Very concerned about dd's reading & writing

[Kerryblue]

My dd has just joined Yr 3 at a new school. At her old school she didn't seem to 'get' school or realise that it was important to learn, it seemed.

Alarm bells started ringing half way through Yr 2 when she was in a class of only 15 (small village school) with a 'fantastic' teacher, yet seemed to be making little or no progress with reading, writing, spelling and maths. However, despite my concerns I was told she was fine, graded 2b for everything and even told by the head who taught her occasionally that maths was 'her strong subject'! Ha bloody ha!

She was waiting 2 years to join a bigger school to be with her brother (who incidently also had problems at small school and was, according to his new teachers 'weak' on arrival there but is now doing really well) and was desperate to go. Her best friend is also at the new school.

Anyway........ one week in at the new school she has been assessed as 'really behind' level 2c at reading, spelling awful and the teacher said 'we are going to hit her with everything we've got' - meaning Phonics lessons, extra maths, one to one spelling help, everything. She doesn't go to assembly or early morning exercises but instead has this extra help. She has been put on the SEN register and has an IEP. This is brilliant and I can't praise the new school enough for actually realising my concerns and doing something about it. To say I am pissed off with the old school is an understatement!

However...... one term in and I am still concerned. I know it is going to take longer than a few weeks to get her up to speed but she is still on ORT brown level, has to count on her fingers to work out 7x2, took 15 mins to do 40 simple times table sums (2,5,10 times tables) when the class has a challenge to do them in 5 mins and this is an example of her spellings:

nimber - number
bads - birds
mise - mice
elfents - elephants
draf - giraffe
blons - balloons
bess - bees

She is DESPERATE to be able to read a book. Just read it, go up to her room and lie on her bed and read a bloody book! But she can't, she seems to have to decode every word, sound it out rather than just read it. She cries because she can't read a book. She is 8 in Feb.

And I am sure if she could read better she would then spell better, rather than phonetically.

What can I do? To any teachers out there, are these levels really behind? Is there hope? How do I know if it is because of poor teaching in the past or whether she will always have problems? Or whether it is because she just didn't listen and learn properly in KS1. Should we just go back to the basics with her and effectively start all over again? HELP

A 2c isn't really behind. It's only a tiny bit behind.

Her spelling isn't really bad. It's a bit bad.

Of course there's hope! She's only 7!

School seem really onto it, so I'd ask them what they would like you to do at home.

If she doesn't make progress in a few months, then you'll know she has 'problems', whereas if with good support from this school she catches up, then you don't need to worry so much.

Think it's great school are onto it and offering her so much support. Round here she'd probably be allowed to 'coast' at that level. Lucky you! If you are worried about dyslexia then I think they will assess them after Yr2 if they think it necessary. You could ask, but it sounds like the school are very supportive and would suggest it if they thought she needed it. Although she may not be where you would like her to be, has she made ANY progress? You didn't mention that.

I'd also suggest that for her self confidence, you don't let her see that you're upset/ frustrated/ worried about where she's at.

From the looks of her spellings, it seems as if she isn't too aware of phonics so the school are doing the right thing in emphasising this. Has she had her sight and hearing tested recently as sometimes basic things like this can cause problems with learning?

She isn't terribly behind ( should be 2b at end of year 2).

I'd say it too early to tell if she has suffered from poor teaching or if she has a more specific problem like dyslexia, but try not to panic, she has room to catch up!!

I think ORT brown level is level 12 which has a reading age of 9 ish so she is not doing so badly there, but I would be a bit concerned that at this level she isn't more fluent.

I'd give it at least till Easter and then ask the school how much progress she has made since being with them ( it is the amount of improvement you need to know - not absolute levels as this will indicate how able she is to make good progress given good teaching).

If you wanted to do some spelling work with her at home you could try Apples and Pears or Superphonics Spelling - or ask school what support you should give. Dancing Bears would be a good phonic reading programme that may help her achieve more fluency. With any of these programmes it is important you do it regularly so 10 min practice each day is much better than an hour once a week!

The issues have been raised in enough time to deal with them, so please don't panic!

Thank you. She had her eyes tested a few weeks ago at the recommendation of her new teacher and she has now got glasses for concentrating work such as reading, computers, telly etc.

She was tested for dyslexia in yr 2 at the old school and wasn't.

Merry - I think she has made progress, the 1st time she got the 40 maths questions it took her almost 2 hours because she just didn't understand it. But even last night after I had said goodnight she called me back into her room so I could explain how 60 + 60 = 120. She was convinced it should = 110 because she was only adding 50+50+10. But if I remember correctly 'doubles' is something ds was doing in Year 1.

We are trying to do some extra stuff but it takes her ages to do the homework she is set so there isn't much time left over! I just wish she could be more fluent at reading, but it takes 5 mins per page at the moment. She does something called McNully & Mcnaulty (?) or M&M's at school where she has to read set high frequency words over and over again, as quickly as she can with only 2 mistakes in a minute.

Is brown level really aged 9? If so, that really pleases me. Although she still can't read all the words. But surely at age 9 most kids are reading chapter books, which these aren't?

Anyway..... I will try not to panic. I just feel sorry for her I guess. I keep reminding myself that in other countries they start school much later and they are fine, and she is only 7, you're right.

It is her assessment week at school this week and parents evening very soon so I will find out more then.

What they recommend in our school (for younger kids though as ds is Y1) is to read books and just ask them to read a few words here and there so they get some of the fluency going and it's not so painful. Can your ds1 do that with her if he's older. Maybe he could read some books with her and she can read all the first words in each sentence or find every time the words 'said' and 'the' come up.

I would really recommend getting hearing tested if it hasn't been done for several years. If she is spelling draf for giraffe she may not be hearing the sounds properly ( eg hearing a d for a g).

Of course it may not be a simple hearing problem, but it is worth at least getting it checked out!