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Primary education

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Original poster

Obsession with reading levels in Reception, bringing me to tears

31 replies

mowmylawn · 18/03/2019 00:37

My son is an August born child currently in Reception. We had parents evening recently and I came out of it wanting to cry (OK actually crying).

The school does reading levels via Reading Recovery and PM (they look to level-out the same) and my son is currently on level 3. According to all of the charts, this is where a child in reception would be expected to be in Reception term 3. Fine, great.

However, our school has set a target for children to be on Level 8 (!!!) by the end of Reception. This, according to every chart I've seen, is what would be expected of a student at the end of Term 1, Year 1.

My son is 4 and a half years old. The teachers are making out that this is some kind of tragedy and there's no way he's going to be ready for Year 1. I wish I was exaggerating.

Someone please tell me I'm not going crazy and that this is a ridiculous target? If a kid can reach it then awesome, but to expect the youngest kid in the class who is still obsessed with dinosaurs to be reading over a year above his age? UGH, I hate these reading level obsessions!

OP posts:
Redskyandrainbows67 · 18/03/2019 00:41

I agree - there is way too much academics to learn in reception - too much too young. They should be playing and having fun.

Are you at a private school or not in uk? I’ve not heard of that reading scheme.

If you wanted to help him do 5 -10 mins practice every day at the same time. Pick books that interest him they don’t need to be the school ones. They just need to be interesting. If they are hard - you read to him and get him to read the easier words or a sentence here and there.

Redskyandrainbows67 · 18/03/2019 00:43

www.j2e.com/mayflower/webadmin/Reading+SCHOOL+OFFER+updated+feb+2015.doc?download=1

I found this chart. I think it’s the same as ort3?

areyoubeingserviced · 18/03/2019 00:55

Op,
Please don’t worry
I have an August born son , who couldn’t even sound out words at this stage in reception.
Like you, I had a terrible parents evening and I felt that my son was doomed to failure.
He is now thirteen years of age and is doing brilliantly.
I would just advise you not to not get to obsessed with reading levels. I know that it’s difficult, but it will drive you crazy and make you and your ds miserable
What I did was to make sure that I spent 15 minutes a day practising sounds.
However, I would do it in a fun way.We would sing the sounds , play games. My ds loved it and would beg me to do more. Within a few months , his reading had approved and he caught up and even surpassed some of the other children.
Don’t be disheartened Op, just ensure that you constantly praise your son ,tell him how wonderful and clever he is .
He will be fine

flumpybear · 18/03/2019 06:07

The school are being utterly ridiculous - the point is that a child his age learns to enjoy books and enjoy reading, he's hardly going to get that by putting so much pressure on him /you

Is this hustvuour teachers view or that ethos of the whole school,

What's their ofsted report like?

LemonFritz · 18/03/2019 06:15

What a horrible experience. Have faith it will all work out, your DS is just so little, bless him. Most children in the outstanding state primary I worked in went up to year 1 on red, RR 3-5 equivalent.

My September born DS wasn’t even holding a pen before he started school - your DS will be starting year 1 at the same age my DS was starting reception with no skills whatsoever.

Well done to your DS for the amazing progress he has made at such a young age.

RedSkyLastNight · 18/03/2019 07:58

Is this a private school or a school that gets stellar results, by any case? If so, you now know how! You might want to think about moving him somewhere less pressurised. If you are crying about a Reception reading level imagine how much worse this is going to get as DC moves up the school?

organiccoffee · 18/03/2019 15:06

According to the chart posted by Redskyandrainbows67 above, the school is not doing unreasonably. level 8 is the required level, according to the chart, for end of reception, and year 1 will start with level 9. if your August born boy is now at level3, which is the lower end requirement for reception term 2, he is probably doing fine. no need to panic. He might be a bit slower than the winter born,but he is not far behind. It looks all in the normal range.

Flicketyflack · 18/03/2019 15:19

My son is in year 6 and we are coming to the end of his primary school career Grin

I have another child who is thirteen.

My advice would be this;do not worry about reading levels. Encourage your child to read to you as often as possible, read to them regularly (we read to ours every night) and allow them to read books that interest them (fiction/non fiction/comics etc).

My ds was a nightmare to get to read through R and year 1. He now has the reading age of a fourteen-fifteen year old. He hated the fiction books so I encouraged factual stuff. He loves books now!

My daughter would always read when asked and now reads to herself every night.

Let them enjoy what they read, read to them and don't see it as competition with others Smile

elliejjtiny · 18/03/2019 15:32

Please try not to worry about reading targets. Fwiw my 5 year old in year one has only just gone onto level 3 books and my 4 year old in reception is on level 2. Both of them love books and reading.

drspouse · 18/03/2019 21:41

I thought Reading Recovery was see and say, which isn't English National Curriculum.

