Year 1 reading levels after lockdown

[MGMidget]

Since my DD returned to school on 8 March the reading books she has been bringing home are really basic. They seem to have taken her back a couple of levels from what they were doing in her group during their 'live' video guided reading lessons during lockdown. I listened in to the lessons and she was getting lots of praise and 'well done's and clearly reading the words fine (with occasional mistake as you would expect). She also understood what she was reading as evidenced by her ability to answer the comprehension questions/discuss the text when asked.

On our parent whatsapp group it became apparent on return to school that a number of parents though their children had been given reading books that were a big step back and everyone has been wondering why. I gave the teachers a week or so thinking that maybe they were starting them off gently again but when my daughter was still coming home with really basic books 9 (including ones she took home in reception) I had to email the teacher to ask why. After a couple of emails and speaking to her she eventually said she had listened to DD read and given her a higher level book (the teachers have been choosing the books for the children apparently).

However, the book provided is still one level lower than she was reading in lockdown. It feels like the school are being quite cautious. I am wondering if there's a general policy in schools/amongst teachers at the moment to be assume children have regressed in lockdown and put them back onto lower level reading books?

I actually worked quite hard with my DD on her reading during lockdown so I know she has made progress. Therefore, I am somewhat puzzled at the cautiousness of the school.

Is anyone else having similar experiences at the moment? I am wondering what the point of home schooling was if the schools are going to assume pupils have regressed and put them back by six months or a year!

If this has happened to you did you keep pushing to get the school to provide more advanced books/discuss with the teacher again? I am wondering whether the just give up and do our own thing at home with reading books I think are the right level for DD!

I think you need to give your child's teacher a break.
It's not going to hurt her to have slightly easier books for a couple of weeks.
Some schools are easing ch back in slowly and given the amount of anxiety, school refusal and emotion from the children in my class atm I'd say it's a good strategy.

We had the same. I don’t agree with the give teachers a break on this. They are making kids fall behind by definition where they would have been without a pandemic despite our efforts at home to keep them going. We didn’t have any live contact from a teacher throughout lockdown through. For me it seems like they are overly cautious. Some kids will have progressed just fine during the lockdown but at the moment they are not recognising that. Unfortunately there just isn’t much time to give the teachers to get on top of this.

Just read some other books with her at home.

We have lots of reading books at all different levels and when I thought the books he was getting from school were a bit too easy for him we just topped him up at home.

Same with my child. Shes on year 2 but after lockdown was bringing books that she was reading in reception.
This was at the start of the year. But I knew she was much further ahead.
They have gradually put her forwards and I didnt need to say anything.

I thought they were doing it so they could say the kids have progressed so much over the weeks. But I just carried on doing our own reading at home as well.

I agree, just read other books at home. I always did that anyway.

My Dc is older, but has been complaining about spending a lot of time waiting with her hand up so she can tell the teacher she has finished - I think they are recapping all the maths they did in lockdown.

Once the teacher gets round to noticing her, she sends her to read quietly. This must be happening quite a lot judging on the stream of facts/book plots that come bursting out of her on the walk home from school.

She likes reading, so doesn't mind, but I'd rather she was doing something more structured and part of a group - she can read quietly on her own at home!

I can see the teachers maybe don't have any choice about this, but it is a bit frustrating.

We have the same. My child is able to read so much better than the books they are bringing home. I know because I was a primary teacher. I'm going to mention it at parent's evening and become that parent.

We have the same and another mum was complaining about it on the school run this morning. In fact DD has been on the same level for an entire year now. So I'm getting her to read the school books but she is reading much more difficult ones at home. I mentioned it at the last parents evening and was told the teacher would check and then she said she would move her up but then the next lockdown happened. It's frustrating as her reading has come on exponentially in the last year (reception to class 1) so the school reading books seem a bit pointless really.

My DS's teacher did this, once she had chance to listen to him read she put him up a few levels. Until then DS just read different books at home. There will definately be some who have regressed during lockdown and it's probably better for everyone to read below thier level than a few struggling with books that are too hard.

I was that parent today, though DGS has been in school throughout lockdown (I'm a teacher). He has been on green book band since forever and has been reading them with 100% accuracy for weeks. When school staff hear him read, they comment with 'read fluently and with expression' type comments but still never put him up despite my hints that became stronger each time. I finally lost my patience and sent an email to the assistant head who is overseeing his class as his teacher is shielding. Anyway it transpires that the children have to be assessed by a trained teacher of which there are only a couple in the school (PM benchmarking) before they are moved up and there is a backlog of kids waiting to be assessed at the moment BUT low and behold, I had 2 emails in reply - the first one at 9.30 to say she was on it and would make sure he was assessed today and the second at 11.30 saying he had been assessed and has been moved to orange and giving me his 3 new reading targets. She also said that he wouldn't be retested until May half term. So I heard him read his new orange book this evening and he's still reading at 95%+ accuracy, but orange is where he will stay until the end of May. I do have a subscription to reading chest and we are getting more challenging books from them. I just want to school to have an accurate assessment of his reading as end of year reports and assessments are looming which will shape targets for Y2.

We had the same experience (and other parents in our class have as well judging by the WhatsApp messages). I think there is less of an assumption that children have regressed during lockdown (although some have, including my DS in a different year) but that teachers need to be cautious that there aren't any gaps in their skills that aren't immediately apparent.

However, DD has clearly been doing something right in class, as we had parents' evening earlier in the week and she's been put up several levels now.

