My 7 year old has been assessed as Level 1 for KS1 in English - should I be worried?

[Mytholmroyd]

DD3 who is seven next month is apparently working barely at level 1 in English. She came home delighted a few weeks ago because she got to play while everyone else did a test - I am guessing she was pulled out of her KS1 tests. She hates reading and writing, bursts into tears when made to do it (even does this all the time at school with no apparent embarrassment) and just says "I cant I cant". She just isnt interested.

I dont know if I should start worrying or not by now. The thing is, she has a huge vocabulary, can hold an eminently sensible conversation with any adult (in fact, I think she thinks she is one), loves to sing and dance (although refused to continue at dancing class because she "had to stand in a line with everyone else and do what the teacher said and couldnt do any twirling or leaping and anyway, didnt need to be taught because she already knew how to do it"). She carries out her own "scientific experiments" at home and can sing virtually the whole score of Calamity Jane and loads of other musicals.

Her teachers say she is lacking in confidence and immature but thats not how I see her - I think she is a drama queen and simply thinks learning stuff she doesnt see the point of is simply not worth bothering with. When I watch her with her class mates she doesnt relate to them very well at all, in fact, she gets on much better with the teachers - she doesnt seem to understand how 6 year olds interact and spends all her time being indignant at their behaviour or crying because they have pushed her or called her names. When she goes to swimming lessons all she wants to do is spend the lesson talking to the teacher (a constantly open mouth is not the best approach when learning to swim!!).

But she HAS to learn to read - she is still sounding out individual letters in a tortuous manner and just doesnt "get it". How long should I leave her before I seek extra help? I am beginning to think she would be better off in a Steiner or Montessori school but I cant afford it.

I have two older girls plus a 3 year old DS who were average at primary (although are expecting good A levels and GCSE's this year) but they could both read and write by the age of 7!

Any suggestions would be gratefully recieved - I just dont know what to do with her - I seem to have tried every tack and gotten absolutely nowhere.

Does she have an IEP?
At Level 1, she will now be considered to be fairly behind her peers and her teacher should be putting some form of action plan in place to help her.
I would book an appointment to see her teacher and the school SENCO asap to discuss how they are going to help her now and into Year 3, which she will find alot more challenging if she cant read.

Best of luck

Hi nell12

What's an IEP? No, she has no SEN certificate (that I am aware of). She had special reading sessions (Nellie?) in year 1 and the school have tested her for dyslexia but she doesnt have that (my husband does so we have always been conscious of it). We help her with her homework and reading at home but it is no fun at all and usually ends in tears so I was wondering about taking her to a private tutor.

However, I think, if you dont think it is making too much of a fuss that perhaps I will go in and see the teacher before the end of term.

Thanks for the advice.

IEP= Individual Education Plan

The teacher and SENCO will write it together. It lists the areas of concern and gives ways for the teacher, TA and parent to address the situation, both at school and at home. It may be letter recognition games, phonic awareness games (the sounds that letters and groups of letters make) etc etc.

On top of that they should be addressing her emotional outbursts (probably her way of dealing with not being able to read and write to the level that she wants to) It must be very frustrating for your dd to be so articulate and not be able to read to a similar level.

I would also consider getting her re-tested for dyslexia... yr 1 is early to have done it and there can be no harm in re-trying.

Get an appointment soon, there is no such thing as making too much of a fuss where our children are concerned

Oh Mytholmroyd, I really wouldn't worry too much; in Scandanavia, they don't start formal education until 7 anyway. if she has social skills and a large vocab, she' obviously not got a problem with cognition; the schools have to meet all the targets, not your daughter. She's six years old ffs.

ok, my eldest was similar, hated reading and writing, it was a struggle and she simply didn't enjoy it, although her vocabulary and sociial skills were exceptional. Now 13, she is dyslexic, and is actually thriving and doing very wellat secondary a school who set much store on finding what kids love and encouraging them)

Because they are v creative we pulled our kids out of primary school (which we felt was too focussed on testing and had no art etc) and sent out three kids to Steiner school. It was the biggest mistake we have ever made. They were there for two/three years. I really do not recommend it..... if you want to know why, try the steiner threads, or i'll give you a synopsis!

To get back to reading etc, when our 7 nearly 8 year old left Steiner, she barely knew her letters. Withing a moth she was reading fluently, a couple of months later she was reading Harry Potter( un beknownst to me)
Children plateau and shoot ahead in a rush. Unfortunately the system does not allow for this. The system needs children who meet targets at the right time so the schoools can tick boxes.
As long as you feel there's no underlying prblem with her developpment, she will do it when she's ready. And if she's dyslexic or somethuing like that, it will emerge, and she'll be ok even if she is.
Tests and targets are for school statistics, not real live kids.

