EYFS profile - a question about exceeding the early learning goals for teachers and parents.

[tiredbutnotweary]

An EYFS teacher explained to me that following her moderation training she now thinks it is very hard to award the exceeding category for an ELG, even if, for example, a child is working at a secure 1a NC level. If I've understood correctly a 1b is the expected level for a child at the end of year 1. So a child working at 1a is working beyond the level expected at the end of year 1.

Is this right? Do parents have any expectations that their child is exceeding some of the ELGs? Are any teachers willing to talk about their own moderation training or what they think exceeding looks like?

I'm really interested in ELG "the world" where the expected exemplification materials include these 2 examples - a child using categorisation terms like mammal and stating that mammals have to have warm blood and a spine, the same child showing where her spine, heart, lungs and brain are. Another child stating the reason we do experiments is to see if what we think happens.

Is this level of understanding really "expected" for the majority of reception children?

[FennyBridges]

I haven't read everything on this thread. However, my son's teacher said some of the 'exceedings' seemed developmentally impossible for 4-5 year olds. My son is a May baby and he received 2 exceedings and the rest expected. She said not one child received any more than 3 exceedings. Because that was her professional judgement and also because they're travelling and need somewhere to go. If they achieve everything now their Y1 teacher will have an awful task making progress. Symptomatic of a Govian system.

Also, they are children. They are tricky to measure and change every day!

[EauPea]

Dd has just finished reception. We had her report this week, out of the 17 ELG she is exceeding 13 and expected for the other 4.

Tired using your example of the world, during science week teachers from the local secondary came in with a sort of torso tabard and skull helmet. They had velcro organs heart, lungs, brain etc that the children had to stick in the right places. The children were also able to take part in basic experiments.

[trufflehunterthebadger]

Is it still the case that exceeding is very rare ? Dd got "exceeding" on almost every element of her report, including numeracy. She got "expected" for writing, self confidence and shapes. Teacher said at new teacher meeting "she is gifted in maths" so no surprises there as she is obsessed with numbers. I thought "they probably all get exceeding" but maybe this is not the case. We know that her reading material is definitely year one and she knows most of the year 1 keywords. I really don't want to look as if I am bragging, just wondering whether she is actually well ahead of where she would be expected or if i would find plenty of similar reports in other houses and the school have lower expectations

[MrsOnTheUp]

Hi - just found this as I searched for some exemplification material on the EYFS. I am an EYFS teacher and have attended several moderation courses and been subject to LA moderation in school. I read with great interest many of the comments on this thread and would like to clear up a few matters as they currently exist in my LA. We were originally told that we had to be completely and utterly 100% sure of a child's ability (and have extensive evidence to back it up) in order to give 'expected' and exceeding is extremely rare. Expected levels in literacy and maths have been increased and now equate effectively to a 1c to 1b on the national curriculum. It therefore proved very difficult to gain GLD in more than 40% of children. Exceeding was almost nonexistent. The government/OFSTED does not consider other areas of learning important. In my most recent moderation however we were told that as we didn't reach the required % of GLD we must have judged too hard and should apply a best fit model (ie lower our expectations). I have additionally been told that if I judge a child to be above expectations on entry (after 3 weeks in school) they should now achieve exceeding at the end of reception. OFSTED then require that this converts to level 3 in Year 2 and level 6 in year 6; if they don't this is described as lack of progress and the school will fail their OFSTED. I would like parents to know this as it is putting unfair pressure on teachers to chase results and neglect the development of the whole child. The government does not listen to teachers and only when parents realise and start to question what is going on will they begin to listen. Thank you for your attention.

[freetrait]

You really don't like them do you learnandsay!

[learnandsay]

Well, yes. That's why my daughter and I are headed for the phone book. Because there might be more comedy, expression and glee to be found in the auctioneer's notes for Lot 17 of picture framing nails than there is to be found in her reading books.

[Bunnyjo]

there are many ways, not is many ways teach me to MN and at the same time!

[Bunnyjo]

LandS, as other posters have said, all text can be read with expression and/or intonation. DD (5yo) is in Yr1 and somewhere around lime level - she seems to bring home white, lime and full chapter books (such as Roald Dahl etc).