I think it's about targets.
Reception i wrote asking for more digraphs. But only got the easy ones.
It is completely unfair as we had 0 books during lockdown but im sure the ones going in had been getting them.

And now on eyfs stuff dc has been marked as developing ! Which is ridiculous in itself as why bother doing that observation as only that.
With eldest we just whizzed through the books using reading chest etc. It was only ok when we reached a teacher who clearly didnt play the games

Mine was very in key worker care and one of the main things the TAs did was them was reading. We’re still stuck on the same book band though. I’ve been wondering if they’re trying to not widen the gap but it feels like it is getting a bit silly now. Saying they though I’m still baffled as to expected at end of reception when so many of the red books we’ve had are including words that need y1 or 2 phonics to decode. I’ve had to learn things like split bloody digraph and find year 1 phonics resources to be doing books that the charts seem to suggest are average for term 2 of reception.

I had to move the majority of my class back (a few stayed the same and a few moved up) and know it was similar in most other classes. There is no moving children's reading band back conspiracy or teacher plot to keep them low now so they look like they have made loads of progress 🙄 Children have been out of practise reading. Many children told me the only time they read during lockdown was during our zoom reading sessions. Even those that had been reading every night were still doing loads less reading than they would if they were at school. During school they are constantly reading; reading worksheets, the hymns off the powerpoint, reading the information from the white board, reading their work out, reading a passage out to the class during story time.

The teacher is also more likely to ask more complex comprehension questions too...yes little Johnny can retrieve some answers from the text but can he infer, predict, summarise, explain the meaning of the vocabulary etc.

No, DS was moved on a couple of levels when they assessed their reading after lockdown, but as pp has said they've only been back a couple of weeks so I'm sure they'll keep reassessing? In the meantime just read what you want at home.

Strangely completely the opposite experience here. I've been pointing out from Feb in reception & all through Autumn term that books were too easy/not a challenge & getting her to read other things as well.
The entire year group had a 1:1 with the phonics lead before they went back testing phonics and reading a passage assessing words per minute or something.
She's been moved up 1 or 2 levels and now finally has some books that are a challenge for her language & content.

We had parents evening last night. The teacher told us she had now assessed DD and had moved her up. She also said the reading books are only to support the phonics they are learning, and as they are on stage 5 they will get books that support that (ie they wont move them on too far or fast) and told us to get her reading chapter books at home as well (we already do). She specifically recommended Roald Dahl and David Walliams. She's already read quite a few RD so I'll have a look for some DW books.

I think i just dont agree with the control over reading taken by schools.
Many kids would do better with the parents able to pick the level or access to more books. My eldest could have read at least one a day but only had 2 a week. And we were not rereading as it was pointless for her.
If you think they are in school maybe 35w. So we only had up to 70 books at very most.
So far my reception child has missed about the same number of books as they have had so far
So
18/16 or so. But that doesnt mean they should still be reading the same stuff.

Please back off. Let the teachers do their job. If you don't agree, just read harder books at home with your child.

It's parents like you that make me want to leave teaching. Can you imagine if all 30 parents got in touch, complaining about their child's reading levels?

At most, put a comment in her Reading Record every now and then, saying it was too easy and can she have a harder book.

Argh. Sorry but I really dislike that sort of attitude. Parents know their child’s reading ability at least as well as teacher who also has 29 other kids in the class. Teachers should welcome parents sharing views / concerns. Please don’t tell parents to back off and not engage with their child’s teacher.

My year 3 dd has read the entire series of Harry Potter, properly as well not just skim reading. She’s read more in lockdown than ever before as she’s just had more time to read. She’s been put down to the reading band she was on at the beginning of year 2 and brings home books my year 1 daughter can easily read.
I also understand and can assess comprehension skills as I have a very good English literature degree and write professionally.
I have written to the teachers and a TA assesses reading and she was put up one band but it was still at year two levels.
I don’t think it’s ok and can’t be laid back about it. Why should children be held back from achieving their very best? It’s as if they don’t want to take account of all the progress made during home learning.

I think it's a misunderstanding as the job is to teach reading and phonics not to cling onto control of the kid's reading books.
Bearing in mind the poorer kids have maybe access to no other books.
There arent even the books in our library or available to reserve.
And actually not moving up at the right times meant dd1 then skipped whole bands.
I do think it levels out around year 2.
But we are just all working through the books regardless of whether they can or cant read them.
As i say the ones in during lockdown have carried on on the scheme but we seemed to still be at jan! Which is crazy as we learnt the digraphs back then.

My son brought home the same book he was given from preschool just before lockdown 1 eg basic blending c-v-c words. He reads other stuff at home. overly cautious.

My child has come back from reception on the same band she was on 6 months ago. In the interim, she's read literally dozens at that level and at each of 3 levels above, with 100% accuracy. It's irritating not because I want her to jump levels if she's not ready, but because I don't understand why they tell us the expectations (to be reading each level at 90-95% accuracy and fluency, with comprehension) then do something different. I have emailed about it which makes me feel like an arse.

We've had the opposite here too. The books that had been picked for them before Christmas came home when they first got back. I just wrote a note in my daughter's log that she's moved on a bit, read that one in 2 minutes and so we'd started one at home too. The next book change she didn't get a school one, just a note back in the log to say they'd try and hear her read that week, and carry on with home ones. Then later that week she was listened to, and bumped up a couple of levels.