Aibu to take this to the head teacher?

[WitBeyondMeasure]

My child is in year one and has not read aloud to an adult in school since December.
When I asked his teacher about it I was informed that there are so many children who don't get read to at home, they have to prioritise them.

Whilst I understand this, I feel it is really unfair to children who are read to at home because they are not receiving the professional guidance they should be. I understand schools have increasingly limited resources and restraints and it's not the best of times education wise right now. But i also recognise that I am not a professional and don't really know how to help my son read better other than carry on doing what we are doing.

I absolutely love the school. It's brilliant but I really feel like they've dropped the ball here. I raised the fact he hadn't been heard reading since December in February. It's now almost May and nothing has been done.

Am I being unreasonable or should I have a chat with the head teacher? He's my eldest so I've not been in this position before. He's also an August born year one so he's only five.

I would have a chat. It's not acceptable on any level. Children should be able to enjoy reading to an adult or receive the adult 1-1 support throughout the whole of school in my opinion. I see why it stops at secondary although arguable year 7 should continue. Definitely bring it up. Yes some children will probably need further input and benefit hugely from it but this shouldn't be at the detriment of other children.

I'd go in for a chat. It may be that he reading in a guided group(as in taking it in turns to share a book) and just not having his home reader checked? I'd not go in all guns blazing but I'd want to know what the school policy was (I'm an experienced primary teacher )

Unless I felt there was an issue with my child's reading, I wouldn't contact the HT about this.

I used to volunteer for reading with kids in school when my DC were younger.

The teachers don't have the time and the focus is on those struggling.

Mmm yes.

Primary teacher here too and Mum of two.

How is his reading? Is he making progress?
Id imagine he is not being read with as they believe he is doing ok and is being supported at home.

However, they should be checking his reading record and ensuring he is ready to be given a new book or move up a level. Is he being given new books or moved up?

So you read to your child at home. Why shouldn't children who dont have this privilege get priority at school?

Perhaps you should volunteer at the school to read one to one with the children.

I used to volunteer at my kids school to read with and listen to children reading one-on-one. I think it really builds their confidence being heard and helped by an adult that isn't a parent. Perhaps this is something your DC's school could put into place.

I'm a primary teacher and Mum of a Year 1 child and I don't think this is acceptable. How is the teacher supposed to assess his progress? Even able readers should be read with regularly to develop their fluency, expression and comprehension skills.

My Y1 child is a very able reader but she still reads 1-1 with adults at the school, albeit perhaps not as often as those who need more support. At the very least, the school could read with the more able readers as a group even if they don't hear them read individually.

@katycb he does tell me he's on the green table for reading - they seem to have a traffic light system for all subjects. I've asked him if an adult listens but he says they help each other.

He's very reliable as far as information goes. He often remembers titbits that we've forgotten and he is usually very accurate with his information.

My main concern is that he's gone from being thrilled to be reading and loving it to complacent because no one in school is hearing him read he's been on the same level for ages. They're easy and boring for him and he's not interested.
Obviously we give him other books and read other books to him but he's very praise driven (aren't all kids?) and he's not getting any acknowledgement for the work he's put in at school so it's like can't be bothered anymore. He's even pretending he can't read words we know he can read.
We praise his achievements at home of course too!

@Walkingdeadfangirl I certainly will when my youngest starts nursery.
I'm not in the financial position that I can afford to pay for childcare to volunteer my time right now, sadly.

Check your paperwork! In DD's reading journal it asks "home" (ie not some one from school) to listen to DD read and record it at least 3 times a week. School (not always class teacher, sometimes a TA or a volunteer, or the Head - who tries to read with each child at least once a year!) comment once a week. If school have said they'll do something, then you should definitely get in touch and question it.

Have you asked the teacher? That would be the first step before the Head.

Parent & year 1 teacher here. We hear all children read 1:1 four times a week. I would raise concerns with head if you’ve already talked to the teacher.

I've offered to listen to kids read in all the schools mine have attended, but I've never been taken up on it despite my TA background and being happy to get a new DBS.

My own DD usually refuses to read with me at home and we have had to adopt a system for her where by she is reading long proper kids books as opposed to the thin things they send home, and I send her to school with it too in case there's someone there to hear her. Mostly my mum reads with her, my mum has a way with her which makes her not put up any resistance.

Dd is special needs and dyslexic and her reading has gone from ungraded to not too far below average, in nearly a year. Her current school are very accommodating.

I would ask for a short meeting with the teacher to talk about how his reading is. This should reassure you that he is getting what he needs from you (and you can do a happy dance and feel proud).

Some kids come from homes where parents don't have the reading skills or make time, for a variety of reasons. As long as your son is progressing as he should then I can see their motive. But there should be a reward system for kids who read at home. There is at ours

@tanpestryfirescreen I spoke to the teacher in February and was advised that they don't have time to hear him read as so many children in his class don't get read to at home.

