about the boring books he was stuck with in primary

Well did you supplement them with a wide range of other texts, online and real texts, from the library or buying them?

Why is his reading diet solely the school's fault? Do you realise how underfunded schools are for books?

What online texts would they be for someone in their 30's?

OK fair point.

But this thread is about schools now, giving recommendations now, for reading.

My point is that parents are responsible for providing books outside that, if they are concerned about the school's provision.

Car boot sales, Facebook marketplace, eBay, charity shops all have books for pennies. Online services have never been better. Audio books. Online comics. Use the services.

We have always had the same thing, I don’t understand it either.

DC just quickly skim through the school books in a few minutes and then get back to Harry Potter or whatever.

The comprehension of Harry Potter might not be 100% every phrase, but if they’re finding the books exciting and funny and swallowing them up, that’s surely worth doing.

I've never heard or witnessed this in any of the schools I've been involved in.

Not moving up because all the skills weren't quite there? Yes.
Not moving up because a lot of the progress was made towards the end of the year(with weeks to go)? Yes.
Not moving up (massively) because there are no books suitable for a 7 yo in scarlet level? Yes.

Not moving up because x is the highest band in y2? No.

OP has the right to ask what's going on. She also has the right to ask others given that the answer makes no sense. None of the justifications given so far are actually the answer he got, so they're irrelevant.

Also, sometimes mistakes do happen or things fall through the cracks,especially given the shit show this year. Politely enquiring something is not a bad thing.

I ,myself, have asked a few times what's going on with DD's reading level. Once it was because of circumstances no had read with her or assessed her in months and when they did she did move up. Once was because when she moved up a year her reading level was recorded wrong. It wasn't the end of the world, no one got upset or offended. It happens.

Wow I hope the teachers on this thread aren’t representative of how teachers view parents.
I’m not saying teachers don’t know best but I would like to know why. Is communication with parents such a terrible thing. I get that he may not be ready to move up but with their current system it wouldn’t matter if he was able to read and fully comprehend war and peace there is no opportunity to go up because he is capped.
I was curious to know why and didn’t want to ask because I know how it looks.
To summarise some of the helpful posters it seems likely it’s a mix of not wanting to have more complex books so they can work on their understanding and probably a bit because it’s easier. I still don’t really understand it though.

That's weird. When DD was in year 1 she had to go upstairs for reading books. No one told her she couldn't read a higher band. That was nearly 8 years ago though. Maybe teaching has changed for the worse?

I still don't really understand it though.

You don't need to fully understand it. Do you fully understand everything your solicitor does? Or your orthopaedic surgeon? No. They are professionals.

Unless you have responsibility for teaching 30 young children it's unlikely that you will understand to be honest.

Trust the teacher.

I am very grateful I was at school before very long reading schemes were a thing. I became a "free reader" by the end of reception and read voraciously for years. But I still remember how deathly dull I found reading scheme books.

At that point you could only borrow 5 books from the council library so my poor mum gave me her allowance as well as mine. I remember we eventually persuaded them to give me an extended allowance, so I could get ten books out and it made me so happy. It must be a difficult balancing act between what's appropriate for the age group and what they can read. I read the whole of Sherlock Holmes at the age of 8, and had consumed pretty much everything else in the school library: they had to stop me borrowing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as the librarian thought it unsuitable for an 8 year old.

Maybe teaching has changed for the worse?

🤣