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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

How can ensure DD is challenged in Reception without being Pushy Parent?

48 replies

noseynoonoo · 03/05/2012 17:39

DD is in Reception. When she joined Reception she could already read - self-taught it seems. She has been on Level 9 reading band for some time. Her writing is pretty good too and she spends a lot of time writing short stories.

Back in Febraury, her teacher said that DD would spend a few sessions a week up in Yr 1 because, in her words, if she continued with certain activities in Reception she would be held back. We have got to May now and it seems DD is not going to do Yr1 activities because they are not doing the activities that DD was going to join in with.

I am a bit concerned. Her class mates, in seperately timed groups will go off to do their learning e.g. guided reading, and DD won't be learning anything extra. I'm not sure where the value-added is for my daughter.

Would it be very pushy of me to clarify again what the benefit was supposed to be of doing Yr 1 activities and then asking how DD will get those benefits in her current setting.

Furthermore, Teacher mentioned that DD will struggle next year because in Yr 1 they have 3 streams and DD is above the top stream so she will find the work too easy. I thought it was supposed to be individual learning. How do I approach this going forward?

Many thanks for any thoughts you can share. I don't want the teacher to think I'm a Pushy Parent and also want what's best for my DD.

OP posts:

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IAmBooyhoo · 03/05/2012 19:38

thats ok, it is very hard to interpret tone on here. i genuinely was asking what things you would like her to be doing and what she was doig now that held her back.

Sunscorch · 03/05/2012 19:40

isn't she then going to stick out like a sore thumb on a social level?

Well, that's not really how social skills work :P
But then, it's not how the aquisition of social skills works, either.

I'd just ignore the Don's post.

IAmBooyhoo · 03/05/2012 19:41

well they'll all be learning social skills together. teh teacher wont be neglecting their social skills whilst they are learning numeracy and literacy. social skills develop without setting aside time to teach it.

merrymouse · 03/05/2012 19:43

Presumably they're not all playing in reception and year 1 though - they are having phonics and maths lessons, which I imagine are a bit boring if pitched at too low a level.

IAmBooyhoo · 03/05/2012 19:53

what age is reception in england? 4/5?

i am in NI and in year 1 my ds didn't have structured lessons. it was ALL play based. yes, it was games/activities that had a specific educational aim and the children learnt through it but they never sat down and did sums or reading. that has only started this year (y2)

Adayforthinking · 03/05/2012 20:05

My Dneice is similar to your DD, OP.

She was moved up a year. Is there any way that the school would look at that? She has just turned 7 so they are going to review each new year as it approaches and see of she can continue to stay a year ahead.

Fwiw Dneice is also a popular girl who also loves dancing and singing so doesn't centre on just academic skills...

mrz · 03/05/2012 20:09

IAmBooyhoo in England it is play based but children learn to read and write and do maths while playing and yes they are roughly 5 years old

mrz · 03/05/2012 20:12

and learning is about stages not ages

MmeBucket · 03/05/2012 20:12

I have a DD in Reception (actually Kindergarten, since I'm in the States) and they've been wonderful about getting her close to the academic level she's performing at. The bad thing is that they've done so good with her this year, I'm really worried about next year, because the Kindergarten and Second grade teachers have gone above and beyond to help make it work out, and I know the current first and third grade teachers are total duds, so it might not work out next year.

MmeBucket · 03/05/2012 20:15

Aargh, pushed the send button with my wrist accidentally. What really forced them to do something was her teacher suggesting she be tested for TAG (G&T), and with that designation, they are forced to give her an individualized IEP that they have to revise every year, so even if they're not as receptive to helping her next year, they're going to have to do something. Would a G&T designation force your child's teacher to do the same for her next year, since this year is probably too late.?

IAmBooyhoo · 03/05/2012 20:16

i asked what age reception was so that i could see what year that equated to in NI (which is year 1). i wasn't asking to say "well at 4 they should be doing XYand Z"

mrz · 03/05/2012 20:20

Has anyone told you at 4 they should be doing x y or z?

