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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

What do they actually learn in reception/ What do kids actually know going in?

122 replies

RBBMummy · 19/03/2018 22:13

My son is Autistic and its given him certain abilities. He starts school in September and hes very excited. However i think hes expecting too much and i want to be realistic with him. He also doesn't understand that other children cant necessarily do what he can, but as hes my only child i don't know what other children can realistically do at 4 academically. If i can start talking to him about this now he should get it by the time school starts. I just don't know what im aiming for?

OP posts:
RBBMummy · 29/03/2018 22:31

Ive been ignoring anything irrelevant because they are separate issues.

OP posts:
GoingFullNorman · 29/03/2018 22:41

They aren’t separate issues. They are intertwined with the academic stuff.

Please trust me, I’ve had 3 dc with ASD go through reception. The social stuff is as, if not more, important than the academic stuff. Especially in reception, but throughout school too.

There is so much more to settling well than off-the-scale academics. It is incredibly important, especially if your ds is going to be way out ahead of the rest, for him to be able to be part of the group in other ways.

From what you have written here, he has some difficulties with flexible thinking and theory of mind (unsurprisingly, given his dx). Work on those - it’ll stand him in good stead for many years to come.

Fairenuff · 29/03/2018 22:44

Well if you literally want to know what 4 year olds can do academically it's going to be a massive spectrum.

I had a 4 year old child in class a few years ago who could read and understand Harry Potter books for example. Also a had a wide range of interests which he could talk about in detail and he had excellent spelling and a very quick grasp of mathematical concepts.

I have also had children that had never picked up a pencil or paintbrush and could not even recognise their name. Then there is everyone inbetween. If you could be more specific about your concerns, maybe posters wouldn't be so 'irrelevant' in their guessing.

Onceuponatimethen · 29/03/2018 23:22

I get what you are saying op. It’s fine to ask a discrete question of course!

I might post asking about what rucksack to get my Sen dc for year r. Actually of course I know it’s not the most important or only important thing. I’d just like to make sure I don’t get a really babyish rucksack!!

Try not to worry about ss/ not ss and get some helpful informed advice. Would be good to chat everything through with one of the charities maybe the NAS helpline would be good.

Sending you Flowers and Brew and a virtual hug in case it helps.

Sakurasnail · 30/03/2018 00:50

Ive been ignoring anything irrelevant because they are separate issues.
Although I understand what you mean by this comment, if you ignore those irrelevant issues which have been brought up by professionals working with children like yours, I think you will be doing your DS a great disservice, and will end up with a very frustrated child who doesn't fit in with others (in many social settings) at all. It's lovely that you celebrate and encourage those things he is great at. Just remember there are many other things he needs an understanding (or at least a way of dealing with, even if he doesn't get why) or mastery of.

GoingFullNorman · 30/03/2018 06:42

OP, are you in the UK?

Surely you already know which school your ds will be going to in September?

If you think a special School might end up being a reality, then you will have an awful lot of work to do, and it most likely will not be in place before September.

How have you not already been talking about support packages? Does he receive any support at preschool? Have they mentioned anything about transitioning to school?

brilliotic · 30/03/2018 12:46

RBBMummy, have you read up on the EYFS Framework? That would give you a pretty good idea what most children can do by the end of reception. But I assume you haven't, as you haven't responded to any suggestions in this regard.

In my DS' reception class, there was one child who could read roughly orange level books upon starting, another who was reading yellow level books. (You can look at e.g. Oxford Reading Owl for free sample books at those levels if you want to find out what that means.) Of the other 28 children, most had had some exposure to letters, might recognise some or all of them, were able to recognise their own names (but not write them), and a few - maybe 5 - were able to blend single CVC words.
At the end of reception, most children were reading yellow level books, with a range from Turquoise to Pink. Some children had still not cracked blending. With regards to phonics, most children knew the main spelling for the 44 sounds, but no alternative spellings nor had they been taught that some letters sometimes make other sounds.
It was in Y2 that the first children started on Harry Potter books.

