Reception class expectations

[PearsonSpecter]

My DC is in Reception Class. There is limited information on school website and teacher is very vague as to work the children are doing. I understand it is learning through play. At parents' evening teacher will not be drawn on any specifics. DC does not say what happens at school. I feel I have no way to judge whether school is great, middling or appalling. What should a Reception Class child (young for year) be able to do as a minimum? Specifically in maths and reading/writing? If DC is bright (again no real idea) how do I know if he is being well supported or just coasting along? How can I tell if he is making progress he should be?

Dd is on the fourth level of reading books and she reads to a TA or helper everyday.

They've been generally practising counting (which she can do) and are now starting to learn halving and doubling.

They're just starting to learn about sentence eg full stops.

They obviously learn their phonics.

Umm they're starting swimming next term

When dd first started in September we were told they did twenty minutes of phonics a day and the rest is learn through play.

She's a June baby.

They still work on eyfs rather than national curriculum so it's all pretty gentle and a lot of focus on personal, social and physical development as far as I can tell.

This document lists the 17 early learning goals (ELGs) that Reception children are assessed against - most children are expected to have achieved these by the end of the Reception year to be able to be described as reaching a "good level of development".

www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbook/exemplification-of-eyfs-profile-expected-descriptors

You can also look at the exemplification materials to see what achieving these looks like.

Thank you both.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/363990/SFR39_2014_Table2.xlsx

Ds is read to and books changed daily. He is writing short stories each week and diary of what he did at the weekend. He gets 20mins homework daily ( reading and maths). Maths he's doing +, -, and has just began multiples, all at basic levels

Reading ability at this age is nothing more than a developmental stage like walking. My 11 year old dd was the last to learn to read in her class but is now at the top of her set in English and considered to be very academic.

Is he at a state school Art? What do you mean by short stories?

Keturah - no private. By short stories i mean similar to; ' Bob the pirate saw a cat. It was on the boat. It ran off. Bob was sad. Then Bob saw the cat in a box. He was happy'. Words like pirate spelt 'pirat' maybe. Or whatever they make up that day, I think they just saw write a story about say a cat and a pirate as above and see what they write.

My DS is at state school. Reading level 5 chip, biff books with ease. Last week moved to odd level 6 book and these definitely more challenging for him. Writing sentences phonetically so badly spelt but can get gist of what he is trying to say. Maths adding and taking away any combination of numbers up to 20 with ease, 20 to 100 maybe can add or take away 2-3 from a given number. Do you all think that's average or good? At parents' evening teacher puts him as very middle of the class.

The problem with being given position within a class is that parents have no way of knowing how the class performs against every other school in England. The best anyone can do is compare with national data for the previous year ...

I would say your child is doing well.

I would say he's doing everything that they would hope. Reception, to me, really is just about socialising and getting used to the school and learning environment. The fact that they learn whilst doing it is a bonus. How old is he?

He sounds like me is doing well. My August born DD is similar - level 5 books, writing phonetically plausible sentence with key words spelled correctly, doing addition and subtraction up to 10 or so, knows the names of 2D and 3D shapes. She is also mid class and doing fine against age related expectations.

I thought he was doing well and wondered if his cohort were very bright or if he doesn't show at school what he can do. As no real idea how time spent in class I can't gauge what the teacher should know. This weekend he has kept asking me to do maths with him. I don't know what he should be doing and found this a very odd request. He is writing out sums and working them out himself. Made me think perhaps teaching is more formal than I thought as he seemed to know what 'doing maths' involved and all the symbols. He could read a little before started school (amazing nursery) and so I can't see a huge change in him now he is in reception class. Really would love to know how he spends his days.

I love their phonetically plausible spellings

Mine can almost hold a pencil and make some marks. He can point out a few letters. He is October born and has an SEN learning plan but no diagnosis yet. Reading posts like these makes me realise just how big the gap is between him and his peers.

Sounds like he is doing just fine. :)

On the basis of what you say he can do, I would assume that there will probably be a few kids who are quite a way ahead of him, and some who are far, far behind. It doesn't really matter anyway, because they are all so young and develop at different rates. In a few years time, those who are ahead now may have lost their edge, and those who are behind may have caught up. It isn't a race.

There really isn't much point in comparing him to his peers at this age. As long as he is happy and excited about learning - and it sounds like he is - then he is doing very well. :)

All I want for all our children is that they reach their full potential and are happy at school. I hate to think of children not getting the support they need or children not being given the opportunity to achieve when they are capable.

Can you see him learning and progressing?

Anita dd has problems physically and my heart breaks a little more every time I see her struggling to do something. I feel pretty sick at the thought of her going to secondary school as I know how cruel children are from experience I'm sure your ds will get there in his own time and it's great he's getting the support to enable him to do this

Hmmm yes and no. Yes a little in reading. No, not really in maths. When he was at nursery he would tell me about nature, animals, cooking etc he reports none of this now. Also he had never brought home a single piece of art work since starting school.

Well dd hasn't done much maths but she's bought home art work (if you can call it that!) at the end of each term/half term. Does he enjoy going? Have they had any trips?

That doesn't sound good to me that teacher ''Wouldn't be drawn on specifics''. I thought that whole PURPOSE of Parents' Evening was so parents could be informed how their children were doing!

If I had ever been told that, I would have wanted an explanation for Head or Deputy!

It does sound as if he is progressing OK, but maybe the teacher is not ''good with parents''.

I'll add some Maths information:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:

ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other

etc,

then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

www.ictgames.com/

www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/page/default.asp?title=Woodlands%20Junior%20School&pid=1

If you can't see him progressing then I would talk to the teacher