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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

What stage (reading) is your DS at in Year 1?

48 replies

Mummyto3tobe · 02/04/2014 14:53

My Ds is 6.2 and his teachers have expressed slight concern that he needs to be encouraged more in his reading - he has just started stage 4 of the biff and chip books.

As he is my first born i dont really have a lot to compare it to to know where he stands for his age so wanted to hear from other mums with children in year one and what stage their child is at?

thanks for the help.

ps i know i shouldnt be too concerned, and i'm not at this stage, just if he is below average due to me not reading enough with him then i would like to do all i can to help him improve it thats all.Hope this hasnt come across like i'm a pushy parent becos im not at all. Just dont know where he should be for his age.

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christinarossetti · 02/04/2014 15:04

Hope that this link works:-

www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands

Stage 4 (blue) level isn't massively a cause for concern in Y1, but imvhe (parent not a teacher), I don't think Biff and Chip are great for beginner readers.

I think the question to ask the teacher is what you can do to help him progress?

Fuzzymum1 · 02/04/2014 15:06

I am a TA in a Y1 class - we have children below and above your DS. Stage 4 is a little below the average but not outside of what is normal in my class. I agree that biff and chip are not ideal!

Original poster

Mummyto3tobe · 02/04/2014 15:15

he came home with booke 2 and 3 from stage 4 last night and tbh read through them pretty good for his first attempt which made me think if i read more often with him (atm i read with him say every 3 nights or so and i am aware i need to improve this)that he could easily be up to stage 5 in no time.

I work well with averages and like to know what the range is for his age, i used to be the same at school/uni with my own work - i hated not knowing where i was in the class, no idea why i just work better if i know this info? who knows.

whats wrong with biff and chip books out of interest? obviously i have to go with what the school choses but i quite liked the chip and biff books myself! ha

OP posts:

noramum · 02/04/2014 15:19

I would try to get different books for him, Biff & Chip are fairly boring at this stage.

I hunted down the library, not necessarily proper reading scheme books but everything DD found interesting to get her to practice. Charity shops are also a godsend for cheap books. We read also a lot together so DD wasn't too frustrated if she had problems with some words.

Original poster

Mummyto3tobe · 02/04/2014 15:26

how often do you read with your DC?

OP posts:

simpson · 02/04/2014 16:11

DD is in yr1 and I listen to her read every day.

I also help listen to yr1 kids in my DC school (but not her class) and it varies from stage 1-7 (all the very strong readers ie stage 10, 11 and free readers are in DD's class). The school aim to get them to at least stage 6 by the end of yr1.

However, DS is in yr4 and there are kids on the top table/group for reading who struggled in KS1 and just "clicked" with reading a bit later.

Personally I would be getting other stuff out of the library for him to read. Topsy and Tim are great books to try at this stage (and better than bloody Biff etc).

simpson · 02/04/2014 16:13

Also try the Oxford owl website as it has loads of free ebooks.

littlemiss06 · 02/04/2014 16:15

My daughter was on red band by the end of year 1, shes now year 3 and only stage 6 orange band

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 02/04/2014 16:33

In my DD's (fairly high achieving) class there are some children on blue level. They would probably be on the bottom table for reading but not cause for concern I'd say. At the top end there are several children on white level with one, who could read when he started school, on ruby.

The books come from a range of reading schemes and can be changed daily. I read with DD most nights and try to read a whole book over the weekend. Perhaps you could try and fit a book a night; I certainly found that DD made sudden leaps forward once it suddenly clicked.

columngollum · 02/04/2014 17:35

I agree that biff and chip are not ideal!

Is that what's traditionally known as an understatement?

bloated1977 · 02/04/2014 17:50

Ideally (and I say ideally) you should be reading every day. I am a TA in Year 1 and say the majority of children are on the end of Stage 5 or beginning of Stage 6 with a couple of Stage 7/8.

rollonthesummer · 02/04/2014 17:54

Dd is in y1 and is on stage 8.

sunshinysummer · 02/04/2014 19:11

Ideally you should be reading with him each evening.

The good thing is that your child is only slightly below average whilst not doing much practising outside school hours. Some children will be at his stage despite receiving a huge amount of parental support in this area.
It sounds like with a little and often approach to reading at home he will make good progress.
All the best.