Regarding maths, the variation upon entry was even bigger, I'd say, as a number of children could not yet count to 10 nor recognise any numbers, whereas two could count beyond 100, add and subtract mentally, knew their 'number bonds', had firm understanding of place value, and were beginning with multiplication (could count in 2s, 10s, 5s). The vast majority however could count to somewhere between 10 and 20 and could perhaps say what is 'one more' than a number in that range.
By the end of reception, they could all count to 20, and most to 100; most could say what is 'one more' or 'one less' than a number within 0-20 and quite a few could do simple addition within 20, with the help of e.g. a number line; they could recognise basic 2d and 3d shapes, and tell o'clock time; some could tell half-past time as well. They had started to learn skip counting (counting in 2s).
Those couple of children who could do all that when they started, weren't really taught anything further during reception year, but had plenty of opportunity to deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts during free play, if they chose to.

I wrote this out in the hope that it will help you get a further idea of what most other children will be able to do upon starting reception, and what they will be learning - in terms of maths and reading - during that first year. I hope you will be able to prepare your DS and scale down his expectations regarding the other children.
Even for NT children, it can be really hard to understand that something that just seems 'obvious' to yourself is not understood by everyone. I can imagine that this might be extra hard for your DS, so good on you for wanting to find out the reality of what most children that age can do, and then manage your DS's expectations.

However this won't tell you anything about how the school will deal with your DS's abilities, or with his difficulties. That, only your school will be able to help you with. So if you want to prepare your DS with regards to what HE will be taught and how learning will be structured for HIM - arrange a meeting with the school as soon as place allocations are definite (16th April for most, unless your place was allocated via the SEN/statement route). Speak to the SENCO and class teacher. I can image they'll suggest to 'wait and see' how it goes when he starts school (with regards to how they will deal with his abilities - they will want to see for themselves what he can do), but you can try to impress on them how much easier things are likely to be if your DS knows what to expect, so any indication as to what they might be doing, at least in the beginning, would be very helpful.

RBBMummy · 30/03/2018 23:23

Onceuponatimethen Thank you! The social , emotional, and physical aspects of school Just arent anything to do with this issue

OP posts:
KoshaMangsho · 31/03/2018 04:38

But they are. You might get another very bright 4 year old who does know the stuff your son does but who is entirely NT. And if your son can’t navigate the social and emotional side of friendship then it makes no difference where that other kid is emotionally. Your son might be in a class where all kids can read and write and what not (unlikely) and find himself lonely and struggling.

A LOT of time is spent in reception in mastering social and emotional skills. Group work. Taking off your clothes and changing into PE stuff. Circle time. Learning to navigate lunch. These are all as emotionally taxing if not more than learning to read and write. There is an excellent thread somewhere of what to prepare your child with before Reception and academic stuff is very low down that list.

KoshaMangsho · 31/03/2018 04:43

Incidentally because DS1 was well into Y1 stuff at Reception and now in Y1 can effortlessly do some Y3 stuff, he spent a lot of Reception dealing with what he struggled with. Friendships. Lacking in resilience. Finding like minded kids. It’s still a challenge. He’s a good quiet boy who spends a lot of time on his music and composing tunes and what not. Obviously he has little in common with most 6 year olds but over time he has settled in.
Unless your DS has very serious behavioural issues it is very unlikely he will go to ‘special school’. I have several friends with autistic kids some of whom are HFA and others who are not and all are in mainstream school. Does he have an EHCP?

marcopront · 31/03/2018 06:26

When I saw the title of this thread my answer was.
How to learn and how to be with other people who are learning.

So I am going to repeat what others have said even though I know it is not what the OP wants to hear. The social part is the most important and if you ignore that you are doing him a disservice.

Norestformrz · 31/03/2018 06:55

The Prime Areas in EYFS are Personal, Social and Emotional development, Communication and Language Development and Physical development. Obviously given his ASD these are going to be areas of difficulty for him and will be the focus in Reception. The reason these are Prime Areas is because research shows they are the best indicators of future academic success not reading, writing or maths (or any other academic subject).

