Parental support for struggling pupil - thoughts?

[BabyMommaDec2012]

Hi there. I’ve been told by the school that my year 1 DS (6 years old) is not meeting age related expectations for writing and maths at school (but he’s exceeding with reading).

At home, he appears to be on track with maths when using workbooks that we’ve bought for him which match the national curriculum and cover year 1 and year 2 work. Although his writing isn’t the neatest, it is legible and he demonstrates a good understanding of grammar. My son lacks concentration in school and he’s currently undergoing CAMHS assessments to get to root cause of his issues. However, he is very bright but it isn’t showing in his work in the school environment.

The school haven’t provided any specifics on the maths/writing areas that he’s not meeting at school - we’ve just been told that he’s ‘behind’. Support from a 1:1 TA hasn’t improved his school work. I’ve asked the school to provide me with a breakdown of the areas that he’s struggling in so that we can double-check his understanding at home and support him if needs be. However, the school seem very reluctant to do this and they haven’t provided me with the information I’ve requested.

Just wanted to seek your thoughts on whether or not what I’m asking for is inappropriate. It seems like straightforward common-sense to me but I’m being treated like I’ve asked for something controversial and have overstepped some sort of line. I’m not interested in criticising the teaching my son receives - I just want to help support his learning at home so that he can demonstrate his understanding/abilities effectively in school.

Skip the worksheets and do practical hands on maths activities. You need to see if he is translating theoretical work into practical. Can he apply his knowledge in different ways, not just on a page.

I think that if the school is telling you he is behind it is definitely not unreasonable to ask for details.

My DDs' primary and secondary have always been willing to discuss where they need help.

re writing. As well as handwriting and grammar they look at sentence construction, wide use of vocab, and spelling and punctuation.

I don't think you are asking for inappropriate at all. You are willing to help him, so it's very reasonable to ask where he needs help and what you can do to help him.
Book a proper meeting with the teacher. It's difficult if it was asked when they are not prepared.

You could ask to see his books (the ones he writes in at school). My DD's school recently introduced a system of sending Maths and English books home although not on a daily basis. The spelling book is sent home every week while the Maths Passport is sent every two weeks.

If the class does pre-tests and post-tests in maths for the different topics that are taught, you could ask to have a look at that too. My DD's school does pre and post tests.

We get to see their books at parents evening.
Tbh the maths level is quite high - especially for summer children. Add/sub by partitioning etc.

Ask to see their work. Contact the school to ask for a chance to discuss any concerns with the teacher. Hopefully you’ll brainstorm strategies that essentially help DD’s progress.

DS

Thanks for your messages. I’ll get back in contact with the school following half-term and be more insistent. I asked to see my sons workbooks just before and his work looked fine to me (mostly correct maths answers and legible writing with correct punctuation etc). However, I don’t know how much help he received to produce the work.

*just before Christmas

When my ds was in ks1, there was a code for assessing each work. I can't remember all the code exactly, but if it was marked "I" means it was done independently. Each and every work was marked with the code, so it was clear to see which was done with help, which was done without help.

And the list of how to read the code was stuck on the first page of the work book.

It’s not unreasonable to ask where he struggles. You can request his school books come home every Friday so you can see exactly what he’s been doing, school won’t be keen but can’t say no. You must return them on Monday though!!!
Is his behaviour a barrier to learning in school? You mention he’s being assessed, so perhaps you need to meet with school for a full and frank information exchange. Get SLT involved if necessary.
Finally, just take a step back, are you being completely reasonable in your expectations?

I would just see what he an do at home - make sure he's attempting it totally independently and that it's the current syllabus. (for example look at last year's sats papers). If he can do it at home you know the issue is to do with the environment at school. Either way I'd arrange a meeting with his class teacher to fibd out more.