Worried about my dd's school- advice needed

[MsMeowington]

I need some advice from any primary teachers that may be lurking on here. I’m sorry but this is long.

My dd is 6 years old and currently in Year 2. She is a bright girl and up until recently I’ve had no issues with her school. She’s had fantastic teachers so far and she’s grown from a timid girl into a confident one.

This school year started well and her Year 2 teacher was brilliant. However, she left for a new job at another school at Christmas. During much of November and December this teacher was barely in school due to illness and during this time (4 weeks) the class was covered by a mishmash of TAs some days and supply teachers other days. The class have had one supply teacher since January but we’ve just been told she will only be here until Easter so there will be someone else for the summer term. The school appear to be losing teachers left, right and centre at the moment but they can’t seem to find replacements (4 staff have left so far this year, another is going in April, only one has been replaced). So in my mind we may find ourselves in a similar situation again in the coming years .

My dd is very able and is in the top sets for maths and literacy. She is also a competent reader and has a reading age 2.5 years ahead of what she is. At the recent parent consultation evening I was told that she is exceeding expectations in all areas and there’s nothing that she needs to work on (really?!?) or anything she struggles with. During the last week or so since the consultation a number of things have come up with my dd which I am concerned about:

1.	She has no idea what number bonds are. When I explained what they were she looked at me vaguely as if it was brand new information. I then asked her to give me examples of number bonds to 10 and she took ages thinking of them all, and made some mistakes as well. I’m baffled how a child who is supposed to be exceeding expectations is unable to quickly and accurately recall number bonds to 10. Its basic stuff. 

2. She has not been taught a single written method for addition or subtraction yet. I’ve seen her maths books and there were no written methods. When I asked her current teacher about it I was told that they don’t do written methods in their books, only on whiteboards. When I asked my dd she said they are not allowed to write anything but the answer in their books and the only way she’s been taught to work out answers is to use a pre-printed number line or cubes. Is this normal for a year 2 child?

3. She was trying to add 20 to 24 earlier and had no idea how to work it out. We went through it together and she didn’t realise that the ones stay the same and it’s just the tens that change. Again, surely for a Year 2 child who is exceeding expectations she should surely have grasped this by now.

4. She’s been on the same reading level since before October half term despite having been heard to read in school on a fortnightly basis. My dd flies through these books, reads with complete fluency, rarely comes across a difficult word, speaks with expression and has a complete understanding of what she’s read. I ask her inference based questions and she understands at this level as well. Her teacher writes in her book each week that my dd has brilliant expression and understanding of what she’s read, yet when I asked her what she needed to do to move to a more challenging reading level I was told she needed to read with more expression and improve her understanding of what she’s read. When I queried this based on her comments the teacher said she’d listen to my dd read the next day and reassess her. She did and then wrote another comment about her great expression and understanding again but kept her on the same level! My dd is bored with these books and has started refusing to read them to me so I’ve told her we’re just going to read our own level appropriate books at home and not bother with the school books. But my dd really cares about what reading level she’s on (like many new readers do) so now she’s feeling down-hearted and keeps saying that her teacher doesn’t think she’s a good reader. She keeps saying she’s rubbish at everything which is upsetting because we’ve always tried to big my dd up and make her confident in her own abilities.

These are just a few examples of things I’ve picked up on recently. I know I sound like a pushy parent but I’m not at all. I’ve virtually never spoken to any of her teachers about anything at drop off/pick up, and have never once spoken to a teacher about my dd’s progress unless it was at a parent consultation meeting. I’ve always had complete faith in the school but I’m starting to lose this faith given the lack of a consistent teacher and the gaps in my dd’s knowledge. The school has recently been downgraded by Ofsted which may also be affecting my feelings. I wasn’t bothered when it first happened because I was happy with the school and my dd’s progress but now I’m starting to see problems it’s playing on my mind. One of the reasons the school was downgraded was due to the poor progress in writing and maths, although this was related mainly to KS2.

My dd has always adored school and likes all the adults in the school, but even she’s started coming home upset about school. She keeps saying her teacher won’t help her when she gets stuck on a piece of work. Her TA (who is also leaving) spoke to me on the last day before half term to tell me that my dd has been in tears on and off all day and was she ok. I asked my dd what had upset her and she said that the teacher had told her off for not finishing her work (and kept her in at break time). She explained that she’d got stuck and didn’t understand what to do and when she asked for help her teacher said she didn’t need any help. The TA agreed this had happened but couldn’t explain why my dd had been left to struggle with her work on her own. The teacher was not available for me to speak to.

