Understanding the Reception report

[Flowerpower07]

hi I wandered if anyone can help. We received my Ds report and don't understand the levels. he received 11 exceeding and 6 expected. the teacher didn't explain this in parents evening. can you tell me what level he is at. thanks

[BabiesAreLikeBuses]

Yes, benchmarks are the same. Some summer birthdays stand out but some don't. My own dts have just finished reception, birthday end of March and i don't see it as unfair, it is what it is, kids catch up and have different interests.

[BabiesAreLikeBuses]

lcb70 i was given a similar explanation re ds, he's a maths geek, always been obsessed with number - one of the reasons they gave him exceeded in this area is because he naturally extends and alters mathematical tasks given independently....

[simpson]

DD is obsessed with reading and writing and according to her teacher is always either in the reading corner or at the writing table.

She got exceeding for one but not the other, so go figure

DD is end of Jan birthday so kind of in the middle re age in her year.

DS (now finishing yr3) is Aug 31st birthday and no way could he have coped with the stuff DD does/did if he had just finished reception now.

[Redlocks30]

My friend, who teaches reception, her yR daughter's school, my YR daughter's school and my school (I'm a ks1 teacher though) all seemed to have v v different criteria for allocating these statements!

I think the whole thing will be revised next year with some specific guidelines!!

[Periwinkle007]

they do all seem to be different.

My daughter got 16 exceeds, using the criteria the school had (I assume from the LEA having seen the sheet myself) that is fair and I know she is most definitely ahead of what would generally be expected in Reception and they said she was very unusual so it wasn't like they awarded them across the board. She writes poetry, science experiment reports and stories, her maths is very good, her reading is book band 11 and she is very mature and sensible for her age, helps others do things etc and is regularly found reading a childrens encyclopaedia, she has a real thirst for knowledge and remembers a lot. HOWEVER had they used the criteria Simpson's daughter's school did then she wouldn't have done so well.

Someone on here posted a link to an LEA criteria for exceeding and it looked almost identical to the one my daughter's school used and seemed much fairer than a 2c as a requirement for exceeding. My daughter's NC levels seemed to be 1bs and 1as.

I think the expected range is too broad in many cases and really doesn't give any indication of how well a child is doing. likewise emerging can be children who are nowhere near the level expected and children who are very very close so again can be pretty useless info for parents.


I think it all needs to be taken with a pinch of salt to be honest

[simpson]

Periwinkle - in the meeting with the school about her report, they had that sheet too

A friend whose child is at another school in the same borough got 5 exceedings

[Periwinkle007]

I think your daughter's school is strange. I mean for some of the categories how could a bright, mature, confident child NOT be exceeding?

[simpson]

Exactly!!

I know it does not matter in the grand scheme of things but the fact that the school will probably change how they assess kids next year irks me somewhat

[Periwinkle007]

yes I can understand why - mind it does prove that they know what they did this year wasn't in line with everyone else, even though they did it with the best of intentions.

[lcb70]

Babiesarelikebuses - the issue with this kind of approach is : are children given the opportunity to reach the exceeding level? My daughter got exceeding in reading only and that is because I supported and pushed her a lot. I feel that she could have reached exceeding in writing and in some other areas if I had been aware of the criteria. She shows a lot of interest in a number of areas and I was told several times by her key worker that she was very clever, yet this is not reflected in her report.

Someone mentioned a link to an LEA sheet but I can't find it.

[simpson]

Lcb70 - are you me!!?!

My DD got exceeding in reading only as it is her "thing" but just feel that more could have been done to extend her writing. The ability is there and the only real reason she did not get exceeding is because she does not write non fiction.

[Periwinkle007]

I did notice when looking through the learning journey that they had made them write up making bread after doing it which now I realise was probably a direct attempt to give them the chance to do something non fiction related. It was quite early on in the year and they did some other things similar later in the year too.

[simpson]

Yes, DD did a pancake one too...for pancake day.

