how do I approach dd not being heard to read?

[m0therofdragons]

I really don't know if I'm over-reacting. Dd's school is very good (outstanding according to ofsted) and dd is doing very well. She's in y2 but is working at a y4 level in numeracy, reading and writing.
I understand that there are dc in her class who struggle with reading obviously they should read more than dd but we had a school meeting in September where the head said all ks1 dc would read to an adult once a week and they would also all read once a week in a group. Both would be recorded in their reading books.
Over the last 7 weeks, dd read in a group twice and read to an adult 3 times - the third time being after I pointed it out to the teacher (who is lovely) that dd hadn't read for 3 weeks. We read every night at home and the books sent home seem completely the wrong level - we whiz through them then read a better book from home.
I don't want to be that annoying, complaining parent and clearly dd us doing well but it feels like dd is overlooked because she's doing well.
What do I do, if anything?

I would probably mention it or suggest the school recruit some parent readers to make sure the children are being heard each week.

Dd's literacy is probably better than mine looking at the above... Sorry I'm on my phone and dh is trying to talk to me as I post!

My daughter is in year 1 and only does guided reading. She has been heard by an adult twice this term.

If your child is reading at year 4 standard then is there really any need for her to read individually every week. Usually schools focus on children who never practice reading at home.

I bet if you offer to go in and hear children read the school will bite your hand off.

I have a year one dc reading at a year 3 level, he very rarely reads with an adult at school
My year two dc who has just caught up to where he should be reading is heard twice a week
I honestly think they don't have the time/support to listen to all the children 2 or 3 times a week so they need to prioritise who needs the most help
Also some dc may not read at home

I really think they are probably doing their absolute best. If this were my dd2, I would go in and speak to the teacher as her reading is poor to say the least and that is an area she needs support in.

If it were my dd1 I wouldn't as I know she's doing well. I sort of like to save my complaining for things that really concern me and try to fly under the radar as much as I can the rest of the time.

Do you feel she is being overlooked in other aspects of her education too, or just the reading? If the latter, I wouldn't worry too much, especially as you mention you read with her every night at home. If the former, then definitely speak to the school.

I sometimes give out lower level books on purpose to give children a chance to gain confidence with expression and fluency (and to just enjoy a book) but would also give a book above their level to give a challenge.

I think my worry is she's being over looked else where. I hope this isn't the case but it's so hard to know. Reading is the only indicator we have as parents. I just feel that if the school sets out expectations, which it clearly has, they should stick to them.
Sadly I'm not in a position to help with reading in school as I have 3 year old twins and when they are in pre school I work!
I don't think she's getting easier books to help with confidence etc. She is just bored with the school books. In September they were the right level but she's come on leaps and bounds so it's more a case of not being assessed as it's the teacher who moves them up and dd has never read to him.

My eldest is in Yr2 and is probably a similar academic level (she is already level 3s). We have been very pleasantly surprised (shows expectations of the education system are low!) with her teacher. They do guided/group reading in a group of about 5 or 6 I think with the teacher once a week, she generally reads a couple of pages to someone once a week or every 2 weeks (not sure if this is across the board, she is a very good reader but has a language disorder so they might listen to her more than they would normally for a good reader I am not sure, I know the ones who are struggling are heard more than that though). She is in a small group for maths and a different but equally small group for writing and she seems happy with the level of work, I think the maths is a bit easy from what she is saying. She doesn't read the school books though, she takes in her own ones as do quite a few others I think. The school only does levels up to lime/11 so beyond that they don't mind them reading their own or from the library.

In your position I think I would start with saying that the reading books now appear to be too simple, is she meant to be working on something specific or would it be possible for them to relook at her level and mention the sort of things she is reading at home. If the level is right then not reading to an adult probably isn't a problem as such although if they have set guidelines then they should be following them. Perhaps you could ask how often they do group/guided reading or comprehension type work as in many ways this is really more useful than one to one reading once they are better readers assuming of course they are with children of a similar level in their group.

When a child listens one to one with a teacher or a TA they are taken away for ten minutes from whatever lesson activity they are doing. I feel that if a child can read well then they are better off doing the lesson activity than reading to an adult once a week.

Perhaps the question is how the teacher is assessing them to know that its time to move up a level. I would be happy for my daughter to be assessed with a written reading comprehension test, but most year 1 children are not ready for that style of assessment.

