Hi
Some of you may remember the thread back in October, when I was quite frustrated that my 5yo dd was still bringing home Stage1 ORT books in Yr1. I was fairly convinced that her ability was above that and was concerned there had been no progress since Reception.
Fast forward 4mths and she is now reading Collins Big Cat books - Band 17/Diamond!
The main things that happened since Oct were -
Having a word with the teacher and letting her know my concerns. I would have been willing to take it further had nothing changed, but thankfully, dd was re-assessed within the next couple of weeks. She then started to bring in blue band Stage 4 books, which seemed much more appropriate, and I was quite happy with that.
DP and I also made more of a concerted effort to get her reading out loud, most nights, which we hadn't done that much of, up until then (been reading to her, instead). I also got a set of Stage 4-6 ORT books from the Book People (bargain) - and we practiced on those as well as ordinary story books. Her confidence improved hugely and I think that really helped too.
I wanted to say to parents that if you have a gut feeling that your dc is not being stretched to their ability - persevere, don't just leave it up to the teacher to keep an eye on the situation.
Also, just amazed at how fast it's possible to get through the Stages. I remember being quite stressed that getting to Stage 7/Orange (end of Yr1 target for NC levels) from Stage1 would be too much. So don't be disheartened by that either.