6 year old struggling.. how to help

[Soggyundercarriage]

Ds is 6 and isn't 7 til July. He's in year 2 and last year he was in year 1 but was part of a group that stayed behind in foundation but also did work with the year 1s This was sold to us as a benefit but I had concerns that he would struggle come year 2 as he wouldn't be prepared for the jump.
So we come to last week and he had parents evening.. teacher said he's struggling in all areas reading writing and maths. He isn't fluently reading, struggles with comprehension and lacks confidence.
He did say he is a good boy, listens and tries so hard at everything and is willing and wants to please. All the suggestions the teacher gave us we already do.. we read every day. He reads to us from a school book or a favourite book like peppa pig or cars. We read to him from a more difficult book so he can hear how reading sounds. We read magazines and do the puzzles.. we play word games.
What I've noticed is ds will read one page and then the next page he will sound out the same words as if he can't retain them
Teacher also noticed this.
We have spellings weekly and my ds can read them mostly but teacher said on test day he struggles to write them ( left handed if that is relevant) words like multiple/ dazzle/ rubble/ riddle
Ds is in the class with a year 2/3 mix and I worry that he's trailing behind and this isn't helping his confidence.
Apologies for the ramblings I just wanted to try and add all the information as I want to help but don't know whats best to do.. he's such a happy chap and is very very physical so would much rathere be up a tree than do more reading and writing..
Will be speaking to school to find out ho the are helping him also but i work shifts so need to fit that in when I am able
Thanks

Being summer-born still makes a massive difference at this age. Being a left-handed, summer-born boy is not a great hand to be dealt in KS1. The gap will close. They key is how you can help him retain confidence and make sure he doesn't start to see himself as 'stupid' while he develops.

He sounds like he'd be fine if he were in Y1. You could talk to the school about deferring him. I don't know where parents stand these days with deferring summer-borns after the initial entry point.

Did he meet expectations in yr r and 1?
Have a look at the sats papers he will be sitting in may.
You would need HT agreement to drop back to year 1 and a space in that year.
Do you practice the top 100 words and can he do those without sounding out.
He should eventualy be able to sound out rapidly in his head

Could you get him some KS1 revision guides and workbooks and work through them with him, for a few minutes here and there, when he is not tired? Letts or CGP tend to be good, but if you went into Smiths or Waterstones, he could pick.

The first step is for your son to be given work that he can do easily and then move gradually to work that is almost imperceptibly harder.

No child should be 'struggling', every child should be able to learn at their own pace and level. I train specialist teachers and really enjoy working with parents. (No charge for parents.)

I'd be very happy to give you some strategies that will definitely work for literacy and I'm sure your son will enjoy them and see his progress. The activities should also give you ideas about how to approach the maths. Would you like to pm me?

I could have written this! My DS is also born in July and in a year 2/3 mixed class, so will be following for advice.

@twoyears would you mind if pmed you please?

@CupCupGoose

No, not at all. You're very welcome to pm me, and any parent.

He was just below at the end of year one. Phonics test he was close to a pass and the teacher that spoke to us said had he done it a week later he'd have passed.
I just worry that the gap is widening as the work he's being given too hard. The teachers obviously are catering for the whole 2/3 class

It does sound like he would be doing a bit better if he was just starting Y1.

Have school got any other suggestions?

Being left handed shouldn’t make any difference at all to learning

I can’t see how mixed year groups can be beneficial to anyone 😏

Had a look at some workbooks and ordered a couple.. he'll enjoy doing them

I could have written this myself, however, I was told my son was doing well all through the years and he passed his phonics test, until he reached Year 3, when the teacher said he’s struggling and is falling behind. He struggles at school mostly with literacy/comprehension, his class is a disruptive class and I have been considering moving him.

Spoke to his teacher today and asked ify son is receiving any extra help. He said he's on the list to get help but at the minute there is no one to do it.. resources only stretch so far apparently. He was very apologetic and said he does what he can to help. So I think a visit to the head is in order

Have a look at Toe by Toe - can be done in 5 mins a day at home or In school with an adult. We have dozens of kids y2- y6 using it at my school. Another resource you could look at are the Nessy apps for phonics - Hairy Phonics and also Nessy Reading and Spelling program which is done online and I think is £8 per month. My pupils adore it and beg to go on it when they come to support lessons x

The teacher should be differentiating the spellings by reading level and definitely not giving spellings the child has no hope of learning.

I sound like a broken record as I recommend it so much - but the reading eggs app has been a god send here.

They have a free trial so have a look - it's really helped mine with reading and phonics etc.

We did the reading eggs trial..He preferred spelling shed that they have at school. Ds seems to be able to read words ok singularly but it's fluency that's he's struggling with mostly..
Will look at toe to toe
And the other apps
Thank you