Little Wandle/Big Cat

[indiesearcher]

Hello,

I'm hoping to find a bit more information about the reading levels for Collins Big Cat reading books specifically in the Little Wandle scheme. This is the new schools reading scheme and there's no information available online about rough reading levels/ages.

I know they all develop differently etc etc but just keen to have a broad idea if DD is where she should be for her age.

TIA!

will do!

My daughter has just moved schools and has started on Little Wandle from previously using Read Write Inc.
The books she is reading are much easier than she had at her previous school. I’ve waited two months to see if they notice they’re too easy but so far they haven’t.
I really hope this doesn’t impact her.

I’ve come to the conclusion it’s just the way it is with Little Wandle and my DS will never be challenged by the technical content of the books.

He’s a free reader (although with low stamina) but still on Phase 5 in year 1 and will be there until the end of the year at least.

Its not disengaged him with reading at all, he enjoys the books (although his group only read it once a week now, presumably as they’re all free readers). He Just reads the book again at home with me, we make the usual “confident and fluent” comment and get on with reading whatever else we want.

I’d probably have preferred him to be pushed on in school a bit more, but it doesn’t seem to impact his reading for enjoyment at all.

They’ve put her on a much lower book band than she was at her previous school. We’re letting her read the books she likes at home (Dr Seuss at the moment) to try and keep her interested in reading.

For Little Wandle, the whole class is taught at the same level which is very different to RWI (I believe).

It’s always going to be the case that the better readers are working well below what level they could be because of this.

Blame Ofsted/curriculum setters for this, but the school have their hands tied and have to follow the scheme as it’s intended and follow their progression perfectly.

I’d suggest just making your peace with it and accepting it’s the way it is as long as the teacher is aware your child can read better (if you’ve pointed this out, they’ve no doubt had a listen to their reading to gauge themselves). We did, but we also know the teacher listens to the kids read their own choice books so it’s not like they are unaware of actual levels.

Oh I had no idea this was the case! I thought they’d be put in small phonics groups.
That’s so sad!
Yes. I’ll definitely keep the reading at home a priority. Should I be doing more writing with her too, if she’s just kept at a class level (Phase 3, set 2 in Y1 autumn term)?

I’d question Phase 3 at this point in year 1, my DS and his entire class (barring maybe a few that are struggling and getting individual help) are on Phase 5. If she can actually read this does seem quite behind, I think DS’s class went up to Phase 3 around February half term in reception…

How would you raise it?
We’re new to the school and I don’t want to be “that parent” and I’m also aware that I’m likely to get fobbed off.

She was on the Pink set of RWI books in September before we moved.

DDs school use little wandle, Class teaching at this point should be phase 5. The children do guided reading in groups based on how well they are able to read. This scheme seems to have a massive focus on fluency so even if they can decode at phase 5 if they are not fluently reading they will be kept reading books at a lower phase. They read the same book 3 times in class before it gets sent home. This is all part of building the fluency, I’m not massively keen on the re-reading, DD finds it boring! We usually read the book once at home and then read something else.

She can read fluently. She reads the book that gets sent home for us to read to her without any issue. She should not be reading at P3S2 level.

@GrinAndVomit
rwi pink books look like they correspond to little wandle phase 3 in terms of graphemes taught. It looks like the new school have chosen that level based on what she was reading previously.
This is a link to the scheme progression for little wandle.
Little wandle
Definitely have a chat with her teacher, just say she is finding the books easy and can she try something with more challenge. I think you have to see what response you get and then work from there.

Would she be able to read the book absolutely fluently on an earlier attempt? As PP said, there’s a huge emphasis on fluency.

Its also possible some of the ordering of phonics is different between the schemes so your DD isn’t passing the benchmarking tests so needs to stay on a certain level (even though on the face of it she’s doing well when reading). The schemes have different focusses so switching must be confusing!

If I was you I’d just be wanting to speak to the teacher about how DS is settling in, that you’re finding the phonics scheme very easy and why your daughter is getting the level books she is. It could be this conversation explains it all to you, or prompts the teacher to reassess.

@GrinAndVomit Echoing the above poster, could it just be that the books you’re getting for Little Wandle seem shorter (rather than just easier)? The Little Wandle books are (and stay) very short, probably to help with getting through them multiple times.

Speak with the teacher and try home teaching all the phonic sounds taught to date on the Little Wandle scheme, as these might well be different as a previous poster pointed out!

Her previous teacher described her as a “gifted reader”. The new scheme places her at a year behind. I’m just concerned that her being a “gifted reader” might be compromised if she is not stretched.

I think you just need to speak to the teacher on this, there’s probably a reason she’s behind (very likely linked to a different method of teaching between schemes) and they should clarify what you need to be doing to catch up, if your DD is behind most in the class. Moving schemes part way through learning to read really isn’t ideal as they’re very specific and have their own ordering/assessment types.

I’d say my child is fairly gifted at reading (free reader at home), along with the rest of his reading group (5 others). Little Wandle definitely hasn’t held him back or stopped him enjoying reading at home.

My DC is on phase 5...yr 2...has been on phase 5 since yr 1!!...fluent...what happens after phase 5?

From what I can tell, that’s it! Presumably onto old school book band books or just let loose in the library!

Such an odd system! Don't like it.

Hi, sorry to jump on this old thread. My daughter is in reception and her school has just begun using the Little Wandle system. My older children used the Oxford Reading Tree so I’m new to this one. My main concern is that they expect us to read the book they cover in class online and do not send any of the Little Wandle books home. Is this the case in all schools? I have asked for a physical book as the application doesn’t work on the tablets my children have but this has been refused. I have asked to meet with the school but I’m interested in what your experiences are before I do. Thank you

We get physical copies of the books at home.

I wonder if the digital access is to do with books getting lost/damaged at home? It’s definitely not a Little Wandle thing and more a school thing!

Hiya
Yes it's a school thing. Likely due to the cost of them having to replace all of the oxford books with these ones.

Agree with above, it will be due to books getting damaged or not returned. We have 8 of each book, they need to be returned on a Monday ready for the next group. We do send them home but parents are phoned if they are not returned.

I thought this was the case. Reading before bedtime on a screen doesn’t work for me. The website only works on my work laptop and I’m not keen on logging back on once I’ve finished for the day.

Thank you for your quick responses.

@Bongbingboo1 my school (I'm a teacher) just switched to Little Wandle and we are also only doing books online... but if parents push hard enough, we're allowed to give them a book. But yes, it's due to the cost of books and them going missing.