Which makes me even more especially on numeracy which had "next steps: to learn how to tell the time"

DD has been telling the time for ages...

[Periwinkle007]

that is something I think we might work on over the summer - telling the time. she can do on the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to so most of the way there but I wouldn't say she was confident.

[simpson]

The other next steps was money which DD does not have a clue about, nor does she want to learn. One for her teacher I feel!!

[Periwinkle007]

oh yes - let them have that battle. DD1 loves money, she is always itching to pay for things when we are out and about.

[freetrait]

I think sometimes schools can be cautious as they don't want to level kids too high too soon. They want to show progress through the years. Eg DS got 2b for reading (he is end of Y1). I would put his reading at L3 from what I know of the levels. However I guess he may not make that much "progress" during Y2 due to maturity etc etc, but if they give him 2b now and 3 next year it will look like he has . I don't really bide much by these levels thingies. Let common sense prevail I say.

[Periwinkle007]

ours were moving on to bigger numbers and checking/proof reading her work I think.

[simpson]

Some of her classmates were working with numbers to 30 and some to 10 and DD was working (very well) with numbers to 20 but not ready for numbers to 30 iyswim. Numeracy is not her strong point.

She does not get money at all (nor does she want to) and will just count the amount of coins she has rather than looking at them.

Freetrait - yes call me cynical but I do believe that happens to show progress (to Osfted etc) but hoping it does not happen with DD as it happened with DS

[BabiesAreLikeBuses]

I'm sure some schools are cautious to show progress and being a ks2 teacher i get why! I think the opportunities e.g. For writing and extending tasks are totally down to the quality and experience of the teacher. Ds has clearly felt secure in his class and with his teacher from the start. Screening on pips in sept indicated he was v high for maths so she provided extra tasks and equipment and asked open ended questions - one day she did estimating and weighing non standard objects with him and an able girl and i heard about it all evening, that's how exciting he finds maths. The equipment in our foundation rooms must've cost thousands and i'm sure that helps. We've also had short homework tasks all year and i've extended these at home, eg early on they were asked to write numbers to ten and he randomly went on to 137 at which point his hand hurt.
In writing they've made non fiction books about animals, written invitations, written lists of equipment needed and task order for the building site role play area... So ds entered reception being able to write his name but being disinterested and got exceeded there too, he has written up to a page at school without throwing the pencil at the curtain which he does at home and his vocab is good.
I get your point about diff staff tho, dtd is in class next door and similar ability (not so unusual in maths but better in creative stuff, drawing, making etc) and she got 5 exceededs to his 12. But he is more gobby confident where she would rather blend in. And her teacher MUCH younger. It does of course mean his targets will be higher.

[freetrait]

Well, I don't really mind about the numbers if he continues to progress. My definition of progress at age 6/7 is to continue to remain engaged and excited about books and learning. To find the books that excite him, to explore lots of different texts etc. Can't see why this shouldn't happen.

Also, in some ways I would rather he has time to do things at his own pace rather than being "extended" at every opportunity. Challenge, yes, but sometimes there should be room for exploring and you need to be at a comfortable level to have the confidence to explore. There is plenty of time.

[lcb70]

Babiesarelikebuses - what are the pips tests? The tasks and approach you describe at your school sound much more stretching than in my daughter's school. We have had very little in the way of homework, and certainly not on the scale you describe such as writing numbers etc... I do worry as my daughter's school has a number of children from deprived and immigrant background (but not overwhelmingly) and that teachers' expectations might be (wrongly imo) lower.

[Glittertwins]

Having re-read the DTs' Reception reports there is no mention at all of grades.

[RonBurgundysPanpipe]

There is no mention of levels/grades in dds reception report, just 'on target' or 'nearly on target' but more as a comment within the writing rather than a stand alone statement iyswim.

[Periwinkle007]

we haven't had homework really either. reading books - up to 3 a week if they have finished them, a little exercise book of phonics or writing homework (about 5 mins) once a week. that is all.