should my ds be making more progress?

[tornadorain]

My DT2 is in year 2. It’s supposedly an outstanding school and he is supposedly one of the most able children. We recently had parents evening and we discussed that he is making good progress but he can be over confident and consequently not perform to the best of his ability (i.e. making silly mistakes in maths or only doing the minimum in writing). We talked about how to help him with this but overall the teacher said not to worry and he was doing really well. She said as we move towards SATS he will be in the top groups. I then questioned what actual level he is expected to be on by the end of the year, and to my surprise she said a 2. He was on a 2 at the end of last year. I then voiced my concern that this surely means he is not making the progress he should be. She said she disagreed with the grading for last year. I am now really frustrated that noone has spoken to me sooner so that we can all work together to find some strategies that will help him demonstrate his potential which to my mind he clearly isn’t at the moment. DT1 is identical and in a different class. There is a marked difference between the quality of his work compared to his brother (DT1's work appears much stronger). And yet, whenever we do any reading, writing or maths work both verbally or written down, DT2 appears to be the most able. He grasps concepts quicker but he doesn’t seem to be able/willing to reflect this in his formal work. I think the teachers think I am being a pushy parent but I feel he is not currently being supported to be reach his potential and the school doesn’t seem concerned by this. They seem happy to let him coast, because he is within normal ranges and is doing better than most of his peers. This seems at odds with what I would expect from a theoretically outstanding school. Any thoughts which would help me know how to proceed?

torn, level 2 covers 3 bands, so 2C's lowest and 2A's highest. So for example he could have moved up from 2C to 2A over the year, but still be a level 2. I'd say you need to ask for more detail. If he started the year on 2C and is still 2C then yes be worried, but I'm guessing you might be pleasantly surprised.

Now you see how irrelevant the Ofsted grading is.

I would be concerned if the "top tables" weren't achieving level 3s at the end of year 2, unless the school has a particularly high proportion of children with SEN.

A large proportion of dd's class got level 3s in year 2, including many on the "middle ability" tables.

It's possible that your ds has progressed from a 2c to a 2a, but I thought children were expected to make a whole level of progress each year in KS1. In any case, the teacher has stated that she disagrees with the end of year level given last year. Was this at the same school? If so, I think you need to be asking what evidence was used to make the judgements last year, and why this evidence is no longer considered reliable.

I agree with seekingtheanswers that in most schools the "top tables" would be getting level 3s at the end of the year. I would be very surprised if in my daughter's class there weren't at least a third of the class getting level 3s which would be the top 2 groups and probably more.

I think you should be able to get more information from the teacher.

Thank you for your responses, they are really helpful. To pick up on your points:
Smee-yes I see what you mean, but I suppose part of the problem is that I think he should be put in for level 3 at sats, as his (in my mind slightly less academically confident) brother will be. I am worried that if he isn't put in at the level he should be he won't get stretched in year 3 and will continue to under perform.
Shellshocked-yep I'm starting to see that now. (Although they are due an inspection soon...)
Seeking/no nickname- yes it was the same school, and i am troubled by the whole thing. It just feels a bit off. It is theoretically an able school so am wondering why they aren't aiming higher. But then I start doubting myself and wondering if I have been over confident in his abilities and perhaps he's not as able as I thought. But I really don't think that's the case. I have asked for a follow up meeting with the teacher. Maybe that will help.