My dd has been upset about her teacher on and off during the entire half term holiday and keeps telling me about things she’s done that have upset her or her friends. Some of the things are silly little non-situations, but other things are genuinely unfair.

I don’t know where to go from here as I feel there are a number of different issues in play here. The supply teacher isn’t great but she isn’t to blame for the upheaval this school year or for the gaps in my dd’s maths knowledge. I don’t want to remove her from this school when I’ve always been so happy with it, and she loves the staff and her friends. But at the same time, I’m seeing these gaps in her knowledge, and the constant upheaval this year, and I’m very concerned that she’s not really getting what she needs. Or maybe my expectations of my dd's ability are too high and it's perfectly normal for her not to be remotely secure in these areas.

Any advice would really help as I feel like I can't see the wood for the trees at the moment.

I’m a primary school teacher and I agree that you are right to be concerned here. Points 1 and 3, together with the school’s insistence that she is exceeding expectations, are the ones which jump out at me. If she was my child I would be considering moving her, for her own happiness and progress. You do not come across as a pushy parent at all. I expect many other parents are concerned too.

Primary teacher here. Move schools. With that many teachers leaving then something bad is going on with the management of the school. I'm willing to bet that the reason for the teacher who left at Christmas being off beforehand (in November and December) was due to work-related stress, due to management.

A Y2 child can't be exceeding in maths without knowing number bonds or methods for solving a calculation such as 20+24.

In reading there really is no benefit whatsoever in a child who is a good reader (solid comprehension and good expression) plodding through a school's reading band system for the sake of it/because it's policy. Teachers should use their professional judgement in this case to just move them to the next band and reassess from there.

Honestly if I were you I would change schools. I know this is an upheaval but it sounds like it is much needed. The school sounds like it is in crisis.

Crikey I don't know what number bonds are and I'm 36!

Seriously though, I would consider home schooling her until a new school can be found. Don't waste another day at that school.

Also, the only way that school will ever get the help it needs is by parents voting with their feet, as awful as it is. Good luck

I’d move her once a better place became available. If you can afford to, I’d also get a math and English tutor to help with the gaps that have emerged as a result of the chaos immediately or work with her yourself.

What you know at 36 isn’t really relevant to the primary maths curriculum. My DD did number bonds in yr!

Don’t home school. She has friends in school so she needs another school to build up new friendships. In the meantime do try and help her catch up with the gaps you have identified, either with a tutor or with teaching from you.

This number of staff leaving is a big red flag. You should try and move but everyone else will be doing the same!! Being in top set might not mean much in this school if they are not teaching or assessing progress effectively. You don’t accurately know how bright she is or what her attainment is likely to be.

I would without a doubt change schools. Maybe for after the Easter term if you can. That way she has all summer term to make new friends before a long break for summer so she can recharge her batteries ready for a new school year in a new school with new friends. I don't think homeschooling is the answer for her, it's not school that's an issue more the school she is at.

I'd move her without a doubt. The school is floundering.

Thank you so much for your great advice. I was hoping I was just overreacting and that my expectations were too high, but as I suspected there is reason for concern here. I have booked a meeting to speak to the headteacher about my concerns and I am going to start looking for a new school for my dd. There are other concerned parents (and one child has recently left) so I'm not a lone voice in this.

I will tutor her myself for the time being. Are there any "easy" ways to assess her to find potential gaps? I have picked up a few areas that seem weak but am concerned that others are going to go under the radar.

Both of mine have done written methods near the start of year 2.

I moved mine (further down the school) when it became clear that school had basically backed off DD1 completely as she was very bright, had met expectations for the year so they weren't really interested. School in question had concerning staff turnover too. In our case it was definitely the right decision and both moved to a school where they were gently challenged and stretched and things were just so much better.

Reading scheme stuff I don't tend to stress too much - we just veer off track if it's something terrible or the wrong difficulty level... now the eldest is in the juniors their attitude is basically "if they read SOMETHING we're happy they're reading" and that enjoyment is key. Thankfully I've got a very good relationship built up over time with my kids' teachers who know my judgement of my kids' abilities is usually fairly spot on, veering toward the harsh side, so if I ask them to check in occasionally that the reading book's the right level, it tends to prove right that it's time to move them up (but I'm from a teaching background myself and have spent a lot of time in the school so I've got a fairly good picture of how things are).

Most local authorities discourage it don't allow moves mid term unless it's from out of the area, so you're looking at Easter or September to move her really. I agree that the staff turnover is a red flag, do you have any idea about staff sickness levels other than the previous class teacher? I would consider moving my child in this situation.

