To be upset my reception child is 'emerging' in key areas...

[MisterPip]

...when todays report (2 days away from end of term) is the first time this has ever been hinted at?

Two parents evenings (autumn/spring) quite generic comments, first purely about settling behaviours and before any baseline assessments at all.Second descriptive of her skills, no comment on where they were compared to peers or any next steps given. Has the same reading books going home (no homework) to her friends, writing to me looked similar to classmates, bit lower maybe but in the same range. Simple sentences with longer words being just the first sounds. Say 'cat' correct, school as 'scool' and digger as 'digr'. Maths, can count one more/ less to 100, tell time to nearest half hour..seemed pretty average to me.

But she's emerging for reading/ writing/ number/ shape/ physical and understanding of the world.

I'm laid back usually but I'm really really upset to feel like I 've wasted a year not knowing she needed support (and had none in school was given), not one throw away remark to hint she needs help at all. And now there is no time to meet the teacher to discuss next steps. 2 next steps given are bloody usually at the end of the year
1: 'to choose writing more often as an independent activity' (2 days to go now!)
2: 'to continue practising forming numbers' (just wrote 16/ 60/ 13/ 30 for me without guidance, no reversing. Scruffy but legible and starting in the right place)

It's a final straw following a year of almost no opportunities for communication (not allowed in playground, appointment only through office) and generally feeling like there's been no change. In her nursery year in another school her progress was amazing, actually 40-60 already at the end of the year in moving and handling, whereas now it's bloody 30-50 months.

Is it reasonable to move schools? Supply teacher next year so no idea of quality as yet as they are not recruited, but overall culture is crap. They are apparently 'outstanding', but everyone I know at the 'good' local schools are happy and have make fantastic progress.

Oh dear. My child got all expected. But she can't do any of what is in your posts. :(

We're not allowed in the playground with reception children either, not even on their first day or taster day!! I hate it.

Your dd sounds as though she's doing pretty well. Does it matter, given that she can do all that confidently, what her report says or what her teacher assessed level is? My dd's Reception report doesn't have levels. We are in Wales so it could be different. I wouldn't worry too much given what you know about where she is - but if it matters to you, you could make an appointment with the teacher to discuss. Did the comments on her report tally with what you know she can do?

Wow, I really don't like that at all. I've taught Reception, Year 1 and 2 for many years. It's always been an open door policy for the whole of ks1. It's so important that parents and carers feel welcome in school at drop off and or pick up time IMHO. It builds trust and develops relationships. Hence there are very rarely if ever horrible shocks in the reports because we talk to parents all the time.

Sorry, I've just read what you said about the comments. You would not be at all unreasonable to mention to the teacher, and ask why she is only emerging and what the expectation is. My dd is doing similar things to what you describe and although as I said, there were no levels on her report, her teacher has verbally said that she is ahead of the rest of the class, particularly in literacy. She can read pretty fluently but writes as you describe - phonetically plausible attempts unless it's quite a regular word. Her maths is pretty much where you say your dd's is too.

Blimey.

My ds is emerging in everything, but is in a special needs resource base for children with complex needs - he has very little expressive speech, he can write his name and form letters if you help him, but is nowhere near writing without a lot of support, he can recognise his name and some simple words, he can count to 14 by picking numbers off a board and trying to say the sounds, he has mobility issues and is still in nappies.

I am astounded from your description that your dd is only emerging in reading/ writing/ number/ shape/ physical and understanding of the world.

Maybe ds isn't as emerging as I thought!!

YANBU, reports should never come as a surprise. My DS has just finished reception and scored emerging in every single area. However, he has autism, so we were kept fully updated and had lots of meeting with the school throughout the year, so we didn't expect anything else.

I would want to know what her targets for yr1 will be based on. If she is expected but they're setting her work based on emerging that is a problem! But perhaps yr1 teacher will base things on what it says she cam do not the level (would make sense) If tomorrow is last day I guess you're stuck trying to sort it at the beginning of next term.

If you have lots of problems with the school and somewhere else looks better I don't think it would be unreasonable to change though. In your position I'd want to go into the possible schools and talk to staff about what you're looking for and about your DD2s needs before I committed.

Some comments tally, others are strange, e.g. 'xxx is becoming more confident talking to familiar adults and expressing her ideas'. was quite braced for a polite form of 'doesn't ever bloody shut up' (the nursery's wan smiles confirmed this!).

Garlic...please don't think I'm painting dd as a genius, she's standard issue, though I've have said good at maths. A reluctant writer/ reader for sure. e.g. over her shoulder I can see she's play writing now 'dad is in gdn.' (dad is in the garden). Not wow, but the moving and handling is a bafflement, she can forward flip to standing on a trampoline, do tiny buttons, prints letters within the lines (even if dancing), resembles a half monkey child. I'm sure your child has areas of strengths where mine is weak and vice versa, just your child's have been noticed lol...

