Bad school report wwyd?

[Jennybeans401]

I have 2 dds, one is now at the end of Year 2 and was always bright and doing well at school. She was above expected for everything in Reception and Year 2. I knew this year being so disrupted she might not make as much progress but thought she would get expected.

On her end of year report she's now below expected for Maths and writing which was a shock to me. In lockdown she had tutors and her English tutor said her writing was very good. She's secured punctuation and the other goals.

The teacher also said dd isn't producing much work in class on the report (this has been a common comment at parents evening). I told the teacher to let me know if this was still happening as I was concerned about it. The class are a mixed Year 2/3 group and work is often pitched at Year 3 level so I asked dd to put her hand up if she gets stuck on anything.

Dd says that the teacher doesn't come to her even when her hand is up, I think it sounds like there are a lot with hands up so dd tries to figure it out for herself.

Dds behaviour is good in class from all accounts but is quiet. Her last teacher told her to put her hand up if she has any problems but this doesn't seem to be working now as no one comes to her!

Dd is also the only child in the class to have not had star of the week, class prize or reading certificate over the year. Her reading book is rarely changed as the children have to change them and dd forgets.

I'm surprised- given the report- that the teacher would not have taken me aside for a chat before it came out.

Wwyd? I feel the teacher has blanked my concerns in the past.

*sorry my opening comment should read for Reception and Year1!

It sounds as though she's rather fallen through the cracks this year and it's a pity you werent made aware sooner. Does she have the same teacher next year?

I would make an appointment to talk with the teacher either in person or Zoom or a phone call. My school offers post report meetings if needed.

You could see how she is with maths by setting her the ks1 sats paper as she presumably didnt do one.

My dc was below in maths in yr1 and we did a lot of work in y2 to catch up and she did reasonably on the sats (although she couldnt and still isnt good at add sub by jumping etc). We used cgp workbooks but collins are also good.
Is she one of the older ones?
As it may be that being compared to children 12m older is affecting the teacher perceptions.
Or it maybe that the teacher hasnt taught everything for y2?

Bear in mind that the targets for Reception and Y1 are quite low. Y2 expectations are a fair bit higher(thanks to Michael Gove) so early high achievers don’t always maintain that, especially with the 18 months they’ve had. Always best to have a conversation.

Definitely make an appointment to speak to the teacher asap.

Sounds like you have left it a bit late to tackle the star of the week/class prize stuff - your DD's name might have been left off a list so the teacher hasn't noticed she didn't get a turn. You have to be quite proactive with these weekly class prize things and if you get to the last term and your child hasn't had one, always check that their name is on the list.

Star of the week- it’s normally given to every child even if we’re struggling for positives so could she possibly have been missed or had it right at the start?

Why are they are mixed year 2/3 class? It makes me so mad that schools continue to do this. No one wins. Can you move her to a school where she will be in a year 3 class only in September?

@LadyGAgain

Why are they are mixed year 2/3 class? It makes me so mad that schools continue to do this. No one wins. Can you move her to a school where she will be in a year 3 class only in September?

It's usually because of finances - if the school can't afford to run two half classes they have to mix them.

Thanks @zoeydollie for explaining. It makes sense from that perspective but for the purposes of education, it doesn't work. And the poor teachers who have to teach two levels of curriculum at the same time. Kids get confused etc. It's a shame.

@LadyGAgain

Why are they are mixed year 2/3 class? It makes me so mad that schools continue to do this. No one wins. Can you move her to a school where she will be in a year 3 class only in September?

I think you'll find schools don't really have a choice. We've had to do it because of low numbers in reception, so as a result we've had to mix reception and year 1, and years 2 and 3. We can't afford to employ one teacher to teach 10 pupils.

@LadyGAgain

Thanks *@zoeydollie* for explaining. It makes sense from that perspective but for the purposes of education, it doesn't work. And the poor teachers who have to teach two levels of curriculum at the same time. Kids get confused etc. It's a shame.

It is difficult yes, and I wish I was teaching one year group. To be honest the bigger problem is the sheer volume of children in any one class, not that they're in two year groups. Having both is hard work. I have a class of 32 year 4/5 and I have a huge proportion having SEN working at year 2 or 3 level. It's hard work.

It’s very common to mix year groups. Some schools have 3 year groups mixed. Often it’s small, rural schools. For some children it can work if they’re at the top end but a good teacher should differentiate the work anyway. Even though I work in one, I’d advise against sending a child to them.

@LadyGAgain

Thanks *@zoeydollie* for explaining. It makes sense from that perspective but for the purposes of education, it doesn't work. And the poor teachers who have to teach two levels of curriculum at the same time. Kids get confused etc. It's a shame.

The Conservatives don't really give a fuck about state education since none of their children will ever have to use it.

I would absolutely contact them with your concerns. Whether it’s the same teacher or another next year, they need to be aware and rectify their approach in future

Might be nothing wrong with their approach. That’s why a conversation is needed. Children don’t always relay the truth to their parents and not all children reach ‘expected’ despite the teacher’s best efforts.

We had one this year which was basically an A4 page complaining about things which are as a direct result of DD's SEND... I was appalled - but it's been a shocking year anyway and we're moving schools as a result of it all.

I have a thread in this section talking about my DS's report. He is a year older than your DC. The fantastic people on here have managed to talk me down from everything is terrible, my baby is failing and I must do something drastic immediately to, there are several reasons why this might have happened, it is not the end of the world and I can ask the teacher for more information.

I would talk to the teacher and try to get more clarity about why she has put your DC at working towards, and what she thinks your DC is struggling with exactly.

It sounds like you have done everything you can to mitigate the affects of lockdown.

Most schools I know have reported a drop in progress in writing due to lockdown and remote learning. Children have written less and it has resulted in reduced stamina in writing. A great many schools will probably have writing stamina as one of their objectives in their school improvement plan for next year.