School Reports

[Work12]

Not too sure what I want from this and maybe I am being unreasonable but every school report and every parents evening the teacher says my dd is behind, it has now started with ds too. I must say I am proud of both children and don't compare them, their behaviour and manner is always really good at school etc but I feel that no matter what nothing is ever good enough for the teachers. Child is Year 3, the teachers in ever year always say she is being monitored on maybe going onto the SEN register but they never quite make a decision, I feel like they just have to have a certain amount of pupils that are hovering over the line of SEN. It is so frustrating, I am not jealous of course not but other parents come out raving about glowing reports and and parents evening but we always come out deflated (not at child just at what teachers say) Dd can read almost anything and difficult words, yet her report says she is 3 levels behind? They don't even read to the teacher just to helpers or for example dd knows 2,3,4,5,10 x tables and the teacher has put that she needs to work towards knowing 2,5 and 10 x tables, it annoys me because do they not know anything my child knows and then they give her lower marks etc! I have brought some learning activity books but I am just wondering is it possible for her to catch up or are the teachers just placing her at low levels as they have to have 'so many' in the class doing well and bad, also why aren't the teachers getting her upto the standard she should be at? What more can I do? I feel frustrated that no matter what,the level she is at is always behind. I just want to know how to help her!

This sounds frustrating. When they say she doesn't know her times tables do you challenge them on that? Could you ask for a chat with the teacher about suggestions for ways you can support dd?

It is possible the school they are at isn't very good at dealing with sen. It doesn't sound great that the teacher never heard her read.

Also you at about reading levels, how much reading does she do at home and do you mind sharing what level she is on? (Assuming Oxford reading tree)

So you need to arrange a meeting with the teacher to discuss your concerns and ask what support is being put in place

Reading is more than just knowing the words, she must have good comprehension too and understand what it is she is reading.
Do you read at home? Do you ask questions about what she is reading?

can you ask what it would take for her to be properly assessed once and for all? So you would know if she’s needing to go on sen reg. you might need to do a bit of pushing.

There are no quotas that classes have to fill of top middle and lower achievers. I have worked on primary school till last year and that’s not a thing.

Have a word with the teacher - book a proper appointment, don't grab them at pick up, prepare your list of questions and go from there.

or example dd knows 2,3,4,5,10 x tables and the teacher has put that she needs to work towards knowing 2,5 and 10 x tables,
nothing wrong in asking to clarify

Dd can read almost anything and difficult words, yet her report says she is 3 levels behind?
reading is not just going through the words, it's all about the understanding, and the ability to write at same level.

What's being behind? What level should she be at?
Level 3, if it's turquoise to lime, is really behind for a child at the end of year 3.

OP, I could have writte your post for my DS. He's a summer born, which doesn't help, but have never acheived th expecte levels. We have his report at home now. I'm so tempted to just write "at some point my son will exceed the expected standards but I now accept it will never be at your school". He's coming to the end of year 5 and we have given up pushing for a ADHD diagnosis as the school isn't interested if he's not throwing chairs. Tell them she is making the progress they are setting her up to make, and if this isn't good enough, when you've done your part, got her to have enough sleep and breakfast to concentrate and got her to school on time, what are they going to do about it?

Well, why aren't you asking the teacher about these things when they say them at parents' evenings?

Does she actually know her times tables or can she just say the pattern of numbers? There is a big difference. Likewise reading, it’s not enough to be just able to read the words.

It’s not all down to the teachers to get her to standard. You need to have a meeting to ascertain why she hasn’t met standard and what together the plan is.