DD2 is starting next year, language is assessed at 15-18 months by SALT (which I agree with), highest areas of development is 24 months, mainly around 18 months. (summer born too). She doesn't have a bloody hope if DS went in from nursery at a mix of 30-50 and 40-60. School have given no extra support to ANY child (none with statements in school, though meeting some you'd be VERY surprised)

Not emerging. How silly. There's been a mix-up, surely.

The problem with 'emerging' is that there's nothing underneath it, so it covers a huge range of ability. I can imagine that for you, it is very frustrating that you have not had the opportunity to have some input and maybe help boost her up.

However, saying that, what she's assessed as does not change what she can actually do. Yes next years teacher will look at where she's been assessed as but they will also use their own judgement. Even the best schools can have some staff that let them down - perhaps this Reception teacher is the weak link.

Id give it till Christmas, you might get a brilliant year 1 teacher.

I got this for my eldest son's report.

They said he was average at Maths in reception. I was so upset - he's never been average at maths, he's amazing at Maths. (He got 100% in every SATs paper at Maths this year, including Level 6).

But his best friend who looked a bit like him and always sat next to him got a report saying he was really good at maths. His Mother was quite surprised.

All I am saying about this is the next year my son was apparently "amazing" at Maths again. But the best friend was down to "average". What a coincidence..

Do your school use the Oxford reading tree levels, which level she is on would give a good idea whether her reading is emerging or higher.

My DD is the same.

It is very dispiriting.

I did know she was she was slightly behind her peers though.

It doesn't help that she has 2 older siblings and I work FT so I don't have the time to hothouse her.

She is summer born though - not yet 5 so the teacher was not concerned.

A few things I have learned over the years: my children can do a lot more when at home compared to what they can achieve at school. It's a noisy place with another 29 children and lots of distraction. Also, with regards to maths, the questions are rarely what is two plus two, they are word problems such as if you have two ducks on a pond and another two ducks join them, how many will there be in tmy total. you can insist on meeting the teacher more regularly and work together on specific areas of learning, whichever school they go to.

No I wasn't saying you were! :)

I thought my dd was behind, I have all year. The report we got was a surprise. A nice one! But reading your op and asking he r some of the same questions, she has no idea. She can't even recognise the number 15 on the ruler she was looking at earlier.

I think the school has fiddled the stats. Which means if she is set work based on this report next year, she will fall further and further behind.

Just like my ds has, and his report is a load of lies. I know because we got his work books back today, and there are thing awe have reported concerns about during the year and it says he can do them in his report when we know he plain can't. :(

Re reading from a pp, my dd is still on red. And struggles. That's behind, isn't it?

Sounds to me like it's been a mistake because the goals and the emerging bit do not tally. The things she's achieved - which they've logged - are from the achieving and exceeding area.

I wouldn't worry too much about it though ATM. I'd make an appointment soon into next term with teacher and ask her how you can help support your DD.

Fwiw my DS got all 6/7's in his EYFS report. The old one where 9 is ceiling and 6 is expected.
He got 6's for literacy, communication, physical etc which was a load of bollocks impressive as he has HFA and is being assessed for dyspraxia and dysgraphia. He got 7 in maths when he's always excelled at that and just got a level 6 in SATS.

The difficulty with tick boxes is you can only tick what you see - which isn't always everything the child can do.

For a child completing reception, she seems to be doing extremely well, and certainly far from 'emerging'

She doesnt sound emerging to me either so from.that pov I wouldn't worry too much. I suspect next year the Y1 teacher will be crowing about the 'amazing' progress she has made. But it is totally wrong that you weren't told.

garlic I believe the average end of reception book bank is yellow so she's only slightly behind. My ds made a lot of progress with reading over the summer holidays after reception as we had time to enjoys lots of books together, me reading most but getting him to read the easier words. We ignored the book bands and picked enjoyable books and when he started in y1 he skipped a couple of bands and had a much better attitude towards reading.

The thing that would worry me is that you can't have an appointment to discuss the report with the teacher.
I have been retired for 7 years, but when I was teaching it was policy to have a slip on the bottom of the report offering parents the opportunity to discuss the report with the teacher. Few did, but it was offered as an option. You shouldn't have to worry about this for the whole holiday.
The school doesn't sound very parent friendly.

I think there is a need to be careful of mixing up 'average' and 'expected'. If 80% of children get expected for reading in reception that will include many who are below average.

My son received his reception report last week. He is an August baby and received 'expected' in all areas. However he is nowhere near being able to count to 100 (nevermind do one more or one less) and can't tell the time. It sounds like your child is much farther ahead and definitely doesn't sound like 'emerging'.