To think this is not good enough?

[Feelingdisappointed2024]

My child is in Year 1 in a state primary and is given 1 reading book a week in a green book band. She is being told to read said book every night. It is SO boring so we've stopped doing it, and I've spent a small fortune on supplementing the school reading with other phonics books. Sometimes the reading book is repeated, and last term we had the same book for 3 weeks!

Am I being unreasonable to expect the school to provide more books, or is this just what everybody has to do in the state system? Is one reading book a week really recommended at this age? The local independent school gives the children a book a night!

The pace just seems so pedestrian and it's taking so long for her reading to progress. Is this normal or am I just being pushy.

buying books for your kids is the best money you will ever spend.

if budget is an issue, pop into the local library and/or second hand book store.

I suppose that for me is the problem. I spent hours and hours in the library as a child. I loved books and was a voracious reader. I read every famous five and secret seven book in the library by the time I was nine. Then it was Malory towers, Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys.

I just think that giving small children books that are “not for enjoyment” and turning reading into a painful repetitive chore will discourage children from reading for pleasure as they grow.

The thing is it is not easy to supplement as the (rather boring Biff and Chip books do follow a step by step phonics programme.

Luckily there are literally hundreds of books in the series. There aren’t huge numbers in our local library (there are some, but all turquoise band for some reason). So, I search by the author in the library online catalogue, and order ones we haven’t read before. You can google the title if you are sure what band each book is.

We’ve been doing this since year 1, DS has always been crap at swapping his books and also randomly chooses completely inappropriate books because he likes the cover (bringing home a lilac book, ie no words, when he is reading brown band books at school). I also make him read some of his own story books, just a paragraph or so.

@fuckityfuckityfuckfuck thank you so much for explaining this, it makes perfect sense! It seems like utter madness. I'm a secondary English teacher and I really can see why so many children really don't enjoy reading.

That is a useful explanation @fuckityfuckityfuckfuck since DD’s school moved to an approved reading scheme she’s been sent home with books far too easy for her. It might be a requirement but it’s certainly not better.

What worries me is that I am supplementing her reading with more advanced library books but what about the children whose parents aren’t? There’ll be a widening gap between those who parents are more proactive and those that aren’t.

I'm not 100% sure as I'm not at school right now, but I think that reading scheme is designed to be read multiple times.

Is there a list of words in the front cover of the book?

There should also be a guide at the back telling you what to do over three reads. (Decoding, prosody, then comprehension).

This ^

Support your local library. Make a trip of it. You can usually borrow 5 books so you pick a couple and let her pick a couple too

I would expect her to get one book a week and to read it every night if she is learning to read. This will lead to her being a better reader over time. I wouldn't expect her to read it perfectly the first time (if it is appropriate for her level). Practice makes perfect and all that. She can surely read other books with you too for fun.

You’re unreasonable to have had an issue with the school for more than a third of the year and then to come on here to whinge rather than having a quick word with the teacher months ago.

The purpose of the book is to teach your child the sounds that they are learning in school. It's supposed to be repetitive.

Do that and buy/borrow books. Visit your local library. Promote reading to your child. Reading is about learning but it should also be fun.

Go on Amazon. Buy the book: how to teach your child to read in 100 lessons. It's American but fine for UK.
She will be reading chapter books by the time she is finished.

Mine both went to state. I did this and also added Oxford reading tree books in.

I've had multiple chats with the teacher and headteacher. I just wanted to gauge if one book a week really is the best way to learn to read. I also wondered if other schools are doing this and what the rationale is.

Yes this is it exactly. There is a huge gap in my daughter's class between the children whose parents are doing the same as us, and those who aren't.

My DD reads a book once and memorisises them, she just recites it... So the weekly reading book is pointless after night 1... So we just play games and read other stuff and practice hand writing instead.

One book a week at that age seems very limited to me. Also the reading same book every day takes all the enjoyment out of books and stories. However, as a state primary there are massive financial constraints. Reading schemes for an entire school cost tens of thousands of pounds. Maybe they just don't have enough books to be able to provide more than one a week to every child? Sad and unacceptable but a sign of the times. And so many kids don't return them on time/at all. I have seen reading books with school stamps on them in local charity shops 🫣

Sometimes, she's already read the book in school, and I can tell within 3 seconds if she's reciting. So... Sometimes reading school books at home lasts no more than 10 seconds ha ha

That time is better spent practising her writing for us!

Is it possible she holds back at school ? My grandson was like this until we started commenting abou him reading fluently at home. He was the second free reader at school now.

I could read before I started nursery so DM just got books from the library for me. We didn't have school reading books to take home (old) just read what ever was available at home and school books at school. (I was allowed to take my own in for school) I don't think library books need to be phonic books- just books.
DF was a great fan of collecting books so I used to trawl around charity shops and choose some. Most charity shops have loads of early readers for pennies.

@GettingStuffed I don't think so - I did initially think this as she reads well and is fluently reading the books that come home each week. But her book band is fixed according to a phonics assessment which she does each term. The phonics test is similar to the one done at the end of Year 1, and I know that in stand alone phonics she's not getting 100% and is in the correct band according to the test results

@Aglets yes I was the same as you. Perhaps we should just ditch the phonics at home altogether and just focus on leading to read the old fashioned way. I was just trying to support what she's doing at school.
I know that the one girl in her class who is free reading is still on decodable books and finding it very dull, so I'm not sure being a super reader is all it's cut out to be either. I think I need to start blaming the government for these limiting and dull reading frameworks

Gosh what a strange system, when I was at school oh so many moons ago I just read whatever I wanted from the library! Amazed to read this honestly, nothing useful to add beyond this. Surely the point is just to encourage children to read as much as possible and to enjoy it?!

Do you realise how long it takes to hear 30 kids read their book? Record, change their book and record? You would literally get nothing else done. Even with a great TA I'd question that if kids gets a new book everyday, are they even reading their books to staff?

Phonics is a fantastic method of teaching reading. Once children know the sounds they can read the majority of words. Much easier than teaching every word individually.

Do the phonics reading and support the schools teaching methods but separate this from teaching a love of reading do this through a variety of fiction and non fiction, engaging in choosing books/attending local library. Role model enjoyment of books.

That way your dd learns to read and learns the fun of reading

Tbh I didn’t want to seem like I was picking on the op, but I’m always surprised when I come across parents that seem to rely on schools for every single aspect of their child’s learning and education, with no support at home. How has a child of reading age not got any suitable reading books at home from them to learn from? In this day and age a child failing to improve at reading shouldn't be down to a lack of access to books. You can get free resources from so many places if you look online, let alone actually going to the library. If you want to build a good book shelf up then go round some charity shops or car boots and pick some up for 20p. And you don’t really need special phonics books to teach your child to read. My dd learnt from in the night garden and Julia Donaldson books, plus me sitting down with her with a pen and piece paper and writing stories with her. I see school as a system to supplement what I teach my children, not the other way around. And they wouldn’t be falling behind because the teachers lack the time and resources to help them

I agree with @Ihatethenewlook
I find this a really strange issue to have. Of course it's your role to provide interesting reading material for your child. One of my DDs was a reluctant reader so just read her 2 pages a night. Other DD read the whole book in one go so just read something else the other nights. Why should the school provide extra reading material for your child.
Parents seem to think schools should be raising their children even out of school hours.