Reception - expected reading level

[Bearyinlove]

I have a child in reception. Obviously with lockdown, most of this academic year has been missed. I dont have any other children to compare her to but what oxford reading tree level or singbird stage are they normally expected to reach at the end of reception year? All the different levels and phases and stages are somewhat confusing!

We have songbirds. Ds1 is 4, in reception, and has just gone onto stage 4, but his teacher has said he's far ahead of the rest of the class. I think she said the expectation was stage 2 by the end of the school year.

I don’t know what level they are supposed to be as ds is in year 5 but what I will say is he couldn’t read properly at the end of reception as he really struggled but over the last couple of years he has caught up and is even ahead of some in his class, I know missing school isn’t ideal but they will catch up at some point

Agree is confusing. This chart helps home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/oxford-reading-tree-levels/

I think the songbirds books go with the “read with Oxford” levels. My reception son is level 2 on those but finding fairly easy so probably almost ready for level 3. However with my older son I learnt that it doesn’t really matter they will all get better in their own time as long as they get enough practice. School were fine with this. Older son (year 2) now reads fluently. Def aim to do 10-15 mins a day Most days. Obviously a bit tricky with not getting books from school I resorted to buying them tbh.

Based on that link songbirds level 2 seems reasonable. Fairly sure lots of kids are ahead of that though (mine isn’t but he is summer born and has only really been able to read at all since about February) . @ImFree2doasiwant wow level 4 songbirds is very good. I would have thought a few would be at level 3.

3 in theory but in reality a comfortable 2 is fine.

Thanks everyone! Thats a bit reassuring! It seems to vary massively.

My reception child isn't reading at all, not even simple CVC words.

I don’t know in those chart. But my 4 year old reception child can read fairly well now, it’s suddenly got better over last couple of months. She can read herself a simple book

Mine suddenly got the point of reading in March time so she leapt up loads of levels and can read pretty fluently now. We use the oxford owl ebooks and she read a purple one today. (Before lockdown she was on blue but was finding them pretty easy). She’s an autumn born girl which I think helps. I have no idea what levels the rest of her class are on but I get the impression there is a wide variety. I keep reading they all level out by the end of year 2 so I don’t think it really matters at this point.

If it's of any help you can do a simple reading comprehension task via Oxford Owl which gives you a recommendation for the best level. My son is in reception and is reading Green level books very confidently at the moment but I know that his classmates are all at differing levels so don't worry too much.

It’s funny how they suddenly get it. Mine went from reading basic words really slowly to reading books in a month!

www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands#a

This shows the book band levels with rough ages/ Oxford Reading Levels.

There is such a huge variety my reception age daughter is currently reading Bill's new frock to me where my other two were on stage 2 or 3 by the end of reception and I fully expect that my youngest will have no interest in trying to read for himself and will probably struggle with cvc words by the end of reception.
They're so little that it really doesn't matter, without any SEN then they all catch up to each other in the end.

Have a look at this. I've subscribed to this for my YR DC.
www.readingchest.co.uk/book-bands#a

It says you should have completed book band 3 by end of reception. Obviously it also depends on the age of the child a bit.

For example, my DC is a september born, so she's reading at level 4 comfortably. But I won't expect younger children in reception to be at that level.

My DD is in YR, last night she finished the last book in Oxford Level 5/Band Green which is mid-Year 1 so assuming she'll move to Level 6/Orange next. However she'll be 6 in September & seems to enjoy reading & has picked it up very quickly.

@Frazzled2207 i think it helps a lot that hes in a very small class, mixed Y1 and reception. But also, I love read, I read a lot and read to them a lot. He's amazing with numbers too. But his writing is at the other end of the scale, he has no interest in writing.

There is huge variation in reception. Always remember my student placement when the teacher asked me if I knew what the difference was between the top and bottom readers. She said the top readers will receive a bedtime story most nights whereas the bottom readers may not even have books in house. Her theory was that children learn to enjoy books and become more familiar with the words while listening.

At a similar time I had my dyslexia test. The psychologist said I must really hate reading as he could see it was a struggle. I had to tell him I read Jane Eyre when I was 11. My parents read to us regularly and I think it was a huge help in managing our dyslexia.

From our class and from I have heard, there is a huge range also depending on age and how much reading is done at home, as other PPs suggest.
For instance in our class:

One July born (ie very young) at level 7 turquoise, and starting to read level 8
One September born in level 4 and one September born in level 3
October born in level 5
December born in level 5
May born in level 2

So all over the place and also depends on how emotionally ready they are to sit down and practice.

Thanks all. Some interesting links to look at!

My kid has been reading level 5 ORT and just moving onto stage 4 songbirds books now so it sounds like it's going ok. As a previous poster said, I think reading is going ok based on the replies here but the writing is going nowhere fast! Suppose there are lots of ups and downs at this age.

The reading levels are not a national measure and cannot be compared.

Level 3 in one school might be 12 different books.
Another might have 60 or more different books.
Does she understand the words out of context, tell you how the character might be feeling, tell you about a similar experience they had, offer another similar word for the one read, engage in conversation about the images in the back ground and give an idea of what might happen next. Does she enjoy reading and want to engage. Plus this is linked to her actual age.
It is her understanding of what she is reading and how she applies it that is the key not the level she is on.

@cabbageking thanks for that. I think she does but actually its something I probably should pay more attention to and explore!

Both our daughters were polar opposite in Reception. One far exceeded expected levels and the other was a slow starter and decidedly more ‘average’. It made little difference in the end, and she did far better than any KS1 grade could ever have predicted.

I find the levels/bands very confusing. Our school uses a different system to my friend's child's school and they don't seem to correlate. I've just got my reception child (born in November so 5y 7m and a very keen reader) to do the test mentioned above and this was the outcome:

"Based on the answers you have given, Read with Oxford Stage 5 seems to be the right Stage for your child (equivalent to Oxford Levels 8 and 9 at school). Click the 'Find out more' button below to discover a range of fun books and activities aimed specially at your child’s reading ability."

We have done loads of reading during lockdown and quite a bit of maths but paid little heed to spelling or writing (because there are only so many hours in the day when you're both working flat out). Hopefully as long as her reading is good the writing will follow without too much stress.

I would take all replies in real life and on here with a pinch of salt.
Children are in the same year group but can be an older one being compared to a child nearly a year younger.
Parents might say ‘my child is reading really well/well above etc’ yet they might, without meaning to, give lots of help when reading so the child isn’t reading as ahead as they think.
My daughter read well enough at the end of Reception but it was very slow and hard work. In Year 1 her reading has come on so much.