Kumon or Kip mcgrath or similar for seriously behind year 5?

[pinkmagic1]

My ds's teacher called me in this morning and told me in a round about way that he was bottom of the class and seriously under achieving. He has always been behind but had an excellent teacher last year and started to improve but since changing class in September his work has just gone down hill again.

His handwriting is terrible, his reading comprehension is extremely poor and he has to count on his hands for many simple sums. My dd who has just turned 7 is at the same or higher level in a lot of areas. I am extremely worried as he is going up to seniors in a year and a half and he will be so much out of his depth.

I have tried to assist at home but he becomes extremely frustrated and I am at the end of my tether. I was wondering if sending him to something like Kumon or Kip Mcgrath would give him the help he needs and was wondering if anyone has any experience of this? How many times a week and for how long do the children attend and roughly what are the costs involved? We are not flush by any means but I do have some savings I am prepared to use if it would help him.

Anyone?

My ds was a couple of years behind in literacy (spelling and handwriting were also atrocious) at the end of yr 4. (level 2a)

We started on 'apples and pears' by sound foundations over the summer holidays, this is a spelling scheme.

I also employed one of the TAs to tutor him in Literacy once a week for an hour (£22). He really struggled with getting his thoughts onto paper as well as making interesting sentences.

He's halfway through yr 6, and back up to the standard he should be at (4b/a).

A good tutor will be able to help with his maths too.

It's a lot of money every week, but he really has improved

Oh and suddenly this year, his handwriting has really improved with no help at all!

sorry, should have made it clear, we started apples and pears on book a, we've now nearly finished book d which is the last one. So most nights (not all) we've done some spelling work which i think has also helped his confidence.

Kip McGrath normally works in group sessions, so you wouldn't get the individual attention that you would on a one to one basis.

As with any franchise the teaching standard also varies greatly.

I would get a personal recommendation of a tutor who can give one to one tuition for ds. Ask the school or maybe post on here for recommendations....

My DS is a Kumon tutor. I am no expert but I suspect it's not what you need, there is a huge expectation that they will do lots of repetitive work at home.
Agree with others, one to one would be better. As he's only in year 5 could you devise something yourself?
I would also go back to the school and ask what help they can put in place for him.

Why's he so behind? Is there some underlying problem?

I would suggest a 1:1 tutor definitely.

My DS was very behind in Maths a few years ago. He didn't even get a level 1c at KS1 SATS in Y2. We found a tutor and she identified his weaknesses - pretty much all the basics! - and worked on him understanding those. Really really well. He used his fingers, number lines and apparatus to help him in those early days. But it paid off, because unless kids have the 'basics' absolutely nailed in their minds, they cannot move on to more complicated problems. Thing is, the more they find they CAN do it, the more confident they become.

Speak to the SENCO, because if he is very behind, then he should receive intervention at school - I believe it's officially 2 years behind his peers before they do intervene - but speak to the school, work together with your son. If the SENCO seems reluctant, speak to the Head and don't let it lie.

My DS is now Y6 and he is working at level 4c/4b. We are thrilled. But he's only got there because we got him support at school, help outside of school and helped him at home.

Good luck OP!

Thanks for all your advise. There are no underlying problems as far as we are aware Smee, he is just not very academic really and struggles. His teacher last year was great and he was really coming on but the one this year lacks the patience he needs.

He does receive some extra support at school but not as much as he maybe needs so will speak to the school again. I will also look into the option of a private tutor as you are right that this would give him the one to one attention he needs.

I think you should be asking the school what they are planning do to help your ds. Kip McGrath can either be very good or a total waste of money, depending on what the teacher is like who runs the centre. I think that small group tutoring can be more enjoyable for children than one to one, but the group has have the right children in it. There is no point in a child who is struggling educationally being put with a group preparing for super selective schools.

Kumon is a waste of money as you can buy the workbooks on Amazon for a lot less than the monthy fees.

Hmm, did the CT tell you what they are doing to help your DS? What did previous CT do which helped with progress?

Sorry I know I'm not helping with the original question, but if a DC is behind enough for the CT to contact you and point this out then the school should be putting in some kind of support to help.......Oh just a minute by the sounds of things they are passing responsibility on to you .

Just remember why we send our DC to school pink it isn't so we can go spending money on teaching resources to teach them at home....A meeting with CT would be best before you go spending

Hi pink
Really recommend Kumon in the short term to catch up. Dds best friend in her class went from bottom to top 5% in a year.
I say not long term kumon as it doesn't really give in depth reasoning BUT it does reinforce the process. It will require you to push DS to do it everyday to see the benefit but from the results I have witnessed I think it does an amazing job.