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.

@WentworthPrison

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

But in this case the reason wasn't lack of comprehension, it was that it is school policy not to move y2s up above that level.

@WentworthPrison because it seems indicative that the school isn’t interested in challenging students who need it. I know I’d have been bored to death in English and reading and comprehension in class if I’d been made to do that year of school. The op will know if he’s comprehending what he reads or not.
And send the ofsted guidance is because the school isn’t following them as per someone’s posting further on. Of course they should know them but that’s like saying don’t quote nice guidelines to nhs staff as they should know them. Where actually if you want suitable medical treatment sometimes you need to know your rights and what’s a recommended treatment plans even though knowing this is exactly the medical practitioners job.

skyla Why are you shocked that a parent should have to go to the library to get books to foster a love of learning? Of course that's a parents role. Schools teach nutrition and provide lunch but it's a parents job to provide a varied and balanced diet. Schools teach PE but it's a parents role to foster a sporting talent and healthy lifestyle. Schools teach geography but it's a parents role to take your child to different places. Schools teach about relationships but it's a parents role to demonstrate healthy relationships and talk to their child. I could go on for every subject. The school has a rigid reading scheme, that as others have said will focus on phonics, comprehension, fluency etc. If you want to foster a love of learning take your child to the library it really totally is your job not some heroic stepping in, where teachers have failed.

Moving schools because of this?!

Really?

He’s moving into a new year in 2 months and likely only has a few days left in this year so unsure why you’re whining about this now. My DD was stuck on the last reading band for bloody ages this year (year 4), they told her she had to read every single book in that band before they’d move her to free reading. The banded books are always so tedious, I’d much prefer my DC read their own extensive collection of chapter books so used to often sack the boring school books off in favour of ours.

It's easy to see why some dc can leave primary illiterate.
Saddled into a rigid and boring scheme which doesn't suit them and any progress is not reacted too so they get bored and deflated.
Disengaged and disillusioned and no parents to support them at home.

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

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

Truth

Cool, but how does that work when you are both a teacher and a parent and have experienced teachers holding your child back and the teachers admit to it. I'm not saying all teachers or it affects all children or even the children of parents who are complaining about it.

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting I did move schools after experiencing similar, not only due to the reading issues but actually it was indicative of other issues.

Parents are so obsessed with reading levels. Schools are not. It my vast and varied teaching experience nobody has every measured my performance on the level of the books my children are on. They literally could not give one shiny shit. Read what you like at home. Do read the school books, don’t read the school books. Trust my massive experience, don’t trust my massive experience. Makes no difference to me. I do guided reading at the level I deem suitable. I give my children their end of year reading levels at my
teacher assessment. A free reader means nothing if they can’t answer the comprehension questions in Year 2.

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

Moving schools because of this?!

Really?

If it’s symbolic of a wider refusal to stretch the children who are further advanced? Then yes, move schools. If you’ve ever been or had that child bored at school who’s moved to another school and found it a breath of fresh air where they can actually learn you would get it immediately. I would get told off for reading in maths class, but not be given any extra work to do in my first high school. So literally be expected to sit there. Not all the teachers were like that and some worked hard to give me other work but when it’s key areas like maths (& reading) - then it’s not ok to leave your child in that environment.

They really do have some bullshit rules around reading.

At home my kids devour long novels. At primary school, neither have ever once been allowed in the library. No one is. I haven't got a clue why they even have one, given that no class is permitted to go there - my eldest kept being told you were 'allowed in year 6' but year 6 went by with nothing but being told they couldn't use it then either - and they're all stuck in classrooms reading SEE SPOT RUN.

They spent years 2 and 3 getting a bit upset at having to read these dismal "books", but once they realised the teachers were never going to allow anyone to touch anything with more than 6 pages in, they just tried to forget about it and read at home.

I think the other thing to say is that reading books sent home are onkly a very tiny proportion of the 'reading provision' that a school provides.

For example, I teach reading in guided reading lessons, and i mark the children's books. We assess reading through standardised tests that are essentially comprehension exercises testing a wide range of skills against a range of texts. We may do online or on paper comprehension exercises as short activities throughout the year.

We teach phonics for reading and writing. We also do specific sessions with children who struggle with inference, using a particular resource.

We also read a class reader every day, and read a very wide range of texts in English lessons.

We visit the school library on rotation, and every child can havea library book and a class reading shelf book as well as their reading scheme book.

NONE of the above takes any account of, or uses, the children's individual reading scheme books in any way at all.

Yes, we also read individually and we assess children to move them through the reading scheme levels so that they have an appropriate book to take home. Daily reading at home - of something - is part of children's homework diet. However, a child's reading scheme level, and their individual reading book, is not used in in-school teaching of reading AT ALL, and failure to quickly move children up through reading bands may be in no way indicative of the deep, wide, far-reaching diet of books and reading teaching that the children are receiving in school.

It's like saying that a school's spelling homework sheets are routine and repetitive, which must be an indication that the teaching of English must be dull. There is virtually no correlation between the two.

• and yet it does mean a lot to the free reader in year two who is achieving top grades in everything and who is bewildered by having to read very basic books at school with absolutely no question about their comp skills

It's pretty clear some schools /slt /teacher's fail tk look at the whole child and perhaps miss the point of this, to educate and inspire a child to reach their potential.

We bought DD higher level reading books as the ones school sent home weren’t challenging. Now she reads pretty much whatever she likes and we discuss them and ask questions. We make sure to read the school book at least once and make a note in the reading journal and comment on some of the books she chooses herself. We’d struggle to keep DD motivated if she only had the school books to read, especially when she started school able to read and only brought home picture books for weeks!