RBBMummy · 31/03/2018 23:12

It wouldn't be for behavioral but his drastic variation.

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GoingFullNorman · 01/04/2018 08:33

You need to do some research on special schools, and routes of entry -namely via ECHP, unless you can pay for a private school (and independent special schools are incredibly expensive, and a mainstream independent may not necessarily be the best route)

I honestly can’t believe you’ve got to the point of school entry without knowing what other children your dc’s age can averagely achieve (do you live in isolation? Attended no toddler groups or preschool at all?), and without doing any research at all into what support may be necessary, or what schools are available and how best to get into them.

KoshaMangsho · 01/04/2018 09:23

What does drastic variation mean? Variation in what? In his abilities?!

There are no schools for exceptionally gifted children. Not in the state sector. And in the nicest possible way he’s not that exceptional. There will be other bright kids.
And private schools are often entirely the wrong place for non NT kids because they will demand compliance and good behaviour.

KoshaMangsho · 01/04/2018 09:27

As I said above my son is about 2 years ahead of his class and there is one other child like him. He goes to a private school and they give him individually tailored homework to push him. But he’s fairly average at art/craft/dance/French/RE etc.

If he’s that bright then you can enter him for 4+ exams or the 7+ for private schools and see what happens. But in my experience private schools often do not cater for any kind of SEN.

Onceuponatimethen · 01/04/2018 09:44

RBB I think I understand what you mean - do you mean he’s generally well behaved but that he’s ahead academically but very non age typical in self care/social skills?

Try not to worry and seek good advice in real life. You will find the helplines a good source of support for you, which ime is very helpful. Can be a very hard journey as a parent.

Don’t forget he is his own amazing person with what sound like some special talents and just on a different path with the other skills.

boylovesmeerkats · 01/04/2018 19:06

It's a massive range, depends on the age/demographic make up of the class and although your son sounds exceptional with his reading it doesn't mean that another child that can't read doesn't have the ability to share the same enjoyment, they might be better at reading the pictures and a bit of inference for example. When my son started he couldn't write his name and had gone a year without even colouring in, within 6 months his pictures are amazing and he's winning prizes for art and writing (Ok just little ones!) My son is very skilled at building and creating, much more than other children his age. It caused a problem at preschool because they couldn't get their head round an NT child being good at that sort of stuff (a ridiculous long story) he has a friend with ASD in class and they do puzzles together sometimes. The variation in a class of 30 is so huge that he'll share interests and levels with someone but it won't really matter. My son can do fractions and percentages before he's 5 but it doesn't bother him that his maths challenge is easy, a lot of reception is filling in the gaps and making sure they have all the building blocks of the curriculum.

At the start of reception I think the most important thing is being able to communicate with the teacher, my son is slow to settle in and it drove them crazy, they can't assess a thing at that age if your child won't share what they know.

RBBMummy · 02/04/2018 21:27

Onceuponatimethen Yes exactly, Thank you! His communication is a big issue as well. He showed me earlier how he knew how to add and take away 8 digit numbers using place value, carrying and borrowing numbers. I don't know where he got that from. He cant tell me where he learnt it, why hes showing me or explain it in sentences. If he found something in class to easy and therefor boring he probably wont be able to communicate that and it will cause issues

OP posts:
Onceuponatimethen · 02/04/2018 21:51

RBB, glad I had that right! I was thinking of you today Flowers Who do you plan to call/chat to for advice on where he should go to school?

RBBMummy · 02/04/2018 22:34

Well he was under the pre KS1 special needs team and they were supposed to be the ones to find effective ways to keep him in mainstream school but now they want to drop his because "hes not behind in all areas" and "there are kids who are worse". So i don't know whats going to happen, if he even will start school in September. Confused

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Onceuponatimethen · 02/04/2018 22:48

It’s a constant battle isn’t it!! Sending you a Brew

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