Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think DDs teacher isn't very good and to speak to the head?

48 replies

FigRolls · 28/10/2013 14:15

Dd is in year 1. She's a really good reader but hasn't moved up a level since June. She reads the reading books in under a minute and often is given the same one repeatedly over a few weeks. She's becoming bored and I've written on her reading card how easily she's reading them and asked for something more challenging but still she's on the same level. I spoke to her teacher at the end of September and she said she would listen to dd read and see what she thought but she still hasn't and dd hasn't read one on one at school since early this year. They do guided reading but dd is suspected selectively mute so doesn't really participate as far as I can gather; her teacher didn't know.

Dd didn't talk at all last year at school and barely whispers to a TA this year. She has friends but doesn't talk to them at school. She's doing small group work to try to encourage her but her teacher didn't know how this was going either but said she was determined to get her talking yet had no strategies to share. Dd has asked that I go in and help a couple of mornings per week and says she thinks that'd help her talk but school have never taken up this offer. I'm doing lots with dd at home as she just doesn't seem to be learning much at all at school. I'm all for helping but I don't feel I should have to be buying more difficult reading books etc. AIBU to think her teacher isn't being very good?

OP posts:
CaptainSweatPants · 28/10/2013 14:17

Can't you get books from your local library ?

bronya · 28/10/2013 14:23

If she won't read the book to anyone, they can't assess the level she is on. I had this problem when I taught - we had a girl in Y2 who was a selective mute. I ended up saying words and asking her to point to them, then when she could do that correctly I asked her to whisper the book to a friend she would talk to, who was at a higher reading level than her, so could tell if the words were correct. It was a bit hit and miss until she could read well enough to do proper comprehension tests!

annie987 · 28/10/2013 14:23

But if your daughter doesn't talk at school then it will be incredibly difficult for the teacher to assess her ability and know if she needs to move on or not?
I do agree she should be aware of how target groups are going which involve her children.

allmycats · 28/10/2013 14:26

Have you been to the school yourself and actually told the teacher that you are wanting/willing to go in for a few sessions to aid your daughter,
because looking at the way you have worded your posting it appears that you have discussed this with your daughter but not that YOU have actually approached school with this suggestion.

As above, you can get books from the library, or very cheap in charity shops. If your daughter won't speak with the teacher it is very hard for her to be assessed.

bundaberg · 28/10/2013 14:28

i agree that speaking to the head is a good idea, and also the senco.

i'm sorry but the idea that they can't move her up just because she is SM is ridiculous. So she should just have the same book for the next year? 2 years?

They need to have some idea what they're doing to help her move forward with this. I don't know a massive amount about SM, but presumably there are tactics that the school can, and should, be using.
Her inability to speak at school should not stop her from accessing the curriculum and moving on.

perhaps they need a different way of assessing her? once she has read the story even if it isn't out loud, then they could ask her questions to ensure she has read and undertood it? they could use pictures which she could point to when asked certain questions for example, or just nod/shake her head

it simply isn't good enough to not allow her to progress just because she cannot speak at school.

DropYourSword · 28/10/2013 14:29

Surely even if she can't vocalise answers there's some way of conducting a comprehension test to see whether she could go up a level? I don't think her teacher is necessarily "not good" on the whole, but they need to consider how they can support your child.

And yes to the library, I would definately recommended that.

blueberryupsidedown · 28/10/2013 14:31

'But if your daughter doesn't talk at school then it will be incredibly difficult for the teacher to assess her ability and know if she needs to move on or not' Annie that comment isn't helpful not correct. Children with speech delay/disorder/selective mutism can progress at school and be involved in all activities in the classroom (and evaluated by the a good teacher accuratly) despite their speech problems. Not speaking doesn't make you incapable of communicating.

First of all, if your child is not speaking at all at school, she needs extra help. Does she have an IEP? You have to find out who the special needs coordinator is at your school and organise a meeting with teacher/senco/TA. Does she have a speech therapist? Has she been seen by an educational psychologist?

YES, speak to the SENCO and if nothing happens, speak to the head directly. I'm afraid the ownership is on you to get the ball rolling. Your daughter needs help.

DS2 has a speech disorder and is also on the G&T list and at 6 has a reading age of 9, and is on library books (ie has gone through all the reading levels so far). His teachers have been able to assess him in his reading ability despite his verbal communication problems. It is possible but you need to be the driver.

NewtRipley · 28/10/2013 14:35

If she can whisper to the TA, her reading level can be assessed 1:1 by the TA/teacher using Benchmarking.

bundaberg · 28/10/2013 14:35

from a selective mutism website:

"Selective mutism is often at its height during the important years of reading development. Most children with selective mutism have adequate comprehension and reception in the classroom, but will not speak to name alphabet letters, produce phonics sounds, or read text. This presents a challenge to the teacher in assessment of the child's reading development and suitability for promotion from kindergarten through the primary grades. An SLP can help the teacher develop different methods of assessment of the child's reading abilities. Some children are amenable to a nonverbal assessment technique, such as pointing to letters, but others are initially reluctant to do that. Some children will allow their parents to videotape their reading performance at home, which can then be reviewed by school staff."

claraschu · 28/10/2013 14:40

Our local (outstanding) school is abysmally bad at dealing with a selectively mute boy who has been there for 5 years. His problem has steadily got worse; no one has a clue how to deal with it and he has been repeatedly humiliated.