If you can spare the time (or have a willing grandparent ) then offer to go in & read at school - I do it once a week but out of a class of 30 children there are only 5 of us that do it so that means each child only gets a chance once a week. Unfortunately teachers/ TA simply haven't got the time to give each child 1:2:1 reading time every week.

We were in the same position with reading in Year 2 last year. We always had lots of library books around which DD enjoyed reading, but the school books were just dull and too easy. When I raised it with the teacher she just told us to carry on with what we were doing at home, and we more or less stopped reading the school books. I felt much better when I stopped worrying about it!

How would reading to a volunteer parent/ grandparent help with assessment though? I assume volunteers cannot assess the pupils.

Reading 1 to 1 with a child I believe is a important assessment tool, much more can be picked up than from assessments done solely during group reading.

My kids find the school reading books uninteresting too and so we don't bother with them. He chooses library books - which ever ones he wants and we read them instead. I'd rather he was engaged then going through the set school stages.

I also have able and less able readers. The less able ones do read more often but that's fine with me.

I'm feeling slightly confused reading your posts.

You say your daughter is working at a year 4 level across the board. If the school have told you this, then surely it is because they have assessed her as working at this level. They could only do this if they were providing her differentiated work - otherwise where would they get the evidence that she was working 2 years ahead? I think that if they are accurately assessing her then they are likely to be giving her appropriately levelled work - unless of course you think she is capable of more?

As a year 2 child she should still be assessed again the old National Curriculum levels, year 4 equates to NC level 3b. In relation to reading specifically this is beyond lime band, or stage 11. Therefore either the school have bands beyond lime (some do) or if she in on lime or below, then for some reason her teacher is putting her on books below her NC level. This would be quite unusual, but not totally unheard of, especially in schools where children have to read all of the books in each stage before they are allowed to progress.

You need to speak to her teacher to ensure he assesses her reading level accurately as well as asking why she has read so little to an adult compared to the school's policy.

It's the only way you'll find out:
a) if they are failing to record all instances of hearing her read,
b) are not applying the policy to your daughter correctly;

c) why her school book does not match to her NC level (assuming it's as I've set out above).

DD is in yr2 & has been listened to once (121) since September ( the day of parents evening ) she is also very high ability & tbh I just get on with it at home really.

In guided reading, she reads books way below her ability (books she was reading 2 years ago) but I am trying not to get too worked up about it (& failing tbh.)

FYI as a parent reader you can do some limited assessment. You can grasp if a child is understanding the book, if it is too difficult, too easy. If they are struggling with 5 or more words on average per page (in a chapter book) they should be encouraged to find something a little easier. If they are clearly flying through the book with utter ease and some boredom then you speak to the teacher to suggest they need to be up a level. As a parent helper you can praise, help with tricky words, discuss concepts in a book, check understanding.

Parent helpers can (on a basic level) assess the reading - and certainly enough to flag any issues to the teacher, who correctly can then assess them themselves iyswim. So to have them there for regular practice is invaluable.

We don't get any information about how our children are reading in school. I just go by the reading book DS brings home.

Year 2 and level 4. Not being funny but who told you that? They don't assess those levels in ks1. A level 3 is exceeding expectations. If she is level 4 then she doesn't really need to be heard as regularly as other children.

MyFirstName this is not the same as teacher assessment though. It makes me uncomfortable that teachers may be relying too heavily on volunteers to flag up any problems with reading / change the book level.

It is all well and good if the teachers have regular 1 to 1 reading, in addition to volunteers hear them read, but it has been my experience, before, that a class teacher has been unable to answer questions concerning my child's progress at a pre organised meeting.

It could be that she is assessed as 2A which is standard for on entry for year 4.

Not sure why you are agonising over this?
Our DC were reading way above their age levels, and we just kept buying books for them/borrowing from the library etc, and they read to us at home, and we read to them.
If they are enjoying reading - what is the issue?
Far better they read at home to you/DH/ GPs etc, and for enjoyment, than fretting about them reading at school.

Not sure why you are agonising over this?

Because the teacher is employed to teach? Reading is part of the curriculum. Every child has a right to an education, a child's learning should be continually extended in school, no matter what their level.

A parent helper doesn't do the activ assessment but (in our school at least) we would speak to the teacher & suggest the child might need to go up or down a level for whatever reason & then the teacher will obviously hear the child read & make the assessment .