Teacher-set personal targets

[Paddingtonthebear]

Hi

At parents evening last week we were given a piece of paper with our child’s personal targets on them (Y1). There are two maths targets so I was talking about them with my DD today thinking we could start practising a bit at home as I thought she could already do them, and it turns out she can already do both of them confidently (and more). Should I mention it to the teacher or just leave it for them to see for themselves? I am not sure what the time period is for these targets whether it’s term or by end of y1?

Unless your child has literally just been given the new target, you would expect them to be able to do it comfortably at home in a targeted way. The target will be about automaticity of doing it when not targeted, and with the other distractions of a class-room.

Personal targets in year 1 are mostly about beginning to share the idea that the child needs to be responsible and know what they need to learn and practice, they're not so much actual difficult concepts that they need to practice loads, just the next step in the path.

Instead of focusing on just the "current targets" that you heard about at parents evening, get into the habit of asking DD every week what her targets are etc.

Oh ok. The teacher hasn’t told her what her targets are though. She said at school the whole class just get given the same worksheets to complete. I will get her to keep practising what she’s been targeted on. But one of them is “start learning how to count in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. She did this in Reception year and got exceeding for maths on her end of YR report, so the whole “start learning” part seems a bit bizarre but nevermind.

Sounds like an impersonal target to me. ("She can do everything we've covered so far no problem. What are we covering next in class? Right, bung that down.") DD had a target to read a sentence - she was reading several books day at the time, some of them with small print and chapters.

I think ignore the target and if you want to do maths with her you could move on to the next step (knowing them as times table facts? use counting in 5s to tell the time?); ask wordy questions involving them e.g. in context of money and coins; or do something different completely that you think she is weaker in.

Don’t take it too seriously, is my advice. Late on a Sunday night, working from home, under pressure of an unreasonable deadline, the teacher will just have written something vaguely relevant.

Thanks I see what you mean.

Her teacher described her reading ability as “phenomenal” at parents evening. But she’s been on the same (easy) book band for a few months. .

I guess they have their reasons! I will carry on as normal!

We're in a similar situation with book bands (with both kids) - they're good readers, and on a really good level for their year group, but they can read much more complex books independently at home with good understanding of the text. I know there are reasons behind school keeping them where they are though - one tends to rush through the text a bit too much and it's trying to get her out of that habit, and the other one it's just reinforcing certain things before we move her up a bit more... I'm fine with that, but the difference is that the class teachers have had the discussion with me so I know what the score is and am not just stewing mutinously at home about it all.

Target-wise though my Y1 child came home the other day and told me specifically her current writing target - and it's very much geared to a weakness in her writing and not something generic.