Hearing children reading

[madpulse29]

My dc is in Reception and no one listens to them read. Is this normal? I don’t understand how they know which book band they are supposed to be on.

They understand what book band they are on by listening to them read!
Are you sure no one listens to them? If your DC is your I formation source, she may not be reliable (easy to forget by 3pm that you spent 10 minutes reading at 9.30)

There should be a reading log which both teachers and parents write in to note when reading occurs and progress. School should absolutely be reading with them, whether that is teachers or the older children. Who told you noone listens to them read? I may be looking at picture books with no text and asking them what is happening which your child may not perceive to be reading....

Or they may listen to them read but in a group context which your DC may not perceive as 'listen to them read'.

But ultimately, in a class of 30, 10 mins listening to each child = 300mins = 5 hours. That's a whole day for a TA.

I used to listen to readers at primary. I was asked to prioritise certain children - I suspect those who really weren't listened to at home, those who were struggling, and PP kids. The kids who were making progress and were well supported at home didn't get heard so much at school.

If you think the books they are sent home with are too easy then ask if they can be reassessed.

My DC is in reception and gets listened to every 3 weeks at the most - longest we’ve gone was two months. I don’t think it’s enough - books only changed every 3 weeks on average, too. But I think they’re prioritising the children who are struggling and/or have no one listening to their reading at home

The books are changed twice a week,we read with dd at home and fill in a reading log.Im sure teacher or TA doesn’t listen to them read at school,my friend has a dd in the same class and said the same but both my dd and hers are able readers.Maybe they have to prioritise the children who need more help.

This isn't normal - someone should be listening to them read. How can you be sure though? Some teachers don't use a reading log.

How do you know they don't read?

All my children had reading logs at school, were expected to read daily at home and were heard at school a couple of times a week with comments written in the record. Mine were pretty high ability readers so don't know if those who read at a lower level were heard more at school. My year 2 is heard around once a week now, the year 5 rarely.

Someone should be listening to them read, you are right. Do the school have parent volunteer readers? I used to do it in my son's school and it led to me being a TA.

school ends very very soon for the year or some already have...should you not be questioning reading in october (one month into the new school year) certainly not july? did you attend any parent teacher meetings throughout the school year?
i can't wrap my head around this question now in july...

Doesn’t someone from school also fill in the reading record? We practice at home and someone reads with her at school at least once a week and gives a new book etc.

Ours are meant to be heard at least once a week in school and it's an expectation 99% of the staff stick to - we have the 1% so have gone up to a month at a time without being heard - but school by this point know that we do the home reading and that I've got a very good feel myself for when my kids might need to go up a band and will ask just for someone to check in if it's looking that way - so if they're pushed for time in a week it's a kid it's ok to skip if needed.

DC's school didn't record school reading in the reading log, so lack of anything in there doesn't mean lack of reading! Agree it's I'd that you are questioning so late in the year though. Has your DC not moved book bands at all, all year?

I don't think my DS is reading to anyone regularly at school. Over the course of this year (reception), we have had no more than about half a dozen comments in his reading log from the teachers. We have read with him most days at home though, I'm hoping we see more comments through Y1 and if not I intend to question this at the first parents evening.

Dd is a good reader but has only moved up a book band,at home she’s reading books two levels higher with ease. Dd had a lot of health problems for the first two terms which has been more important to me and now I’m thinking about the reading. I was also talking to another parent about it recently, you do wonder if your child just doesn’t remember reading at school! It does seem the general consensus that they are not being listened to. I

1. Not all school write in the kids' reading records. They have a different "filing" system.

1. At DD's school they read to someone at least once a week, same like at my school. There is no general consensus.

3.If you have questions ask the teacher. She or he will know better what their system is. No harm in asking what DD needs to do to move book bands. The teacher will either explain why she hasn't moved or offer to assess her.

Omg. My daughter gets listened to every day!! She's in reception.

I listen to kids read at school. They don’t always have their reading journals so it doesn’t always get written down.
But sometimes reading doesn’t always happen every week but their reading is assessed regularly - not always by reading fiction books but other texts.

My DD is in reception. Her school are very reading/phonics driven for all years. We read a new book every night mostly. Her reading ability is good, Normally get a teacher/TA reading comment every week in her journal. And she mentions a phonics follow up too.

I think you’re right in that it’s partly due to your DD being one of the more advanced readers. PP and weaker readers are likely to get more 1:1 reading time, whether it be with the teacher, a TA or a parent helper.

My DD only read 1:1 a handful of times in reception, but her reading record was checked regularly, and the teacher would assess her if we asked.

Teachers assess their reading in lots of other ways during the school day, for example at their desks or during carpet time, from the whiteboard.

At our school they no longer write in the reading record when they listen to a child read.

IMO they do this in order to reduce accountability.

They used to get complaints. You know, when they said that all children would be heard by TA or teacher once per week, and some more often/daily, and we would be able to keep track because it would be all logged in the reading record. But then they didn't for months on end for most children, and the 'daily readers' just once a week.

Now they just say 'We hear the children read in the classroom all the time and are continually assessing them, hence we don't record anything in the reading record'.

To be fair though, the current reception teacher at least checks the reading record and responds to parent messages in there. Older child's Y1 teacher completely ignored the reading record and only took a look just before reports had to be written.

My DS is in reception and reads to the teacher (not TA) once per week on a Monday. It goes in his book log and he's given two books for the week. He is a very capable reader for is age, so certainly is not reading less with his teacher.

I would be concerned if my child was not being heard at least once per week. Still, I would speak to the teacher first, ask them what their routine is and question the school book band if necessary.

Children will be reading in phonics and English lessons too, and possibly doing guided (group) reading, not just reading their home reading book. As a PP pointed out, 5 mins per child x30 = 5 hours, ie a whole day. Either a TA is employed to just read with kids (and they are mostly being cut due to funding) or the teacher does nothing else all day long - and what are the other 29 doing all day? If your child is doing well and reads regularly at home it’s likely 1:1 reading in school isn’t a priority - but doesn’t mean the teacher never hears them read.

My DC usually read to an adult at school at least once a week, often more frequently. There’s notes made in the reading record when they read at school.

It’s something I would speak to the teacher about in your position though, asking how much reading DC is doing at school. It may be that they’re doing other reading than the reading books that’s not being recorded.

And in the past, when I’ve been thinking DC are capable of reading books in the next book band, I’ve usually asked the teacher what DC need to work on to move up. That’s either resulted in DC moving up a level, or an explanation of why they’re not ready to move up yet.

Do they do guided reading in Reception?

Able readers will be listened to less than the children who are further behind.