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Primary education

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

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Original poster

Reception class levels

54 replies

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 18:49

Hi all i'm after some help too understand what my ds teacher told me today.

He is coming to the end of reception year and his teacher has told me he is working to a level 9 in maths and reading but could be higher. He is reading at green level ORT already. They want to asess him in sept. To find out how far ahead he is G&T has been mentioned. Personally i don't think hes that far ahead but they obviously do.

Does anyone understand what these levels mean as i haven't got a clue im only just getting used to the levels in ks1, ks2 nad my dd will be year 3 in sept. TIA

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dikkertjedap · 14/06/2011 18:57

Don't know what level 9 means. But in dd's reception class about half of the children are reading green and orange. Furthermore, about 15 are reading turquoise and purple from a group of 90 in total. So it does not seem that exceptional to me ...

mrz · 14/06/2011 19:00

A scale point of 9 means he is consistently working beyond the Early Learning Goals - not sure what she means could be higher as she should have used NC levels if he is working at this level.

Obviously I don't know what he is doing in maths but green level is well within the normal spread for reception IME.

lovecheese · 14/06/2011 19:12

dikkertjedap (Boy, does that chat name roll off the tongue...) are you are a teacher or TA? How do you know what other children are up to in such detail? Genuine question. I know where my DD's are, and kind of guess that others in the same ability groups must be similar, but do you discuss reading levels in detail with other parents? They are like religion and politics at my DD's school...

dikkertjedap · 14/06/2011 19:15

Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 19:18

thanks for replies. It's hard to compare at our school as its a predominantly military school, its very small aswell only 100 kids total.

So green is normal for reception as my dd is about to start yr3 and shes only just moved on to orange level. So that must mean shes behond then

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york88 · 14/06/2011 19:19

Yes mrz had answered well as usual. I too would say green is good progress but it is not exceptional. (Someone with 2 dc one ended recetion on red and other on gold.)

lovecheese · 14/06/2011 19:20

Ah, I see, then you would know dikkertjedap.

mrz · 14/06/2011 19:24

Anywhere from pink to gold is normal for reception

Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 19:37

Mrz thats a wide range for kids reading levels for 4-5 year olds surely that can't all be in the normal range At some point in that the child must be above average. I know we have got kids in our ks2 that are only just reading gold so how can it be normal for a reception child to be reading it.

What I am trying to find out is whether my ds is above average like his teacher is implying.

OP posts:

mrz · 14/06/2011 19:46

Having taught reception for two decades plus I assure you that it is perfectly normal to have children in that range and while green is good it isn't exceptional.

Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 19:50

Ok mrz thanks it jut seems a huge range to be classed a normal knowing what a ot of the children at our school are at and what level my dd who is about to be in yr 3 is at.

So what does the level 9 in maths indicate then as his teacher wants to see how far ahead he is comes yr 1 so she obviously thinks there is something about him. Trust me I am not a pushy parent i help out at the school and know what a pain they are.

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mrz · 14/06/2011 19:55

All a level 9 indicates is the child is consistently working beyond the EYFS Early Learning Goals as I said without further data it isn't possible to tell but again 9 is within the expected range of achievement.

mrz · 14/06/2011 19:59

In my last reception class there were a number of children reading gold band and the school classed them as "able" ... in Y1 a number of their peers "caught up".

Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 20:00

What further data do you require mrz. As from what you are saying my dd must be well below average If everything is normal then why is he teacher saying he is advanced and wanting to asses him further in yr 1 and talking of g&t Unless of course she was planing what she was having to drink tonight

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Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 20:04

I take it the levels of what teh school class children at is different then. As I can guarantee that there are no children reading at gold level in our reception class. There is only my ds and 1 other child reading green and they are the highest. In your school they wouldn't be classed as able where as at our school they are and ver much not the norm Why can schools not all do the same thing it would be so much easier lol.

OP posts:

mrz · 14/06/2011 20:07

I can't comment on why the teacher is saying he is advanced, I can only say on the information you have posted I would not be considering G&T but it is possible the school is working on registering the top 10% of the class

thaigreencurry · 14/06/2011 20:09

I think Gold would be considered exceptional for a Reception class child. In the class I assist in the levels are between pink and Blue with the average being yellow.

mrz · 14/06/2011 20:09

In some schools children reading at red level would be the highest there is a huge variation in expectations.

Original poster

tjacksonpfc · 14/06/2011 20:16

Tys thaigreencurry im of teh same opinion as you there is no way any of ours are as high as gold. I to would class that as exceptional. I doubt the school are planning on regestering the top 10% of the class mrz thats not the way we work.

It might well b e down to the fact then that due to it being a small school with lots of comings and goings we dont have such a wide range of levels so for our school it is above average. Who knows. All I know is what I was told today but I don't understand what she was teling me and i didnt have time to go into further details as I had to be somewhere else.

OP posts:

debs227 · 14/06/2011 20:21

well my DD Yr1 has only just leaped from Yellow to Green, she finished reception on Red. I feel she might be a little behind now, although her teacher has always told me she is one of the best readers in the class.

So what i suppose i'm saying is that it depends on the levels in the class etc.

thaigreencurry · 14/06/2011 20:26

I think some schools are also reluctant to move children until they are fully accomplished in the level they are on. In our school most children will be on Gold/White at the end of year 2, very few will be free readers and yet the SAT results are well above the national average. In the middle class school down the road with the pushy mothers from hell most children finish all the levels in year 1. Their SAT results are almost identical, draw your own conclusions...

mrz · 14/06/2011 20:28

DCSF guidance states that every school should keep a register of its gifted and talented pupils. Schools are also required to indicate which of their pupils are gifted and talented on a termly basis in their School Census return.

There are gifted and talented learners in every year group in every school. In identifying gifted and talented learners, DCSF guidance encourages schools to focus on:
? learners who are gifted and talented relative to their peers in their own year group and school;
? a range of abilities including talent in the arts and sport;
? ability rather than achievement, so that underachievers are amongst those identified.

Recent DCSF guidance assumes a norm of around 10% of the school population. The proportion of pupils identified may vary across year groups and in small rural schools it may be more appropriate to identify the gifted and talented population within a key stage as opposed to a year group. However, it is important to remember that gifted and talented pupils will not always show this through current high levels of achievement, so that even a year group showing generally low levels of achievement may still include gifted and talented pupils.

Since relative ability changes over time, learners should move on and off the register when appropriate.
Although a school?s gifted and talented pupils are identified on the school census three times a year, it is currently
recommended that schools review and update gifted and talented registers on an annual basis.

mrz · 14/06/2011 20:30

The children working on gold level were able to complete the 2009 reading SAT test at the end of reception thaigreencurry so draw your own conclusions

crazygracieuk · 14/06/2011 22:52

At our school (non academic state school) he would be G&T as he would be in the top 10% of the class.

My dd left Reception on orange and was 3 out of 30 in her class at that level. She finished the reading scheme in Y1.

My ds2 is leaving Reception on Blue. The highest level in his class is white but that's one child out of 30. The vast majority are Yellow and Blue.

Capiche · 14/06/2011 22:58

ds is on olive green = no one mentions g and t to us but he does love reading

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