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.

Where as a hunts man carving out a young girls heart is OK or the child locked up so he can be cooked in a pot.

@NailsNeedDoing

We don’t let ours go too far ahead because the content of the books becomes much deeper and some of the stories are what many people would consider unsuitable for a Y1/Y2. When we have this situation at my school we use more unbanded library books to send home and try broaden the children’s reading rather than push it ahead unnecessarily. Reading shouldn’t be a constant challenge for a child.

Yes, this was exactly the problem we had with DS. He read what he could - ie what was suitable - from the highest levels of the reading scheme, then we worked with the school to keep him reading a range of 'proper;' books.

As a Reception teacher, 2 things come to mind.

Either your son isn't as good as you think. Many children can decode the the text to sight read it but he may not have good comprehension of what he's read. He may not be reading with expression. He may not be reading context cues within the text and he may not be understanding inference in the more challenging texts he is reading.

Secondly, he could be doing all of the above. The problem is that sometimes the reading ability outstrips the maturity level of the child. So you have children who can access and read a book but the themes within the text are too mature for the reader.

This isn't a reason to keep a child back but it is a consideration as a teacher.

The school book bands do go above lime. Not sure what but I think grey is in there.
He may have issues with comprehension that I don’t pick up on. But it wouldn’t matter either way because he is not allowed to go higher regardless.

I’m not even saying they’re wrong I’d just like to know why.

If you haven't asked, then do.

PPs have listed lots of reasons. My bet is either:

-appropriateness of content in harder books
-logistics, either not enough books on the higher bands or the books are stored elsewhere
-the teacher has a vendetta against all kids and wants to ensure they can't ready beyond biff and chip

I did ask a while ago and was told that the can’t go higher than lime. I tried to ask why but she didn’t really say and just told me that he was doing really well and not to worry.

I think they probably don’t have time to really assess their reading ability across a range of texts so they just play it safe rather than risk overly excelling them. It’s probably easier for them just to have three buckets of books too. I don’t necessarily think that placing the onus on teaching rather than constant assessment is a bad thing. I do feel that a more individualised approach rather than blanket rules and better communication with parents would be useful though.

Or they have a financial interest in the biff and chip. ‘Oh no’ said the share holders.

It is difficult from a teacher POV too. If it's a policy someone else has implemented and you don't agree, you have to be seen to go along with it. If it is logistics, you could then say "my child can go to X place to collect a book". Which would probably be fine for one child, but it doesn't take many children for you to have 5/6/7 kids traipsing off to another room. Then another teacher has to sort out the books mid lesson and the knock on effect is massive.

We have the same with regards to our maths app; they have only just opened the next year level for my child after I'd been begging them since February. For more challenging books I would just try your local library; they normally have a whole shelf for early readers.

Don't worry. Let him read what he enjoys at home.

Biff and Chip is decades old. They're definitely not shareholders.
The thing is, there's probably a wealth of reasons but teachers like to pick one or two achievable targets for your child to work on otherwise it seems overly negative and demoralising.
I mean, if the teacher said here's the skills your child is lacking: intonation, prediction, comprehension, identify themes, expression and punctuation. They've only got retrieval down as per evidenced by teacher assessment and tests so, no they're not ready for the next stage.
Would you go right-o, or would you think it was overly negative and cause you anxiety?

Plenty of more able readers in year 2 finish the book bands and move on to being a free reader. I don't know of any schools that would prevent this if the child was able. There are loads of chapter books or non fiction with suitable content.

Reading shouldn’t be a constant challenge for a child.

This!
If he wants to read more challenging books at home that’s fine but reading is one of the most important skills they can learn and something that if they lose their confidence with can impact all other subjects.
Most will bring home a book that they can read well rather than struggle to read. But at school could be doing much higher ability work.

@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?

Of course I did! (Online wasn't a thing then) he was stuck with a book that had about two sentences per page in school while reading Tolkein at home, it was ridiculous. The school had other books and plenty of resources, he just wasn't given them. It wasn't my idea of a good education, and not all teachers are wonderful at their job, parents should be told why their child is being held back, and more importantly told what they can do to support and help their child. It is not that parents are being awkward customers(!) It's that they want the best for their child, and rightly so.

