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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

dd's reception teacher has requested an appointment - what to expect?

41 replies

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 17:36

dd has just had her mini-report. It basically says there are problems with her behaviour, she doesn't pay attention and focus in class and she's below their expectations in writing and maths. The teacher has requested a meeting after half term. Not sure what to expect! should I be worried? Dd has recently started reception and was 4 in July. We get her to do her homework but we don't really push her at home, she still just plays basically. The school she goes to is a state primary but is quite high achieving. dd seems generally happy there so far. dh and I aren't really involved with the school as we both work, and I don't tend to see that many other mums.

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Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 17:49

bump..

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LadyMuck · 15/10/2007 17:50

I doubt that the issue is around whether you "push" her at home. They will want to understand whether there are any factors contributing to any of these issues (eg soem children arrive with glue ear or poor eyesight which when corrected suddenly solve a whole host of other problems). They may ask about her behavior in other contexts so that they can see if there are common triggers. I suspect that they may give you more specific information about what she needs to concentrate on - is her grip on the pencil correct etc.

Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 18:00

thanks ladyM - she's my only child so have no experience of this! she can see and hear ok, and her behaviour at home is generally good. she won't always listen to me, I have to ask several times - I suspect this is hard for a teacher who has a class of nearly 30 with only 1 assistant! It sounds like they have to do some formal learning already which I wasn't really expecting yet!

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MaryAnnSingletomb · 15/10/2007 18:03

sheesh - I was expecting you to say that your dd was in yr 2 or 3, not just a 4 yr old in reception - they're still practically babies ! I used to find it incredible that ds had a report in playgroup !!

millie99 · 15/10/2007 18:05

Are you sure she can see and hear ok? I only ask because one of my friends recently found out that her 6yr old needed hearing aids and she had no idea she couldn't hear properly as she had been using various strategies to cope. My daughter we thought had perfect eyesight but it turned out she has one eye with astigmatism and she was in fact only using one eye to see which would have caused a squint in the longer term.

TellusMater · 15/10/2007 18:06

Below expectations in writing? At 4 and a bit? Blimey.

LadyMuck · 15/10/2007 18:11

It may reassure you to know that the expectation aren't quite as advanced as they might sound. Pre-writing skilss may include being able to colour something in, or draw a person with a face, say.

If there is a problem, esp with sight or hearing then they really want to catch it as early as possible.

Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 18:27

she can colour things in, and draws endless people with faces she gets writing (1 letter a week)and maths (1 number a week) homework, which she does do, but she can only trace over the letters, not write them from scratch. she's ok at letter recognition.
she did have a hearing test a while ago, but maybe we should ask for another just to be sure!
the thing is, the report says below expectation, but nowhere tells us what is actually expected! Maybe they will tell us at the meeting..

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Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 18:33

dh has just tried to get her to practice writing some letters.. she said 'no, I'm not any good at that, I'm doing my colouring'!

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LadyMuck · 15/10/2007 18:48

Do you do any of the pick-ups or drop-offs. If so you could always ask the teacher what the her main concerns are - this will give you time to think about them before your meeting. If you don't do pick-up/drop-off then this meeting may be being arrnaged in lieu of the 2 minute chats that te teacher is able to have with some of the other parents at the door at the end of the day - it may just feel more official because it is having to be "booked", but it may be just wanting to clarify what he mini-report meant..

Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 18:56

I do pick up and drop off on a Monday, dh does it on a Wed.we have a childminder for the other days. I could get dh to ask on Wed. actually we have to clarify the date anyway, they've printed 29th November but appointment week is the week after half term!
think it's a bit sad dd already thinks she's no good at writing.. we need to encourage her more..

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LadyMuck · 15/10/2007 19:00

This is the foundation stage profile. I think that children are meant to be at level 7 by the end of reception - no idea how this translates into expected levels at the start of reception, but you really need to talk to her teacher.

Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 19:19

Thanks for that link LadyM. I always thought reception wasn't so much about formal learning, and she wouldn't be expected to know a great deal at this stage. The teacher seems nice enough (she's quite new), so we'll see what she says.

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Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 15/10/2007 19:26

oh and there was also an assessment of whether they did their homework well - i thought that was over the top. she does do it but I wouldn't make her if she really didn't want to at this stage!

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SSSandy2 · 15/10/2007 19:35

I think it will be more about her behaviour in class than her levels of attainment in work at this stage. She's really still very small, I wouldn't worry too much. Perhaps the teacher has some recommendations you'll find helpful.

Carbonel · 15/10/2007 20:31

Try not to wory too much - if she was a couple of months younger she would still be at pre school and would probably be 'above expectations'. The whole system of labelling children at this age is horrendous and likely to rob our children of thier childhood.

As for homework in Reception, apart from reading IMO it is wrong. And anyway a lot of summer born children will not start school until January or even Easter so get the teacher to give the poor girl a break and enjoy life. As for writing - try and make it fun, play dough, writing in sand, big writing in the air are all good ways of practising.