@Lemonmelonsun

* and yet it does mean a lot to the free reader in year two who is achieving top grades in everything and who is bewildered by having to read very basic books at school with absolutely no question about their comp skills

It's pretty clear some schools /slt /teacher's fail tk look at the whole child and perhaps miss the point of this, to educate and inspire a child to reach their potential.

Most children don't read their banded books at school - they are purely to be taken home. It is the main teaching of reading, and English, that will inspire a child to reach their potential.

However, I do agree with you up to a point, which is why I have said upthread that i think the OP's school approach is absolutely wrong. I just wouldn't want it to be over-interpreted - a poor approach to take home reading books is not, by itself, sufficient evidence that teaching of reading is poor. It MAY be an indication, but it shouldn't be taken as the whole picture.

Because they have to read every sodding book in the scheme...

Dd was reading 9 levels ahead of school books by the end of reception as they had to read every book and these were only changed a certain number of times a week so it took a while. I used to let her read the instructions to parents in the front cover as well and answer the questions. Occasionally the only challenge was the authors name.

We stayed at stage 10 for a long while as there are a wide range of books at this level and the content was appropriate for her age. She was able to expand her vocabulary and practice a wide range of other reading skills.

They did eventually bump her up several levels when she was assessed by the English coordinator and later in the school the reading through every sodding book worked ok for her as further up there is a wider breadth of content and more complex inference and evidence from text to work on.

Other DC was this book is too hard (sight reading ORT) for several months and at some point we passed through just right to this is a bit easy... but they sorted it quite quickly themselves.

I found you could teach different skills from different books.

(Ex early years/KS1 teacher)

The school invited us to write all the books children read in their reading records. I think they underestimated how much some children read. Within a couple of months they begged us not to do this anymore.

I’m not whining about it I just want to understand their perspective. The catalyst for this thread was receiving his report and it’s stating that he was achieving expectations rather than exceeding them. I thought he must be exceeding because he was at the top level. I have learnt from this thread that they assess their skills through other methods. I still don’t quite understand why they need to cap the reading level for the whole class, surely more interesting books would encourage more reading.

@ZombeaArthur

We bought DD higher level reading books as the ones school sent home weren’t challenging. Now she reads pretty much whatever she likes and we discuss them and ask questions. We make sure to read the school book at least once and make a note in the reading journal and comment on some of the books she chooses herself. We’d struggle to keep DD motivated if she only had the school books to read, especially when she started school able to read and only brought home picture books for weeks!

As an aside, picture books really help with their imagination, storytelling and inference skills etc

We've used picture books in English in year 5 sometimes because of this.

My Y1 daughter has been stuck on the same book band for months (her reading level has only been formally assessed once this school year and that was because I asked for it to be). I haven't bothered asking again and just provide a wide variety of reading material at home. The school does have a 'reading rocket' list of books and she has read all of the books on the Y2 list. She enjoys short chapter books like Dick King-Smith, Anne Fine, Roald Dahl, and her teacher recommended some to try. We also have access to the bug club through school, and she is easily able to answer all of the comprehension questions without any help. So I have no idea why she has been 'stuck' for so long, but I am just getting her to read the book (in 5 minutes) when it comes home and then getting on with reading other things. As long as she can read/ is reading things that interest her I've decided not to worry about it!

Lime is fine to stay on for a good while but strange it’s the top for year 2. It’s all about comprehension (rather than decoding) after lime I’d say so maybe comprehension is an issue - especially if he’s been assessed as expected rather than greater depth.

The catalyst for this thread was receiving his report and it’s stating that he was achieving expectations rather than exceeding them

I've just written my class' reports and was told by SLT not to state that any children were exceeding expectations. The wording had to be either

Xxx is working towards expectations in reading

Or

Xxx is meeting expectations in reading

So there were about 10 children in my class who are exceeding expectations according to the official criteria, and have been moderated as such, but this year I have to report that they are meeting expectations. It doesn't mean the children have achieved less.

Could your school be doing this too?

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

The catalyst for this thread was receiving his report and it’s stating that he was achieving expectations rather than exceeding them

I've just written my class' reports and was told by SLT not to state that any children were exceeding expectations. The wording had to be either

Xxx is working towards expectations in reading

Or

Xxx is meeting expectations in reading

So there were about 10 children in my class who are exceeding expectations according to the official criteria, and have been moderated as such, but this year I have to report that they are meeting expectations. It doesn't mean the children have achieved less.

Could your school be doing this too?

What was the SLT’s reasoning for this policy?

@Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting

The catalyst for this thread was receiving his report and it’s stating that he was achieving expectations rather than exceeding them

I've just written my class' reports and was told by SLT not to state that any children were exceeding expectations. The wording had to be either

Xxx is working towards expectations in reading

Or

Xxx is meeting expectations in reading

So there were about 10 children in my class who are exceeding expectations according to the official criteria, and have been moderated as such, but this year I have to report that they are meeting expectations. It doesn't mean the children have achieved less.

Could your school be doing this too?

Why is this happening ? Did SLT explain? Do you agree with it?

No I don't agree. We weren't given reasons but it was to do with it being a 'covid year'

Formal assessments are not actually compulsory this year but my school is doing them and most schools are too. We are just reporting differently.

As a teacher you just do as you're told by SLT. Trying to question things ends in frustration as you go round in circles trying to be heard. My son attends my school and I know he is exceeding in at least 2 put of 3 (reading and maths) as I've seen his books, but his report said meeting expectations for everything, nothing more.

Oops 2 out of 3