Disappointing reception report

[Dancergirl]

Not disappointing in terms of her not doing well, she's doing very well....but it was so impersonal and didn't tell me anything about my child that I didn't already know.

There was a short bit on the front that was interesting and actually about her....but the rest of it about individual subjects - it was all computer generated and could have been written about any child in the class, eg dd can do x/y/z etc.

I would really like to know her weaknesses as well as strengths and I would like to know how she is doing compared to her peers. If there are any teachers out there, are you not allowed to talk about negative aspects any more in reports?

have you had a chat with her teacher about her progress?

We have a section that is about the child, and then a list of achievements, which is all generated from here:

cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415485586/data/EarlyYearsFoundationStage-AssessmentScales.pdf

It is actually quite useful because you can see whether your dc has hit the targets for YR. I don't think this part of the report is for us parents really. It is just a box-ticking slightly robotic process of assessment The YR report is the worst for computer-generated info; it all seems to be more personal in later years.

cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415485586/data/EarlyYearsFoundationStage-AssessmentScales.pdf

Oh yes thanks, I've seen that somewhere before. Does it just go to the end of reception? Should they have reached level 9 targets now?

Level 9 is exceptional, I think.

They can reach 4-8 in any order, and I think a lot of dc won't reach 8 by the end of reception. That is as much as I have gleaned from this handy doc - orderline.education.gov.uk/gempdf/1847219438.pdf and a previous thread here.

Hopefully a teacher will come along and add to this.

OP I am not a teacher but have children at state Primary School and I think it highly unlikely that you will get any information about how your DD is doing compared to her classmates.

Yes I know JWIM, just wishful thinking. I know there is a whole culture of not comparing children, not upsetting anyone etc....but surely is this not what parents want to hear, how their children are doing compared to their peers? Even if your child was near the bottom, you would still want to know wouldn't you so you can help them?

Welcome to school reports! I have seen so many complaints on facebook recently about generic reports. Also the nature of the reports often make them sound negative as they are also putting on next steps.

They do use generic wording at many schools as they have to mark against certain criteria. They are unlikely to tell you where your DD is against other children but may say that the national average is x so she is above/below that. You don't really need to know where other children are in the class!

My friend actually had a report that said she instead of he on her DSs report where they had clearly copied and pasted.

I understand they have a lot of reports to do but without trying to sound like an idiot - when I was at school the reports were printed with boxes for each subject then hand written by the teachers so were generally very personal.

As long as the teacher is personal about your child at PE then I guess it doesn't really matter.

I came out and asked the teacher last night for his point score for the EYF profile, and for where he was academically in the class if 1 was the most struggling child and 21 was the brightest - poor teacher was a bit perturbed to be asked but TA kindly answered - worth asking in my view even if they wont tell you at least you've tried.
I couldn't give a monkeys if they don't like being asked - why all the secreacy when both teacher and TA clearly know exactly how the kiddies are doing - bit like a doctor refusing to give out your own medical results !

Exactly rosemaryandthyme I don't care or want to know about the other children in the class but it's helpful to know if your child is in the top 20%, 50% whatever. Some private schools still give class places.

Dancer The way you have put it is different I guess, knowing what % as in which quarter or third they are in is entirely different and gives you a good idea of how well your child is doing. I am not sure it really matters if they are in the top 3/4 or 2/3 but I think you would need to know if they are struggling in order to provide sufficient support at home.

I think they are reluctant to tell people class places as some people blatantly lie about it and it can cause issues, one lady came out of PE saying loudly I am so happy X is top of the class in every subject (which we knew was not true as certain things ie reading levels etc make it very clear where abouts a child is for say reading, he was no where close to the top of the class for that). Since then she has calmed down and is a bit more honest about how he's doing as she has realised no one cares as long as they are doing well!

PE = Parents' Evening (NOT Physical Education!)

you will work it out, dancergirl. I knew little when dd1 was in yr, but have been told by four separate teachers where she is in the class. I also know where dd2 is.

