Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Learning to read....state vs private,which is correct?

50 replies

Chippychop · 05/10/2010 11:41

My friend has just told me her ds who has just started reception in a private school is learning words and has homework 3 to 4 times a week. Nothing major just recognition small words "I" "am" etc. My ds who is the same age but at a state school, doesn't seem to be doing anything word related and comes home telling me he still hasn't learnt to read yet(bless he thinks it's as easy as turning on a light switch). Which way is best? Will private school always be ahead of the state system?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

PixieOnaLeaf · 05/10/2010 11:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

myredcardigan · 05/10/2010 11:53

Well...2 of my 3 are in the independent sector. 1 could read before she started and the other had a good grasp and was reading by the Easter.

But I teach in the state sector and have done for nearly 20yrs so have a reasonable knowledge of both. Is your DS in Reception? If so, it's very early days and I would say these first few weeks in both sectors are very pastoral based. Some preps including the one your 'friend' is using may start earlier but, IMO, there's no mileage in that.

Most Reception children in state schools will at least be learning their letter sounds. Those who either already know them or pick them up very quickly will them move on to words. These will be words like I, am, the. At the same time they will also be learning to read by learning sounds such as 'ai' making an A sound etc.

The independent sector isn't always better. Just as there's lots of poor state schools there are always lots of rubbish preps too. Some are, in fact, rubbish because they think they way to go is to push reading onto every child by the end of September.

Review the situation at half term. If he hasn't started learning letter sounds by then, go in and have a word with his teacher. But don't worry this early.

paisleyleaf · 05/10/2010 11:54

Many state schools also give the children high frequency words and reading/picture books to go through at home for a few minutes a day. I know DD's does.

dilemma456 · 05/10/2010 11:55

I don't think there's any right way to learn really. They all learn to read eventually. I think DD gets too much homework FWIW but she seems to enjoy it and find it easy (her fathers brains ) I'd be happy with just reading.

DD is in private reception and also has homework three time a week. Normally reading or learning words. Shes started bringing home work sheets too. Yesterdays were

Draw 3 things beginning with N
Read the sentence and draw the dog in the right place in the pictures (eg the dog is under the table, the dog is on the table, the dog is in the box)
Read the sentence and pick the right word from the list to fill in the blanks
Look at the picture at put the right letter at the start of the word underneath eg picture of a hen with the H missing on the word.

It took dd about 15 minutes. I just helped her understand what was required on each work sheet and she did it

myredcardigan · 05/10/2010 11:57

They don't all push in Reception though, Pixie!
My kids are at a highly selective school. Very stressful 4+ but that's a different argument. However, they play the long game and Reception especially the first term is very play based.

stoppingat3 · 05/10/2010 12:00

Well as a mum who has had both DS1 was at state primary until year 3 and DS2 in reception I think that a private school will startto teach them earlier.

A GOOD private school will also do this in a sensitive way, My DS2 had spellings (10) that he had to copy out each day with a test at the end of the week - this was in year 1 and the words ranged from easy - cat to harder Catch each week and gradually became harder as the weeks went on.

Their state school didn't do much to help my DS2 but DS1 learnt to read there and is now a fanatic reader.

Op I am not sure why you want the comparrison? If you are unsure about your child's school then go in and speak to the teacher.

at him "not learning yet" - sweet!

as for this comment "It depends what you want, though - a child who can read but has to work after school four times a week and doesn't spend a lot of time playing at school, or a child who plays at school and can relax at home."
Do you actually have experience of a private school? Mine have three breaks through the school day as well as at least an hour of proper games (x country today) everyday - all afternoon on Thursday. I don't think we are unusual

dilemma456 · 05/10/2010 12:01

I should add that DD was in the pre-school at the same place and they know she already has the basics of reading and writing. There are other children in her class still on picture books and some who are well ahead of DD. Work is given on a very individual basis

PixieOnaLeaf · 05/10/2010 12:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Chippychop · 05/10/2010 12:30

Thanks all, I'll think I"'ll keep an eye on it for now. I'm keen ds has an easy first term in reception so enjoys going to school, that's the Main thing IMO at this stage. I certainly need to get more clues up on how I can help him as he gets older.

