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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

Child just started in Reception and I'm not happy about how her classroom staff seem to be working with her

62 replies

Bigsighfeelingupset · 31/01/2012 16:17

I cannot believe I'm writing this post. This is my third child and I've always been happy with the school. Dd started in January. The school has always offered January entry but this year the council encouraged all schools in our city to offer one entry in September. The head at dd's school still offered entry at any point in the year and I took up January as dd isn't 5 till April and I preferred her to start later. Tha majority of parents took September. However dd was previously attending full time nursery and a number of children from her nursery have gone to the same school so socially starting ater seems to be going fine.
What's not going so well is the staff's attitude to dd. I can't believe I'm writing this - I am not at all 'precious' about my dcs - but I don't think they like her very much.
The first thing was that the class teacher felt the need to tell me (three days in) that it's very hard when 23 kids know the routine and 3 don't. Seeing as Reception is all about learning school routines I don't really get the problem?

The second thing was that she described dd as 'very stubborn'. Well yes she is. That's not a personality trait exclusive to her. They're working with four year olds. Most of them know their own minds and aren't that keen on negotiation. I guess I was just surprised that was the rait she would choose to comment on - not she asks lots of questions or she's very interested in other children or anything really that wasn't basically running her down.

Now today they've 'done' guided reading and I'm jus stunned by what the classroom assistant wrote in her record book. It's all been positive so far but today it's written that they looked at three pages (these are not big books) and it says 'Ok when on task but often preferred looking at the pictures instead of reading the book'
The previous week it's recorded that they (another memeber of staff) looked at the pictures with her for 'clues' to the text! I went in to speak to the TA because the book isn't in her bag - apparently they don't send the guided reading book home . She was very dismissive and negative and I said that yes she can be a bit hard to capture her interest but she enjoys the reading that we do at home and gets very keen (which is the absolute truth!) She said 'oh but she's just the same in phonics, she's in my group for that too and she won't concentrate'
At this point I thought I'd better go as we obviously weren't getting anywhere.
I don't know what to do. I actually feel a bit panic-stricken. Dd is an able and lively child. You do have to work to capture her focus sometimes but she's 4 after all. She's been at school 3 weeks. It just feels like they aren't putting any effort to do that. They won't do guided reading again till next week. The phonics - she's been doing this at nursery for years. I have pages and pages of her nursery observations showing that she could follow instructions and focus. The nursery staff were always so enthusiastic about her learning. I just don't know how to deal with this negativity.

I have a horror of being a pushy parent but I'm not putting up with negative and unhelpful comments in her reading record book for heavens sake.

What should I do? Or am I being unreasonable and the current trend in Recption is to be negative about the children you have?

I've namechanged btw because if I know you in RL I will be talking to you about this and you don't need to know my MN name!

Sorry it's so long.

OP posts:

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trifling · 31/01/2012 18:48

I keep hearing this here about not using the pictures, but it's just not realistic - at that stage, with books whose pictures simply illustrate the story, how can they not? Ds had loads of books with eg picture of boy painting and words 'He is painting' - are you meant to tell them 'no don't look at the picture'?

mrz · 31/01/2012 18:54

No I've never been a TA

No trifling but if they are "stuck" you aren't meant to say
"look at the picture... what do you think that long word beginning with p might be?" better to tell the child the word or better still that the book doesn't contain words like aeroplane when they are still reading at the c-a-t stage. Save the books with words they can't yet read for sharing with you not for independent reading.

BackforGood · 31/01/2012 18:55

What Soupdragon said.
Using whatever helps you to decipher an unknown word is a valid strategy, it's just that some teachers are obsessed with trying to make every child concentrate solely on phonics, rather than encouraging them to have a go at sharing a book by using a variety of methods (including phonics) as you would as a literate adult trying to decipher an unknown word. It's a difference of opinion over teaching strategies / styles.

mrz · 31/01/2012 18:58

The look at the picture strategy comes from the now discredited (scrapped) Searchlight Method that schools have been told NOT to use ...

Does she know all 44 sounds and all 200 ways of representing the 44 sounds Bigsighfeelingupset? If not they will be teaching her in group times ... along with hundreds of other things.

mrz · 31/01/2012 19:02

Guessing from pictures has never been a real strategy for reading BackforGood as adults we might use context and knowledge of root words etc to help decipher unfamiliar words

BackforGood · 31/01/2012 19:12

You've not come across symbols then Mrz?

mrz · 31/01/2012 19:13

Well technically the alphabet is made of 26 symbols BackforGood

mrz · 31/01/2012 19:16

Perhaps you would prefer that I said we don't read the illustrations

Greythorne · 31/01/2012 19:21

What mrz said.

Panzee · 31/01/2012 19:27

Agree with mrz. Every word.