Anyway, she read her little DB one of her old books today for his bed time story; it was a Rigby Star book and in it was something along the lines of "a bit of butter, a bit of jam. I can't wait to start my plan"

Now this is a yellow level book; probably around or below what your DD is currently bringing home from school, and she read it with way too much expression and a devilish voice - she had her DB in fits of giggles. She also used intonation to highlight the rhyme.

What I am trying to say is there is many ways expression can be added to any text that is being read - DD would read a shopping list and add appealing tones to things she liked and would convey her dislike for things that she didn't. And nappies would be read with disgust and a screwed up nose!

[tiredbutnotweary]

The expression DD would bring to reading a shopping list would tell you whether she disliked a food or liked it, or felt 'meh' about it!!! So 'chocolate' would be said with relish, peas with disgust, if I added bonjela then some fear would creep into her voice, if I slipped in something silly, like a packet of bogies - well you can imagine! In this instance the expression relates to her own reaction to what's on the list.

Reading out loud to captivate an audience is partly about that I think. It helps no end to have some sort of connection with the text but you can also do it by empathising with your audience (real or imagined). You could read the financial times to a baby like a news reader or like a kids TV presenter, the words don't matter to the baby but the way you say them does.

It reminds me of one of DDs old picture books, 'Don't forget the bacon', which is essentially a child repeating a shopping list but getting in a muddle. It wasn't much fun to read for me, but I could make it great fun for DD iykwim?

[simpson]

PMSL and LandS's DD taking the phone book into school (but I bet it's more interesting for her than ORT!!)

[freetrait]

The phonebook is a lot less thick than it used to be .

[learnandsay]

The upshot of this will be that my daughter will actually ask if she can read the phonebook in school. I wonder how this is going to turn out.

[learnandsay]

John Houseman performing reading the phone book.

I'll show my daughter this and talk to her about it. It's revolutionised my idea of expression. I think we might try the shopping list after all.

[simpson]

LOL we did the same with Top Cat except DD stood on the sofa.

[freetrait]

Thanks mrz!

learnandsay I think we may have lost the point of our discussion. Is it not in everyone's interest to read any text with expression, and with an intention to communicate, all be it within the boundaries of the text. I remember DS coming home with "Top Cat" in YR. We performed it and he stood on the table. It was fun .

[mrz]

I've actually seen someone "perform" reading the telephone directory and it was surprisingly entertaining (at least the theatre audience seemed to find it engaging and amusing)

www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/jul/31/arts.theatre

[learnandsay]

Well, that's precisely what I'm asking. Apart from loudly, softly, quickly and slowly you could read a shopping list with a variety of accents. But the problem arises in making the rendition of the text more meaningful with each addition. Simply because you can do something it doesn't mean that you should. I don't read my shopping lists in a phoney French accent, nor do I do that with boring texts.

[freetrait]

There is a huge range of expression. Clearly, some texts invite it more easily, but you can add some to the simple and dull texts to liven them up. Just imagine someone speaking one word, think of all the different ways they could say it. Of course context helps, but you could say one word in many different ways, not just those you list.

[simpson]

Also knowing what the punctuation means as well as being able to use it in writing, DD knows what an apostrophe is and what it means (ownership) but would not be consistent about putting it in the right place ie Georg'es hat...

[learnandsay]

Let's discount the phone book then.

I'll accept that you could read a shopping list with an angry voice, basically shout the list. I'm not sure about patiently and lovingly. You could squeak it in a timid voice too. Which translates into any text can be read either loudly or softly, quickly or slowly. Anything else?

[freetrait]

It was a musician so cheating a bit I guess , I forget the details, it was a while ago, but it struck me at the time as quirky but brilliant. Shopping list, I'm sure you could read it with a range of expression. Are you too young to remember "Whose Line is it Anyway"? I could read it to you angrily, lovingly, patiently, etc etc .

[learnandsay]

That's interesting. How does one perform a phone book?

[learnandsay]

So how do you read a shopping list with expression?

[freetrait]

Yes, you can read boring or dull books with expression, it makes them less so . And I once heard someone perform the phone book, quite engaging .

[mrz]

"The teacher should know that my daughter already uses punctuation in her reading and in her writing."

It isn't about knowing that your daughter uses punctuation ...it is about knowing how to read with expression no matter how complex or simple or boring the text.