mums reading

[popiuee]

i live in the north and wonder if this policy is in place everywhere. Do mums read in ks1 classes and is just anyone allowed to do it? I am shocked that it seems to be a free for all where i am. My concerns are that some mums use to meddle and also these people are not qualified teachers and as such cannot teach the children to read. Also, on the issue of privacy - isn't it reasonable to expect that your child's academic progress should be private - access to information etc. Isn't this an accident waiting to happen? Do other mums think that this is a bit odd or is it just me??

So, every child has nurturing and loving carers who always put the child's interests first?
Who have time to ensure their children's happiness, security and safety and development is continuous and progressive?
That's a very sweeping assumption to make too IB.

Got side-tracked there.
We've done felt-applique, investigative science, cookery, every child reads at least 3 times a week, small group maths and a whole lot more this term so far.
It wouldn't have been half as effective without parent support in class.

I always helped with reading, art, music, pe etc. You know how all the kids are doing just by being there and being involved with them. They are all good at different things at different times, the important thing is to develop every child's self-worth and help them do their best. I gave everyone loads of merits for efforts and attitude. It was fab.

I know at least one child who is beautifully looked after, has a great mum and is not neglected in the least but comes from a family that may not value education much because they have been very successful in life without it, and I don't think they read with him. I'm sure he benefits a lot from having the parent helpers who do reading.

Be glad, op, I volunteer in a school because none of the parents will.

Can you imagine what sort of school it is where not one of the miserable fuckers will give up an hour or two?

They often don't come to parents evening either. And very few bother reading with their children at home.
As for homework...forget it.

I can see your concerns but the fact that parents are interested in the children's education is such a positive thing.

Should add that parents are not asked to help with reading at DC's school as they have armies of teaching assistants and the classes are very small.

But when any help is required for anyhting else, parents volunteer in their droves.

It is much better than the opposite.

I am shocked that a Mum assessed reading levels. I have also complained as a Mum basically told my yr 2 DD about SATs, something I and the teachers were just not mentioning.

However when I have been a reading volunteer I have provided free help without which schools just couldn't provide the support. I was trained to work 1 to 1 with children who needed a boost at one point. The biggest annoyance I had was not being given info. eg. that one boy I listened to regularily had ASD. I know why I couldn't be told but, it would have made me able to understand some of his comments easier, and actually if I asked his Mum would willingly agreed to me knowing (she told me herself).

Maybe you have some awful Mums but most Mums who help don't gossip, or compare their children. For some of them it must come as an eye opener to see kids with real problems or to discover their kids aren't the geniuses they suppose.

Sorry for a small hijack but can I just ask teachers, what kind of help would you want from parent volunteers specifically relating to maths?

Would love some ideas so I can suggest them when I sign up (will be getting CRB soon)

I get as much out of helping out at school as the children do TBH.

Every Monday afternoon I go in to help teach Year 1 children Road Safety. It is a scheme run by the council, but they only emply one co-ordinator who obviously can't take 16 or so children out by herself! So they rely on volunteers. I have been doing it for 3 years, since my eldest was in Year 1. Every year they ask for parents to volunteer, but obviously a lot have work commitments or younger children at home and so can't. The group who volunteers is a mix of parents, grandparents and retired people from the village. It is lovely to go in and take the children out for a walk, a lot of them rarely walk anywhere as they go by car so it is really nice to chat to them about what they see. Plus of course they also learn about crossing the road safely, which might one day save their lives!

On a Tuesday afternoon I go in to teach craft. At the moment I am teaching some Year 3 and 4 boys to make sock monkeys, using their old football socks! That again is really good fun, so many boys start out thinking that sewing is for girls but when you "sell" it to them as making something new out of recycled materials they show more interest. I am safe in the knowledge that when they move out of home they will be well able to sew a button on their shirts!

I have no interest in a child's family background or what they have or haven't done in the past. I am only with them for an hour or two a week, and we have a task to do. Getting that done and having fun doing it is what is important

I read for years at dd's school. The teacher and her asst simply can't listen to each child more than once a week. I went in 3 mornings week which meant that every child in the class was heard at least twice. I was never closeted away, I sat in the corridor outside the classroom which a TA further down doing maths with a group, with other teachers/staff wandering through all the time etc. I would never had had a chance to do anything untoward (even looking in lunch boxes as one mner famously did). I was CRB checked.

the stuff you do sounds absolutely brilliant DomesticSluttery.

At my old company, we were encouraged to volunteer our lunchtimes to go into a local secondary school to help with reading. So many children were coming through the system unable to read effectively that they needed extra one-to-one practise to give them a boost.

I think that, sadly, there are significant numbers of children who simply don't get the support at home and whom the teachers do not get time to work with in the classroom environment. Parent (and other) volunteers go a small way to redressing the balance.

