To think DD1's (primary) school hasn't done enough to help her with reading?

[dontrunwithscissors]

Sorry, this is a long one...

For the record, we're in Scotland so there's a different syllabus up here. DD1 (8) is a really smart girlthat's been confirmed by her teachershowever, she's really struggled with her reading. When she entered P2, I was told she was getting extra input with her reading. They'd moved to a different reading scheme that year, which the school believed was a significant improvement on the old one. She was to go down to a P1 class twice a week (along with a couple of other kids) and be taught by the school's specialist in literacy. I was promised regular updates on her progress.

Throughout P2, those updates didn't happen. I spoke to her literacy teacher a number of times and explained that DD1 was getting very stressed about reading and asked what was going on. I got limited information about it, but felt that they were paying attention to the problem. I didn't want to make a huge fuss because friends with older kids had reassured me that children can take a while to 'click' with reading, DD1 is clearly bright and she'll catch up.

She continued to attend the literacy classes this year (twice a week for an hour.)

Part of the way through this year (P3), I was getting really fed up with what I saw as the lack of progress and failure to communicate so I went into the school to complain. At this point, the teacher told me she was 'average' reading level for her age. This came from a literacy test that the council does every 2 years. When I pushed her on this, she said that she was way ahead of her age for vocabulary and comprehension, but behind for actual reading. The idea that she is 'average' ability is because the points she scored overall averaged out in the middle. At this point she told me she had been wondering since P2 whether she had dyslexia due to the big differences between her vocabulary and reading level. She promised to test her for this and get in touch. I was gobsmacked that she had been 'thinking' about this for almost a year, but had made no effort to tell me this or do anything about it.

A couple of months ago, I still hadn't heard anything so went back to the school. She told me she had done some tests and she's not dyslexic. I asked her whether DD1 was catching up with her peersshe told me she doesn't know. Apparently, the only way she can tell is through the tests the council do, which only happen every 2 years. So it will be another year before they can assess whether the situation is improving. I pushed her for a guide as to whether DD1 was catching upshe claimed to not know until she's tested next year. I asked her what their plans were if she doesn't improve? No answer. Did she think it's OK that DD1 just coasts along through primary school when there's clearly something wrong with her reading?

So, AIBU to a) be pissed off that I'm constantly having to push the school to keep me up to date, despite promises to stay in touch? b) to think that after 2 years of remedial teaching, they need to rethink their plans because it's clearly not working? c) push hard for further tests for dyslexia. d) have little faith in an expert literacy teacher who is unable to provide an assessment of DD1's progress herself?

She was getting very stressed because she had her back to the whiteboard and was falling behind with her work (because she was having to turn around, memorise the words and write them down. She said this made it much harder and took longer to do.) I've asked the teacher again and again that they don't put her with her back to the board. They would move her, but a couple of weeks later, she's back to the same situation.

I will never understand teachers that don't organise their classrooms so that all children can see the board.
It's such poor practice.

Thanks. I plan to push hard on this in August. We've been reading with her at home, but I don't force her to do it. The last thing I want is to make reading a chore for her. But at the moment, she really wants to read and does her best to read stories to her younger sister. She's been asking to read to herself in bed before she goes to sleep, bless her.

Icimoi we have similar tests PIP (no idea what that means) in primary 6 when my daughter was 11 her tests showed she was working at the age of an 8 year old, what did the school do with this information....put it in a box file in an office and it was never mentioned until I demanded a meeting with the head teacher about my daughters progress, what is the point in them if no one bothers about the results?

@ nanny I also find it ridiculous. I think part of the communication problem is that the school is dreadfully understaffed and oversubscribed. If this is considered the best primary school in the city, I'd hate to see what the worst is like.

Oh, and the teacher I spoke to is in charge of special needs.

DD2 starts there in August and she has speech therapy due to multiple ear infections affecting her speech development when she was younger. I had to fight like mad to get her speech therapy sessions. God knows what the school will do. I can see me becoming very well acquainted with the new educational needs teacher.

Don't go to the GP this is absolutely nothing to do with them at all it is an educational issue and needs to be persued via the school.

Sometimes the outstanding school is not the best place for a child with difficulties. The outstanding school relies on all pupils sailing through their exams, if your child doesn't they prefer you to leave and go and rubbish up some other schools exam results. Sorry to be cynical. Ds went to a school that was in special measures after his non helpful OFSTED outstanding primary and I wished I had sent him to the latter in the first place. They had everything in place to really help him achieve. The teachers had the attitude that if you got a low Mark in a test then they would look at where each child was having problems and really focus on those areas. they made time for ds and gave him one to one with a SEN daily to look through his work for the previous day and made sure he understood it as well as helping him with reading and other areas he was having difficulties with.

I have been in your position, especially when you mention the seating arrangements with the White boards.

I don't think I'd be going down the diagnosis just yet. I think there are enough red flags in your post that might suggest she hasn't been well taught and has been badly remediated as well.

