Non-decodable books in reception? Is this right?

[BenefitsQuestions]

DC is 4.5 and in Reception at an independent school

This is my first child so I don't know anything about learning to read etc really.

They have a mix of reading books and some of them have sentences like "This is an orange" and my DC can't sound out orange. The teacher said that they have some books which are wholly "decodable" but they don't have loads of them and so he'll get one of those only twice a week.

Is this ideal? My gut reaction was that i'd like him to have a decodable book all the time and I'm paying £10k a year so can they not buy enough of the "good" books?

But maybe IABU and the other books are just as good. It was the way the teacher made it sound like the decodable books were desirable but limited that made me think...

Any teachers or more experienced parents on here? At home he enjoys reading Songbirds (level 2) and they have gone down well with him so far.

Sorry rereading that it sounds like I'm accusing you of being a pushy parent which was not what I meant. To clarify pushy parents can easily get their average ability child reading early but plenty of kids just take to reading early and are keen to start learning before school. So I don't at all mean that all early readers have pushy parents!

My sons prep.uses these mixed methods.

He struggled with reading and when I questioned why he was getting books with 'photogpraph' in when he couldn't even blend I was told that they know what they are doing and to trust them.

Needless to say I ended up buying songbirds etc and.working with him at home.

They had some phonics books but only got one a.week whereas the bloody ort biff chip and.kipper books were changed every day if need be. I presume it's because they didn't have enough phonics books which when you pay £12k.a.year is a bloody disgrace.

Needless to say dd is not going to.the same school

@HardofCleaning

I am a reasonably pushy parent, but my ds is more likely to be 2e.(not diagnosed)

Teaandbiscuits for a few pounds (£16.99) the school could buy a full set of decodable books. As a teacher I'd buy them myself as I need the proper tools for the job.

mrz Oh so did I! All the time!! I was just saying that although it seems like the fees are astronomical (they are), it's the bursar who decides where the money goes and as most bursars don't have an educational background, the amount they allocate to classroom budgets can be tiny. Much more important to fund the gardening and sports trips...

Well the grounds are going to impress prospective customers parents more than a few decodable texts

Awful but probably true re grounds and window dressing haha. Lovely sweeping gardens and fresh painted buildings are often mentioned by posters impressed by private schools. Proud to say our state school has amazing resources and just invested in loads of new and more interesting reading books etc even if the building is a bit battered and tired to say the least.

Thanks everyone for your honest replies. It's non selective if that makes a difference (I didn't even know you could 'select' at 3yrs old which is their age when the reception place is confirmed!!)

I think this is often the case with private schools tbh. Their practice is not up to date because they have different drivers - CPD and value add scores don't drive parents. My daughter is in a school with high % of FSM. In fact, many parents avoid it for this reason (snobs). Most well resourced school I have ever seen which I assume is because of high levels of pupil premium money. Teaching is stunning too (I work in education so pretty fussy) because most children can't speak English when they start school let alone read.

Toomanybins - that is my experience too. I have friends nearby whose DC are in an amazing school in a less desirable area with similar intake to yours. Way more pupil premium money and better resources than many other schools. Way more free enrichment activities too. Amazing results despite incredibly challenging in take. People dont realise that high % FSM/PP can bring in significant extra funds