School stopped sending physical reading books!

[Trumpetpants]

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

This is really sad.

@ILoveMyMonkey

*MintJulia*

Not having real books to read, means no more reading in bed for pleasure. An entire source of childhood escapism down the pan.

I completely disagree with this being the schools fault. As parents we must take responsibility for our children’s learning at home. It is not the schools duty to provide bedtime reading and absolutely no reason why a parent couldn’t source suitable books from charity shops, book swaps, the library, bookshop to enable bedtime reading to continue. It’s just lazy parenting that would make your statement true Not having real books to read, means no more reading in bed for pleasure

No, I disagree. My ds has a new book every week, maybe £30 a month for one child. That's a lot for a low income family, especially with several children.

If our schools can't manage to foster a love of reading, a fundamental building block of all education, then they are failing.

Provision of public libraries is a requirement by law, because it provides an onward free route through education, but it is our schools' job to get children reading and engaged from the start, regardless of the failings of parents.

If we can't even manage that for all, we might as well not bother.

@MintJulia

Well, I'd make absolutely sure the school library had a steady supply of suitable reading books, via the PTA and fund raising.

Any school/academy trust that thinks reading for pleasure isn't a priority is failing their pupils. Sitting by, watching standards fall so low is not something I could live with. It's just shabby.

How are kids going to manage GCSE English Lit if they aren't reading for pleasure at 8 or 9?

Reading for pleasure and book band books for learning to decode work to read are completely separate things. No school is getting rid of books for reading for pleasure. That would be absurd.

Old book band books have to be phonetically decodable, so schools have had to chuck the majority of their book band books. There is not enough funding to replace them all in one go so online for 2 years while children are learning to read (reception & year 1 only) is not worth all the drama you're inciting.

Our bedtime reading was always a book for pleasure that I read to my child, not my child reading Oxford Reading Tree to me.

@Strictly1

Our bedtime reading was always a book for pleasure that I read to my child, not my child reading Oxford Reading Tree to me.

Exactly! One way to discourage love of reading is to force Biff, Chip and Kipper at bedtime! 😂

* it is our schools' job to get children reading and engaged from the start and I agree with this and while the op’s school are not providing physical books they have put things in place to meet that requirement, even if it is not a format preferential to the masses but what you said was Not having real books to read, means no more reading in bed for pleasure.* and that is simply not the as it is something a parent can and should facilitate and it can be done cheaply via charity shops, book swaps and the library.

*simply not true

Well, quite. The books being sent home or read online are not " reading for pleasure" books, they are phonetically decodable books that support the phonemes that have been taught ( ours exactly match the phonemes that have been taught that week) to enable the children to develop automaticity in their decoding and support the teaching that has occurred. These are the ones we have had to replace, initially by online ones as that is the cheapest option after significant outlay on the fundamentals of the new phonics scheme but eventually as we can afford them by 'real' versions. We also send child- chosen books home that can be shared with parents and encourage families to read anything else they want!

I wouldn't let my DC read online books. I'd rather buy physical books (obviously not an option for everyone) myself and use the library

It just sounds crazy that a school expects parents to use online books to support their child's reading. Ks1 children at the early stages of reading are the ones who need to have the experience of using their phonic knowledge to decode words in real physical books, then hopefully being able to move on to other books and read for pleasure independently.
As reading underpins all areas of the curriculum it is essential that money is spent on ensuring all children learn to read and having access to books is an important element. I would be very unhappy if that were not the case.

Can I ask why it is crazy? If schools are sending home real books for pleasure and the phonetically decidable ones are online meaning reading online for 10 minutes a day. Is that crazy? Ideal - no. But crazy?

The cost for us is equivalent to a TA for a year almost. They are reading real books in school and other real books but are sharing a decodable book with parents for about 10 minutes online.
We learn tables and spellings using online platforms.

Strictly1 perhaps I am misunderstanding yet it could be a barrier to accessing education

During lockdown many families at our school had no devices with access to the internet except one mobile phone with a limited data package - not idea for logging into any of these platforms / learning to read

Are all schools who move online like this also checking for those families who cannot access things online (thankfully our school was great at this) and giving free devices and internet access?

I would be frustrated with this approach yet we are fortunate to have devices / take the DC to the library / can buy books

In Reception , in particular, all the children begin learning the same sounds at the same time, so we would need 60 of each title, at £4.50 per book, and 30 books in the scheme - so £8000 worth for one year group. Online access is £350 for all 3 year groups. If we send 60 books home, you can guarantee we would only get around 55 back, so we would lose roughly £600 worth of books a year! Schools are having to account for every single penny, you can see why online books to reinforce and practice decoding skills becomes a viable alternative!

Ours all have access to devices and the tiny number who don't never returned/read books anyway and we've always done it in school.
I do fully understand why real books are preferred - I really do. But I don't think parents fully appreciate the strains schools are currently under and threatening them with Ofsted etc isn't helpful. It's not being done because we don't care - decisions have to be made.
Sadly, I know of several HTs and teachers leaving as they've had enough. Parents getting petitions together is not fair. I'm paying for additional behavioural support, 1:1s etc because I can't get help elsewhere and children need help/support now.
I am incredibly tired and I do take it personally when accused of not caring.

My local, academy, where the CEO is earning in excess of £120,000 per year have put out a request to every parent to buy at least one book and donate it to the school. Shocking.

And in my school, staff are buying their own- equally shocking!

Strictly1 no worries I’m not trying to imply teachers in this situation don’t care - it just seems bizarre that schools are put in this situation

And can see how it can help with the losing of books situation which no matter how much the school try that is money down the drain each year

We have Oxford Owl books to do every weekend, reading plus a quiz about each book. The website is so ridiculously badly coded it’s frustrating. The books flip the pages with the slightest touch on the screen, and the quizzes are awful. You have to match words to sounds and it’s way too sensitive and specific to the tile and the position. Drives me mad!

I feel a photocopied sheet would do the job if it's just to practice particular phonemes.

The school could buy books for one year group at a time and gradually build up a stock that way.

And if the govt are requiring particular resources they could bulk purchase then and recharge the schools.

@Phineyj

That's what we are doing but some parents prefer the online versions( and our photocopy budget is spent up until April!)

@Strictly1

Can I ask why it is crazy? If schools are sending home real books for pleasure and the phonetically decidable ones are online meaning reading online for 10 minutes a day. Is that crazy? Ideal - no. But crazy? The cost for us is equivalent to a TA for a year almost. They are reading real books in school and other real books but are sharing a decodable book with parents for about 10 minutes online. We learn tables and spellings using online platforms.

I don't think tables and spellings should be online either.

I personally think it's very much fair enough for parents to pay towards reading books. Those on free school meals should be exempt. People waste so much money on take aways, throw away fashion, plastic accessories etc. It's reasonable to expect a contribution. However, schools should then also quit all the dressing up days or make clear to parents that no costumes must be bought and only what you have at home should be reused. People spend ££ on book day costumes but are unwilling to pay for books.

Our taxes should pay for books. Real, actual books. But schools are broke because they’re underfunded or trust CEOs are scooping off too much of the £££

This has happened in my grandson's school too. They haven't sent a reading book home in months purely because some haven't been returned.