The children are grouped by ability for reading etc, and they usually figure out whether they are in the top, middle or bottom group. If you really want to know, then ask her who she does reading with.

The secrecy thing is fine if you don't want to know - and lots of parents don't.

The children ALWAYS know what ability the other children are - DS could tell me what reading levels his class are on for sure!!!

DD2's school uses a tick box system:

"DC is exceeding expectations for their age with this subject"
"DC is meeting expectations for their age with this subject"
"DC requires some support with this subject"
"DC requires a high level of support for this subject"

Obviously, you know that if your child has one of the top two boxes ticked, they're doing ok.

So, to play devil's advocate if you want to know where your child is against the rest of the class, would you still want this system if your child is at the bottom of the class, continues to be at the bottom, and this information is available to all parents in that class?

I agree that parents want to know, wherever their child is, what their child needs to develop/improve and how they can help work with school and it is that that I think you need to be discussing with your child's teacher.

Just go ask what your DD could best do to improve faster.
If they tell you how your DD compares it infers how others are doing; do you want everyone else to know how your DD is doing?

DSy3 does not what ability groups he is in or what ability many, maybe most of the others are. I seem to have the most clueless children, lol.

JWIM - you don't have to know where all the other children are, just a rough idea of where your own is, surely?

And whilst it would be interesting to know how they compare within their own class, the more statistically relevant comparison has to be how they are doing compared to national averages.

Knowing where they are within the class tells you very little. It could be a particularly bright and able class, or a class with a lot of children who struggle, or an older or younger class, a naughtier or better behaved class, etc etc. The national average would tell you a lot more.

Waving - I agree that knowing against national averages may be more relevant but OP asked 'compared to her peers' and I assumed, maybe incorrectly, that this was peers in the class not nationally.

I am not sure how you give a 'rough idea' of where a child is within a class of 30 children and what use this information is to the parent. If the cohort is performing generally less well than national average even a child at the 'top' of the class might not be doing that well.

I was pretty happy with DS2's reception report which we got last week from his state primary school. It was handwritten (neatly!) and clearly about him. The boxes weren't very revealing (he had "achieved" everything (as opposed to "working towards" whatever), but the written sections (headed "next steps") were very comprehensive.

I don't know where he is exactly in the class, but it was clear from the report that he is doing well, and I would guess that he would be in the top few. either way, it is pretty academic.

Reports we have received for DS1 (year 2) were different in format but similar in content. You get the SATs result and while average is 2b / 2a, he got a 3, which is above average....so although I don't know his position in class, he also is doing well. The top group (his words) of 4 or 5 children were recently sent on a G&T day, so I suppose that brackets his position.

I don't mean this to sound big headed as it might come accross that way - more to illustrate that you don't need a straight position in class to do that. Re-reading the OP, perhaps my DSs' school takes report writing more seriously??? They certainly weren't computer generated, and both reports did mention areas where they could concentrate in future.

I do also agree with what TheProvincialLady has said - my DSs class seems to be working at quite a high level so it may be that the lower ability groups in that cohert are not that low compared to national average.

On MN I have often seen that parents have said that their child has been put on the G&T register for achieving low level 2's in Y1 where I know there are a couple in DSs Y1 class that are working at level 3s in some areas and a few others at a high level 2.

It can be quite meaningless to compare with such a small group of children as a child at one school will be on the G&T register at a 2b in Y1 and at another school they would be relatively average.

This issue could also transfer going into Junior school when there may be children from different infant schools in the area with different ability children.

cohort not cohert!!!

Well I have to say, when you get a really good teacher, you will get a well written report.
If you don't think the report is up to scratch, discuss with the head. Perhaps the reception teacher needs more support/ training on writing individual reports?

JWIM - no I agree that your child's position within their own class doesn't tell you how well they are doing compared to where they 'should' be - just saying should you wish to know, you don't need a list of where everyone else is to see where your own is iyswim.