Earlyish Reader - What Happens at School?

[rowingboat]

Hi all, our little boy will be five when he starts school in August and I am wondering what they do when a child can read reasonably well before they start. What I mean is that he can read books like 'The Gruffalo' or instructions on packets, not 'War and Peace'.
People who know us tell me he will be bored at school because he has already started to read on his own.
I would have thought that reading alone would be more of a homework thing and not something which made up a large part of the curriculum, but I'm not sure whether this is true.
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if they found this to be true and if anyone could offer me any advice on the subject.
He doesn't particularly want to go to school and likes to spend most of the day playing with Lego. I wouldn't describe him as a particularly mature or advanced child in general.
Is there anything I should ask the school other than just telling them what he reads? Or is there anything I should look out for?
incidentally, I'm not sure which school he will be attending at this point.
Thank you.

I assume if he is starting school in August that you are in Scotland?

I don't know much about how school works but my experience in England says he will not be bored. The Gurffalo pretty hard to read btw - is it more that he knows it by heart?

I was a relief TA in an FS2 class (all 5yos) earlier this year. There were a couple of children who came into the year reading; they were reading harder books than the others, but still had plenty to learn - about turn taking, socialising, gross and fine motor etc etc.

I have found that a child who is ahead in one area at this age may well not be in others so there's usually plenty to learn and keep them interested. I would tell the school that he can read and the teacher will make his or her own assessment.

HTH

I meant to say don't know much about how school works in Scotland, sorry.

The clocks going forward has freaked me out! My laptop still says 12:24!
I am in Scotland, how perceptive/knowledgeable.

My feeling is that he isn't advanced in general and will certainly be busy learning lots of other things and developing social skills.
I don't actually know if he can read 'The Gruffalo' I was trying to give and example of the type of thing he reads. He amazes me though, because he will have a bash at any text and uses his finger to follow the line if the book has denser text.
I have seen various views on here re early reading, but he has led the way so not a great deal I can do now. It's just that I don't want to have regrets down the line because I should have done something differently when he started school.

ds went from reading one word to a Mr Man book then to Horrid Henry in the space of a week, by the time he started school at 4 he was reading Roald Dahl/Dick King Smith, he still had to go through their reading scheme though (so they said but he never brought a book home), they would send him home with reading books from the junior school as he could read all of the infants school books (and the junior school ones, they gave up). He was still expected to do the 'read the sh letter' type sheets though, his teacher said this was so he didn't feel left out. He was placed in a year 1 group for literacy (which was a problem for him as he couldn't write) and went back into reception for the rest of the time. He did find this very confusing and if showed in his behaviour. If they suggest this (well, they didn't ask me to be honest, they just did it) then say no, it's unsettling for a child to be out of their year group for one/two subjects and then be expected to return to their normal class.

Hi Belle,
thank you for that!
I will check with his prospective schools to see how they deal with different reading levels.
I'm glad you mentioned about the writing, this would present a problem for my ds, he is a bit random in that area and still has a fist grip. Definitely worth knowing.

Is he ahead in Maths aswell? We found this equally a problem. Ds is like a sponge, he gets the hang of new things right away and spends 5 minutes doing the work that's supposto take him all lesson, it's caused endless problems as he has nothing to do when he's finished, he does check his work in the 5 minutes aswell so he's really quick. He has been told off for asking if he can read or draw so he's resorted to day dreaming. His old school used to send him on errands when he had finished his work, this was far from ideal so maybe you should ask your son's school what they would do if this happened to your son.

I would imagine they will be thrilled that he can read. They will differentiate so don't worry-even if they were to all start from exactly the same point, it would be apparent after a fortnight that they were not all in the same place and they don't all need the same teaching.The range will be huge and I doubt whether he will be alone.