BackforGood · 31/01/2012 19:27

I'm quite happy with pictures being called pictures, and I know hundreds of children over the years, who have been supported by pictures when first learning their sounds, and wanting to enjoy books, but not yet confident in "44 sounds and all 200 ways of representing the 44 sounds".
If pictures are not there to support the children, then why do you think all books for first readers have a picture on each page with just a short phrase or sentence underneath ?
My thinking about adults using visual cues, is when you are abroad maybe and not familiar with the language, you use the picture or symbol or actual object to help you learn more words from the language - it's a clue to help you decipher for adults, just as it is for children. Also, when you can actually pronounce the word (having deciphered the phonics), but it's not a word you've come across before - any other clue (including, but not exclusively pictures - could be context, or pattern, or rhyme, or chunking, or previous knowledge/experience of story) helps you work out what the word might mean. For adults and children, beginners or experienced readers.

mrz · 31/01/2012 19:32

Perhaps I should have included pictures because you clearly didn't see what I wrote about using context, word roots etc to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words ...

Northernlurker · 31/01/2012 19:32

Maybe an idea to ask the teacher what her view is on pictures versus words?

oooggs · 31/01/2012 19:35

NL when I read the op I thought it was you

coronet · 31/01/2012 19:37

OP, I think it's awful that the staff are speaking in a negative way about your dd. But like other posters say, it's unlikely your dd has picked up on it - and they may still be charmed by her. My mum - ex-head - often adored the naughtiest or most off-the-wall kids in her classes and used to talk about them with such affection at home.

I probably would ask for a word with the teacher though - just to check that your dd is happy in class.

BackforGood · 31/01/2012 19:39

No need to be sarky. I did see that bit, we just differ over the question of whether a picture is one of the many strategies every reader uses. I included it in my list, I know you don't.
Northern the point is, it's not about being one or the other, it's about using everything available to help you move on. Like when you are listening to someone talking, the vast majority of people are not only absorbing information through their ears, but also by lip reading, reading body language, reading facial expression, etc. We all use whatever strategies we can to gain information from a person speaking, as we do to gain information from text.

SORRY Bigsighfeelingupset - as you were, this is not what you asked, we shouldn't hijack your thread.

learnandsay · 31/01/2012 19:50

You do read pictures if you're an art historian.

cansu · 31/01/2012 19:53

I think you are naturally upset that you have not been given the usual 'yes she was great everything is lovely' line that we expect. As some posters have told you the staff have told you some facts about your dd. they are really not that terrible, they are about her education which is quite different to your feelings about her as your lovely dd. Try to see truthful factual comments as a bonus. If your dd is happy and is enjoying her time they are not being negative with her; they are simply giving you info. When they tell you she is doing well it will be really lovely to see how much progress she has made.

mrz · 31/01/2012 19:57

It doesn't help you to read Painting the Loft ORT stage 4 however learnandsay

MollieO · 31/01/2012 20:06

Seems a bit daft to be saying this to a parent of three children but how they are at home/nursery won't necessarily be how they are at school.

Ds started reception knowing his alphabet and being able to read. I was surprised that he got books sent home without words. This went on for weeks. I sent comments in and got wishy-washy replies. Eventually I took a half day holiday and went into school (I work full time). His teacher said that he was doing ok and was learning his alphabet. He had been tested and knew 4 letters (there are four in his name). I was gobsmacked. I got his old nursery teacher to come to our house to do extra lessons with him. She was happy to help but we soon realised that for whatever reason ds was completely resistent to reading in school.

It took until yr 2 for him to show any interest in reading and now in yr 3 he is one of the best readers in class. One thing I've learned where ds is concerned is just to be patient and know that he will do what he wants to do in his own time and no one can change that. He is as stubborn as hell and always has been. Every year we have comments from his teachers, some get him but most don't. That makes school quite hard on him and also on me as his parent (lots of criticism).

OriginalJamie · 31/01/2012 21:07

I see what you are saying mrz, but you are teaching them to read for meaning, and the meaning is represented in part by the pictures. No, it's not the first strategy for tackling unfamiliar words, but alongside decoding, and reading the sentence back, it's a valid strategy, and one which children naturally use.

Panzee · 31/01/2012 21:13

Assuming the pictures match the words. It gets very confusing when the child tries it then.

OriginalJamie · 31/01/2012 21:24

True.

mrz · 01/02/2012 19:10

OriginalJamie I am teaching them to read and the meaning is is represented in the text not in the illustrations which very often tell a sub story alongside the actual story.

talkingnonsense · 01/02/2012 19:17

Just as an aside mrz is it ok to "read" the word free books- like Rosie's walk? Because children who live those kinds of picture books are naturally going to look for the story in the pictures in other books.

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