Kuponut, that's what I would have expected from Year 2 and I was surprised that there is no secure method yet for anything. I've looked at the calculation policy and it says that they are taught a written method in Year 2 so I am baffled that she is half way through Year 2 and still has no particular method for addition, for example. She also doesn't know what 'subtraction' is. I gave her an example and she said "oh you mean taking away".

Canadian, other than her initial Year 2 teacher who was off for around 4 weeks, I only know of one other member of staff who was away a lot earlier this school year. He would be in for a week then off for a couple of weeks, back for a few days then away for a another week or so. This went on for a few months. It sounds like there is something going on behind the scenes.

Column add/sub is (as i thought) much easier for my dd. In yr 2 she struggled with the jumping up and down.
I wouldnt worry about number bonds.
More about counting in 2/5/10 etc.
Try giving her a SATS paper and see her weaknesses.

How do you know her reading age is 2.5y higher?
What band have they got her on? Most of dd year became free readers in yr 2 as we only go up to band 11.

Sounds like your teacher knew they were going to leave so couldnt be bothered coming in

Awkward, her current teacher told me her reading age. Dd is on level 23 which are mainly those chapter books with 4-6 chapters in them. They're too basic both in words used and story plot so she's bored by them and therefore reluctant to read them.

as a governor of a primary, I can tell you that all the teachers leaving and struggling to replace them is very veyr likely to be connected to the ehad or the senior management team.
We had similar, got a new head and the morale soared and now we have a stbel teaching staff, and never have problems appointing new teachers.

When there are management problems, there are also likely to be lack of consistency with assessment etc.

So, unless the head is about to leave, I woudl move her.
Work on those areas of concern at home and find another school.

Most local authorities discourage it don't allow moves mid term unless it's from out of the area, so you're looking at Easter or September to move her really.

this is rubbish.
You simply do a mid year application form via your local authority.

Yep definitely a management problem with so many staff leaving, and will also mean low staff morale and high staff absence.

I too would be concerned that a bright child of 7 had no understanding of number bonds, poor understanding of place value and was unaware that subtraction meant take away. And she clearly needs to move several bands on the reading scheme.

I would look for a better school OP.

@steppemum there's no need to be so rude.

It’s best not to post inaccurate info about moving schools. If a school has a place it has to take an applicant. It’s as simple as that. In fact some parents apply directly to schools in some areas. Many LAs publish vacancy lists for the schools in their area so you have an idea where you might get in. Visit any school with vacancies and take it from there. Do be aware though that unless there are vacancies your DD might not be able to move. So start checking the possibilities before others take the places!

I do agree that unstable schools often stem from unsatisfactory leadership.

What I did when I moved mine was that I contacted local schools just to ask how they were placed regarding places (the child I was moving was in a big birth year so spaces were more squeezed than the norm around here) and from that I had a couple of possibilities that I knew had places or short waiting lists. Looked around a couple of places where there were spaces (well one place I'd taught at previously so got dragged in to see their new extension and all the gossip about who had had babies/got married etc!) and really fell in love with one school... then rang the LEA, who just asked which schools I wanted to apply for or go on the waiting list for - and then had to wait while they double-checked that no one higher up the list of priorities (we're slightly out of catchment) wanted the space we knew was available. Once confirmed we just contacted the school to agree a formal start date.

I found our LEA admissions department very helpful to be fair - I rang them up and quite openly asked them to talk me though in-year admissions in idiot proof terminology and they told me what to do. I just did the step contacting schools so that I wasn't putting schools on the application that were completely rammed to the rafters with no chance of getting in.

The staff turnover and inconsistent staffing would be what was setting alarm bells off loudly for me - that indicates something's wrong with management or the setup within the school and that it's a very unhappy and negative place to be working.

We're fortunately in a town with a large number of primary schools with decent reputations, most of which are under subscribed currently (lots of new residential developments currently being built so this situation will change in the very near future). It definitely won't be a problem to get her into another school.

I'm not posting inaccurate information. When moving schools mid year, the start date will most likely be the start of the next term.

www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/apply-for-a-school-place/changing-schools-during-the-school-year/#Dates

I'm not posting inaccurate information. When moving schools mid year, the start date will most likely be the start of the next term.

This isn’t true in my LEA.

We have had 6 new starters this half term alone in my school. All applications for admission came in after the start of term in January and all have started on the next available Monday once admission was agreed.

It's accurate info for Lancashire but doesn't apply in my area or the neighboring authority...