should I be worried to not know any details of my children levels or what is expected progress for their ages?

[educator123]

I recently came over to this section and ever since all I've done is worry

With all the talk of levels and book bands etc.

Is it unusual for a parent to not know their child's level...keep seeing this 2a etc popping up.

The teachers assure me that the children are doing well at parent evening, but how would I know. I've always liked the school and assumed I would know if something was wrong.

Now I feel like I know nothing, and would struggle to know what is the norm, and he things are ok!?

[poodletip]

I'm guessing form that comment learnandsay that your DD is still very young. Wait until she's in KS2 and then see if you could still be teaching her maths without causing confusion. My DD was learning about Paradoxes in maths the other day. Any ideas how I should go about teaching her more about that?

[learnandsay]

Quite right, poodle, quite right. When I said basic I only meant basic. I see no harm in taking an interest in their education at any stage. But not necessarily teaching.

[simpson]

DS is in KS2 (yr3) and I sometimes don't have a clue what he is doing numeracy wise but I can still help him learn times tables etc but that's about it.

Poodle - my DD is still very young (reception) but is very self motivated to do more "work" at home whether it be reading (to me or herself) constantly asking what punctuation is etc etc. I do think it depends on the child tbh.

I do agree with you though that it is important that they relax at home and have hobbies etc but for my DD reading is her obsession hobby and I am sure some people (parents at her school) think I keep her chained to the desk reading/writing etc but obv. That is not the case!!

[catinhat]

At parents evenings we have been told at what level are children are working at. (from year 1 at least).

I think the first reception parents evening was really about how well the children had settled etc.

As a parent governor, I know all the children are monitored for achievement and progress each year, so the information is all there is a parent wants to know.

Just ask!

[poodletip]

simpson my DD reads and reads and reads and reads :) it's a great love to have, the love of reading. They learn so much without even trying. Again it means they quickly progress beyond a level where you can really effectively monitor progress at home. She now needs to be looking at a more in depth understanding of what the book is trying to convey. It's much easier when you are helping them with the mechanics of reading what a word says. Obviously I wouldn't and don't discourage my children from doing any reading writing or maths they want to do. I just don't see sitting them down to more lessons at home as necessary. Judging by how well they are doing, partly from seeing them progress through the levels, I'm not doing too much wrong .

[poodletip]

My DD is better at punctuating than I am too .

[simpson]

Poodle - I agree totally. DD now needs to look at why certain words are chosen, look at what the illustrator has drawn and how it fits in with what the author has written and descriptive words used etc (according to her teacher) which is not quite so easy as the mechanics of reading!!

[christinarossetti]

mrz, my children's school give half-termly reports with NC levels on them and in this instance I would rather they were just numbers and letters printed off the database than the teachers having to write about each child in addition to compiling the info for the database.

I agree that it only makes sense if you have some sort of 'key' ie 2a means your child can do x,y,z and their target is ...... , but tbh terms like 'number bonds', 'partitioning' and 'decoding' were all new to me when my oldest started school as well.

[mrz]

But exactly what does a 2c or 2b mean in terms of being able to do x,y and z?

As the sub levels don't actually exist in the National Curriculum all they really mean is that your child can do some of the things required in level 2 or your child can do most of the things in level 2 but not which of those things ...

[mrz]

so two or more children could have exactly the same letters and numbers but be able to do different aspects required of the level

[mrz]

I would also add that you only have to look at the threads requesting levels for writing to see that it is an inexact science

[christinarossetti]

Yes, I know that mrz but in the context of my children's school giving out reports every half term, I'm glad that the teachers don't have to write something on each child.

[mrz]

Do the letters and numbers actually change over half a term?

If a child is expected to make roughly 6 sub levels progress over 24 half terms in theory the progress in half a term won't be measurable in NC figures

[simpson]

Reports every half term!!

That must be a nightmare and possibly a bit pointless....

[mrz]

totally pointless

[christinarossetti]

Of course they don't change every half term, or they'd finish primary in about year 3! Though children make progress within a sub-level of course.

Whether I agree with the reports or not is by the by as I have no say in whether they happen or not, but given that they do I'd rather a computer print out than teachers having to write on individual children.

And given that my children's school has a history of some children not making enough progress and not being spotted when they fall behind, this does seem to be an attempt to ensure that problems ie failure to progress are identified promptly. Whether this is the best system for this is irrelevant as it's the one that there is.

[mrz]

but the computer print out isn't going to change every half term either ...it seems the school is try and appease parents fears by providing useless information.

my own school has a policy of identifying those children whose progress is a concern and inviting parents into school immediately to discuss how the school plans to respond and ways parents and staff can support the child. No reports or printouts for these consultations just honest face to face discussion.

[christinarossetti]

I completely agree that that's a better system mrz, but I have no influence over school policy and procedures.

In the meantime, I disagree that giving out levels and sublevels is completely useless - it will show up on the school data etc if children haven't made progress. I agree that they don't need to share the letters and numbers with the parents/carers but given that they have decided to give out a report each half term I'd rather a. that they don't create additional work for the teachers and b. that proper monitoring is actually being done in the school now.

Why it wasn't in the past is of course a whole other thread.

[christinarossetti]

Parents weren't involved in the decision to give half-termly reports btw - change of management.

I find them useful Fwiw, though appreciate that not all parents or carers do.

[mrz]

It will show up on the school data whether or not the parents are given the letters and numbers every half term

[christinarossetti]

Yes, I know. My point is that I find them useful but appreciate that not all parents or carers do. I would also be more than happy not to receive them, but I do feel reassured that the school is now properly monitoring progress (this has been a weakness in the past.)

[poodletip]

christinarossetti sounds just like our school. I find it useful too. Of course it doesn't tell me precisely what the children have been learning but it does show me that they have (or have not) made measurable progress which is, after all, the important thing surely. We get printouts with the NC level and sublevel and an associated points score. It's been explained that each sublevel equates to two points on this score and they expect them to make 4 points of progress in a year so you don't necessarily expect to see a change in that each half term, and you certainly don't expect to see a change in NC sublevel each half term.

[cloutiedumpling]

We don't have the same system in Scotland that exists in England. We are not given any information about the levels that our kids are at. We have no Sats testing either. As a parent it can feel as though school is a bit of a black hole. You send your kids there and speak to the teacher twice a year for 10 minutes but never really feel as though you know how they are doing. I'd love to get the information that English parents get.

[mrz]

It's all changing next year

[Ruprekt]

How many children are in your class mrz? And how many in the school?