Please can someone help - new to school reports and not happy with accuracy of DS' report

[CharlieBoo]

My ds is 5 and in reception. A little background he went in last september not being able to read but could write name, count to 18 etc. He has come on so much this year, his reading is really good and we are very proud of him, he tries really hard.

The report received last week is broken down into different sections. On the problem solving, reasoning and numerucy it says 'xxxxxxcan count to 10 and is beginning to order numbers.' Now, I thought what, he went in being able to do that, he can now count to about 70. Plus one of his targets is to recognise numbers from 1-20, which he can easily do and has been doing for some time and surpasses this.

Another target is to write 3 letter words using his phonic knowledge, he can also easily do this. He writes sentences at home.

I raised with the TA last week as teacher not around. At the end of the day she came back saying oh yes really sorry, dont know how this has happened. His teacher left in April and since then they have had 3 teachers!!!!!!!!!! They are redoing his report but I just feel so angry and sad for my son that I had to point out what he can do and the teacher didnt even bother speaking to me herself. I am thinking of asking to see her tomorrow, what do you think? He is my first in school, so dont want to rock the boat but how on earth can they not know what my son is capable of?

Thanks

My ds is 9 and going into 5th grade here in the usa. He has been assessed as gifted by the school and in addition I had some private assessments done (because of his crappy school reports) that identified him as a genius. However, his school reports are always mediocre. It started with nursery in england and continued here in the usa. I never showed the reports to him and finally gave up trying to debate them with the teachers. My only understanding is that he thinks so far outside of the box (family is full of genius scientists and crazy artists) that he can't be assessed with little ticks in little boxes. For example, in nursery, when the teacher asked him to put the numbers 1 - 10 in order, he did them backwards (because as he later told me, he was bored of doing them frontwards) and the teacher felt she wasn't able to check the little box that said he could count to 10! I have made peace with his reports that don't reflect his ability, knowledge or achievement, but it was a struggle for me getting there (luckily ds couldn't care less).

Make an appointment to have a chat about the report. Chances are that you will discover that his teacher is well aware of what he can do, but something has gone wrong with the report-writing process.

My younger daughter is in a similar position - her teacher went on long term sick leave at just the point when the teachers were beginning to write report (in the middle of May). Her report is distinctly lacklustre. I had five minutes with her teacher and TA who clearly knew exactly what she was capable of and left me feeling highly reassured.

Of course, if they still don't seem to know his capabilities, then you can start to rock the boat. But maybe at the beginning of next term - since it will be the next teacher that matters at this point!

Well, after I mentioned things to the TA, after school she told me she sat him down during the day and asked him to count as high as he could and he counted to 59. He recognised numbers up to 40. They did this because I told them he could and it appeared they werent aware.

Thanks for replies

Hmm - I would be a bit concerned in that case. But at this point, there's not much to be gained by tackling the Reception teacher. See how it goes in the first few weeks of year 1. Hopefully his Year 1 teacher will be more on the ball and you will feel reassured that she's got the measure of him. If not, you have good grounds to go and have a chat with her, on the basis of your experience in Reception.

Don't bother wasting too much energy worrying about the report, it isn't a true reflection of what the school know your DS is capable of, it is sometihng teachers have to write, using a set of tick box guidelines.

Go and speak to the teacher, I'm sure she is well aware of what your DS is capable of, and even if she isn't, it's not that big a deal. You know your DS can count.

Maybe your DS is not doing any of these things in the classroom? Reception is mainly child led, so if he "chooses" not to, they may actually be unaware. next year he will have a different teacher, why rock the boat now?

also be aware that some of the EY targets ARE limited. DS could count to and order numbers up to 100 before starting Reception but in his report all it mentioned was numbers up to 20 as that's all they were looking for.

tbh I'm not sure I'd worry that much. dd had reports that indicated the teachers didn;t really know what she could do - she was very quiet. and had targets for things she could already do. as long as she was happy and enjoying school and was being stretched* at home I let it lie. esp at that age.

(* by being stretched I don;t mean this in a structured/academic way - I 'm just lucky enough to have a dh whose fascination with the world and love of numbers and science in particular is enormous and infectious)

Thanks very much for the replies. I am new to all this and really don't know when its time to say something or not. I am aware of what he can do, I guess I am just disappointed they don't and really thought they would.

Hi,
I know how you feel. My dd in reception can count and write up to 120,do simple sums,etc. I wouldn't worry because I think the school expects the kids to know and understand the value of the numbers? I know dd doesn't know the value of the numbers she knows so I only work with numbers up to 20. But I definitely agree that sometimes ability can be missed because of a child's personality.

CharlieBoo count up to 10 means he can count 10 objects not just recite numbers to 10 is he able to count more than 10 objects consistently and will he demonstrate this in his play? (without an adult asking)

What the TA has done by sitting him down wouldn't count to his profile I'm afraid and moderators would certainly be unhappy if this is what the school is doing. Assessment for the profile must be predominately from the child's independent play (80% from the child only 20% from adult activities and testing in the form you describe isn't allowed at all)

There are targets (govt set) for all children in reception the report is telling you where your child is in relation to those. Ds3's report said something about counting to 10 - the class teacher knows he can do more than that as she's given him certificates for counting to 100 in 10's and he's on later workbooks etc. But that's not the govt target so it isn't mentioned in the report.

I think it is important to register your dissatisfaction, otherwise, nothing will change and reports becomes a completely redundant process for both staff and parent.

A lot of ds' report is in target speak and means bugger all. Occasionally he's referred to as 'she' and 'Joshua' - don't you just love cut and paste?

The important bit for us was the maths, English and general progress that was a bit more individualised but overall it was a pretty bland report, not really reflecting his abilities and the targets didn't apply. Even dh who speaks numbers all day long was pushed to 'translate' some of the jargon.

Btw, we're both teachers! We just don't write reports in this way.