Not to send ds to extra reading before school

[Psipsina]

We've been 'selected' apparently for ds to attend a special reading club before school three times a week, before school. He will be reading to some older children (he is 7).

The club starts at 8.30. We normally struggle to get to school for the usual time (8.40-45) with a short car journey and a car/clothing/breakfast resistant toddler.

Apart from this ds2 is a brilliant reader and well ahead of the stage he 'ought' to be on (apparently). He can read pretty much anything fluently and understand most of it too.

I'm not boasting but I just feel slightly cross that they are suggesting it is really important he attends special extra reading sessions, which would be difficult for me, and now I feel bad that I'm not 'supporting his needs'. Or that I shall be seen as not supporting them.

If we lived within walking distance it wouldn't be so bad but it is a 40 minute walk each way and trying to get everyone out on time is a nightmare.

AIBU to say no, thank you?

I dunno. I don't think I would bother about it.

He is going to be reading aloud with older children - so they are not going to help with his comprehension etc at all. They are just likely to sit there and listen. There is a good chance they won't be able to help him find successful strategies for reading unknown words either - just telling him the word won't help your child improve his reading. So, frankly, I am struggling to see the real benefit of this other than to offer practise in reading aloud. Which your son is doing - by reading to his younger brother. Can he also read to his older brother? Is your elder son able to read well enough to help there?

It is fine not to do the club.

But it would also be a good idea to train your child to fill in their reading diary... In the schools I have worked in / been aware of this is the norm for all of KS2 (KS1 the expectation is that parents fill it in). Unless there is a huge amount of other school homework coming home, it means 30 seconds per night of your child's time, and then he can either read silently to himself, or out loud to you while you do something else.

I think that education comes first, as does the OP imo.
That doesn't mean you need or have to do what a school suggests is right for your child.
We had a similar one with boring books at school and I too refused to have them read them when they were clearly beyond the books they were using at school.

OP, as another H.edder I'm not sure if this will help but long before the H.ed situation I ignored school levels and went by my own and let them read at own pace, they were all good readers.
I worked on their weaknesses, as you mentioned, it was spellings and maths in some of their cases.

I think you're right op, but as an aside....

What do you all make of the y6's having to go in half an hour early to listen to a y3 read? What value is that to them?

So much huffing and puffing.

OP I think you sound like you are doing a great job, by instilling a love of reading of good books, as well as healthy lack of enthusiasm for administering the evidencing of that reading (which is entirely for the school's benefit).

The "reading club" doesn't sound like the world's best ever plan to improve reading and enthuse readers either if it consists of reading book scheme material to 9 & 10 year olds after getting up before dawn. You should have no qualms about not attending this. I'd bet your name was on the list because you were deemed one of the "more likely to attend" rather than most in need.

Anyway In a household where reading is a normal thing to do, I just don't see the need for policing of reading diaries. Cue more handwringing.

Thank you Granny and Oak and Teacher.

His big bro is able to read quite well, and they sometimes join in reading to each other and sometimes we all have a story where I read to them though it often gets interrupted by the belligerent toddler.

I hadn't realised that children were allowed to write in their own reading record. I'm not sure how that would go down tbh. I might give it a try.

He's just informed me that he has finished his Stage 15 book too (that he was allowed to keep 'just for fun').

I can't find the ORT reading levels any more anywhere. Do they still publish them? The back of his S14 book says 'KS2 Y5 Blue' whatever that means.

Getting up to get to school by 8.30 is not 'before dawn'!

Until very recently, our house was empty by 7.15 am - DH and I to work (in the schools I have worked in, it is the norm for teachers to be in by 7.45), DCs to childminder for breakfast and school run.

I think it is a poor show to be pressuring parents to get kids in early for this. So called "paired reading" was done during the school day at my DC's primary.

OP I'd just fill in the diary with the reading he does do. It doesn't have to be perfectly recalled on your part either (unless they are CCTVing your home! )

I use constructed reality for food surveys.

