Pushy or just a concened parent.?

[nikki5421]

We are a Forces family that have just moved back from Germany where my dd attended a military school. Whilst there we regualary received very positive comment about her abilities especially in English. This school read with children everyday and my daughter brought home books every night which were exchanged as soon as she finished them. Before leaving we were told that if she had remained in the school she would have been in the group of G&T. On our return to UK and having put my dd into a school in Wales i am very concerned that she is not being challenged. She is currently in a mixed class with the year below her (YR1&2) and she has two part time teachers who split the week between them. I have been in to speak with her teachers and they agree she is very advanced but stated they may struggle to provide appropriate reading material for her. The only thing thats been offered is an hour of Read & Write with the Juniors, three days a week which she now attends. Only problem is that she says the work she does with her own class is boring and babyish. Things have come to a head this week after a book she read remained in her book bag for a week without being changed. Am I being a pushy mum or is it right that im worried my dd is missing out? Ive even consider moving her schools but being a service family i want to limit the disruption to her education (she will suffer enough of this). If anybody can offer advice it would be appreciated.

Who is responsible for changing the books? When my dcs were in Yr 1 and 2, it was the children themselves. I'd have a brief word with the teacher about this and other issues before making any rash decisions.

Not sure if you should be worried or not - it does seem a bit odd that they say they might struggle to provide appropriate reading material, as I'd have thought most schools should be able to cater for more advanced readers without too much difficulty.

However, I don't think the book staying in her bag for a week is necessarily a cause for concern - our (very wonderful :) school only changes them once a week anyway. Can't your dd just read books from the library for the rest of the week?

Dd has often had problems at school with exhausting the age appropriate section of the library. Solved by asking the teacher nicely if she might bring in her own books.

I wouldn't take a child out of school unless there was a serious problem that could not be resolved by going through appropriate channels. What if there is another, more serious problem at the next school. You might end up exhausting all the schools in the area.

I entered reception as a free reader, and my teacher nicked borrowed all her own DD's books for me to read! :o

I wouldn't make too much of an issue about the reading books anyway, you can use libraries, charity shops etc.

But the general feeling of boredom would worry me. Presumably though it's only been a few weeks so it may be a bit early? At least they're recognising her ability :)

I would play the Forces card. If your DCs are going to be moving with you and frequently changing schools at atypical points, they are going to miss a lot of "active" (IFYSWIM) schooling if you wait a few weeks every time.

So both for now and for her longer term you need ways of ensuring fast integration.

Do you have a good and comprehensive report from her SCE school? Can you make an appointment to go through it with her teacher? Then you can go through the written evidence from the previous teacher/s and raise concerns about the need for integration and appropriate level work in a more objective way.

As she moved at an atypical time, her form teacher will not have the same need to assess from scratch a whole class of pupils, so there's a good chance s/hewill be able to make this a positive priority.

Even if it all goes pear-shaped, you'll learn how to do it better next time, and the next time, and the next....

I get most of DC's reading books from the public library; it is much easier than relying on DC or school to change their books. Come to think of it, DD (yr4) has been told that she must bring in books from home to read (large town school with plenty of its own books, they think DD is the bee's knees in literacy skills).

I would ask briefly about her boredom next time I saw the teacher, plus parents' evenings are very soon when you discuss issues at more length. I agree it's too early to try moving her.

Is this a small rural school she's at, OP?