Weird school report?

[sambaba]

DD, just turned 5, has been able to read since 2. She can now read for example Harry Potter. She will ask about and respond to punctuation in text. Comprehension is amazing.
She started school this Sep and her first school report says underachieving for language and communication.
Both her nurseries identified her language was very advanced.
For context DH and I are both teachers and were also both GAT at literacy.
Is this a bit odd? I don't really plan on saying anything but I'm just a bit baffled.
It's two form entry and there are a lot of challenging kids I think including one whose been a bit violent at time, I suspect she's a gentle soul and doesn't say much.

The fact that you are “BOTH teachers” means you must be right about everything 🙄. Unfortunately your professional standing doesn’t negate the fact you still are equally vulnerable to being those batshit parents about your own little darling (and you clearly believe her reading skills are a direct reflection on you). I agree with a number of PPs- the themes in HP are totally inappropriate for a 5 year old. The school has flagged an issue. Rather than assume you know better, perhaps arrange a meeting to explore the issue? Try and have an open mind and stop being so supercilious.

Same here. I can skim read a passage very quickly and completely comprehend it. Was also reading at a young age and I'd rather read than most things.
I expect someone will be along shortly to tell me I'm ND.
Absolute peak Mumsnet that a viper posted straight after you!

@Herewegoagain84
Actually being a teacher means you are usually hyper vigilant against being 'that parent' as you hear them discussed regularly in the staff room.
And the school haven't flagged an issue, they have put OP child's up a few years off reading. The OP has queried it as it doesn't make sense.
Vile bilious posters like you and some of the horrible posts on here really make me despair of women.

The fact they are both trained and experienced teachers does give them the expertise to assess their own child’s skill development against the appropriate standards, though, doesn’t it. I don’t know why you’re being so unpleasant to the OP - your nastiness is totally uncalled for.

The OP has said that her child’s teacher is young and inexperienced. Trust me, the standard of a lot of new entrants to the profession is pretty low, particularly in primary teaching. You just need to scrape a pass in your GCSEs and you’re allowed to teach these days. So I can see the OP’s concern.

Harry Potter is not inappropriate for all 5 year olds. Children read, understand and process stories at the conceptual level of which they are capable at a given age. They might not get all of the themes or grasp all of the concepts but they will be able to understand and enjoy it within the context of their own life experience. It’s the same with adults - I read classic novels at the age of 17 that I’ve come back to now I’m over twice that age and found totally different meanings and resonances in them now I’ve got more life experience. It doesn’t mean I didn’t still enjoy them when I was younger, though - I just enjoyed them in a different way.

Of course there are children who read earlier, comprehend earlier and aren’t ND (if you mean autistic by that). Mine went on to be in the top few in their years academically.

I'm a teacher with 24 years experience, of my own not with someone else's tacked on, I've been senco, English lead etc etc and I can tell you HP is not appropriate reading material for your child. The themes with in are above the ability of kids that age to understand. I'd be rather worried if she did understand all about death.

However you have come across quite arrogant in this thread so very doubtful you will take on board anything anyone says.

Oh and I forgot I alsonhave a degree is psychology...

There's only one way to find out why they've marked her as under achieving & I think you have every right to simply ask the question and see what comes back.

Wow this is triggering for me. My mom was so proud of my reading that by the age of 11 I had read it, the stand, riders, dead zone, needful things, devil rides out , 1984 etc.

definitely think it damaged me! No comments on the op or Harry Potter btw.

i haven’t read a book in 15 years btw.

I'm highly entertained that so many on the thread are calling people 'vipers' and suggesting that a 5 year old who 'reads and understands' Harry Potter is not ND.

How many 5 year olds have you been near? It is far from 'typical development'.

Speak to the teacher.
It may be there has been a mistake.
It may be that "language and communication" at school hasn't really addressed reading yet and your DD has not displayed the skills they have assessed because she's quiet. Even children who are sociable with adults may be quiet amongst other children
If you and your DH are teachers of older children you may not be best placed to assess your DD in relation to other 5 year olds.
Also, Harry Potter becomes much more 'adult' as the series progresses. So the themes etc in the first book/s might be accessible to a younger child?

Why don't you just ask her teacher? I don't understand why you wouldn't say anything. Aren't there around 30 kids in the average UK infant class? If that doesn't sound like your daughter to you, reach out and find out why.

Follow up with the teacher. It's very reasonable to question this given the circumstances.

Why would you not say something if you don't understand the reason for it? It's your child's education, it's important you support it. That includes querying anything you don't understand. You don't have to go at it in an accusatory way. Just ask if they are able to explain why they were assessed as being at that level.