Unfortunately I don't know if you are going to get anywhere with the school. Toe by Toe is a good suggestion. The Sound Foundations Dancing Bears book is similar but more child friendly. Should take about 10-15mins daily.

If that doesn't work, then I would consider going down the assessment route.

DO NOT EVER rely on a school colour overlay test - go to an optician who specialises in this sort of work. Some questions will be asked to her such
as 'does she see patterns running throught the words' ' do the words move'
'does she miss out whole lines of text' 'does she miss out words or go back and forth on the same line etc'.

You cannot 'just try' some one with overlays to see if they work, there will be a specific colour OR A COMBINTION of colours. The overlay test is the beginning - if there is an improvement then a pair of specially tinted spx can be ordered after a 'colorimeter' test. This machine has an enormous spectrum and mixes of colour 100's of times greater than can be seen by a school and their 'overlay test'.

You can't just push her to try harder it will not work if she has dyslexia.
Please refer to the site I pointed out to you earlier and get an appointment with an Optician for the overlay test.

Where I work the local schools etc send their pupils here as we are specialists in this field and the results have been excellent in the majority of cases.

that's good that she's making an effort to read at home.
while it may be a chore for her, i would be firm and read with her every single night.

Over the holidays, try the website readingeggs.co.uk You pay to use it for a year. It from Australia and a lot of Australian school use it to help children who struggle with reading. My DD used it, and she is dyslexic. She loved as it is full off fun games and stories, and it gave her confidence in her reading.

Get a private assessment done if you can afford it.

I have a UK friend whose children's school consistently refused to assess her two sons both of them evidently bright but also dyslexic. Because they are bright, they were not struggling enough to merit extra attention. She had the younger one, who has more serious difficulties, tested privately (he is indeed severely dyslexic as well as dyspraxic).

This was in an outstanding school in the Midlands btw, within the last 3-4 years. Things are probably worse now in terms of accessing help :-/

You may have to escalate.

I left it too long - school was telling me not to worry, DS was just lazy but clever, he's fine etc etc. Fobbed off. I requested he see the Educational Psychologist but this was refused by school as they only had a couple of 'slots' and they had to go to children with worse problems. I complained to the LEA and finally got some action (still no EP but at least something that did really help him). I feel terrible that I failed my son.

Another one saying to push for a referral to the Ed Psych. I'm surprised she hasn't already been referred tbh.

The teacher sounds like she is struggling - she shouldn't need tests to tell that your daughter is behind if she is as far behind as you say she is.

Set up a meeting with the teacher and find.out why in earth your child has not been referred to Ed Psych. If you are not satisfied with the teachers response go higher.

I'm not sure what criteria you are using to decide that DDs school is the "best" but perhaps you could look around some other local primaries and think about putting in a placing request with a school you are more confident of.

For coloured overlays, what you need is a behavioural optometrist, not a general high street optician.

I came on to say exactly the same as allmycats.

DD2 has just been diagnosed with Irlens Syndrome and is now using coloured overlays for reading and coloured paper for written work. It has made a huge difference but finding the right colour and then the shade/tone of that colour took some time and is something a specialist needs to do. The difference it has made to DD2 is huge, not just her reading, but her confidence has come in in leaps and bounds. She found school so stressful and cried every day as just doing basic reading and writing was so exhausting and demoralising. Now she dashes in, knowing she can do the work and enjoy school. Like your DD she is bright and now she is able to reach her full potential. Def go back to the opticians and discuss visual stress and Irlens Syndrome tests with them.

Thank you for the suggestions about the coloured overlays. It was the teacher who 'tried' her with coloured overlays. I didn't realise it was so complicated.

I'd told the teacher that DD1 complained that the lines of text blurred into each other/moved around when she tried to read. The optician said she was fine and then the teacher said there was no problem. I hope that the new teachers are better than the last.

I will definitely be down at the school as soon as she goes back. Enough is enough!

As a family where over 75% of us are dyslexic we have found that you can not leave it in the schools hands mainly because their resources are getting fewer and fewer.
Some schools are really receptive and helpful others well what can I say. The school claimed that profound dyslexia was just poor parenting. Despite the fact that an older sibling was already getting help for dyslexia.

I'd recommend if you can get to Edinburgh to have an eye test at Dorothy Crystal.

My nephews have had to be tested privately for dyslexia as the school wouldn't. It may be worth going privately.

I don't know whether she has dyslexia, but schools approach does sound poor and chaotic. But it's now the summer holidays, can you bombard her with praise and resources? Comics, picture books from the library and charity shops, Roald Dahl and (hold your nose) those blasted fairy and ballerina series? Something might click. she sounds lovely.

Sorry, by bombard, I mean let her choose, talk about with her, read to her and let her show her sister the pictures, words she recognise etc.

Thank you for the suggesions.

Groove, thanks so much for the suggestion. I've emailed the company for information.

I'm so glad I posted about this as I didn't know where to turn next.

I absolutely believe that part of the problem is that DD1 is getting overlooked because she's very quiet and never causes any problems. Apart from her reading, she's excelling at school. Other children in the class who are little buggers disruptive seem to be getting the attention.