We also found problems with DD1, as she started school able to read reasonably well (knew all the Foundation words etc). School just ignored it,started with the 'no picture' books, and were grimly determined to plod through every book level, even if she could read them straight through in record time, and with no mistakes! She started to get quite frustrated.
I really felt they could have managed things better, as it was a very small school.
My DH is a teacher, and when he got a job in a nearby private school, we were able to move her there, and the teacher's attitude is the complete opposite, DD is really encouraged , and provided with a really wide breadth of reading (and other work). I think it really demonstrated the gap between box-ticking state schools and child-centered private ones.

I agree Dragon, I moved ds after reception to a private school, he was encouraged to read and the enlish/maths/science he was given was based on his ability rather then his age so he did really well. I moved him back into a state school last year for a number of reasons but ended up moving him back into a private school as he was so far ahead he was a very bored bully magnet The state school 'differentiated' (sp?) the work by giving all the children sheets (a hard sheet for the ones that were better at maths and an easy sheet for ones that were not as good) and they were left to fill in the answers on the corresponding side. There was no additional work at all, given that at age 10 ds had a maths age of 14 this didn't really work for him

Make sure that you visit the school before you send him and ask the right questions. A good state school will be able to meet his needs-it is quite common for year 1 DCs to be reading Harry Potter.

Agree with Pisces,- ask lots of questions, particularly other parents who have children already at the school. We didn't really have a choice about where DD1 went, and I think this thread and others clearly demonstrate that schools are not the same, despite the National Curriculum.

DD1 school did NOT differentiate, if anything the teacher (and TA) seemed rather annoyed that DD could read. There were only 12 NT children in the Reception class, so it was hardly the most onerous teaching job!
The end came at the last Parents Evening, when we remarked that DD1 did not really seem to be enjoying school as much as she should,- this was met with - "well, if she didn't know so much, she wouldn't be bored! It's like teaching a 10 year old!" We moved her shortly after.

Thank you all for the input, really helpful.
I will phone the schools next week and find out whether I can arrange a chat or whatever. Still have to see one of the schools so could combine a visit and reading questions.
I'm formulating a plan here.
Ideally the school will tailor the reading to the individual child, but it sounds as if some don't so I need to be ready to deal with that possibility.
It's hard to know how he will react to the reading by numbers, but if he reacts negatively I need to know what measures they can take.
From what you are saying Belle, I need to find out if they may put him into a group with older children and whether they will lump writing in with reading.
He actually knows quite a few children in the next year up so it may be OK if that does happen from the social standpoint.
He is quite a dreamy boy as well Dragon, but can seem a bit slow when the other kids are jumping in to do things.
I hope your DS wasn't too upset by the bullies in the other school. Don't even want to start thinking about that.
I'm not sure about his maths ability, he can count quite high, but it's not something I have really pushed (since I am hopeless ). He knows that if there are 5 currant buns in the baker's shop and somebody buys 1 that there are 4 currant buns in the bakers shop.

ds knew how to add up to 10 and the number up to 100 before he started school, I don't think they were doing enough with him when he was in reception though as by the time he left he knew no more then this, the minute he moved to the private school in year 1 he really raced ahead, he achieved the top level 3 in his sats. The state school really did feed me some waffle though, at parents evening I asked what their normal policy for children like ds was, the teacher told me they could differentiate the work though and they had a few children who had moved to the junior school a year early. My MIL worked there at the time so I checked with her and she said they had never taken a child early from the infants They just didn't know what to do with him, he became really bored and a 4 year old's way of expressing this is through behaviour.

First of all, different schools deal with this differently. Round our way, they seemed to do it quite well. Several children from playschool (not mine) did know how to read, but the school differentiated and there were no resulting problems.

Secondly, even if the school is not good at differentiating, it will depend on the individual child whether he or she is bored/worried by it. I was a very fast reader when I started school; didn't really worry me as I found other things to be interested in and just read my own things out of school hours. But some children will find it more difficult.