IAmBooyhoo · 03/05/2012 20:23

no they haven't, and as i said, i wasn't asking what age reception was so that i could say that.

specialmeasures · 03/05/2012 20:27

DS is similar - he is the youngest in reception and was reading at level 9 (Gold?) when assessed in Jan (so when he was 4.5) having also self-taught basic reading at 3. At first they tried putting him in with yr 1 for sessions but socially he really wanted to be running round with his friends and he wasn't mature enough to cope with being removed. Now he stays for phonics class sessions (which are just 10 mins or so I think so not a problem and useful for spelling). When the others are doing small group sessions on reading he does extended reading with another child at a similar level where they work on comprehension. He also has some individual sessions where he reads with a TA. E.g. his reading diary shows they were looking at particular punctuation when he was reading this week.
Altogether it seems that they've managed that quite easily in the reception class (though my school has just gone into special measures - hence the name change! - so perhaps that is not up to scratch... though reception came out well).
He also reads chapter books to us at home each night.

whomovedmychocolate · 03/05/2012 20:31

OP - sympathies, we are in a similar boat and I just get the feeling the teacher things DD is a pain for always asking for more work - I felt like that all the way through school and it really put me off education. :(

Apparently it gets better in year one. Not long now.

And no, she doesn't have any social skill issues, other than perhaps not wanting to humour people who think she shouldn't be able to do X and Y and should be told to draw another sodding picture if she's finished.

Rosebud05 · 03/05/2012 20:45

I cooked with my dd's reception class last week and was around for the phonics/literacy slot. They did a bit of carpet work and then went into different groups to continue the activity, so some went off to write shopping lists, others to read vegetable names and some to practice writing SATPIN etc.

Although differentiation is clearly a highly skilled and ongoing process, it doesn't seem impossible in a very mixed ability class.

lou2321 · 03/05/2012 21:35

My DS was similar to your DD in Year R but they ensured he mainly worked in his actual class but gave him extended work, he joined year 1 for guided reading as they of course do this in groups of children on a similar level so doing it in year R was pointless.

This year they have put him into the year 2 class for registration and all lessons which seems to working ok for him as he can be challenged more as is already working at a level 3 in literacy. The school have said they are really excited about next year as they full intend on him progressing another sub level this term plus 3 sub levels next year and are already thinking of how they are going to ensure the bright y1 children are properly challenged.

Obviously it is great they are saying it but who knows what will actually happen, but the point I am making I guess is that there are ways of stretching the brighter children and there shouldn't be any limits on there achievements regardless of the 'expected' levels.

I would have been cross if they had said that they wouldn't be bothered if he didn't progress any more as he was at the right levels for end of year 2 now, I believe all children should be given the opportunity to progress in the same way as someone who is average or behind IYSWIM.

lou2321 · 03/05/2012 21:40

oh and no social issues whatsoever with DS so it doesn't really go hand in hand at all -but then he's not a genius so I really think its the 'extremes' that have these sorts of issues.

OP - people can be jealous when you mention a bright child and tend not to believe you as of course we all think our DCs are fab whatever they do! My DS2 (who is not academic) swam underwater for the first time and looked like he was drowning but I still thought he was amazing I don't think there is anything wrong in talking to the teacher about it but don't demand anything etc - just ask what they are doing with her.

complexo · 03/05/2012 21:58

I am leaing MN because not only everyone else's children are so bright and self taught themselves to read at the age of 3, now I discover that the mums are also gifted.
My child and I are too average, I am feeling a bit uncomfortable...

Original poster

noseynoonoo · 03/05/2012 22:03

I think Complexo has just proved lou2321's point.

OP posts:

lou2321 · 03/05/2012 22:04

complexo - don't worry its not that common at all One of the YR teachers at a feeder school for our pre-school said they were so happy one of our pre-schoolers could read as it was the first one in 4 years she had had in her class (intake of 60 each year) and she was really looking forward to teaching them.

DS1 self-taught himself to read at 3 but DS2 (was 4 in April) is just learning his phonics (starts YR in Sep) - although he did manage to tell me this morning that B is for bum-bum and W is for willy! He may know more than I thought

Sunscorch · 03/05/2012 22:10

now I discover that the mums are also gifted.

If it helps, I'm not a mum, I'm a teacher.
And I happen to think that being labelled as a gifted child did me far more harm than good.

complexo · 03/05/2012 22:11

well it is not that I am jealous, but we are happy being the way we are (obviously keeping in mind there is always room for improvement) but sometimes I do wonder if we are too below? does it matter anyway?
ah, and sorry for any spelling mistakes as English is not my mother tongue...(at least I can brag about this)

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