My ds has just gone into Yr 1 (the youngest) and his writing at the beginning was appaling, but he is getting there, and so will your dd with encouragement and fun.

Nitnovice · 15/10/2007 22:16

Blimey. We didn't get any written reports at all until the very end of Reception. We only got homework once in a blue moon, other than reading books. And those only started after half term.

At this stage in Reception, DD1 had only been there for two weeks (she is also a July birthday and was in the last intake of the year). The only visible "work" she was doing was learning a Jolly Phonics letter sound each day, which took about 10 minutes. The rest of the time they played and learned about getting along together.

Even at the end of the year, her teacher wasn't really expressing things in terms of whether she was "up to expectations".

I would be asking them exactly what they are doing to help little girls of only-just-four learn how to "pay attention and focus", because these things don't come naturally to small children and the whole purpose of Reception is to help them adjust.

HonoriaGlossop · 15/10/2007 23:30

paddington, we've been there with ds last year, also at a 'high acheiving' state infants.

don't be too eager to accept what they're saying. 'not up to expectations in writing and maths' at 4, at this stage of reception, is ridiculous and a really bizarre attitude.

a good reception year is about social skills, learning the ropes of being part of a group, learning to listen and take turns in conversation, coping with the playground.....

don't allow the teacher to make you feel put on the spot and do NOT think you have to start pushing her at home. She SHOULD just play, at home, at 4!!!!!

Instead, put them on the spot, ask them what their expectations are and say you have profound concerns about their approach and it's effect on your dd's confidence and you are considering checking their approach with ofsted ok, maybe not quite that, but do put THEM on the spot, not the other way around.

1dilemma · 15/10/2007 23:48

paddington, this could be me (except we have no report here just a request for a chat-which I hate how can I chat if I don't know their agenda?)
They have obviously lulled all us newbies into a false sense of security for 1/2 a term and are now hauling us all in 'for a chat'!
Will let you know how it goes if it's not too dreadful!

Original poster

paddingtonbear1 · 16/10/2007 11:04

thanks all for your replies. 1dilemma good luck with your appointment!
HG how is your ds doing now?
dh and I had a chat and we've decided that we're not prepared to push her at home at this stage. we take on board that she needs help with paying attention (not sure how, open to suggestions from teacher on that). at this age dh could hardly talk properly let alone write!! he now has a physics degree. we never started school til we were 5, I think 4 is a bit young personally.
socially dd is ok, mixes well with other kids and understands the concept of taking turns.

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GooseyLoosey · 16/10/2007 11:18

I am not sure what expectations they could possibly have in the first 6 weeks of school. Ds started reception in Sept and I don't think all of his class could count up to 20, certainly many do not know all of the letter sounds. Ds can write his name but not a lot else and I don't think that this is atypical and he too would have little interest in the moment at practising.

The teacher's expectations of the children sound unrealistic and as others have said, the main thing she should be learning now is how to listen and pay attention and interact with her peers.

Children with late birthdays are do sometimes need more held - she is significantly younger than many of the children in her class and this should be recognised. I fear for dd in this regard as she starts school next year and her birthday is in the last week of Aug!

cornsilk · 16/10/2007 11:24

She might be considering putting her name on the SEN register at the monitoring stage and she would need to speak to you about that. Don't worry if it is that tho' - Ds 2's nursery teacher put him on which we were really shocked about and I told his teacher that I did not agree there were any issues - he was just loud and very 'boyish'(still is). His reception teacher took him off within the first half term and since then he's doing really well.

Butkin · 16/10/2007 11:39

We've got our 10 min appointment with DD's reception teacher tomorrow but we know this is a formal meeting and all other parents will be doing the same over the next couple of nights.

She has to read a different book each evening and gets tested upon arrival at school and we know how she got on because her teacher writes up her reading book.

Somedays are good but others are just OK and she just gets a smiley face.

We get a weekly report on how her class is doing in all subjects and particular points for practise (such as holding pens, cutlery etc).

Fingers crossed that things go well tomorrow - we're just expecting a pastoral report rather than an academic one!

OrmIrian · 16/10/2007 11:40

"she's below their expectations in writing and maths"

And she's 4 ????

ontheoutside · 16/10/2007 11:42

I would try and take the positive from this rather than the negative. At least the teacher wants to communicate with you to address the issues she feels your dd has, better that than that your dd is bypassed and falls behind in later years.

As for the below expectations in writing/reading/whatever the report says, is it possible that this is just a standard wording for the report and that she's ticked a box and that the issues are something else?

If your dd has difficulty paying attention then this may be something the teacher feels needs to be addressed. I help out in a reception class two mornings a week, and believe me if you have 30 children all not paying attention then it is total chaos, especially if there's only a teacher and a TA to deal with it.

I would go to the meeting with an open mind, and would try not to jump to conclusions before you've actually been given any info, because it may be something small that can be dealt with with a little support at home rather than something which has caused you to get your back up.

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