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.

I am still very bitter (at 64, I know I should let it go right?) but because I could not understand maths and had an English teacher who hated me (I was not a trouble maker. I hated reading Janet and John. Boring! I was reading my Dad's books on the Occult at home!), they decided to take me to speech therapy! Yes I was one of 100s in the school who lazily said F instead of TH. Eventually they decided there was nothing wrong with me and the teacher said I had pulled the wool over her eyes (wtf???) and mum replied that I read Dad's books at home I was just bored.

In fact I was often asked to help get the other kids reading!!

Hateful bitch and she was having an affair with the married head master which did not go down well with my very moral mum!!!

I once had a report describing a completely different child. I knew it wasn't mine because it mentioned certain confidential matters. I raised it with the teacher, and said, really, you have to make sure you are talking about the right pupil because now I know someone in your class has XYZ. She was mortified and we got a rewritten report. I could have made a fuss about GDPR but I hope the teacher learned from it.

My DD never spoke publicly in a group, and was happy to listen rather than contribute, but that runs in the family. We're all shy and reserved. The teachers would note, "I wish Little Boots would talk more!" and I would say to them, no, she's ok, just talk to her on a one-to -one basis and you'll know she's on track. I wouldn't worry, OP, your little girl probably doesn't want to talk much, it doesn't mean she's not on top of things.

And yes, all shy, reserved, introverts have ND now. Big eye roll. 🙄

@sambaba Why don’t you want to say anything? Surely, if you’re both teachers, you know parents should speak to the teacher if they have any questions or concerns. If you’re baffled, you should ask.

It may be a mistake. My DS’s infant teacher had confused him with another child at parents’ evening! But maybe the teacher is seeing different behaviour from your daughter that you don’t see at home. Maybe she’s less confident at school. Do you know what the criteria are? Is it to do with assertiveness as well as reading ability?

Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t worry if she’s reading Harry Potter books at 5 and her verbal communication’s good. But best to find out if you’re baffled.

Considering you are both teachers with so much experience why are you asking Mumsnet! Go and speak to the teacher you know it could be a mistake!
Such an odd post from such experienced teachers!

Haven’t read the whole thread, mainly just your responses OP - but at a glance I think @Shimmerandshine21 is exactly right. As you’re highly qualified, why not just talk to the teacher (as it probably is an error)?

It does seem a little odd that you and your DH know a lot about children’s literacy but also can’t work out what to do in this instance. My kids were all advanced readers and if I’d received a report that didn’t align with my understanding, I’d just ask for some clarity from the school - it’s pretty straightforward!

OP is an experienced teacher dealing with what sounds like a very inexperienced one. Which one would you trust?

OP, I suspect you are right, it is down to the fact that your child is naturally quiet. My DS is quiet - I remember a teacher in Y3 telling me they had found it difficult to believe the good reports about his abilities that other teachers gave until the first time he did an extended piece of writing.

A GAT thread where nobody seems to realise that being GAT is Neurodivergent 🤦‍♀️

You can be G&T and SEND. It's very common. My children are.

OP, your way of interacting on this thread has put my ND radar on high alert. The most likely explanation in this situation is that your DD is hyperlexic and the teacher is monitoring for ASD.

Working in SEN is literally the job description of a SENCO.

I was reading the newspaper at 3, and was skipped a grade (they don't do that anymore), and classified as gifted. And, yes, I was asked about what I was reading and comprehended the material. I was also quieter and reserved and frankly pretty bored in school as it wasn't challenging. I suspect now I would be told I was autistic. It is really interesting how high intelligence and introversion seemingly has become a disability and a "problem" to be solved. Sometimes there can be behavioural issues, but if not, maybe someone just can be smart and quiet.

OP, if you disagree, ask the teacher, and have your kid privately assessed by an outside party. If the school won't budge, pull your child out and put into a place that will serve their needs.

I suspect the OP sees her child as a bit of an extension of herself. I read it as any questioning posters do of the child's abilities is seen as criticism of OP as a parent.

This. You can Google those but many will develop with more confidence/ time/ exposure to teacher.

OP, please don't put too much pressure on your child to be amazing at everything. It's OK if she's a bit quiet in school for the time being and scores 'low' in one area. As long as you and your DH, with your experience, have no concerns then I'm sure she is doing well. But even IF in the future she's not OK in certain areas (one of these could be mental health), that is OK too. Life is not a competition to be 'best' at everything and acceptance of yourself and others, including your children, goes a long way. Equally, give the teacher a break. She sees your kid for far less time than you, in amongst a huge group of other children, and likely has less teaching experience than you too. You will need to be flexible/ graceful with her too, allow her to make mistakes and learn. Your DD will be fine. Over the years of life it all evens out and we can't get too hung up on the details.

You are teachers and yet are too insecure to go straight to the teacher to ask this?

You are definitely 'that' parent. Harry Potter isn't suitable for a five year old.

Some of the most batshit behaviour I've ever witnessed comes from teacher parents. You are blinded by your role as parents, that is perfectly normal.

Tbf Op taught her DD to read, I taught mine at 3, she just picked it up quickly. I was led to believe that hyperlexia children are basically self taught.

Given that your original message used the words "work with", it doesn't really help your argument to try to claim that that means the same as "diagnose".

It's also not entirely true. Yes, strictly speaking SENCOs are not qualified to come up with formal diagnoses like dyslexia, autism etc, but they are qualified at least to note the area of a child's difficulties and their referrals will be accepted by services like speech and language therapy, occupational therapy etc. The tribunal generally puts quite a lot of weight on the views of SENCOs working with children on a regular basis.

her teachers told me she would struggle with reading because she couldn't do phonics (age 6)....I just giggled quietly to myself because she was reading 300 page YA novels at home.

Have you read YA fiction? It is barely age appropriate for teenagers let alone six year olds!

@HollopingHooligans Really? No child of 5 can read HP AND understand the plot and themes? It's MUCH easier to read now when one can simply look up the meaning of a word you don't know, and even get your computer to say a tricky word if you don't know how to pronounce it. But I knew my way round a dictionary, as I still have the one my parents gave me (dated inside) before I went to school.
As a child I learned at 3 at the same time as my next oldest brother (highly competitive me had to do same as him only better).I read anything and everything I could get my hands on, not just Enid Blyton. Thus my reading age at just turned 7 was well over 15 (the then school leaving age, I could read every word in the book they used to test reading age, AND say what that word meant.
Not every 5 year old is stuck in screens, some like books, like me. Has the great advantage I can still read upside down (and comprehend) faster than someone sitting opposite me on a train.

It depends, we let DD read whatever she wants within reason. I read some very adult stuff at a similar age (I’ve put my own books on a high self to prevent DD from reading stuff she probably shouldn’t) because it was just there and I picked it up and started reading.

Harry Potter is neither here nor there if OP’s DD wants to read it. If she doesn’t understand it she’ll get bored and drop it. Compared to the murder stories I was reading it’s probably not that bad in the great scheme of things.

But none of that means you understood the plot and themes beyond literal meanings.

You only have to look at the requirements of the mandatory SENDCo qualification to see that this is not correct. I really hope you have not been one, because it sounds as if you weren't doing your job properly.

I'm surprised that an experienced teacher like yourself would start a thread on MN about this, rather than simply talking to the teacher to get an understanding of where she's coming from.

Op just started this thread because she wants everyone to go wow amazing your child is Mensa quality already!

Yes I know. Mum was in a private school where it’s pretty common. Unfortunately, the wonderful Senco in the school I used to teach in had to step down for someone else when the rule came in. That truly was a loss.