I have realised for a while that DC2 in year 5 does not enjoy English as a subject and is a reluctant reader (thanks home school!) School have contacted me as they've just done assessments and from being at greater depth in KS1 he is now borderline working towards/meeting expected standards.
He finds comprehension really difficult, I've bought comprehension books, gone through the method & shown how to find the answers in the text but it doesn't seem to be getting easier for him to do independently. He finds it tedious. He never writes for pleasure and produces the bare minimum, so he will work at school but the vocabulary he uses is basic and repetitive.
I read longer chapter books with him which he's never inclined to continue reading unless I pick it up. He will read shorter, humerous or graphic novels. We buy The Week Junior and I encourage him to do the wordsearch and crossword with me. He doesn't articulate his ideas very clearly and doesn't incorporate new vocabulary unless it's slang. From early spring, when homeschooling again, he has a weekly session with an English tutor.
I'm at a loss really of what to do but feel like I'm letting him down. DC1's trajectory was the opposite, a slow burning start to school but is academic, enjoys learning and now is flying at secondary. DC2 started with promise and now his teacher seems quite surprised that academically he's not doing better, though acknowledged that because of the gaps in schooling missing nearly 2 terms of year 4 and a term of year 5 has contributed to his writing not developing to where it ordinarily would be. Unfortunately there don't seem to be any school based solutions, I asked if he would get the chance to do some small group based work and his teacher said they don't have the resources.
So any ideas or advice please? Or any anecdotes from your own experiences of DC that didn't enjoy English at primary and how they have done academically at secondary? Is this a blip in his path or a truer reflection of his academic level / abilities?