Parents evening - How do I word this?

[JemimaMop]

DS1 is 8 and in Year 3. He is no child genius, but does quite well in school. It is a small school and so there are 2 years to each class. For most of this year he has been grouped with Year 4, doing the same level work as they do. This has worked really well, and he is now on the "top table" (his words) with the most able in Year 4. However I am a bit concerned about what will happen next year when the current Year 4 move up and he is in a mixed class with his year and the year below. I want to make sure that he is still challenged and doesn't get bored and disruptive.

We had a similar problem 2 years ago, when he was in Year 1 he was given Year 2 work but then when he was in Year 2 he was allowed to "spend the year coasting" (his teacher's own words!) and I don't want the same thing to happen again. I didn't realise that he was coasting so much until the end of Year 2 when his teacher told me, so it was too late to do anything. I want to be a bit more pro-active this time.

However, I do not want to be that nightmare pushy mother who breezes into parents evening and demands how the teacher is going to stimulate her clearly genius PFB. So, how do I word it without sounding like that?

That's not pfb at all. I think the way you have worded it here is great so just summarise the above. And definitely mention the previous teacher's comments about coasting and your concern that this does not happen again.

Ask what his levels are for Literacy and Maths, and then be appreciative of the teacher's effort, and sympathetic and ask how they are going to ensure he makes two sublevels progress over the next year.
If he's a 3a now for example, he should be a 4b at least by the end of Y4.

Thanks both. Am glad to her I don't sound too PFB! Asking about levels is a good idea, and has reminded me that I need to speak to them about levels anyway as we weren't told their levels at the end of Year 2.

I don't think you are being pfb at all, I'd be appalled if any of my children were allowed to coast. I'm in exactly the same boat with DD2 - although the school have two classes per year group, she is working with YR4 across the board, along with a few of her peers, because it fits with where she is. No coasting allowed. However, I'm lucky in this school - when DD1 was in the same position in Yr 4, the school brought in Yr 5/6 work for her and her peer group to do from the local middle school. A good school should be able to handle bright children and stretch them, not allow them to coast under the label of 'extension' (though there is a place for that too, of course).
BTW DD1 was 4b/4b/4a at the end of Yr4 in maths/reading/writing and DD2 is predicted 4c/4b/4b by the end of Yr3 - and if my perfectly ordinary state school can deliver this, then so can yours to your bright DS.

Thanks. I was appalled at the fact that he had been allowed to coast, and even more shocked that his teacher actually admitted it!

The problem with DS1 is that he's not much trouble. Which sounds like an oxymoron, but DS2 seems to get a far better deal as when he is bored he becomes disruptive. He isn't as all round bright as DS1 but is ahead in some areas, and they seem to do a better job of challenging him as he tends to become the class clown when bored! So it is in their interests to keep him occupied DS1 will sit quietly with his book and not make a fuss, so it is much easier for the teacher to ignore the fact that he is coasting.

In general I am very happy with the school, they have lots of opportunities considering how small and rural it is and there is a lovely atmosphere there. They are very good at supporting those who are struggling within a class and those with SEN. I just want to make sure that those who are finding the work easier aren't forgotten!

JemimaMop if your lovely DS isn't disruptive enough then you'll just have to be disruptive for him. As long as you approach the teacher in a diplomatic manner, they should be willing to help. I don't know if your school has a culture of not talking about levels - DD2's school most definitely does talk about them, as does DD1's middle school. If your DS's teacher puts his levels at 3a or higher then he will definitely need harder work - and will probably enjoy it too.

They have never mentioned levels, not even at the end of Year 2 when I believe they are supposed to tell us. Which makes it difficult to work out whether he is above average or whether his classmates are below average and he is ahead of them by being average!

Enquire about extension work, whether or not they have a gifted and talented policy, most schools do and should (check out your local council/lea to see what the guidelines are for your area). Make an appointment once a term to see all your child's work, don't wait for parents evening. When you see the books, check the teacher's comments to your child about their work. Is there a lot of ticks or constructive feedback? Its very easy to just tick work and not challenge the children or give them a lead as to where they could go next. All marking should be authentic to the task, eg: beautiful handwriting Lucy, come and see me as I would like you to make some labels for the library area OR you've really struggled with this work today but I can see you've put a lot of effort into keeping up.

IMO children should not necessarily be doing the work for the year above but once they have completed the set task they should be given extension work that allows them to challenge themselves within the given topic not concept. So if it was Egyptians they were studying then a more complex individual project should be given. If the set task is totally inappropriate or not challenging then the teacher is a poor planner. Usually a teacher has 3 sets of work, Less Able, Able and More Able to do with whatever is being taught. Any teacher that allows or endorses 'coasting' isn't doing their job. But a word of warning, softly softly until you exhaust all possibilities, get fact-wise about policies etc for your area, ask lots of questions and don't burn bridges.

As far as levels go, theres no reason that I'm aware of as to why you shouldn't be told. the Dfe does profile the levels in each region and for the country. While not specific in detailing where your child is at in the class it may give some idea as to how they are performing locally and nationally. The danger with extension work is that it can often be just more writing or reading if not properly planned. Good extension should promote enthusiasm for learning and further enquiry. So, if it were maths they had success in they may enjoy building or designing a container (this would utilise loads of the concepts they have mastered already but in a fun way), not just leaping to the 'next years work'.

The teacher should recognise that the skill has been mastered easily and then present an activity or project that expands that activity into a more 'hands on, look what I've made product', not the next years text book. Burn out and switching off is the danger and merely shoving the next years work in front of them is not developing a sense of reward, enquiry, or enthusiasm.

Its a lot easier than people may think to do this extra planning and can really get the whole class motivated, I wish you well!

With regard to levels, I'm not sure why we weren't told at the end of Year 2 as friends' children in other schools were. There is usually a Parents evening during the autumn term and I planned to ask about it then, but they didn't have one.

I'm not sure about the work they do in class, but I know that their homeowork tends to just be ticked and comments are restricted to the odd "excellent". No feedback as to where to go next. I know they must discuss that kind of thing in class as each child has "targets" (DS1's is his handwriting), but I'm not sure how in depth they go.

I haven't heard of any child having g&t support in the school, but I don't see why they wouldn't as they are very good at supporting children who are struggling. The Head did speak to me a few months ago about DS2 possibly having some extra support with literacy as he was so far ahead of the rest of his year, but this mainly seemed to involve being put in with the year above for some lessons. Which drove DS1 mad as he is in the year above and didn't like his little brother beating him in spelling tests

I'm probably fretting about nothing, but I do worry after DS1 was allowed to coast for so long.