keeping an eye on ds teacher in year 2

[thankyouforcats]

i have just heard that my ds (currently in year 1), is getting a teacher next year who has quite a bad reputation. There is nothing i can do about it but i would like to keep an eye on how he is doing to make sure he continues to learn. He has done well this year and been taught year 2 work for literacy and numeracy and i am worried this teacher will let him coast this year as he is already at a good end of year 2 level. Problem is, i don't know how to moniter his progress as he never tells me what he does at school, and i don't want to barge in and demand to see his books every week and look like a pushy mum!
What do you think?

Anyone?

Year 2 is quite a full on year at dcs school as they have SATS at the end. Ds was given lots of extra work to stretch him and achieved really well. He has completely coasted through Yr 3 however imho though he loves his teacher. I would form your own opinion of the teacher rather than listen to hearsay though.

I would download and outline of expected standards in English and Maths by the end of Y2. This way you can keep an eye on his progress, supporting him in areas where you think he might not be progressing. You can't really do this with all subjects as it would be impossible, but english and maths is a good start. Good luck!!

Thanks for reply. How can you tell if they are just coasting?

Is he already a level 3? Or only a level 2?

It depends on your individual child, but I can tell when mine is coasting by a number of behaviours such as:

• not much enthusiasm when coming home, doesn't tell me much about school or what they have learned
• moans about being bored
• is disaffected or unenthusiastic when doing homework
• doesn't appear to have progressed or learned anything new

Of course it depends a lot on the child's personality, but if you know what they should be learning to be a level 2 or 3 (depending on what they are currently), then you'll have a good idea.

I'd also wait and form your own opinion of the child's teacher. There's a difference between being a pushy mother and an interested one. You sound like the latter.

I'd wait and make your own opinion, as one of the most horrific teachers took over DD's class and I found her to be much better than I thought she would be.