@TheSlayer

Biff and Chip is decades old. They're definitely not shareholders. The thing is, there's probably a wealth of reasons but teachers like to pick one or two achievable targets for your child to work on otherwise it seems overly negative and demoralising. I mean, if the teacher said here's the skills your child is lacking: intonation, prediction, comprehension, identify themes, expression and punctuation. They've only got retrieval down as per evidenced by teacher assessment and tests so, no they're not ready for the next stage. Would you go right-o, or would you think it was overly negative and cause you anxiety?

I was joking about the shares. The reasons why he may not be ready to move up are plentiful but that’s not the point no child of any ability is allowed to go beyond lime. I don’t understand why.

This is really poor teaching. He should be given extension activities (and reading).

That's idiotic beyond belief. Take matters into your own hands and get him reading at home

Some teachers like to show a child has read a sufficient breath of different types of texts in a band before moving up, some don’t like to mess up their reading groups too often (…) and some only do formal assessments (which some schools rely on to move children up) every so often. Some schools do not like to rush through because, as sad as it sounds, it will mess up the next class or key stage with group reading etc if one child has read all the books already.

As a parent the books band level is so easy to access and analyse which is understandable but really it isn’t all too important if it’s within the normal range.

Personally, I think children should move up when ready, some kids leap rather than progress step by step and really don’t need to read all ‘the Biff and Chip’ in one level before they are ready to move up. I was always flexible and moved children who were ready- even if it mean juggling the reading groups a bit more as I felt children deserved not to just plod through more of the same for the sake of it. Children also take great pride in being moved up and I felt it was very important to discuss their progress with them and for them to realise how far they’ve come etc. Especially for children who have struggled a bit.

Bottom line, just let your child read whatever they like to read at home and try not to stress.

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

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting why do you think that it is likely that a child with a high reading level (therefore who clearly enjoys reading) and an involved parent would stop reading over the holidays? Surely that is an ideal time to do more reading as it fills the time and is a source of pleasure?

Absolutely a child with a switched on parent may retain reading skills or even improve. But we have been told not to move children up a book band just before the summer holidays in case no reading happens at home. It doesn't damage a child at all to have a nice surprise in September and be moved up a book band but it can be demoralising for them to be moved down. Comprehension is really crucial too. They may not be ready to tackle a wide range of questions involving inference, prediction, author's intent, purpose and audience etc.

Honestly, parents don't need to obsess over book bands in this way. There is so much handwringing on this thread. If you read regularly with your child, enjoy books with them and challenge them with a range of texts just relax about book bands. There are so many ways you can supplement reading eg looking at comics, reading signs when out and about, going to museums and reading information, reading recipes in the kitchen, library summer book challenge etc. Book bands are just a guide to keep track of progress. Parents who need to worry are the ones who never read at home at all or whose children refuse to read.

@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.

This was me in the very early 60s. The era, not my age, which is later 60s.

Utter stupidity. Make sure your boy has more suitable books at home. The most charitable interpretation is it's possible the school is tied to targets. Be "that parent".

Full disclosure: am an English teacher, parent and avid reader.

I’d send the ofsted guidance and complain, it makes no sense (yes with attention paid to whether they are comprehending but advanced readers usually are). I know my parents would have moved me to another school if this were the approach, but my first primary school simply had me skip the reception equivalent year as it was very focussed on reading, all of which time would have been wasted time for me. Of course you can have your child read whatever at home, but being bored to death at school is pretty demoralising.

There is one.more thing.

All those criticising the teacher, the teacher might well be as frustrated as you are by the policy of not moving children beyond a certain level. They might be equally frustrated that they have to keep children from progressing too quickly when it would make sense to move them on. If this is an SLT decision, there is nothing they can do about it.

@timeisnotaline

I’d send the ofsted guidance and complain, it makes no sense (yes with attention paid to whether they are comprehending but advanced readers usually are). I know my parents would have moved me to another school if this were the approach, but my first primary school simply had me skip the reception equivalent year as it was very focussed on reading, all of which time would have been wasted time for me. Of course you can have your child read whatever at home, but being bored to death at school is pretty demoralising.

I'm pretty sure they'll know the Ofsted guidance given that they work in a school. Where is the suggestion the child is bored to death at school? Book band colours are home reading books and have little to do with the school day.

It is not always the case that fluent readers are comprehending their reading, particularly the younger they are when they become fluent.