Feelingbettertoday · 02/04/2014 19:59

Hi - a good thing which got my son interested in books from when he was a baby was to surround him with books at home. I had a book shelf in the sitting room at his level so that he could see all his books and reach them easily. I read anyway so we happen to have books in the house - I wasn't too worried about keeping the books tidy as I wanted him to pick them up and put them down as he pleased. He is a stage 10 now but also loves reading, and being read to which for me is more important than the stage. He still loves younger books and will pick out his favourite So regardless of the stages I prefer that he likes reading and is confident with his choice of books - and I think this is what you should aim for rather than the stages. Otherwise as soon as he can read (which the majority of kids will be able to do by year 3) he will lose interest - especially boys. Also let him see you reading for yourself. It is so easy to find books related to his interest and ability. Amazon is good but also Oxfam book shops have lots of children's books. If he is reluctant then the reading schemes may not hold his attention for long, but the main reason for children continuing enjoying reading is a parent / carer who takes a consistent interest in their reading.

LydiaLunches · 02/04/2014 20:10

Dd is on blue books (based on ort but a range of books sent home), she reads every night and we do extra phonics work with her 3-4 times a week. She is improving but not at the date she would need to to be average by the end of year 1 I don't think. There are lots of better readers but I some on easier book bands, not sure but I think she would tell me if she was on the 'bottom table', she can be down on her reading ability (this attitude and confidence is also improving) and I just think she would have picked up on it.

LydiaLunches · 02/04/2014 20:10

Rate not date :)

nonicknameseemsavailable · 02/04/2014 20:42

ask if they have other books than just biff, chip and kipper as it is important children learn to read a few different styles of book (if a child learns certain words then biff chip and kipper are extremely easy to read but they could come unstuck on other books). Oxford Owl as Simpson mentioned is good, have a look a the phonics ones on there, project X and songbirds ones.

from my daughter's friends and what she says about books others are reading I think her Yr1 class is everything from red through to chapter books and I think that is to be expected in many ways because there is such a huge range of ability at this stage.

I think you really do need to be reading every day. 10 mins every day is better than 20 mins 3 times a week. also you don't need to be sat down reading a set reading book, you can read signs, notices, letters, children's magazines and so on as well.

If part of it is interest rather than ability then get some children's non fiction books and let him try to read bits of those. usborne beginners series is good - they are book band 8 but there will be plenty of bits in there he will be able to read and you can share reading.

Innat · 02/04/2014 21:14

My dd was in yellow and blue for most of Y1, she wasn't particularly engaged. I got some books from the library where the adult has a bit to read and the kid has a line or two. I thought these tended to have a better story than biff and chip and kept her interest. She is August born so think she just wasn't ready. She's in y2 now and in the first term she suddenly jumped up to white and I can't stop her reading now. Something obviously just clicked with her.

BornFreeButinChains · 02/04/2014 21:48

stage 7. I wouldn't worry too much, if he has the understanding of it, and can grasp what he is reading, if you simply read a little more with him, as others have said, reading out and about...it will click.

Bagoffrogs · 02/04/2014 21:53

DD in yr 1, turned 6 this week, just started on orange level. But there does sound to be a huge range in her class, from yellow and blue right through to grey and gold (not sure if these are in correct order, you will appreciate I got this from a 6yr old!)

Driveway · 02/04/2014 21:56

Mine went from red to white this year - so far.
I don't know what numbers they are.

theynevershutup · 02/04/2014 22:00

DD, 6 in a couple of weeks, just started stage 7. We also have lots of books at home, every night she reads her bedtime story to me (her choice) so reads quite a few different 'styles' of books. But she loves reading so Im lucky that she wants to do it, she does find biff and chip a bit boring

Passthecake30 · 02/04/2014 22:57

Ds is 6 in 3 weeks and is on orange level (stage 6). He wasn't a particularly strong reader in reception so I make time to read every day. Something has clicked since he has joined yr1, and he's progressing fast. His teacher said that often happens, some just spend all reception year playing (who can blame them? )

Sheneverdid · 03/04/2014 00:16

Ds was stage 3 ORT (can't remember what colour) by the end of YR1 but this was due to a TA ignoring requests to change his book or encouraging him to change it himself, he has just gone onto stage 12 half way through YR 4.

We have always read school books Sun-Thur as part of his routine. Some days he reads 2 pages, some days the whole book depending on how interesting, how tired, how much time we have.

Soveryupset · 03/04/2014 09:16

Mine were all gold at the end of Y1 but with a huge range of abilities - what I am trying to say is that they do not fully represent their true reading level anyway in many cases.

DD1 was probably just above as she read them quite easily; DS1 was way above as he was reading Harry Potter; DS2 in my very honest opinion below as he struggled along reading those, especially with expression and comprehension.

So the question is whether your child is reading those books easily or struggling? What sort of other books are they reading/can they read at home?

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