Ok, I know I sound pushy but why do they still need to do all the phonic stuff when they can clearly read?

[AudreyCox]

DD is in reception. SHe has always been a precocious reader and could read basic reception type stuff at 3. So at that point I did all the jolly phonics stuff with her with she took to like a duck to water. So by the time she went to nursery last year she was reading and they supported her in that. Now in reception she is having letter sheets home with all those sounds we did 2yrs go. She is spending whatever literacy time they do in yR doing phonics but she knows all this. The teacher has assessed her and admitted her reading in around y2 level but her comprehension around y1 level. It is probably true that she reads better than she understands but clearly she understands better than basic letter sounds. Her teacher has basically just said that they all need to work through the programme then they can move on.

So I'm asking if ths is usual. Is it not the standard thing to spend the first few weeks assessing and then progress each child from where they stand?

SOrry - I keep adding as reading back. DS will probably be a 3a at the end of Y2 but the school will not describe him as a free reader - they will keep giving him relevant reading scheme books. They do not really like the free reader label as it means nothing for a 4-7 year old!

steppemum that was me. Thank you so much for the recommendation - I will check them out .

-I really believe she should be getting reading books home from school and crucially, being heard read in class. Why is it so important that she brings home reading scheme books? I'm assuming she has access to plenty of books in the home which will be far more interesting to a good reader than scheme books. Reading to staff should be part of normal phonics lessons.

-I want her gaps plugged Do you know which gaps need plugging? For example how many ways does she know to spell the sound "s" and how many ways does she know for the sound "ae"?

I never understand the anxiety about reading books being sent home either. Just take her to the library.

OP, I think you need to relax a bit. Your dd has only just started reception, you need to give the school a chance to stretch her before worrying that they won't do it. She has only been in school for half a term, and the priority for that half term will have been to settle in, make friends and get used to the school routine. The children are still very young, there is plenty of time for academic challenge later on.

I was probably a bit like you during that first term of reception, worried that dd was so far ahead and that they wouldn't stretch her. I was wrong, I know that now. The teachers assessed what she was capable of and highlighted strengths that I hadn't even noticed previously. She wasn't "pushed" particularly hard in that first year, because reception is all about learning through play, but she learnt to love school and to be excited about learning. Year 1 and 2 were more structured and she was set challenging targets which recognised what she was capable of. Her progress was exponential. She is now in year 3, still loves school and is still excited about learning. In my experience, most teachers are able to assess a child's ability quite accurately, and they want all children to make good progress. Sometimes maybe we need to trust a bit more in teachers as professionals, and to believe that they know what they're doing. :)

Well, mrz, why do schools send home books at all if the whole exercise is pointless? I absolutely agree that is is my job to support what she learns in school but is it my job to be teaching her.
I don't know where her gaps lie but I do know they are not in recognising and repeating single letter sounds as she is currently doing.

I think Im sort of thinking that those kids who do not know any letter sounds and cannot read at all will make huge strides forward because it seems that the lessons are meeting their needs. Yet, DD will inevitably not make the same strides as she would if the lessons were geared towards her needs. That, somehow, doesn't seem fair to me.

Did I say it's pointless? I asked why it's so important to you?

Mrz you are a woman? That threw me. Always had you down as a 'Mr Z' y'see.

yes I'm a woman

Well, I assumed that reading books came home from school in order to help a child to progress with their reading. Is that not the case? If it is, then I'm wondering why DD isn't having a book home. The teacher said DD was reading at the level of at least a Y2 child. So if a Y2 teacher decided no reading books until after Christmas, wouldn't parents ask why? I'm not being confrontational btw, I'm trying to understand why this part of the curriculum doesn't seem to be being pitched at her level. I totally understand that all the other stuff such as social integration etc is important. I just feel that a whole bunch of other kids in her class are being taught phonics at a level they need and she is not.

Many schools don't send home reading scheme books (check out the posts on MN) so it's far from unusual for your child not to be bringing home a scheme book.

Yes, I understand it's not the case in every school. Though I do find it strange that schools wouldn't send books home to read. However, her school does send home books but for some reason have abitrarily decided that Reception children are not ready until after Christmas.

Can I ask; why do some schools not send home books? Are parents expected to buy/borrow books to hear children read or are they not expected to read at home? I thought the point of reading scheme books was that they followed various letter strands being taught in class or various phonic stuff moving onto more complex but enjoyable stories.

I guess I just feel a little aggrieved that so many in her class will be making such huge strides with their reading because it is pitched at them and she will not.
Just to be clear, I don't begrudge those children their education as they seem to be getting exactly what they need. I just don't understand why my daughter can't have the same.

