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Original poster

Worrying year 1 parents evening feedback

236 replies

catsheepteacher · 30/03/2022 17:22

We recently went to parents' evening for our eldest child, who is in year 1.

I'll probably sound a bit PFB here but I was expecting pretty positive feedback. Obviously I'm biased, but to me DD seems to be getting on really well:

  • She loves reading and sails through the books she brings home with no issues.
  • We go to the library regularly and she chooses "chapter books" (90+ pages) which she reads at home independently.
  • She gets 12 spellings to learn every week (which seem pretty challenging to me - words like adorable, eighty and applause) and gets close to full marks in her tests.
  • She does her maths homework in no time with very little support.

However, the feedback we got wasn't glowing at all. We were told that she is meeting the expected standard on reading (but not exceeding) but below expected standards in both maths and writing. Apparently she doesn't use finger spaces and full stops consistently in writing, and often needs help to come up with ideas for her stories. But more worryingly, in maths she's apparently on an "extra support table" as she needs help to understand the questions and work through them, and they are not sure if she is on track to meet the expected standard by the end of the year.

This was a total shock and I'm really disappointed that nobody has mentioned before that she needs extra support with maths. I'm also confused because it doesn't match up with what I see, which is a bright, able child (accepting that there's probably some PFB bias going on there).

I'm not sure what to do next. DH thinks I'm overreacting but I would like a second opinion to properly understand what the issue is so am considering getting a tutor who can assess her and give us more feedback on what exactly she is finding difficult. I'm also going to push for more regular catch ups with the school to keep track of her progress. The teacher mentioned several times that she lacks confidence and needs to build her resilience so I'm also wondering if I should sign her up for something which might help her develop her skills in this area e.g. a drama club.

Feeling that I've let my DD down by assuming she was sailing through with no issues. And really disappointed that her school don't seem to be seeing what I see Sad

OP posts:
sweetluar · 30/03/2022 19:01

Bless her. She might be struggling with social situations, or feeling anxious rather than the learning.

The way the schools work sometimes make it harder for the teacher to really know the children and how they are feeling. Arrange a meeting with the teacher and explain to them how you feel, let they know what she is able to do at home. Is there any reason why she might be feeling anxious at school?

Work on building up her confidence, rather than getting tutors. Invite her to write books at home with you, developing her own ideas (look for Writing for pleasure Centre website). Make it fun, send it to school to be shared with her classmates, this will help her with ideas and confidence.

Power Maths books are quite good to support developing your child’s maths skills. Best wishes!

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 30/03/2022 19:02

If you don't have a clear message of next steps, go back and ask. Or if you tell me in detail where they are now, I can provide you with the next steps myself. Don't get cross, be proactive.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 30/03/2022 19:03

It might be that you aren't teaching her maths mastery methods at home and this is what the school are teaching, so she's getting confused. Have the school given you any info about how they teach maths?

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MinecraftMuppet · 30/03/2022 19:04

Year 1!?!?!?!?? ShockShockShock

MamaTutu2 · 30/03/2022 19:06

Most schools now follow mastery maths curriculums so that maths is based around not only knowing the skill I.e. addition but being able to apply it in a range of contexts (concrete pictorial and abstract), explain their reasoning, solve problems with it etc. Lots of parents say for example but my child can count to 100 but they need to be able to apply the skills to say they have achieved the strand.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 30/03/2022 19:08

@MamaTutu2 this is correct. It's not about high numbers but fluency and problem solving within lower numbers.

Netty909 · 30/03/2022 19:08

I wouldn't worry too much. It sounds like your daughter is doing well and the reading will put her in a strong position going forward. I think you will find it goes up and down over the years. As others have said the teachers have to mark off certain things they have shown in their work. My daughter's teacher showed me once and there was a lot! In my school to get exceeding everything from that year would have to be done plus she would have to have done some things in the next years checklist too. My daughter was similar with maths, sometimes they just need a little extra help to catch up. Clubs and things to build confidence is a great idea.

WonderfulYou · 30/03/2022 19:08

Honestly she’s year 1 - let her borrow a book to read but focus the rest of her time on playing, socialising and learning other skills not taught at school.

She’s got the next 12+ years in education to improve on these things but she’s only a kid once so I’d definitely make the most of it.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 30/03/2022 19:09

@MinecraftMuppet would you prefer that year 1 children were allowed to coast along, nit understanding or achieving, then in year 3 they have cery little knowledge of number and so are unable to access the curriculum? Interventions needed?

Fedupsotired · 30/03/2022 19:15

With the maths she may well be able to do the arithmetic but she may struggle to comprehend the questions. The maths you do at home may not be what she's struggling with at school

MoonOnASpoon · 30/03/2022 19:24

If the above is fine then is she shy or finds it hard to get her ideas out in front of others?

I think this can be really important, I remember my DD at a similar age being made to be videoed talking about a model she had made, which I was then shown at a meet-up. The model was great, the video wasn't because she was quite clearly terrified and uncomfortable and said very little. Teacher was baffled that she seemed so unenthusiastic when she'd really enjoyed making it. Hmm I had to explain she hates being filmed! I mean duh.

If she's scared to be wrong or to be the centre of attention etc, then it is harder for her to engage and learn, and that's not her fault IMO, it's just not a very good match with how school works, and a lot of teachers don't have much patience with "lack of confidence" IME.

But agree with PPs, it's year 1. Don't pile on the pressure, just have fun reading with her or playing the odd educational game if she wants to. make home fun and relaxing. She doesn't have to be top of the class. My older DC was behind all the way through primary and only came into his own as a teen. Younger one still finding her way. It doesn't matter, doing brilliantly at school isn't everything.