The kicker is I have three kids five and under. My window for reading with him is the 20 minutes between his siblings bedtime and his own. It's usually punctuated by the baby crying or the toddler shouting or someone falling out of bed, lost teddies.. usual bedtime drama. It's not easy and it's stressful but that's the only way we can do it. It's the only time we have to do it but we do it. And he's missing out on school support because of it.

@StuckInsideAnEcho I'm glad you've found a way to make it all work.
Do you have and recommendations for short children's novels that your DD enjoyed? Ds is reading well but doesn't fare well with a full page of text. It's daunting and he would lose his place, he can cope with paragraphs with a good space or a small image between it that makes sense?

I'm an infant teacher and definitely think it's worth speaking about. Mine are at a massive progress moment and some are jumping groups at epic speed. I hear everyone at least once weekly and I have 9 groups. It's shit hard but it's what's required and everyone reads at least twice as I have a volunteer and a psa student

I'm p2 so equivalent with year one I think

How old is your son... Year one, ah, DD is year three BUT your son could easily be ready to look at these.

We have done:

Horrid Henry (some have bigger writing, some have smaller - we get books from charity shops so just peek inside and judge the size of the writing in different books)

Daisy and the Trouble With... (insert whatever subject) and the content isn't 'girly', the character is actually a bit naughty. Spirited is the word I suppose.

Her teacher has recommended Beast Quest. It's apparently a huge hit with the boys.

We began nearly a year ago with the adult reading pages on, say, the left, and my dd reading the opposite of whichever side. It's really encouraging for them because they hear the way you read, and how you pronounce the words they will likely see pop up again.

Some of the Jacqueline Wilson books have reasonably sized texts as well, but look at Beast Quest.

It's certainly not ideal. But if adults to listen to reading at the school are as limited as they sound, it's in your DS's best interests that they focus on the weakest readers, assuming he will have the same classmates for years to come. Getting as many of the weaker readers as possible up to speed in year 1 will avoid them falling further and further behind as they go up the school, and potentially causing disruption if they become disengaged from learning due to literacy challenges. Be grateful that your son isn't one of the strugglers.

@Artykitty666 that's good to know, it's coming to five months. That's a huge amount of time. An entire term. He's a good reader but he will also lose interest, he is losing interest.

@StuckInsideAnEcho I'll definitely look into them, thank you.
I've actually banned horrid Henry! The books may be better than the show. I don't know to be honest! But they're on a horrid Henry show ban because whenever they watched it they'd be mean to each other. Although maybe being able to read the books of a banned show would make it forbidden fruit that he can't resist!! I'll give it a try!!
I'll take some beast quest books out at the library too, thank you!

@hoodiemum I definitely get where you're coming from. My concern is that he is becoming disengaged too. A lot of the work is hard for him. The emotional stuff is hard for him too being the youngest in his year. And he's not getting support or any school led praise in the one area he's good at.

It's definitely not ideal and I really don't know how to handle it. He's my eldest at 5. We also have a 3 and 2 year old. I don't know how to carve more time in to support him at home because he's still exhausted at the end of the school day and goes to bed at 6:30

I can't believe a class teacher could contemplate writing reports if they've not read with a group for five months! If this is truly the case, please raise it further! I'm shocked!

I volunteer with a reading intervention nonprofit at an inner-city elementary school (in USA) where we read with 6-7yos who are behind grade level in their reading, often because they are not read to at home and/or have no books at home. There is a HUGE difference between the children who are read to/have books to read at home and those who don't - vocabulary, comprehension, communication skills, attention span etc - and if these children are not brought up to speed at school, they fall behind their peers almost exponentially across all areas of learning, because things rarely if ever change in their home lives. So I can see the teacher's point of view here - I wonder how many children in the class, how many adults, how many opportunities for reading? I can also see why OP is upset and I would be too. I'd probably also speak to the Head, but perhaps with an angle of asking for more support for the teacher.

I would have happily posted the first book to you but it probably costs more to post one than to grab a second hand one, and the library is free. I don't trust my two with borrowed books but I really should try and get down there more often.

Forbidden fruit idea sounds good. To me he's the modern Dennis the Menace but I'm not hugely into him.

If library trips aren't too stressful you could pull a few different similar books out and see what peaks his interest before you take one out. Also, if there's an activity place you can go to, enclosed soft play etc, maybe you could go along and let the three year old play safely while hopefully the one year old naps or stays home with someone, and your son can read some with you before it after or in the middle of his playtime. This may work depending on your situation and what your kids are like.

It sounds like you're doing perfectly well. You're juggling three young children and still getting in time. You can't expect reading time not to be disturbed a bit. It happens.

Keep up your good work!