I remember questioning in Juniors why my DS had been kept so long on the reading scheme and not allowed to be a free reader. I genuinely couldn't understand it, he was very bright. He was so terribly bored on the reading scheme, he read much more advanced stuff at home, had an advanced vocabulary but preferred non fiction. His comprehension was excellent. They told me it was because the expression he used while reading out loud could be improved, he sometimes read in a monotone so it was hard for them to gauge if he understood how the characters were feeling etc. I did think that was a bit ridiculous - he was quite a reserved child and was a bit shy at reading out loud and probably did read in a bit of a monotone because he generally just read to himself in his head usually, and didn't enjoy most fiction too much, and the way fiction is "supposed" to be read out loud. But I didn't say I felt it was ridiculous of course. I did mention that I felt he was starting to get turned off reading because of it and I really didn't want that to happen and said that I think he generally preferred non-fiction and felt self-conscious "acting" out dialogues etc. I got the impression that it was a TA who listened to him read and swapped his books each week rather than his teacher. His teacher was happy to make him a free reader after our conversation and son was much happier and got back into reading again so all good.

Incidentally, he got 9s in his GCSE English lang and lit despite absolutely despising the subject and never being enthusiastic about it, managed to get himself to Cambridge to study a science subject. We laugh now about him being held back on the reading scheme in primary.

It might not be typical, but it’s still possible, and no, the ability to read and understand Harry Potter at the age of 5 doesn’t mean you’re neurodiverse. I love posters like you with no experience or qualifications in the area you’re posting about coming and making ridiculous statements like this based on zero evidence or actual knowledge.

Some children do develop language skills much more quickly than others. Some children are just naturally more intelligent and switched on than others. It’s all part of normal population variance.

And the first Harry Potter book is what is called ‘middle grade’ fiction, so designed for 7/8 +. It’s not that big a leap for a child to be reading a couple of years above their typical age range. In the first book, the darkness that is present in the later ones is really not as prevalent. It’s a much ‘younger’ book than the others.

Agree with others you aren’t coming across well in this thread. You sound arrogant and braggy.

I could certainly read to that level at five - books, that is. I couldn't understand why anyone would read words in isolation so I remember having a bit of an epiphany when I realised that was all the teacher was asking me to do. Until I realised that, she thought I couldn't read

Worth checking, could be that sort of misunderstanding but most likely a mistake.

You have ticker-tape synesthesia (seeing spoken words). Me too.

If your five year old is really hyperlexic they'd likely be reading and understanding all kinds of things the average adult never will, and they already instinctively know there's no point communicating with most adults on it. Reference: this thread.

My mum is the same. I never knew it had a name.

I love your assumption that I have no knowledge or experience in the field. I do but even without that knowledge and experience..

A quick google suggests: Age five is a key year for supporting your child's reading skills. At this age, kids begin to identify letters, match letters to sounds and recognize the beginning and ending sounds of words. They'll start to have a basic grasp on the idea that words in a book are read left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

A quick google suggests: The reading age for Harry Potter is generally considered to be around 8 years old and up, with most experts recommending the series for children between 9 and 12 years old due to the content becoming progressively more complex as the books progress.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, neurodivergent means differing in mental or neurological functioning from what is considered typical or normal.

In your own post you say it 'might not' be typical.. How many 5 year olds have you sat and read with? I'm telling you as a fact - that reading Harry Potter is not typical - the OP states she and her OH are GAT .. at reading. That her daughter has been reading since 2 (again not typical developmentally).

Being neurodivergent does not mean 'you are autistic' .. it literally means your brain functions differently from other peoples.

ETA: I had to edit Know to no.. as I'm tired and didn't proof read!

So.... if you're so sure you have all the answers, why are you asking a bunch of strangers on mumsnet (and blowing up at them when they don't give you the answers you want?).

I have to agree with the other posters who were concerned about the appropriateness of Harry Potter for a child so young. There's no way I'd let me 6 year old read it (or have it read to him) yet.

You're probably going to just remind me that you're a teacher and so know all this, but many school reports are split into different categories so 'language and communication' may not include reading in the slightest. It doesn't at my son's school. So a child could he exceeding expectations in reading but be behind in 'language and communication'. Why not just politely ask the teacher instead of asking a bunch of strangers to guess?

This. Just ask. 20 seconds to write an email (rather than squabbling with people on mumsnet).

I fully agree with all this (especially the arrogant bit!)

She'll be being assessed against the EYFS early learning goal for communication and language - it's not about reading ability, that would come under the literacy learning goal. The communication and language early learning goal includes participating in class/ peer discussions.