OP posts:

jaded · 05/10/2010 12:32

The advantage of the private sector is that they don't have sats and all the other arbitrary targets! It means they have greater freedom to teach. That's the real difference. I think the state sector can be pushy and the children have to conform more. It depends on the school. I used to be all for play and letting children to develop at their own pace. Having seen the national curriculum for year one though, I now realise my approach has been wrong. Should've got my child reading more on her own in reception even though she wasn't even four and a half! They have joined up writing to do next term and in term three they have sentences to write. There is a huge amount to do and a big class of 30!!

Blu · 05/10/2010 12:36

DS, in a state school, had 'key words' and 'high frequency' words. This principle, like Biff and Chip ORT, is based on 'word recognition' rather than phonics. But many schools combine both. DS was taught both ways - phonics being far more succesful for him as an individual.

What a ridiculous generalisation, Pixie.

ragged · 05/10/2010 13:10

I don't understand what Pixie said at all .
I don't know about the specific schools OP mentions.
My guess is that most reception age children wouldn't be able to quickly learn that "am" is "am" except by recognising its shape. Whereas my experience of DC learning letter sounds and building on that, is that they learn the sounds then they learn to slur them together -- so they learn phonics which is how the letters approximate the words we say. This helps them to build up to reading longer and longer words. The phonics approach seems more sensible than merely recognising words by shape .

PinkCanary · 05/10/2010 14:33

Earlier does not equate to better. It relies on the quality of teaching, the methods used, a childs own learning style and the support children receive from their families.

It's worth noting that many other European countries don't introduce formal schooling until children reach the age of 7, yet their pupils still outperform ours in literacy levels by the end of the compulsary education period.

MollieO · 05/10/2010 14:38

My yr 2 ds gets more home work at his private school than the yr 8s at our local secondary school. His school is not selective and doesn't havea reputation as an academic hothouse either.

PrettyPirate · 05/10/2010 16:33

"It's worth noting that many other European countries don't introduce formal schooling until children reach the age of 7, yet their pupils still outperform ours in literacy levels by the end of the compulsary education period."
PinkCanary - BUT when they go to school at age 7 children are expected to read, write and know maths. So what's done here in UK in Reception and year 1 is done there at home or kindergarden.

Anenome · 05/10/2010 17:04

it varies from school to school...my DD isnow in year 2 at a private school and the only homework she had in receptin was little bits of colouring in! She began real writing homework in year one...her school is known for its very good SATS results and it's high examination passes for entrances at senior level.

Anenome · 05/10/2010 17:05

Jaded....our private school has sats!

mrz · 05/10/2010 17:42

I've taught reception in state schools for many years and always began teaching children to read their first day in school.

mrz · 05/10/2010 17:45

and our children are expected to be writing sentences in reception.

MollieO · 05/10/2010 17:45

Lots of private schools do SATs or equivalent however none are stuck with having to follow the NC without any deviation.

motherinferior · 05/10/2010 17:46

I have no idea how my kids learned to read .

I do think, quite strongly, that a child's later life and educational progress is not going to be affected by whether s/he learned to read at five or at six.

Hulababy · 05/10/2010 17:50

My DD is in a private school. I work in a stat infant school.

Both do regulalr phonics.
Both have book that require some phonics stuff and some sight reading/using picture clues, etc.

Not all private schools push children. My DD's private school was far more relaxed during infants than some of the schools attended by my firends.

mrz · 05/10/2010 17:59

MollieO they don't have to follow the NC from Y1 onwards but they do have to follow EYFS in reception.

MotherMountainGoat · 05/10/2010 18:00

'BUT when they go to school at age 7 children are expected to read, write and know maths. So what's done here in UK in Reception and year 1 is done there at home or kindergarden.'

That's just not true, pretty pirate. My two only started school at 6 in Germany, as is standard. Both knew their letters pretty well already and could count up to 100, but they had not started any reading or maths (addition etc) beforehand.

DD1 had read the whole Harry Potter series by the time she was 8, and both of them now read fairly well in two languages. Neither of them is in any way G+T, by the way - I think the majority of children could go from absolute beginner to confident reader within two years, if they start at 6 or 7.

The idea of 'pushing' 4-year-olds to read is pretty perverse, TBH.

Anenome · 05/10/2010 19:02

Mothermountaingoat...that's comforting for me...DD just turned 6..youngest in the class and we may go to Oz fr a year...returning to a British education at around 7....so do you not think it will impact her learning much if I home ed her in Oz in a relaxed fashion?

Flip

1 2