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Primary education

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What's the typical level for Reception education?

154 replies

Adriana87 · 15/09/2021 13:53

Hi all
My son just started school and is currently doing settling in days. The teacher mentioned to myself and other parents some very basic achievements such as: being able to count to 20, recognise shapes and pronounce the alphabet phonetically.

My son turned 4 in April and has a speech delay but can read an entire book (basic words of course) and do addition and subtraction. He also recognises all numbers up to 1,000.

I was taken a little back as I thought they would be teaching stuff a bit more advance. Am I wrong?

OP posts:
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5zeds · 16/09/2021 12:58

There’s usually one or two in each class that free reads early and couple who read later. Interestingly in my (limited) experience both groups seem to be academic achievers. Just enjoy who they are they all find their own path.

cloudacious · 16/09/2021 14:06

Why can't we let our children play and figure out the world that way?

We absolutely can. However they will not reliably learn to do anything there might be required to do in further assessments so that's a cost to be considered.

You might have noticed children ask a lot of questions though. They tend to find play is not enough and want lots of chunks of information. Good teaching ideally gives them opportunities to answer those questions through play.

Or you can just leave them to play and start formal education at a much later stage. They'll be fine, maybe even better, as long as they don't have access to addictive things with all that free time.

School for young children is principally to give them a chunk of time where everyone is getting switched on parenting that ticks all the boxes. It can be done at home by parents. The formal milestones can easily be left until later and there is evidence to suggest it's better to do so. But that undermines what school achieves for children with parents at work, needing time away, under privileged, not able to listen and reason etc.

IHateCoronavirus · 16/09/2021 14:30

[quote lanthanum]@IHateCoronavirus
I really liked your post, until the last bit:
"The first question I always want answering when I hear “x can read fluently and knows all of their numbers up to 10,002” is “how are their social, emotional and communicative skills?”"

If you had a very socially/emotionally mature child, your first question wouldn't be "but can they count to 10?" There seems to be a bit of an assumption that a child who is very able academically is likely to be behind in other respects.

Obviously all children have strengths and weaknesses, and it's unlikely that the child will be ahead in very single aspect of their development, but this instinctive reaction seems very unfair. I think there's sometimes also a bit of an assumption that a child who is reading is doing so because someone has pushed them and not allowed them to develop naturally. In DD's case, it was very much child-led.

I am slightly horrified at the number of teacher friends who have actively discouraged their children from reading early (when the child has been showing a real interest), and I think it is because of the negative attitude some of their colleagues hold towards early readers.[/quote]
Absolutely. We (the eyfs collective) would never discourage any child from doing anything. If a child is showing interest in number, reading etc of course we encourage it. We even utilise that passion to encourage other areas of development. Smile

The reason I mentioned about wanting to know about a child’s social skills etc, is because very often (certainly not in all cases) children arrive to our settings with undiagnosed SEND for example, hyperlexia mentioned above. These children can present as little geniuses but struggle with social interaction, boundaries and routine. The sooner we provide interventions to help them thrive the better.

Once I have observed said child and I have an overview of how spikey or balanced the developmental profile is the sooner I can crack on with the fun stuff.

Biancadelrioisback · 16/09/2021 14:48

Fuck me.

My son is 5 in a couple months and he can't read or do addition/subtraction up to 1000.
He can happily and easily count to 20. Needs a bit more help from there up (twenty twelve instead of 32 isn't going anywhere).
He can 'read' 2 stories bit that's because he's memorised them and we'll recite them often when walking around the woods etc.

If his reception class started making them try and read 'The Witches' or do mathematics up to 1000 he'd just give up and be left behind...along with 99% of his class.

Teachers can't teach the whole class to challenge those ahead of everyone else.
Also I don't believe you at all.

Pissinthepottyplease · 16/09/2021 14:59

Really? My DD’s school start their phonics program in nursery.

SouthLondonMommy · 16/09/2021 15:29

@sashh

Those of you with toddlers reading, how do you find books for them?

I wasn't an early reader but I was way ahead of my peer group at secondary (I only know this because the school had us take some sort of reading / vocabulary test and my score was off the scale) this meant I read a lot of books that were not really suitable, eg I read 1984 when I was 11 and looking back it was not at all suitable.

@sashh you can go through the Oxford Reading Tree book levels all of which are fairly tame picture books.

Also, just the normal books that you'd read to them at home are fine once they are free readers. Julia Donaldson, Usborne anthologies etc are popular in our house as well. Also, factual books about space, the body tend to be interesting but not scary or inappropriate so lots of non fiction intended for slight older children often works well too.

User5827372728 · 16/09/2021 17:00

The OP was saying about what is ‘typical’

Bobholll · 16/09/2021 18:07

I taught for 5 years plus 4 years training & never had a 4 year old free reader but I guess that was just the cohorts I had. I had some reading phase 2 quite well & therefore your entry level reading books but that’s all I ever came across in reception. I suppose there are exceptions to everything. I’d be really impressed to see a 4 year old reading a chapter book!

My DD has gone into reception this time, shes May born. She knows her alphabet & sounds. She is just starting to blend initial sounds although it doesn’t come easily just yet. She can count to 100 & understands 50 is bigger than 10 but not really much more concept than that. Can add up numbers to 10. Can easily write her name & familiar words. Her teacher said she’s in the top half of the class. I guess that’s some context. It’s a school where ‘children enter broadly at the level expected or above’.

cabbageking · 16/09/2021 20:19

He is settling in and an assessment of his level will shortly begin.

They are still finding their way to the toilet, lunch, making friends, and understanding the rules of the class.

KidneyBeans · 16/09/2021 20:28

@TakeMeToYourLiar

Which part of my post is absolute nonsense please?

