Do reception reports ever say anything negative?

[mrsshackleton]

Just asking because we were a bit at how good dd1's report was. Obviously we think she's a genius but we really weren't expecting the school to be so complimentary. Sceptical dh immediately came to the above conclusion. Is he right? I'd understand that they wouldn't want to destroy the confidence of a bunch of 5 yr olds.

i am a reception teacher and try to make my reports positive yes, they will say what the childrens strengths are and what they are able to do. However, I do put targets for developement and where necessary targets for behaviour. I don't put negative comments in the boxes for each subject though - I feel that is where their achievements go.

IME the "negative" stuff is there as suggestions sandwiched in among the positive.

DS's report, for example, was generally glowing but included "...may just need a reminder to use [cursive letters] as he can sometimes forget [...] can be quite a perfectionist [so] does not always complete the amount of work that he wants to [...] a little work to be done on number formation [...] can rush his written work".

Yes - boy's did.
He can't follow instructions.
Not telling me anything I didn't know already, that, but in a way it's reassuring to know it's not just me he won't listen to!

The only negative my 5 year old got was - he needs to learn that other children need personal space.

My 9 year old got something about not rushing his work.

yes, i read a rather sad and damning report on my friend's eight year old boy. in fact there was not much positive in it.

One of mine was described in reception, by a very wise & experienced teacher, as a bit bumptious & in need of calming down. (It wasn't unaffectionate either!)

He was born bumptious though , we've never been able to have any effect on it & years later it still shows (although he is a bit better at suppressing it sometimes)

IME most teachers do their best to accentuate the positive without neglecting to mention the bits that need work; so if your dd1's didn't have any negatives, mrss, you may just have a perfectly delightful child there

Oh, she did have negatives but they were things like "dd1 sometimes forgets to use lower case letters in the middle of words" and a lot of stuff about the "amazing progress" she'd made which given she started right at the bottom (has coordination problems and couldn't even write an x at the beginning of the year) wasn't exactly saying she was a genius

well I would say that is very very impressive, actually

If she couldn't even write X at the start but now needs reminding to use lower case mid-word she is doing incredibly well!

I was wondering this too as my dd had a glowing report,but I didn't see anyone elses! I can imagine they are all glowing as she has such a kind teacher,who I would expect to focus on their strengths at this age,after all they are 4-5.

Doesn't it very much depend on the school? My Bil's school has a policy of only mentioning one negative, if really needed and even then word it in a way to suggest that it can be fixed. The school my dc's go to like to hit you with both barrels, they'll highlight as many negatives as they can grasp...total character assassination.
Either way I have seen very well behaved kids in Reception become huge trouble makers. Shy children have become ring-leaders...children with little concentration and application mature dramatically and become incredibly successful. They are still very very young, still developing so whether the report is good or not so good doesn't really indicate that much for the future, so don't get too hung up on it.

Thanks Ponder

I'm not at all hung up on this report, more amused. It said dd is "kind, polite and very helpful" which is certainly not the case at home. Just glad she shows that side of herself at school. Anyway I've been lavishing her with praise for it and she loves that

I think ds's school reports, (only had 2 - he is only 6) are too nice.I am not keen on this poncey poncey, everything has to be nice/good etc.
I would prefer factual :
ds is good at this. not good at that. needs to .....
But do agree with Prof Layton, it is there if you read between the lines.