Struggling nine year old - how do I handle parents evening?

[cuttingthemustard]

My nine year old son is described as working towards target ie bottom rung in three out of four categories while his attitude to work is said to be excellent.

I've always thought that the school knows best and will be on top of things but I'm getting very worried. No one flags any concerns up then he gets his report each year and he is not reaching targets.

He had a dyslexia screening at the end of Y2 (asked for by the Y2 teacher) which said he had a few signs of dyslexia but teachers in the next two years haven't been aware of this until I've pointed it out and don't seem bothered.

I have no concerns about him socially but he does seem to be getting increasingly aware he is not doing as well as his friends.

I have parents evening coming up and I feel I should be asking for a longer term strategy but I don't really know what to do for the best.

I am in the same boat. My DD is 9 and her teacher has flagged up concerns. He suggested we see a behavioural optometrist as DD is quite obviously articulate and bright...doesn't have dyslexia symptoms but is still finding it hard to retain information.

She is also very sociable and popular and generally well behaved though talks a lot in class.

No idea! We're getting her eyes retested this week...she wears glasses but says her head hurts sometimes.

Thanks AjasLipstick, I want to get it right as I think I've already wasted a lot of time by not being more persistent. Good luck with the behavioural optometrist (I'm googling exactly what that is now!).

I think that the current assessment method of working towards/at/exceeding is very unhelpful at the working towards end. (My son is an end of August birthday) and I wanted to know how behind working towards meant. The teachers didn't understand why I'd ask if he's be working at target if he was in the year below, 2 years below... I get it's not a precise science as kids don't learn according to computer modeled graphs but having looked at his classmates work on the wall, it was clear he was behind.
Ds got extra help with handwriting, spelling and literacy starting in y3 and by y6 only needed the spelling sessions. He managed to get "working at" at the end of y6 which was a massive relief.

Thanks. I suppose a lot depends on how far away from "working at" he is and I'll ask at parents evening but this has given me hope.

the optometrist can look at where their eyes move on a page as they read...spotting inconsistencies or anomalies. There's more to it than that I think but it can flag dyslexia....I had similar issues myself as a child....I was excellent at reading though but for maths, my learning pretty much stopped aged 10 or so because I just couldn't keep up and had a crap teacher.

DD is very articulate and spells well when you ask her to say the spelling out loud....but when writing, it's much harder.

I would let the school know you are very concerned about his lack of progress. Find out whether anything is being done to address his possible/ suspected dyslexia. Find out what it is, when it happens and if it's working. You may need to book an additional appointment with someone else to get the full details (SENCO/ TA/ whoever runs the extra activity). Find out all the possible ways the school is helping dyslexic kids and check whether your DS is benefiting from any of this. For example are they signed up to the Nessy programme? Can they learn to type? You may have to be like a dog with a bone to get things moving. Good luck.

Thanks very much, that's really helpful. His teacher has agreed to refer him to the SENCO and ask for another screening. I'll see her as soon as that's done.

I didn't think to ask what was being done for other children but definitely will now.

His teacher did not seem worried and said he was very close to achieving "working at" targets but I agree I need to be much more persistent.