I think you are jumping to conclusions and should wait until you have spoken to the teacher. My school teaches phonics even in Y6 (not because the children are behind but because it helps with our complex spelling system)

It's just easier to decide no reading books until after Christmas as this is what suits most children. There's a lot to do in YR without adding reading to the mix (at whatever level) straight away. It's more a development thing re YR/Y2- you can read at Y2 or further ahead level but your emotional/social/school skills/development will be at YR level and these all take energy.

Also, there's not that much to gain in getting too far ahead- I am finding this with DS now. Of course I am encouraging him with his reading, keeping him engaged etc etc, and it's great to have the skill, but.... if you are just turning 6 and your reading is a year or two ahead the chances are your maturity hasn't quite caught up. You may not really be ready for some of the more advanced books not due to not being able to read them but due to your immaturity/life experience. Probably you will enjoy some of the more "advanced" books if you come to them at the more age appropriate time.

Honestly Audrey - if she's as voracious as you say she is, she will make "huge strides in her reading" regardless of whether or not her teacher sends her home with a reading book. My younger daughter became a fluent reader during one summer holiday, entirely without the assistance of any structured reading programme, or teaching from me, school or anyone else. She was just ready.

Take her to the library, enjoy reading with her, share books and ask her loads of questions about them. And try and appreciate all the other things that she will undoubtedly be learning in Reception. It's not all about reading and she will not end up educationally disadvantaged because she had to spend a short time each day going over stuff she already knows.

I also agree with Tgger - early reading is a mixed blessing, when you're attempting to find books that are hard enough for her, that you are also happy for her to read. Be careful what you wish for.

Ok, I shall wait until after Christmas and see how it pans out. I hope I am correct in assuming that when they do get round to giving out reading books, then she will get one on her level and not start with those wordless ones or those one that just say 'fat cat' over and over. I truly hope that 'working through the programme' as her teacher put it does not mean having to start at the beginning of the reading scheme.
DD does seem reasonably bright as has a good grasp of numbers to about 70 too so hopefully this time will be ensuring that her social skills and stuff like handwriting and pencil control will come up to scratch.
I appreciate everyone's comments. Thanks!

My DC never got sent home with reading scheme books in their infant school. They are both excellent readers. They got sent home with 'normal' books and we went to the library but the reading scheme books were for use in school only.

Once they went to the juniors they got given reading scheme books - they were awful. So we ignored them and read our own books/library books.

Oh and my Year 6 classs till 'do' phonics.

I would also add that my DS1 didn't read till he was nearly 5 and half. He has recently been assessed at a level 4, which is Y6 level, at the end of y3.

If your child were in my class, I'd want her to do phonics with the rest of the class purely to support her writing. Very precocious readers are rarely very precocious writers.

Actually I think it's far easier to phase in reading books as and when children are ready for them rather than dish out to a whole class on a certain date. It is less stress on a reading scheme for a start and allows you to get a good picture of a child's true ability.

I'd have a word with the teacher - I don't think it's a problem in a good school at all. My DS has just started YR and he can read very well for his age (is about to move onto ORT Stage 5) and he obviously knows all his phonics stuff. But a good teacher will challenge those who need challenging and help those who need help eg. my DS's teacher says things like "this is 'a' - TwigBoy, can you tell us a word that begins with 'a'?" so his knowledge is stretched whilst the other children are getting the info at the level they need. I was a little concerned that basic phonics was a waste of DS's time but a quick chat to his teacher put my mind at rest so I'd advise you do the same. HTH.

I would agree with a lot of the stuff here. My dd I also a strong reader, not as far ahead as yours as I ha decided not to teach her to read before school so that she could learn thethickofit of reading along with her peers (not actually my idea but what my mum did with me for the same reason - bright and impatient is a family trait!)

I used to get cross that the reading books were so pointless, as I found it hard to get dd to understand that she could read harder books if she wanted, she was limiting herself to the easier ones from school iyswim?

We are now in Y1 and I fully understand now the thing about emotional maturity and genuine pacing and understanding of narrative.y dd is a very bright girl, and very emotionally attuned, but she is 5 and literature at 5 is as much about familiarity, simplicity and comfort alongside the challenge as racing through books to get onto the next one. That said, her y1 teacher is great for letting her set her own pace - some weeks she will whip through 9 books, other weeks it will be 4 or 5. The girls treat the books like a little 'soap opera' now, with dd1 reading them out to dd2 at breakfast!

Your dd will not be disadvantaged by being paced with her peers, and if she is genuinely voracious, as others have said, she will read whatever she wants to!

This thread isn't originally about books it's about phonics per-se. And it has been pointed out that phonics teaching gets progressively more complicated as the children get older. (Home reading books is a separate issue.)