Will private school help my 7 year old catch up?

[Aria2015]

My 7 yo has just started year 3 and is the youngest in his class. I feel like he is a bright boy, he is articulate and observant and when he enjoys something, can be very motivated. He is however behind. Year 1/2 reading level and also behind in spelling, writing and maths. Would moving him to a private school help him catch up?

We read every night (him to us and us to him). We do all given homework (maths and spellings), plus we practise phonics etc... His current school isn't great. He has a big class and many of his peers are also behind. In fact we're always praised for how much we do at home as apparently most the children don't do the set homework. Also, despite knowing his reading is behind, they don't check his reading log for weeks at a time and maybe change his reading book once a week (by which time he's memorised it!). I don't know if we could do more at home. I already feel like 30/40 minutes of work at home on top of a full day at school is a lot for just turned 7. He's often tired as we have to be out the house early.

I feel like he needs to get things turned around in the next year to put him in a good position moving forward. I wouldn't push if I didn't feel like he was capable, but he's a bright boy (and it's not just me that says that), he really just isn't reaching his potential currently.

It would be possible to move him to a private school. Just wondering if that could make the difference? Anyone had similar experience and seen good progress either in a private school or by some other method?

I'm very much loath to suggest a tutor for 7 and 8 year olds. I do know several in DS's class do have them. And if I'm honest, I'd question whether its worthwhile and more than parents can do in the majority of cases.

Its really about reading and handwriting being below par. Everything else will generally follow after that. That and just getting your kid to sit still if they can't yet.

In that sense its really about trying to get your kid to read at home. And no1 top thing you can do to help facilitate that is ditching the gaming. I'm certainly finding that concerntration time with DS is massively down if he has a week he is allowed a lot of computer games. And it affects the time he has to read. And the patience he has to read. It doesn't have to be you listening to them read - it depends on their level. Its just getting them to read as much as you can.

And genuinely doing more than about 10 mins handwriting practice a few times a week, is probably counter productive.

And its just about getting them to do stuff without them realising you are trying to get them to work whereever you can. So if they draw a picture get them to write a word or two. Or reading anything you possibly can with them.

In terms of intervention, I think its about encouragement of the above for kids with parents who won't do it themselves...

@RedToothBrush thanks for the reply. Fortunately my son's not a massive gamer (yet!!). He enjoys playing mario but we have quite strict rules that he's only allowed to play for short periods and only when my husband is home (he gets cross because I can't help him!) so he probably only plays a game 1-2 times per week and for a relatively short period of time. He's never been interested in I-pads but he does like TV. We used to be very strict on that too but during covid and juggling home school and work, we (like many!) definitely relied on TV for distraction and entertainment and it's been hard to pull it back 😬.

Since posting, I've ordered some of the recommended books and we've got a new routine going where he reads his school book pretty much straight after school and practices spellings and then he has a break and dinner etc... and then before bed he reads one of the new books (currently Dogman!) and that reading is more about 'fun'. We take turns to read bits so he doesn't feel like it's a chore and then after that, we read his chosen bedtime book and he just gets to relax and listen. So we've managed to pretty much double his reading in the evenings without him really noticing. I think because it's not a 'school' book and we've been quite casual about it (as in, we haven't said 'you must read this!'), he's been happy to go along with it.

I'm still exploring options re school and possibly tutoring, but in the meantime, upping his reading without him feeling too pressured is my current goal. Quite a few posters pointed out how important it is that I try and find books that interest him and I think that's what I've been missing. I've been so focused on the educational side of things that I've been missing the fun element and I can now see that's vital if he's to learn to enjoy reading.

Sounds familiar Aria. I hope it goes well and you start to see a difference and that he enjoys Dogman. Dogman is a hero in my eyes!

Could you put him in a waitlist for year 3 there next year? It would give you a back-up plan just in case. My DS was quite behind with reading in year 1, we dropped other homework and just focused on that for a term, lots of extra reading, school plus books from the public library. He was very resistant at first to doing more than 1 reader, but he got used to doing more fairly quickly. That extra reading made a big difference to his abilities and confidence. It did feel like there was a point where it just clicked for him, but I feel he needed that extra practice to reach the point where it clicked. He's at standard now.

@LunaAndHerMoonDragons thanks for your reply. That is an option, although it is probably my last resort. I would have to put a deposit down is the only thing...

I'm hoping it clicks for my son too. That's actually happened for quite a few things in the past. I remember when he was a toddler, he went from not knowing his colours (despite us always banging on about them!), to overnight, just knowing them all. He did that with shapes too. Suddenly it just clicked and he seemed to know all the shapes. He's always surprised us like that.

Yesterday he actually surprised me because he read his school book with relative ease and was even putting on a voice for some of the characters. He's never done that before, but I took it as a good sign that he was able to think about voices on top of the reading. I'm hoping our extra efforts reading will pay off. I think if he can get that up to standard with that he'll be fine. His handwriting needs work, but it's legible so I'm not too worried about that. Spellings he's been doing better with. Not sure if that's to do with the increased reading?

Please don’t limit his dreams about becoming an architect or scientist. One of our best British architects is dyslexic and he has designed some wonderful buildings. Think of the issues he might have faced when he was young and he is at the top of his profession.
If your son doesn’t like reading and spelling can you make it fun by playing games? There are plenty you can download and print off.

Do you know what in particular he struggles with - is it alternative spellings , seeing which letters go together (graphemes) to make 1 sound, blending, fluency, etc?
English is one of the hardest languages to read and spell.
If you find a good tutor they will pinpoint what he needs and address this and give you advice how you can move him forward - that is what I would do any way as a tutor.
Changing to a private school might help from point of view of smaller classes and more support , however you will be taking him away from his current friends too.
I would suggest to find a good tutor and see if this works first .
With maths - if he gets most of this but there are gaps you might find it useful to go back to basics . Children often learn a maths skill first by using manipulatives , then move onto illustrations and then the numerals and symbols E.g to work out 2+ 3 there is a number of stages they have to understand. If they have not quite got one stage, then try going back a stage .

Apologies for such a long post. I am passionate about Phonics, reading and maths and could go on forever.
Best wishes.

I bought our own reading books. I would always forget to return the school ones, so just bought our own for the start that each of my dc have used. They come in packs so arent that expensive. I am not sure if private school is the answer tbh. I think you could do additional work at home with him to help. My dc started reading on their own once they found books they loved. So I think this is quite important. Join a library if you have not already and try out several different books.

he had an interview with the head. I said that he was behind and he didn't seem concerned, he said he was a bright boy and if we felt the school was a good fit they'd be happy to take him

If the private school have vacancy to take him, I would question their motives and do some research on how good they actually are and how well they'll really support him without asking you for extra £££ for extra support which some private schools do. It's really rare for a good private school to have vacancy.