Reception targets

[fuzzyduck33]

Hi! Had a Reception parent's evening for dd yesterday and I must admit I came away feeling rather deflated. Dh thinks that the teacher was just a little business like and rushing to get through everybody, I came away feeling like dd is really struggling and I need to work harder with her at home.
Basically she slid a piece of paper across the table and said "she's going to need to work on these things, you can keep that copy so you don't forget them.
The list of targets:

1. Recognise, decode and use all phonics up to the end of phase 5 (4 circled that she can't remember yet, the rest she's ok)
2. Describe 3D shapes using the correct mathematical terms eg square faces, edges, corners.
3. Form letters correctly.
4. Write longer sentences independently including ones that have and in the middle.
5. Count in steps of 2,5 and 10 (she can do 2's and 10's but not 5's)

So, do these sound about right for her age group or is she playing catch up?

Also she had nothing positive about DD to say but nothing negative either. I asked if she was being good and the teacher said "yes??" And looked puzzled.

Aarge help, dd is my pfb and I'm new to this. Is this all normal? Thanks!

Sounds as though she didn't give you much time or go through things much with you. Did she even go through with you what was written on the paper?

I can't really say if the targets are normal because I'm not a teacher, but my daughter is in year 1 and I would say she is doing most of these things now (as in I would say that they are maybe targets they would like to see them work towards ready for year 1?).
In my experience reception was very laid back and I noticed a big difference in terms of targets for year 1. However the reception teacher put a lot of emphasis on how DD was doing socially, who her friends were in class, what she was good at e.g friendly to new pupils etc. Now she's in year 1 it seems it was more about goals and targets, but I was not given a list or anything specific.

I am in Wales and my DD is in a small class size of 15 so probably the teacher didn't have to rush as much as a bigger class but i would say it still felt rushed.

From what you're saying sounds a bit formal for reception, or possibly just the manner of the teacher? But I wouldn't worry, sounds like your daughter is doing well to me! I just think the teacher probably hasn't explained all that well and has given you a list of things to work on, but these may be things they are already working on if that makes sense, I.e. She is not behind xx

Sound like normal sort of reception goals to me. Not obviously cause for concern, though without knowing what progress they've made towards the goals/how far off they are it's hard to tell. Which is what I would expect the teacher to be telling you in discussion. I'd also expect to hear about other aspects of how they're getting on e.g. do they play well with other children, are they happy sitting and listening to a story, are they enjoying arts and crafts etc.

I'm sure they'd have mentioned if any concerns about her behaviour so I wouldn't worry about that one!

Given you've come away concerned, I think it would be reasonable to ask for a catch up after school one day away from the time pressure of parents' evening. If they do have any concerns they want you to support from home, which of those aspects particularly, and what would they like you to do?

Thanks for your reply sib that's really helpful. It must be difficult to get through 30 sets of parents so maybe just that. I guess personally I'd rather have spent the ten minutes talking about her behaviour, friendships and general attitude to learning and it all seemed a bit tick boxy to me. Good to hear that you don't think she's behind, she seems fine to me but we all have our mum goggles don't we?
I also wasn't sure if the targets were just for information or whether they're sort of my responsibility to work on at home? I don't mind doing bits at home but she still gets quite tired.

Counting in steps of 2, 5 and 10 and recognising 3d shapes are part of the year 1 curriculum. I wouldn't be worried, the teacher just sounds quite formal but any concerns would've been mentioned.
You don't need to do loads at home but it's always good to do a bit if you can. You can talk about 3d shapes just using boxes in the kitchen, making junk models. They will do it at school but every bit helps.

Thanks cat, yes I'd expected those things too. Poor dd I have spent the evening quizzing her and all the targets seem quite close and achievable so I think I'll stop worrying

Can I add some reassurance...I work with year three and there are children who don't meet those targets, they do seem high for a reception child. They do like to push children to see capabilities so don't feel deflated, I'm sure your doing a great job.

Oh I forgot one, she needs to know all number bonds to 10 and related facts so: 2+8, 8+2, 10-2, 10-8. I kind of thought they only had to add and subtract using object inReception but they want it all memorised?

Phase 5 phonics is taught in Year 1and is a very ambitious target for reception.

x-post. No point at all in memorising number pairs to ten if they don't have lots of solid practice with concrete materials.

Thanks Minnie! Teacher is new to reception this year so that may explain things a bit!

They're Y1 expectations half way through reception

They're the types of targets i’m giving to my Y1 children!

It’s such a shame that you’ve come away feeling defeated because if these are your Reception child's targets, Id say she’s doing very well indeed!

That's good to know thanks, bit puzzling too though as she's bright enough but not anything out of the ordinary if you know what I mean, I worry that it's more about the teacher or the school wanting to push things as much as possible? Anyway though this thread has reassured me that it's not an issue with dd and seems to support dh's view that the teacher was a bit lacking in her delivery.

Number bonds to 10 is a reception target.
But i think some of the rest is possibly yr 1 stuff.
You can look on 'development matters' for what they do in eyfs in reception

Number bonds aren't in the early years curriculum. It sounds like the teacher is very ambitious or your dd has already met the end of reception goals?

In my experience, the goals given to you at parents evening are your child's individual 'next steps', so not a way of saying they aren't where they should be, more a way of giving you an idea of what they will be working towards now. Our school does this every parents evening and they are different for each child depending upon what stage they are at. It's a shame the teacher didnt explain this, I think they sometimes forget that not every parent knows the system, especially if it is your first ever parents evening.