That reminds me actually, when I was in the sixth form there was a paired reading scheme where we sixth formers listened to children in Years 7 and 8 who were behind with reading. We got to miss assembly twice a week to do it

I help out with reading every week at my child's class
I am there to listen give them time and opportunity to read
many other parents in the class do that too, they have at least one parent helping out per day I think it is fine, the teacher and the TA obviously lack the time to read with each individually

I help out at dd's school and would echo what a lot of posters have already said. I am CRB checked, had a guidance leaflet given to me when I first started on what to do/not do.
I read in the school library with other teachers/parent volunteers and I really enjoy it.
TBH, after reading with 5 or 6 of the children I would be hard pressed to remember who was on which level by the end of the day!
DD's class is big so without volunteers not all the children would be heard reading by an adult during the week.
I write a comment in the child's book to let parents/staff know where we got to but I would never comment on their ability as I am not qualified to assess that. I find a 'well done' is usually a nice thing to say as they all try really hard.

i am very sad and slightly offended that you feel this way op. I think that you have some issues or anxieties regarding your childs reading ability that you need to resolve. We are talking about ks1, most people don't give two hoots what level a child is on or if they are having special help etc.
My ds in year 1 also gets read with year 5 children as well as a variety of parent helpers, TAs and his class teacher. I think the variety is great and boosts his confidence in reding no end.

We had lots of parent helpers in my last class (I had the fabbest parents in the school - hah!).

One mum did hear readers - it's a chance for us to get another hear-through of kids reading in the class each week (hearing readers is a massive massive timesink for a teacher - even though we do it as much as we can), and when some kids don't get heard at all at home, every bit helps.

Another parent was an utter gem for the entire school - he did lots of the laminating, cutting out, sticking - things like that that are a massive time sucker as well.

Other parents came in for helping walking to the swimming baths, ratios on trips and things like that - they were all utterly fantastic (especially the mum who brought cake quite regularly - I'd turn around after sending the kids out for break and find a cuppa and choccie biscuit on my desk!).

None of them were busybodies, none were ones who gossiped outside the school gates (if they were, we would have found different things for them to help with - we pitched things according to skills and interestes) and reading was also monitored by me and my TA as well.

I volunteer in the school. I listen to reading, play piano for music, help with lessons; I'm both CRB-checked and have a PGCE in Primary education. The school is glad of any help at all - most parents will not volunteer.

As there is no TA in the class, it helps hugely to have another person to listen to reading, esp. for those who need extra or daily reading to improve their skills. When I am there for an afternoon, I just get on with whatever the teacher needs assistance with.

I was never shown a code of practice, but as I have been associated with helping with school nursery and with lunchtime clubs for some years, I guess they thought I wouldn't need it. Perhaps they should have done so.

Several of the mums in my ds's reception class help with reading and other things. I help for an hour a week with reading and have also done some baking with small groups.

The mums that help have great skills and why wouldn't the school or the children want to make the most of those?

The mums I know that go into school include an ex-army officer, an artist, a garden designer, a nurse and a financial advisor. They're all understand confidentiality from their professional lives so why would they be a risk to your child?

In the school I help in we don't assess reading ability, just listen to the child read and then help them choose new home readers from their colour grade. Some clearly get little opportunity to read at home.

DH is an actuary and works with gifted maths students at the upper school at our dd's private school. I run several businesses including communications training and coaching. I'm currently using those skills to mentor a teaching assistant in school who has recently taken on a role managing the other TAs. If I wasn't a parent that would be costing them £70 per hour, so it probably wouldn't happen. Yes I do come across privileged information about children and adults in the school but I'm certainly not going to gossip it around the playground.

I think schools should make much more use of parent's time and skills.

Obviously that should be they all understand confidentiality.

Clearly you should also expect a communications trainer not to make such a stupid mistake.

It's been a long day!

All our Mums are police checked - so no worries there.

I appreciate anyone taking the time to read with my children, change their books and sometimes move them up a level if need be.

My school has lots of parental involvement and it's fab! It really enriches the school in so many ways - our parents have different skills to pass on.

I used read with reception and it meant the teacher could get on with other important things. She was still perfectly aware of their reading ablitly though.

I thought it was really positive to let parents/kids know how well they were doing but it's not appropriate to discuss any childs progress with random adults or discuss levels.

is being police checked so important?
I mean you are in public reading
being checked does not mean you are 'safe', false sense of security if you ask me, can just mean the person as never been caught

has never

Volunteers at our school get CRB checked (eventually) - while waiting for their check results to come through they have to be in the classroom with the teacher/TA, not only with the children.
Once CRB checked, they can work alone with the children (i.e. read in the corridor with them).

I am a great believer of parents going into school to hear readers - if it was left to the teacher to do it DD would read in school a total of 3 hours a year! The children whose parents don't read with them would then suffer more.
As for the whole privacy issue I look at it that yes my daughter is only just five one of the best readers in her class and about to go onto the lime books but joe bloggs that's only on the red books is a whizz at numeracy and p.e, unlike my DD. Everyone learns at different paces and there is more to life than worrying about what others think about your child.