DD1 could read most things starting school - i didn't say anything to the teacher but within the first week she had called me in to find out more about what she could/couldn't to. a good sign!

the first half term she joined in with all the phonics letters then when they realised she did know them all thoroughly she sat out (with another boy) and did something else, her news book or an activity book.

they didn't make her go through the reading schemes. she did a few books from level 5 or 6 i think but not every book. by year 1 she was choosing her own books. I didn't get hung up on her reading books that were too easy, just focus on the meaning of the words, punctuation, expression, understanding etc.

I do wonder if it is better to wait for the other children to 'catch up' or to allow the child to move along as fast as they want to.
It does seem a bit boring to have to wait for everyone else, and a pity not to allow the child to progress.
I know one of his school options adopts a 'wait for the rest of the class' approach, but he is unlikely to get into that school (denominational).
Of the other schools, one has reading tables which are kind of like streaming, and I'm not sure of the other school.

We are also in Scotland and my son is in P1. His class spend some time each day going over letter sounds. I attended his parents night last week to be told that he is quite disruptive during this time. It turns out that he is picking up the concepts quickly and is then wriggling / moving about rather than sitting still. He is in the top group for reading and seems to manage all the material that he is given effortlessly. I am pretty sure that he is bored. I think the problem with a policy of waiting for the other children to catch up is that boredom may be expressed by behaviour that is disruptive. It may be worth asking what the school would do with this situation.

rowingboat is it just reading yr DS is ahead in?

If so, I really wouldn't worry too much (tho by all means go and visit schools and ask some questions).

Honestly, IME reading is one of the easiest things for even a state school with 30 pupils in reception to differentiate in.

I help reagularly in an FS2 class and also spent time this term working in another one.

Some children in the class I help in are reading the simplest books; others are reading much harder books. It's very simple to differentiate in terms of what book they are sent home with!

As far as phonics etc goes, obviously a child who can read may not need to learn that nnnnn is the n sound etc; but it is all useful building blocks IMO and it's usually only a few minutes a day.

You say he's not especially mature or advanced in general - so it sounds to me as tho he will still have plenty to learn and be challenged by in an reception class.

Most children work at their own pace in FS2 anyway (eg some will be able to write a sentence, others may still barely be able to write their name - they will have free access to materials etc so will do what they can). I presume they do something similar in P1 in Scotland?

Hi there,
I think it is reading Clary.
He can count up to 100 then starts saying 'one billion and sixty thousad' so not so hot on the numbers. I don't ask him to add and subtract very often and usually have to get the fingers and toes out for him, so probably not so much with arithmetic.
He is trying to write, but usually has to tell me what he has written.
He will probably be fine, I just want to be pre-armed. He is quite laid-back in general and really just wants to draw and build with lego. Socially, he is pretty good and I can see that side of things being very exciting for him.

I so agree wit Cory (again). My dc have been good readers but certainly NOT bored at school because of it.
In fact dc1 quite liked reception BECAUSE of being able to play with lego!
dc2 always seems quite happy to read really easy books as more difficult books (she is free reader and still reads Biff and Chip level 1 and 2 in the library).
And.. whenever I see the reception children, they only seem to be playing and having fun whole day which for me is more important (yeh, i know about play based learning and all that stuff).

Thirdname that sound very positive. As you say there is a lot more to early learning than reading. I echo the easy and hard books, my LO still loves to go through 'Hug' and say 'Hug!' whenever he sees it. [brain melts at very thought]

I have just found this thread again and thought I would update the situation.
DS started school and after being assessed was sent to read with P2, which, I think, is the same as year 1 in England.
Fortunately, he doesn't have writing with them, as he can't write, well he can, but only names of characters in Dr Who or Star Wars.
My aunt is a teacher in England and she sent me a reading list, which was a test of the child's understanding of the technical aspects of reading, rather than comprehension and he seems quite far ahead in his reading level.
I noticed a poster in the school, aimed at parents with children who require additional support, either because they are having difficulty with learning or because they are further ahead in their learning.
I was wondering if anyone knew how this support system worked in Scotland. There don't seem to be any formal assessments and would need to be requested by the school.
It may be irrelevant, but I feel I should ask rather than wonder.