Are you claiming to know the children I mention better than me? Or is your reading comprehension skill below that of your child?
Confused

WarrenBird · 16/09/2021 20:45

TBH this whole thread makes me want to take myself off to nursery, paint some stick men, get covered in felt tip, sing some jolly songs with my new chums and bury my head in the sandpit.

Bunnycat101 · 16/09/2021 22:26

I could read at 4. Don’t think it did me any favours though as I was painfully shy. However bright a 4yo dickens and the Witches are just ridiculous.

You have to accept that if you have a bright child, chances are reception will be much more about social skills. Eg can your son negotiate with other children, explain why they have upset him without having a strop etc. Does his handwriting match his other skills etc.

boringcreation · 16/09/2021 22:36

@MondeoFan

I agree with *@KidneyBeans* I work with children and no 4 year olds can read an entire book. But they can repeat words or phrases from a familiar book that's read over and over. So if you showed him a number 984 he'd be able to look at it and say it's 9 hundred and 84?
Bull

I was reading Famous Five/Secret Seven etc at 4, some people just learn to read faster than others.

gogohm · 16/09/2021 22:45

@MondeoFan

My dd was reading properly at 3, at 4 she was reading chapter books. She's unusual I grant you (autistic) but had very advanced academics. (Shame about her social skills and willingness to eat food!!!)

dreamofaVWcamper · 16/09/2021 22:47

Some total tits and braggers galore on here tonight 🙄

Beefmeupscotty · 16/09/2021 23:27

I love reading these kinds of threads Grin

SkankingMopoke · 17/09/2021 01:54

@TheWayTheLightFalls

sassh - Reading Chest subscription is great. We worked through Songbirds with DD (bought the box of 1-4), and now get new books weekly-fortnightly with Reading Chest. DD loves the novelty of post addressed to her, too.
I just checked Reading Chest out as we are getting through scheme books at a rate of knots at the moment, and thought this might be the answer. I nearly fell over at the price! £10/month for borrowing 6 books! You can buy 'Read with Oxford' books containing a compilation of stories from Biff/Chip, song birds, non-fiction or comic books, for under £10 delivered and brand new. Once finished with, it will re-sell for £5. Alternatively, buy the second hand £5 ones and re-sell at the same price once done. Even if you can't be bothered to re-sell and gift them to charity instead, you'd still be quids in with the second hand copies. Warning: 'Read with Oxford' stages are not equivalent to the ORT levels/colours, but the ORT website will convert it and tell you which stage your DC is on. I came a cropper with this initially!
TheWayTheLightFalls · 17/09/2021 06:49

skanking we pay £15 for 12 books a month. We do have a couple of sets at home that we bought, but tbh after spending hours trying to translate Songbirds levels into ORT levels/colours, then realising that some of them changed levels a few years ago / in the home reading packages, this felt like the way to go for us. Plus the special deliveries of post addressed to DD pique her interest I think.

chocolatecentral6 · 17/09/2021 09:51

My DD just started reception. She can read to quite a high level (purple/gold book band), can write in cursive joined up and knows her number bonds to 10, all because she wanted to do what her older sibling was doing during lockdown!

HambletonSquare · 17/09/2021 19:25

Some total tits and braggers galore on here tonight 🙄

And the sad thing is, all that time and effort may not actually help the child. The DfE guidance has become so much more prescribed this summer that some of the things children 'can' do will have to be unpicked and retaught. Probably harder than just waiting, having fun and following the learning set by the class teacher from scratch.

Cursive writing, for instance is now discouraged. Phonics has to be taught with absolute fidelity to ensure no gaps etc. etc.

IHateCoronavirus · 17/09/2021 20:46

@chocolatecentral6

My DD just started reception. She can read to quite a high level (purple/gold book band), can write in cursive joined up and knows her number bonds to 10, all because she wanted to do what her older sibling was doing during lockdown!
Ah DD learned to potty train early by watching her big brothers. I had a terrible time trying to convince her to sit and not stand! Confused
chocolatecentral6 · 17/09/2021 21:29

@HambletonSquare
Cursive writing is taught in reception at my kids’ school. My DD used the same sheets that her older sibling was using so I know she is doing it the way that they will be doing at her school. Same goes for the phonics.

@IHateCoronavirus Ha ha!! 😝

HitMeWithYourStupidShit · 17/09/2021 21:38

@TheWayTheLightFalls

It's very unlikely by the age of 4 that he has a conceptual understanding of those things, and is simply repeating things back to you. I know many youngsters who can 'read' familiar stories - they've simply learned them by heart and aren't actually reading at all

Really? I have a just turned 4yo. We subscribe to Reading Chest. She routinely opens the parcel of books (that she hasn’t seen before), chooses one and reads it, with some occasional stumbling or delay over a book. Currently they are sending us Green book band ones. It’s ahead but I don’t think it’s that unusual.

Agree with this. My DC1 was most decidedly reading books before he started Reception. Fortunately his Reception teacher realised this and gave him plenty to do (whilst also focussing particularly on the areas in which he was 'behind' - most notably socialising with his peer group).
stormyweather274 · 17/09/2021 22:19

@MondeoFan

I agree with *@KidneyBeans* I work with children and no 4 year olds can read an entire book. But they can repeat words or phrases from a familiar book that's read over and over. So if you showed him a number 984 he'd be able to look at it and say it's 9 hundred and 84?
My 4 year old (nearly 5) can use phonics to read Biff & Chip level 4 books and can recognise and say numbers up to 1000.... so there!
HambletonSquare · 18/09/2021 20:21

@chocolatecentral6 - all changing. I advise schools. Cursive is to be delayed until later.

Referenced here in the Department for Education guidance published in July. See p50 - handwriting.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/1000986/ReadinggframeworkTeachinggthefoundationssofliteracyy-_July-2021.pdf