Year 1 Teacher not happy with DS Writing

[pinkclare12]

Feeling really upset. Our son is 5 years old (6 in June) and is well behaved, kind, social, and has a good verbal vocabulary and knowledge of the world.

He has never been particularly interested in writing, and reading, working at school, etc. But he is not disruptive. We have always read to him (which he enjoys), and since starting reception in 2016 have done all the reading and phonics with him as directed. Doing homework has always been a challenge because he doesn't often want to do it - leading to battles. But it is always done.

Feedback from teachers has been he is good and quiet in class, but just doesn't listen well (daydreaming), leading him to not completing tasks properly. We got this feedback in parents evening, and was told he will fall behind if he doesn't sort it out. Today i was called across the playground by teacher, who was clearly very frustrated saying he had been given a task to write a passage about a book they are studying, but he didn't do any writing. Teacher was clearly angry, frustrated and just barked out (inarticulately) that he must do it, pushing the book and a page with keywords on to me, saying he has to do it at home. She said he will be completely left behind unless he starts focusing and its unacceptable and I needed to sort it.

DS was extremely upset, apologising, and inconsolable on the way home. We have done the work but i was hoping for some advice:
How can I improve active listening skills? How can I improve his creative writing? We learn his spelling homework each week but he then struggles to retain that info and won't use the correct spelling in his writing??

We already do additional workbooks at home to try and improve his skills and do try really hard with him with all his homework (maths, spellings, phonics, reading). Just don't know what else to do and feel angry with the teacher (maybe unfairly so??) and mortified.

My husband and I both found school relatively easy and don't want this to become an issue for our son...Any words of advice really appreciatedx

Don't want to read and run.

Dyslexia??

• he is good and quiet in class
• doesn't listen well (daydreaming)
• him to not completing tasks properly
• We learn his spelling homework each week but he then struggles to retain that info
• won't use the correct spelling in his writing

These would be red flags for Dyslexia

This makes me so sad, he's only 5! I don't really have much advice apart from I have 2DCs (6 and 9). Both are intelligent, sparky, funny boys who would rather do anything than write in a book! They both read well, one is a good speller and one isn't and both of their handwriting is appalling. I let them to the bare minimum to get by with their homework as it's always a battle but I do make sure we do other stuff - go walking in the woods with a tree identification book, visit an art gallery to find a painting by a particular artist, go to the library and browse the books. Not everyone is suited to school - it can be particularly challenging for children who don't want to write but there are so many other ways of expanding their horizons when they are little. Schools are so results driven now, don't let yourself get sucked in. Awful behaviour by the teacher by the way, if anyone spoke to me like that i'd be asking to see the Head, so not appropriate to be given a book and told what to do, unless in a private meeting to discuss your child.

Poor inconsolable DS! Why was he so upset - did he hear the teacher sounding disapproving and feel like he was in trouble? I wouldn’t be very happy with that tbh - there’s bound to be a reason for him not writing, and he doesn’t deserve to be made to feel anxious about it. He’s so little!

He sounds a bit like my DS, who has dyspraxia/DCD. He is bright, reads very well, big vocabulary etc but still struggles to use pincer grip after years of occupational therapy - writing is physically hard and tiring for him and if it’s really forced on him, can be upsetting. This was initially flagged up in primary 1 (reception).

He’s 10 now and doing well academically but can still hardly write for half a page, and does most spelling/written work on screen instead. Staying focused on tasks in the classroom is a challenge for him though, and again it’s not because he isn’t trying.

Hope you can get to the bottom of your ds’s situation. And I hope he isn’t still inconsolable!

Worth getting his hearing checked also? The daydreaming in class and not focusing can indicate glue ear.. also “selective hearing” and so on.

Sounds like a typical 5 year old and I find it sad that he is sad. With mine just learnt to improve his concentration by leaving him alone when concentrating on tasks so he could build focus time.

I think active listening is hard to learn - maybe teCher should learn to be more engaging.

Too early for dyslexia panics imho.

Sounds like my five year old year one DS too, who I’m almost certain doesn't have dyslexia (older sister has). He wouldn’t have a chance in hell of writing a ‘passage’ about a book! A sentence or two. At a push. He is not lazy. He is very anxious though and would worry about ‘getting it wrong’. And I don’t know what would happen if he had a teacher like your son has.

She sounds dreadful. Or very stressed. Or maybe both. Poor little boy.

How did he find the work once at home? What was his attitude to it?
Can he explain why he didn't write anything?

We learn his spelling homework each week but he then struggles to retain that info and won't use the correct spelling in his writing?

I think this is normal.

It sounds like, for whatever reason he just didn't have a go at his writing today, and he's not going to want to have a go if this is how his teacher reacts.

I would go back to the teacher and ask her (in writing) what you can do to improve his listening/writing etc. It's really not fair for her to tell you to sort it, when the problem seems to be only in her classroom.

This has made me sad.

Honestly, my little boy would melt into a puddle if his teacher spoke to him like that. And as for explaining ‘why’ he didn’t complete the work, I wouldn’t get more than ‘I can’t remember’ or more likely ‘I wanted to play’.
Five. Years. Old.
What are we doing?

(I’m a teacher)

You can help with creative writing by having him tell you a story and you write it down for him. That way he can practice constructing a story and relax without being restricted by what he can spell and the speed of his writing. Maybe you could make a book together and he could illustrate it.

Yikes DD1 is in yr 1 and has just turned 6. She wouldn't be able to write a passage about a book. Maybe a sentence but that's about all. I didn't realise that was a problem. Surely it just takes a bit longer for some kids he is so young still. I would be very annoyed at the teacher it's her job to encourage and get him to engage with writing not tell him off.

