Am I right in thinking a school should have a phonics based reading scheme?

[Namechangenurseryconcerns]

Parents evening last night-ds (reception) doing well. Can blend cvc and read simple sentences. Tentatively asked when we might get a reading book alongside/rather than phonics worksheets /'picture cards' to discuss and was told that they don't really have books that can be phonetically decoded.
They have banded books-dreaded ORT, ginn etc but these aren't decodable to those in the first phases of phonics.
This is poor right? We have the songbirds books at home and will continue reading these ( teacher was happy with this) but what about the rest of the children?
Could someone in the know link me some requirements so I can make a polite fuss /help them with funding if necessary?

It's a bit difficult when school budgets are being cut. To the bone. Seriously.

I get that, but in reality, I see so many post about lack of decent books in school on MN.
I was just wondering if it's possible normal parents(not necessarily pta member) can initiate some kind of fund raising for that matter, if they wanted to.
I don't think it matters where the money comes from, what's important is that resources are available for all the children, not just for those with engaged parents, who can supplement at home.

Seriously schools have had ten years to build up a bank of books. Add to that matched funding it only needed a small yearly outlay to provide appropriate books

Would love to donate some phonics sets, but I'm not sure how it would be received given they've not let the PTA spend money on it and they seem to not think they have a problem. Am looking for an opportunity to sound out teacher off the record, as suspect it's the head that's the stumbling block.

Cat, I did donate phonics books, asked the teacher and she wanted it, and I think it became class room resource. I received thank you letter from HT.

Definitely donate phonics books if you have them. Or indeed any books. I've received a few different phonics books and a range of picture books recently and they're very much appreciated. I can't imagine any school saying no thank you!

As for schools not having the funds for phonics books, it really isn't that expensive. If the teaching is good, most children will be moving on to more generic children's books by some point in Y2. You can get good quality phonics books for less than £2 per book (Dandelions, Jelly and Bean) and in some cases much less (Songbirds). £2-3000 could completely replace the YR and Y1 stock in even a 3-form entry school. And while that sounds like a lot, it really is a tiny proportion of the budget for a school that size.

Schools that haven't replaced their stock have chosen not to. They don't see it as a priority.

We don't have any at present as we passed them on. We generally do book sets as class-leaving gifts though so perhaps some phonics ones for R and Year 1 as DD passes through. I wasn't sure if teachers might take it amiss, but that sounds like a probably not.

And yes absolutely, school don't seem to see it as priority. They make positive sounds about phonics, but practice doesn't seem to follow through well. From their phonics handout, updated this year, no less: "encourage your child to use picture clues and phonics to attempt to read words" ... "read repetitive texts. Children will learn to read these from memory and it will boost their confidence" . Doesn't bode well does it?

Just 2 non school uniform days with £1 donation each time in say, October and May would be enough to get going. Over 4yrs that would build up quite a stock.

Goodness at Miaow saying she's old as she finished primary school in 1989! I took my A-Levels in 1989!

Mrz, I get that schools have had a chance, and they should have done. But reality isn't.
It's no point talking about should have, would have.
It's about what can we do. Especially as parents.
Maybe we need to be more proactive about it. Especially we have lots of insider knowledge thanks to helpful MN teachers.
Luckily my ds didn't suffer lack of books, but if your dc does, maybe it's time you do something about it.
I actually donated some money towards school library, when I heard there aren't enough books. It's a small step, but it's a start.

If schools were really committed to providing phonics books they would find it in the budget. I wonder if the schools saying they can't afford books have IWBs? iPads? Class sets of laptops? a TA in every class? Etc etc ...

In my class, I dont have a single laptop or ipad. The board barely works and you dont get any sound.
TA? No, they have either been made redundant or are working 1:1 with children with additional needs (that are so severe they need 1:1 but apparently not severe enough to warrant any funding). A TA in every class?

LMAO, the last three schools I worked in didnt even have that.
Last year I had two children needing 1:1, 30 children and no TA

Such is life in some schools these days.

Another school not far up the road from us gets 3 times the funding we do, and cant you tell it! The rich get richer and the poor get poorer

Mrz, I really understand your argument. But it really doesn't matter.
I am talking from parents' point of view,. If the school have all the reason why they won't/can't be able to get new books, there are nothing you can do for normal parents to change that. It must be same if teachers wants to something, but HT doesn't agree with it. It's no point of talking about ideal situation.
But we may be able to do something with parents initiative, that may change something.

Is it in a different LEA ?

TeacherBob I wasn't asking about individual classes I was talking about schools.
So no laptops, IPads, working IWBs or other technology anywhere in your school.

Are you saying your school doesn't have decodable books, TeacherBob?

mrz we have 15 laptops that are outdated and not fit for use. For the whole school. Getting ipods is just fantasy. We have 4 TA's for the whole school. All are now working 1:1. Its, quite frankly, shit.

Feenie no I didnt say that.
We have decodable books for in-school. We use them for guided reading etc etc.
We have some decodable books to take home but not as many as we need for every child. So I send them home with the children who have the trouble decoding the most. The rest get the old ORT books (which I absolutely hate but I can't spend any more of my own money on stuff, I have to draw a line somewhere).

My point (my only point really on this thread is) that how much you get to spend is dependent on the LEA/boundaries/past mistakes/successes, and you can talk about the ideal world, but that is not the world I live in atm.

Oh dear. So your school is too poor to even follow the statutory curriculum? Perhaps you could take on board a couple of the fund raising suggestions given here - obviously you need to buy some books very urgently if your situation is as dire as you describe.

We have some decodable books to take home but not as many as we need for every child. So I send them home with the children who have the trouble decoding the most. The rest get the old ORT books (which I absolutely hate but I can't spend any more of my own money on stuff, I have to draw a line somewhere).

Recently, you have insisted every child in your class has the right reading book.But your last post directly contradicts your assertion.

Teacher Bob how is your school spending it's pupil premium?

Sigh Feenie, all you want to do is knock me, I cant be arsed with your attitude. If you can read, you will see I said the children do read books at their level.
I thought homework guidelines were scrapped anyway? And that schools that still follow them do so voluntary? Or maybe I am mistaken?

myyoyo it goes on a variety of things, some of which I guess I am not privvy to. That said, I know some goes on things like providing breakfasts and snacks for children that come in hungry and stuff like that.

I am gonna leave this thread now, I have pointed out that not all schools, for a variety of reasons, get spare money. That is a fact. I also said before I will leave a thread as soon as Feenie comes along to bash me, which happens on a fairly regular basis.

TeacherBob Fri 14-Oct-16 22:04:44
I did not explicitly say I hold anyone back

I wont be changing my practice, the children in my class are on the right books.

Yes, I can read. You said the right books. Now you're saying they are not - and they definitely aren't if what you've described is true.

You seem to be extraordinarily over-sensitive, TeacherBob. Obviously someone who frequents the same board as you is going to notice if you post completely opposing posts over a relatively short period of time. Last week, you accused me of 'following' you - on a thread where I'd posted previously, 24 hours before. I find these kinds of paranoid postings more than a bit silly, I have to say.

I thought homework guidelines were scrapped anyway? And that schools that still follow them do so voluntary? Or maybe I am mistaken?

The national curriculum for English is very clear that every child should be given a book that closely matches their decoding level. It isn't anything to do with homework guidelines. Do you need the link again?