Thank you guys. Very encouraged that people understand my perspective.

Morethan, that's it - we have to work on their weaknesses. With ds1 it's definitely maths, well, some maths. He is coming up to an entrance exam which he probably won't pass but we are doing a lot of SATS type stuff.

Fairenuff, maybe you have small reading scheme, I have just looked up reading levels and level 12 is at the top end of year 2.

Yes I know, which is why I said Year 2 would be about stage 12/13.

He has just sat on a chair next to me, quite unsolicited and read the whole of his 62 page stage 14 (oh yes, he's been promoted again) book to himself in under an hour.

That's fine OP, you can just write that in his diary. I would encourage him to read aloud though, so that you can correct him if he pronounces anything wrong.

He is also reading Mr Stink, I can't remember all the others but the point remains that his reading is fine and it would be difficult for us to manage this club so we're not going to do it.

Again, I think that's fine but I would check with school whether they do have any concerns and ask what prompted them to put him on the list for this club in the first place.

LOL at 'constructed reality' I may use that phrase.

This one shoes up to level 11
fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/oxed/primary/literacy/ort/ort_chart/index.html?region=uk

I did find another one earlier, I will see if I can find it again.

That was - I thought, obviously - sarcasm teacher. Used to underline the point that it's not worth disrupting the household routine for. Go you and your family of early risers .

Thank you Faire. I don't think I will ask, in case they say 'because you have bad hair and he tells us you lock him in the attic when he is naughty'.

But hopefully it isn't that.

As a parent, I very much got with the 'stay under the radar' approach... if readuing diaries were deemed important, we did it minimally in the way that was least fuss for us. Especially in earlier years, I often needed to keep powder dry for bigger issues (I am an ex Home Edder, DS was a selective mute with suspected ASD) and so found it easiest to conform wrt the smaller ones...

Beast Quest is another good series of books he might like OP.

Hahahaha at 'early risers'. DD in particular was often hauled from her duvet in the attitude of a dormouse, and has seldom been heard to speak before 9 am. I suppose the point is that any child can be got out of the house at any specified hour IF there is no alternative.... but if the reason for getting out of the house isn't seen to be important by the person doing the getting out of bed, the battle may well not seem to be worth it, and those getting up will sense that their heart is not in it IYSWIM?

Fairenuff, so level 15 with a term of year 2 to go would be pretty good and no reason to be worrying about extra reading.

oh thanks Granny, that's brill - yes looks like he is into an older age group.

He's Y3 btw.

here it is

Fairenuff, so level 15 with a term of year 2 to go would be pretty good and no reason to be worrying about extra reading.

By the last term of Year 3 (which is where OP's child is) it would not be unusual in my school for a child to be reading stage 15 because, as I said, they would be on stage 12/13 in Year 2.

However, being able to decode does not necessarily mean that they are 'good' readers, there's a lot more to it than that. I don't know why the teacher has suggested this extra reading for OP's child. It could simply be because the reading record isn't being filled out, or it could be something else.

OP would have to ask to find out and she says she's not going to do that, so we will never know. OP did say that he uses appropriate expression 9/10 times so maybe that is something to focus on?

Year 7 is when the reading diary nonsense stops in my experience so you've a few years to get through yet op

Just write in the book. Listen to your do read or get him to read to himself and talk about what he's read. 10 minutes is all it could take, surely.

Ds2 (year 6) reads for more than an hour each night which the school know because they do the accelerated reader scheme and the children do quizzes on the books they've read. He's a voracious reader yet he still has to write in this shitting reading diary each week.

Deep breaths and just do it. Ds2 writes his own now, you could try that,

One reason to toe the line is to push him on through the levels. I know you say he's already brilliant but he'll probably enjoy his school reading more once he is free reading.

whether you do the club or not, take it as a kick to write up his book more and get him up to free reading. It'll do you both a favour!

Could he read a few pages to you in car on way to school? I used to do that with DD as sometimes that was the only time I had. That might keeps them happy.