I don't think even good, caring schools necessarily know how to help, so I do think you should be talking to the head and the SENCO and making sure his teacher has plenty of suggestions about how to help him.

Bakingtins · 28/10/2013 14:42

It sounds like the issue is poor communication. It must be hard for he teacher to assess your DD if she won't speak at school, and it is going to seriously hold her back so it needs a strategy in place to improve things. I'd ask for a meeting with the teacher and the SENCO at which you can find out exactly what they are doing to help and bring up your concerns about the reading levels etc and the possibility of you going into school to support DD. If you get no joy them approach the Head.
I'd be concerned about the reading record comments not bring taken into account. Children should not be getting the same book repeatedly, quite apart from your comments about the level being too easy.

clam · 28/10/2013 14:44

I am usually very reluctant to pass judgement on fellow teachers, as it's had to get the whole picture from posts on here. However, in this case, I would share your concerns I think, so yes, I would speak to the Head Teacher.

bundaberg · 28/10/2013 14:49

if the school don't know how to help then they need to be thinking about bringing people in who CAN help.
SALT, ed psych etc... they can't just ignore it and hope it goes away.

NewtRipley · 28/10/2013 14:55

yes, bundaberg.

Littlefish · 28/10/2013 15:02

I taught a child who was selectively mute. I assessed her reading when she first joined my class by getting mum to record her reading at home, and getting her mum to ask ask her some pre-prepared questions so that I could check her understanding. This gave me a good idea of her starting point so I could then check her progress.

Have you had a meeting with the classteacher? Does your dd have an IEP detailing the strategies that will be used in school?

Original poster
FigRolls · 28/10/2013 15:07

The teacher hasn't even tried reading one on one with her though so doesn't know whether dd will do it or not. They think she's choosing not to talk rather than it being SM but I disagree as she hasn't spoken even when in discomfort. I've offered to go in but the teacher said no. She's read all the specific reading books from the library which is why I've started buying but obviously it's not a long term solution if her teacher just leaves her to it because she doesn't speak up.

OP posts:
Original poster
FigRolls · 28/10/2013 15:08

Her teacher didn't even know what SM is and hasn't bothered to find out, she thinks dd is 'strong willed' but she desperately wants to talk to her friends.

OP posts:
bundaberg · 28/10/2013 15:11

in that case I would really strongly urge you to get the senco involved.
it really isn't up to the teacher to decide whether or not your child has SM.

Original poster
FigRolls · 28/10/2013 15:12

I suggested recording her reading and her teacher laughed and said she would 'get her talking, no problem' but I spent last year with her teacher saying she was settling in (despite never having spoken or being assessed at nursery school because of not talking) and I don't want it to get to after Christmas only for her teacher to say they'll put 'strategies' in place next year.

OP posts:
Original poster
FigRolls · 28/10/2013 15:16

They started this small group work once per week without discussing it with me, it's been made blatantly obvious to dd that its to get her talking and so isn't working, her teacher didn't know if its working and had no other plans to try anything. I don't know if the person doing the small group is the senco or not as I haven't been consulted.

OP posts:
YomAsalYomBasal · 28/10/2013 15:16

I taught severely physically disabled children to read, who had no speech at all. It's not hard but the school need to come up with a strategy or two and not ignore the problem!

BitOutOfPractice · 28/10/2013 15:18

I would find the fact that she "didn't know" about our DD not talking rather more worrying than the reading thing tbh

Arkady · 28/10/2013 15:21

I know this doesn't touch the school issues at all, but you can get ebooks at oxfordowl.co.uk/ .
You have my sympathy about teachers who don't bother finding out about DCs issues or even believe in them. DS1's hasn't read any of the reports from other professionals.
Not exactly a sympathetic teacher, is she? Even without knowing about SM, a kinder person might see a child who doesn't speak at school at all as unhappy there, in need of extra support.

judgejudithjudy · 28/10/2013 15:22

yabu - the teacher has 30+ pupils & i doubt she has time to try & coax your dd to read. see the doctor & have assessed - you are more responsible than the school for her reading. as for complaing to head, no wonder there are a lack of teachers - poor teacher.

impecuniousmarmoset · 28/10/2013 15:26

judgejudithjudy - yes she has 30 pupils and it is her JOB to get them to learn to read! If some of the 30 have special educational needs then special educational measures need to be put in place. Just because there are things the OP can do at home does not absolve the school from responsibility. Of course she needs to speak to the head if she is getting nowhere with the teacher. Jeez...