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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Reading records

10 replies

Mumofsend · 10/09/2022 15:50

I have a struggling reader who has just started year 1. Our school have just changed the reading records so we now just date and initial with no room to write comments. There is no space for the teacher to write comments either. I feel like quite an important line of communication has been closed, especially with a struggling reader.

My boy has an EHCP and AFAIK reads 3 days a week at school but they've just removed all ability to communicate via the reading record. I found it really helpful last year when they wrote roughly what he had managed in class or found tricky. It also makes it difficult from my POV to comment when we've attempted to read and he won't engage or if we've not been successful with the book but have done some other bits instead. Do I sign when I've waved the book in his face but he won't engage? Do I only sign when he's actually read something? (In which case am I going to get grief for not hitting the 3 times a week?). Do I sign if we've done something else like playing a phonics game?

I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable or not but I also don't see how doing it without communication works?

OP posts:
Disneyblueeyes · 10/09/2022 15:57

Could you not just pop a note in or post-it note?

ClocksGoingBackwards · 10/09/2022 16:03

Ask the school what they’d prefer, but I don’t think it’s worth signing if he hasn’t actually read.

I’m a TA in Y1 and ime, parents put way too much value on the reading records just because it’s something that goes home so they see it regularly. The majority of parents don’t write anything that actually helps and even if they did we don’t get a chance to read every child’s diary before the day begins anyway, so it’s mostly pointless.

Their main use is to help encourage parents to read at home because it seems they’re more likely to do it if they think the teacher is checking!

Pinkflipflop85 · 10/09/2022 16:03

I think you're massively overthinking it.

Most schools just want you to read with your child at home. They aren't necessarily interested in the ins and outs of what happened during that time.

As a KS1 teacher with no TA support the most my diaries get is a cursory glance ti see that reading has been acknowledged before I change the books.

ClocksGoingBackwards · 10/09/2022 16:04

I also meant to say that as your child has a ehcp, you could ask for a communication book to be used instead.

Mumofsend · 10/09/2022 16:11

Disneyblueeyes · 10/09/2022 15:57

Could you not just pop a note in or post-it note?

They've left absolutely no room to leave a note. I know I can put a post it on but I have no idea how school plan to feedback themselves.

OP posts:
flyingant · 10/09/2022 16:13

I think you're overthinking it. I doubt teachers have time to give them more than a cursory glance and I don't think they're meant to be a line of communication.

QueenOfWeeds · 10/09/2022 16:16

Yes, our high needs children have communication books which are used more generally - a box for home and a box for school per day, with a double home box for the weekend. They’re really useful.

Pinkflipflop85 · 10/09/2022 17:54

Mumofsend · 10/09/2022 16:11

They've left absolutely no room to leave a note. I know I can put a post it on but I have no idea how school plan to feedback themselves.

There will unlikely be regular feedback from school.

Heckythump1 · 12/09/2022 16:01

Ours don't ever look at the reading record or write in it... I honestly don't know why I bother writing in it religiously every night :P

Plumbear2 · 13/09/2022 09:55

I would definately bring it up with the school. Even my high school kids have rooms in their planner for me to pass notes to their teachers.

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