Primary Teachers - advice please

[Upandonward]

DS(8) has started y4 and there was a meet the teacher session. At the start of y3 the Senco and his teacher thought he had dyslexia traits because he was very behind in reading & writing etc. It was agreed to give him 3-4 targeted 20 min phonics sessions per week and to watch and wait to see how he gets on before going down the dyslexic testing route.

He has done tremendously well with this support and his y3 teacher said all the info would be passed to his y4 teacher - except she claimed to know nothing about this. She said he has not been put into a phonics group like some pupils have already and she said he’s on the cusp of becoming a free reader.

He was assessed last week as being on Level 8/Brown of Oxford Reading Tree scheme (a level up from July). How can he go from needing such support to nothing, and being told he’s on the cusp of becoming a free reader? No tutoring over the holidays so he’s not suddenly gained the sounds he was still missing in July.

The school have been brilliant with their support to date so I’m just wondering what their thinking is. Yes, his reading has come on amazingly but Level 8 is still a typical entry y3 level and as I understand nowhere near a free reader level.

You need to ask the school. Not random people who aren't actually involved.

Sounds like a bit of a mix up - just mention it to the teacher and ask them to double check.

I would argue that Level 8 is more like Christmas of Y2 in terms of age related expectations. Do the school use any decodable books alongside the scheme books he's reading? It sounds like he does need some continued input for phonics, but hard to say obviously without knowing him or having listened to him read.

@CallieRose yes in y3 he always brought home decodable books in addition to phonics books. His spelling and writing is at y1 level and we’ve been told repeatedly this will improve once his reading does so it’s important that he gets ongoing support for this.

@Freshair1 there was no need for that tone of comment. Sometimes professionals can provide insight into why certain decisions are made and I’m trying to find out whether I am justified in politely questioning why my DS has had all support removed. I will of course be contacting the school to discuss but would have liked a sense-check from other primary teachers too.

If he had that plan in y3, then it should be documented. Especially if they were saying that it was a step prior to assessing for dyslexia, it is part of their evidence.

I would ask the year 4 teacher if she has now found his y3 support plan. If she says no, ask for a meeting with the SENCO and Y4 teacher and for them to bring what he had and was agreed in year 3. Then ask them what the plan is for year 4. I would say that you are still concerned that he is dyslexic and that his writing etc is still well behind, what is the plan to monitor and at what point/ what evidence will they need to make the decision to assess for dyslexia?

Sometimes, sadly, it is persistence that will get you listened to. If you show that you are going to keep asking, then they will check.

Is the y3 teacher still at the school?

and don't forget to get every single interaction in writing.

So after the meeting with SENCO, write and email

Thank you for your time meeting with X and Y on ZZ date. Just to confirm at the meeting we discussed AAAA and we agreed that the plan for this term was HHH, and that we will assess again at ZZ date for evidence for a dyslexia assessment.

If you have an informal meeting after school with teacher, again, confirm in writing:
thank you for talking to me yesterday after school. Just to confirm, you are not continuing with his phonics support this term.

and so on.

Have the classes changed? I’m wondering if possibly he was previously in the bottom 20% but has made good progress and is no longer a priority compared to other children who were a similar level to him earlier, but made less progress. This shouldn’t be a good enough reason, but with staffing and funding being stretched…

I would ask for a meeting with the class teacher and SENDCO to confirm what strategies will be used, and if they are different to last year, what the reason for this is.

I would definitely be querying why his support has been removed. If he has been receiving it and hasn't significantly closed the gap between where he is working and age-related expectations then there's no reason I can think of. Working at a Y1 level when in Y4, regardless of whether this makes him the bottom 20% of his particular cohort, is certainly worthy of intervention.

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Level 8/Brown is the level ORT suggests is beginning of year 3.
Obviously this varies a lot.

How was his phonics screening? Did he resit it in year 2, or achieve the level needed in year 1?

In these first couple of weeks or so at school lots of assessments tend to take place. Reading can be an odd one where the progress isn't always steady or linear, and sometimes children seem to just get it and fly quickly, but then sometimes seem to stop and stagnate for a while, or even go back a bit.

I'd see how it goes in the next couple of weeks and be ready to,step in and speak to the teacher again if things seem to be slipping,

All of his reading books should be fully decodable and matched to the level he is at.

I don't understand the phonics books v decidable books comment. All phonics books should be fully decodable books. The ones they bring home should be ones they can manage themselves, and able to read accurately (to around 95-98% accuracy) with some fluency and expression. And they should be read more than once, each time focusing on accuracy, fluency and expression. If the child is struggling to decode these books, especially at this stage, independently and 'in their head; then the book is not the right level.

The only other books sent home, until they are reading freely and confidently, are reading for pleasure books, which are ones they might share with parents, it not necessarily be expected to read independently.

In the new class is there the same level of support, such as TAs etc.
This may be why the level of support he is receiving may be reduced. Not ideal, but also sadly not unusual.