TalkinPaece · 18/03/2019 21:43

Tell the school to take a hike.
DS did not read AT ALL until well into year 1
he is now doing a science degree at a world top 200 university

Gottalovesummer · 18/03/2019 21:56

Oh dear. The school has got this all wrong.

I would ignore what they said and just keep reading to your son at home. Read whatever he wants, the same stories over and over if he wants. He'll learn the story word perfect, then you can start pointing out letters and short words to him in a completely natural and non intensive way.

He'll be absolutely fine. Schools can lose sight of what's important when they're trying to fill in their checklists and targets.

NoooorthonerMum · 19/03/2019 08:56

God his school sound dire. In DC's school it tends to be the other way round - the school let the kids do it at their own pace but the parents keep nagging to go up a reading level. Like PP I would just ignore and continue reading at home whatever books he enjoys. Lots of reading to him too!

anniehm · 19/03/2019 10:37

They pick it up really fast at that age- 10-15 mins each day at home and he'll be ready for year 1 no problem. My youngest is dyslexic and it was a hard slog to get her reading (didn't know about the dyslexia of course then) but she did it with a lot of input from us.

Papermover · 19/03/2019 11:14

You are not being unreasonable! The school are. However it’s very unlikely they will see that.

My concern would be that the school are using Reading Recovery and PM books. These are based on guessing words rather than the synthetic phonics the National Curriculum insists on. Again, I properly wouldn’t bother even bringing that up with the school.

The age of your child wouldn’t be an issue for me. If he was TAUGHT to read correctly he would likely do fine whatever his age. However it sounds like he is being taught a lot of bad habits and I’d imagine he gets 20 mins a day of Letters and Sounds as an add on.

I’d try and get your head around teaching him yourself. If he was mine I would get the Sounds-Write udemy and do a little bit as often as you can. Could you do 10 mins a day?

I would also read the school reading books with him. He is likely to come across words he has no phonics knowledge of. I seem to remember

I am an astronaut, I am a dancer, o am a hippopotamus...

On those Sentances he could sound out I and am.

I wouldn’t waste time and effort arguing with the school but I also wouldn’t set your child up to fail.

I’ll try and find the udemy link.

There are plenty of phonics experts here so if you start a thread with phonics in the title I’ll bet you’ll get lots of help.

papermover · 19/03/2019 11:17

www.udemy.com/help-your-child-to-read-and-write/

So to paraphrase my probably frightening post-sorry! Reading levels and Reading Recovery would indicate to me a problem with how the school teaches reading. I wouldn’t let it become a problem for my child.

Flowers no should cry at a parents evening!

Drogosnextwife · 19/03/2019 11:20

This is absolute madness. OP please don't worry, children pick things up at all different rates. It's so unfair of schools to do this to parents. My son couldn't read a thing before he started primary 1 when he was 4 and a half, so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

HotpotLawyer · 19/03/2019 11:23

The average age for confident reading is 6.

I summer born boy who could not read confidently until half way through Yr 1.

He got an 8 in English GCSEs and is storming towards A* A levels.

Reading practice used to be a misery until an ex teacher told me to read the book through to him once and then read it with him. And not be too tortuous about sounding out every single word.

The school are causing a problem.

Your lovely boy is not the problem.

JustHereForASec · 19/03/2019 11:23

They are being ridiculous.

Some good advice here already.

Yabbers · 19/03/2019 11:53

What's the worst that can happen. If he ends up being not ready for year one, he can repeat reception and start year 1 at a far more appropriate age. It's ridiculous they are started so young. He wouldn't even be at school in Scotland yet!

ScarletBitch · 19/03/2019 12:52

Take no notice of the charts, every child learns at their own pace. The pressure not only only our kids but on their teachers as well is just ridiculous. Your little one will move up as and when he is ready, please don't get upset OP. Thanks

thefirst48 · 19/03/2019 12:54

My eldest and middle children couldn't read that well until they started year 2. Please try not to worry.

listsandbudgets · 19/03/2019 16:22

Ignore them.

DS was born late July. In reception we could barely get him to read a word. In year one he picked up quite a bit and he is now half way through year 2 and doing reasonably well. He reads by himself for pleasure now which is a joy to see. Now he can read he can suddenly spell (a bit Grin and he is finding other subjects so much easier. However he is really good at maths and easily in the top few of his year.

DD on the other hand (autumn born) was reading Roald Dahl books by the times he was half way through year 1.

It all evens out. Honestly they won't go to secondary school brandishing their level 8 books - soon all the reading bands will just be a horrible memory

listsandbudgets · 19/03/2019 16:31

Oh and the school are being utterly ridiculous. If the teacher has not recognised that no two children are the same and that everyone progresses at different rates and that summer born child may appear to be behind a September born one then ... they should not be a teacher.

And don't cry your little one is doing absolutely fine

bombaychef · 19/03/2019 23:39

Ignore them. He'll get there in his own time. Does anyone by Yr4/5/6 have any recollection of book banks traumas? No because by then they can all read. Kids are not robots