Teachingmama · 30/03/2022 19:25

To be fair, homework should be easy. It should consolidate learning. Particularly as some children won’t be helped at home, it should be a task they can complete independently.

She will be working below age related if she is not using finger spaces and accurate punctuation independently.

Unihorn · 30/03/2022 19:27

Bloody hell, the Welsh curriculum is a lot more chilled.

PurpleFlower1983 · 30/03/2022 19:31

Use of spacing between words, capital letters and full stops is now the expected standard for upper foundation so it would be expected that by this stage in the year your DD would be doing this to stay on track for the year 1 standard. As others have said, sometimes maths just doesn’t click. How is her counting and her recognition of quantities? Does she understand place value of numbers?

It sounds like she is well on track with her reading so that’s good. You might consider getting her some picture books with no words and asking her to make up her own sentences to go with each page to help generate her own ideas for writing.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 30/03/2022 19:32

Reading is the foundation for writing so it's positive news that she is doing well in that.

Abraxan · 30/03/2022 19:34

@catsheepteacher

I did point put that she's getting close to full marks on spellings, and the teacher said it is not really about knowing how to spell the words it is knowing how to use them in a sentence. While this made a lot of sense, it really annoyed me to be honest. Why are we spending our time learning 12 (challenging!) spellings a week then? Wouldn't it make more sense to spend half the time learning fewer words and then using the rest of the time checking understanding and finding ways to use them in a sentence?
Spelling tests are known to be fairly pointless to be honest. Many schools scrapped them entirely. There's no point in being able to get 10/10 in a quick-fire spelling test in one day if they can't then spell those words consistently accurately in their every day writing. When making these assessments we have to look at their normal writing, in English lessons and also in other lessons where writing is happening, to see what their spelling, punctuation, sentence stricter etc is like.
littlemissmagpie · 30/03/2022 19:37

Teacher here and parent of a yr 1 child

If what you’re saying is true, then your child is fairly advanced for year 1, especially after covid. Those spellings are tough, even for some children in year 2. Reading chapter books is advanced for year 1.

As others have said, hear her read daily and check her understanding and expression. With the maths, I honestly recommend lots of number blocks as it explains numbers really well. Talk lots about numbers of things you are doing and how they work together (we’ve got 2 forks for dinner but how many more do we need for everyone to have one etc)

Honestly though, as her parent, I’d be back in the school checking they had the right child at parents evening as it doesn’t match what you see of her at all. The school should have told you before now if they had worries about her maths and I’d be kicking up a fuss about what they have done to help (and what you could have been doing had you known).

Cleothecat75 · 30/03/2022 19:38

As others have said, please try not to Worry. I think it’s far more important in year one to build confidence than worry about English and maths, so I would find an extra curricular activity your dd wants to do and get them in to that. If they aren’t sure What they want to do (they might not know what’s available if friends aren’t talking about what they do), Rainbows or Beavers would be a good starting point as it’s an ‘all round’ activity rather than a sporting one.

Newuser82 · 30/03/2022 19:38

@RedPanda901

Are you sure they didn't mistaken you for the parent of another child?! Was it in person? Could you see her books and where the teacher had marked?
Yes I would wonder this also. Surely a child who is getting all her homework done independently and mostly correct at year one cannot be behind?
cansu · 30/03/2022 19:39

You are over reacting and being very defensive. It is not a personal criticism of you or your dd. Why not just listen, take it on board, support your dd as suggested and be proud of her achievements. She is getting extra support with her maths as she is on the extra support table.
Getting a tutor, criticising what the teacher is doing or saying and demanding second opinions and meetings won't help. It may however mean that the school avoid being honest with you.

Newuser82 · 30/03/2022 19:40

@catsheepteacher

I did point put that she's getting close to full marks on spellings, and the teacher said it is not really about knowing how to spell the words it is knowing how to use them in a sentence. While this made a lot of sense, it really annoyed me to be honest. Why are we spending our time learning 12 (challenging!) spellings a week then? Wouldn't it make more sense to spend half the time learning fewer words and then using the rest of the time checking understanding and finding ways to use them in a sentence?
We used to have to get our kids when that age to write out their spellings in a sentence. I found it helped their understanding of the words.
Scienceseeker · 30/03/2022 19:42

I would also ask the teacher to pin point in exactly what areas she is not on track in maths. The children work towards specific statements so finding out which ones she needs extra help with could help you support her future at home.

SpringsSprung · 30/03/2022 19:43

@catsheepteacher She is shy and the teacher did comment on this. She doesn't like making mistakes either and at home can sometimes be reluctant to try something unless she is sure she can get it right.

In the kindest way possible - this does not surprise me in the slightest. The poor girl is probably terrified of your reaction or of disappointing you

furballfun · 30/03/2022 19:44

If it makes you feel a bit better, DD (year 4) is still failing to get all her capital letters and full stops correct - I suspect she doesn't like focussing on the boring detail. I think her teacher is a little frustrated. This is a child who's been described as 'very able' and has been meeting or exceeding expectations in English each year. I can understand your surprise at parents' evening, but I wouldn't be too worried just yet.

SpringsSprung · 30/03/2022 19:44

@Stayingstrongish

To put your worries in context, I just had parents meeting for my son who is nearly six and in year 1. They told me he’s been added to the sen register. He’s in mainstream school.

He has some targets for the summer - learn to write his own name well, recognise the numbers 1-10, learn all the phonic letters.

I’m not worried - he’ll get there when he gets there. And he’s happy. But the challenges he faces are very different to your daughter!

There is no such thing as an SEN register!?

(I have a child with SEN)