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Original poster

School stopped sending physical reading books!

99 replies

Trumpetpants · 04/02/2022 22:23

Just that really, for the whole of Key Stage One no physical reading books being given! Reading has to be done via a difficult to access link. Asked why this is and told because 4 children don't return the books so all to be done on line.
If your device is over a year old it is not possible to access for some wierd reason.
We offered to fund raise for more books but school said no. I think this is very unreasonable and unfair, grrrr

OP posts:
UltraVividLament · 04/02/2022 22:27

That's crazy. And makes the assumption that every child has a suitable device they can access regularly. And that reading on screen is equivalent to reading a physical book, which imo it isn't.

INeedNewShoes · 04/02/2022 22:35

I'd be horrified by this. The longer I can keep my DD reading physical books and the less time she spends looking at a screen the better in my view.

User48751490 · 04/02/2022 22:37

DC'S school is the same. Everything to be done online.

Palmtree · 04/02/2022 22:41

Local library? Tons of Stages 1 to 3 books available for free, plus a raft of other terrific reading matter for young readers?

Workconundrummergirl · 04/02/2022 22:44

@Palmtree

Local library? Tons of Stages 1 to 3 books available for free, plus a raft of other terrific reading matter for young readers?
Problem is if school are sending home set books, then you still need to get online to find out which to go get them
BitterTits · 04/02/2022 22:47

This is sad. One thing Ofsted have got right is a focus on reading for pleasure, and flicking a virtual page on a screen simply isn't it.

Original poster
Trumpetpants · 04/02/2022 22:53

A lot of families are unhappy about it, but there isn't much we can do. I was going to approach parent governor but there isn't a governing body anymore :(

OP posts:
GTAlogic · 04/02/2022 22:58

This is awful and I wonder if the school are being paid in some way for the children using the online scheme since they're refusing to change despite so many people against it?

spanieleyes · 05/02/2022 09:49

No, schools aren't paid for accessing online books, they still have to pay for the access! We have had to change phonics schemes because the one we used ( even though it gave us 85% success rate at the phonics screening test and was a decent scheme) wasn't one of the " approved" ones we now have to use. The resources for the scheme, including the books to be used in school, cost us £10000. online access for the home reading books for the scheme we use is £350 for the whole of KS1. Each physical book ( yes, even the very thin KS1 books) is £4.50. Because of the way the scheme is run, we need a minimum of 10 copies of each book, there are roughly 30 books per year group and 3 year groups in KS1. So over £4000! We are fund raising to buy more books so we can get ones to send home too( we prefer children to have them even though many are never returned!) and have just managed to get the first instalment but until we can buy the whole set needed, some access will continue to be online.

madmomma · 05/02/2022 09:55

This is appalling.

Justkeeppedaling · 05/02/2022 10:00

I wouldn't let my child read them. Plenty of good books in the library, charity shops or full price of you can pay.
No way would I allow my child to read an electronic book.

languagelover96 · 05/02/2022 10:11

How silly. You can find books at your local library, bookshop and local garden center etc instead. Additionally you can purchase books online as well from Amazon or in a book subscription box. This is shocking really.

MrsRugbyMa · 05/02/2022 10:13

Screen time is very damaging to kids eyes. I would gather up the other parents and strongly object.Why does school have no governing body?

Scarby9 · 05/02/2022 10:16

Worse, I went into school as a volunteer 1-1 reader a few years ago, and the school wanted the children to read books on a screen then too.

Scarby9 · 05/02/2022 10:17

And we were put in the library to use the computer, surrounded by physical books.

FelicityPike · 05/02/2022 10:18

My DD is P2 and has never had a book home, all done on the app.
“Because of Covid”.

Pinkflipflop85 · 05/02/2022 10:20

As another poster - our scheme books (Oxford reading tree) no longer meet the requirements of the early reading framework and have all had to go.

Academy bigwigs have been pushing for us to move to the online only books for our approved phonics provider because it is the most cist effective.

Luckily for our school we have managed to scrape enough budget together (Plus matched funding) to buy hard copies of the books. It has cost thousands rather than the £395 the online books would have cost. The children whose families are known for never returning books are currently taking home photocopies of the books because we can't afford to lose £4 each time.

Pinkflipflop85 · 05/02/2022 10:21

*cost

Shuffletime · 05/02/2022 10:23

Has the school not done a parent meeting to explain the new scheme? The newer approved phonics/early reading schemes are like this because it costs thousands to kit out an entire eyfs/ks1 with the approved phonetically decodable books.

The children will be reading a physical copy of the book in school, it's just home it'll be the electronic copy.

Anyway, reading for the love of reading, bedtime stories etc. has more of an impact over children learning to read than taking home book band books. (As long as the school are teaching reading properly in school)

toppkatz · 05/02/2022 10:36

What an absolutely dreadful idea.

spanieleyes · 05/02/2022 10:46

We had phonetically decodable books but had to ditch the lot! This is because the books we use have to completely match the new phonics scheme we had to bring in, there has to be complete "fidelity" to the scheme used. OFSTED checked!

Pinkflipflop85 · 05/02/2022 11:49

@spanieleyes

We had phonetically decodable books but had to ditch the lot! This is because the books we use have to completely match the new phonics scheme we had to bring in, there has to be complete "fidelity" to the scheme used. OFSTED checked!
Same!
MrsSiba · 05/02/2022 11:55

That is appalling.

Our school has started to send home physical books for my son in pre-school, they didn't do that when my older daughter was that age.

Could you club together with other parents to buy books together then swap them between you? It can get expensive buying books for one child

Shuffletime · 05/02/2022 12:32

@spanieleyes

We had phonetically decodable books but had to ditch the lot! This is because the books we use have to completely match the new phonics scheme we had to bring in, there has to be complete "fidelity" to the scheme used. OFSTED checked!

That's not guidance. You have to have fidelity to the scheme for phonics teaching but books just have to be phonetically decodable and matched to the individual child. If reading is part of the scheme e.g. RWI or LW, that is still true. LW even have guides to match other schemes to their banding.

BitterTits · 05/02/2022 12:39

The school must have a governing body.