@parrotonmyshoulder we aren't doing anything except get frustrated.
It's the government and the NC and ofsted and all that shit that are doing "it".
(Not a teacher)

Thanks for all your responses, I really appreciate it. DS is okay now - he got upset because he was standing next to me (along with my 3 year old DD who will be joining the school in September), when the teacher raised it with me. He just kept saying sorry as we were walking away, and then started crying.

I was really upset but wondered if it was me overreacting. His reading is where they would expect him to be, so I'm not sure it would be due to Dyslexia if he is ok at reading??

Once at home he sat down to do it with no complaints, but I think he produces much better work at home, as I am on hand for him. He seems to lack confidence in his own abilities and wants to check he is right with something before proceeding. What he does do is start writing a sentence but then forgets what he is writing, resulting in a sentence that does not make sense.

The teacher says his issue is not concentrating resulting in poor work, but he said he does listen but finds it hard. I have reiterated to ask if he doesn't understand - and see if we can do more puzzles, etc with him at home....So hard...

Applesandpears23 great idea - he is creative so he will probably like that. xx

Good grief. This makes me sad and angry in equal measure, although that's it's all too common.

Fall behind? Fall behind what? Some arbitrary target set by someone who has barely set foot in a classroom.

The teacher is no doubt under pressure and sounds stressed but really....this is a FIVE year old.

I'm a teacher.

Obviously you were completely caught out by a teacher abusing her position of power and timing of the conversation, but getting a 5 year old to complete work is part of her job, she should never have been talking about you sorting it. It would of course be impossible anyway as you're not there.

Next time, just keep repeating what are you doing to help him, how do we re-inforce that when he's not in school? She should be the expert, and the language was certainly inappropriate in front of him.

Given that your son's reason for not working and hers are so opposite, you also need to be his advocate here and say he's struggling to understand, and is not just opting out. Of course if he is opting out, it's class room strategies that will help, not anything you can do hours after.

I have taught Y1. I would never ever have sent incomplete work to do at home! It sounds like you are supporting him a lot already. IME 5 year olds do sometimes find it hard to concentrate and it is for the teacher to keep explanations short and activities at an appropriate level. At that age, I would also maybe have used some kind of reward system for motivation.

From your p.o.v, it may be an idea to get hearing checked, just to rule out any problems. I would also arrange a meeting with the teacher so you can discuss alternative ways to motivate him.

Your poor little boy. That is a shocking way to treat a five year old. I've had similar. Teacher complained my 5 year old wouldn't concentrate and just wanted to play. I'm afraid I responded by asking her what she expects from a five year old.

Teachers are obviously stressed and have targets to meet but that is not the way to get kids to improve.

There may or may not be an underlying problem for your son. It is more likely there is a problem with the education system.

I'm currently year 2 but have taught year 1. Why couldn't she have written some sentence starters? Sometimes chn don't know where to start and that could have started him off and then got into the flow of it. Can he write? If not could she not scribe for him? Talk through ideas? Would typing work on a computer be more of an incentive? Sometimes I give certain chn a
5 min timer and then they write what they can in that time and then we go back and look at how to improve it.

The standards are higher in writing, I've attached the year 1 end of year criteria. Maybe she's getting towards end of year and thinking how much evidence she has for certain things and is now putting on the pressure.

He is relatively young for his year group so that will be a factor in his development relative to others. You might need to remind the teacher of that. It is not realistic to expect him to keep up with children up to 11 months older. Assessments should take this into account. (I cant recall the research but I believe there is evidence that summer born children are still a bit behind their peers at 16). Whatever you do at home needs to be fun, writing in sand, magnetic letters and words etc. But I think you might need to have a word with the headteacher because this class teacher is likely to damage his confidence and self esteem, and the incident you describe in the playground is appalling behaviour and a totally inappropriate way of dealing with it.

Also she should have picked up in class that he wasn't writing anything, astute teachers circulate and monitor what children are doing so they can help where needed, or remind distracted children to stay on task, they don't blame the child and shout at parents later.

Bless him. He probably finds writing difficult and at 5 it's not uncommon to daydream!

Actually he Sounds a bit like one of my ds at that age. He had and still does have trouble concentrating and focusing when it's noisy. Perhaps the classroom is quite noisy and that's distracting? So it's also putting him off writing generally as he's getting worried about not being able to concentrate.

Wow! I am a ta in a year 1 class.
We have 4 or 5 boys that sound just like your son. All so positive yet lacking in being able to put pencil to paper the way some other children do.
We have sentence starters, 4 members of staff hovering and encouraging (several children with 1-1’s) yet with 15 minutes of dedicated writing time some get little further than writing their name.
We have noticed that these particular boys really want to get it right and with some creative writing work it isn’t about right and wrong so they don’t know what to do.

I have started working with them using story cubes to make up nonsense stories to encourage them to make up silly things without fear of getting it wrong.
The great thing about the cubes is it is a bit like when the class teacher gives you a topic to write about. It is not if your choosing and you have to pull something out of your mind.

If you do go down this route encourage him to be as descriptive as possible it will translate into his writing eventually.

The difference between the year ones is vast some still forming letters aimed clear and cursive. Some with fabulously detailed stories some like rabbit in the headlights.
He will get there.

As for your interaction with the teacher I would see her tomorrow morning and express your need to have time with her to go through her concerns. That her manner made it sound like a crisis.

Thanks some great comments here - and reassuring to read. Will chat to teacher (thinking carefully about my response)! Also, story cubes sound great - will look into that too.

My DS now in yr 3, was like that (still is). A teacher like her would have destroyed his confidence and he would have completely withdrawn. He has been diagnosed mod/severe dyslexia. (Not suggesting that for you at all) but all children learn differently and as a teacher she should know that it is important to keep children’s confidence and foster a love of learning at such a young age. That teacher is lucky she doesn’t have me as a parent.....