I think they pick up on the tensions surrounding it all too. Goodness, she's only six! Loads of kids don't get an interest in reading and writing until they're much older.
imo the more it's forced, the worse it'll be.
It may well be frustration, but it may just be that it doesn't interest her. She'd rather sing and dance.
She would be totally bored out of her block at Steiner school btw.... she sounds a total live wire and a real character...

Myth, is there anything she is really good at and knows it? Something that will give her great confidence? If that takes presidence, the fact her reading isn't up to it might not be such an issue for her, and he'll relax, and it may click into place...art? Learning the piano or something?

How was she tested for dyslexia? Did they get in someone properly qualified to do it?

Thanks for the info re: Steiner - didnt realise they were boring! Oh well, at least I dont feel bad about not going down that route. She is a bit of an oddball though - even her sisters find her frustrating and I can tell when I speak to the teachers - they just say "Ahhh Sophie...". She always gets picked to speak aloud in assembly as she has a loud and carrying voice and loves the attention so that is something she does well.

She loves to sing and (for some strange reason!) is keen to learn to play the violin - we have had her name down with the council school music service for over a year now for either singing or violin lessons but the waiting list is long. We have a piano as her big sister plays but she hasnt shown any interest in that. I've been told they have to be 7 to join a choral/choir so havent pursued that yet - then again, not sure she would want to stand in line and sing with a group but I'd give it a shot.

The other thing is that she is going through a phase of saying she hates her little brother and that everyone prefers him to her and she wishes he hadnt been born. When she is crying herself to sleep saying she hates school and she spends all her playtimes on the lonely seat but no-one ever comes to sit with her, I just feel so sorry for her as she just doesnt seem to know how to fit in with her peers - I suggest strategies but again, she doesnt really "get" the point of them. She's her own worst enemy sometimes!

Yes, I think they did get someone in to do it but they didnt tell me she was being tested beforehand so I am not sure who did it. I dont like to interfere at school - it is a good school and I'd rather let them do their stuff and always get the impression at parent's evenings that they have it under control and she is progressing. But she is clearly way behind her class in English - doesnt seem so bad in maths though.

It's so stressful this primary lark isn't it. I know what you feel about just wanting to pull them out and go for an different kind of education - we are feeling exactly the same about DS1 at the moment.

Do you live as of your name by the way? (from a possible fellow West Yorkshir-er)

I'm the last possible person to give advice after the stressy weekend I've had worrying about DS and his anti social behaviour

Hi fatzak

Yes, Upper Calder Valley!

To be honest, I thought having got DD1 and DD2 through it without any concerns at all DD3 would be a doddle (just shows even an experienced parent can come a cropper!).

Mind you, having spent nigh on 18 years removing my DDs from the proximity of "horrid" little boys who werent being brought up properly we have had our bubble well and truly burst by the arrival of a DS - so I sympathise with your boy problems - mine is being brought up in a house full of females and its making not a ha'pporth of difference to his testosterone fuelled behaviour! We are all baffled and at a complete loss!! So you are not alone and if other parents dont understand your plight it must be because they have had only girls!

My sister who had only boys thinks its hilarious and it serves DH and I right for years of unfounded superiority in the parenting stakes - I just realise now with hindsight we were just fabulously lucky with our two eldest who have turned into wonderful young women with virtually no difficulties along the way at all. Have to say am having a huge crisis of confidence with the two little ones right now.

Oh gosh, she sounds as if she's having a confidence blip about everything. Poor you. there's nothing worse thatn when they come home and say no one would play with them.

i do get sick of the pressures they have though, which is really the pressures of the teachers to perform and meet targets much of the time.
They can catch up acdemically at a very late stage as far as i'm concerned; but if they aren't confident or are unhappy, that needs concentrating on.
The only exams that are really the first important ones are GCSE's , and that's not until they're 16!
My daughter never shone at anything except art until secondary, and she found teachers who saw the point of her and encouraged her. She got 100% in biology a month ago(unprecedented) because she really likes the teacher; she now thinks she wants to make wildlife films, combining all her loves,animals,art and biology.She was written off as a dyslexic lazybones until then, confidence very low.
Things change over night.
The singing and music thing sounds a good idea for your dd.Is there a drama class or something out of school which she could shine in and make different friends?

I don't wish to alarm you but working at level 1 is a cause for alarm, I would make an appointment to see the class teacher and SENCO asap. This is nothing that cannot be remdied but she is substantially behind peers.
She needs help. Good Luck

Your dd sounds exactly like the little girl I support at school who has just been given a full statement. I'm amazed your school hasn't flagged this up before.

It sounds like she has some emotional and educational needs which could be addressed by the SENCO at the school. But get the wheels in motion now before she moves onto juniors.

And BTW you would be amazed at the progress lower ability children can make once their needs are addressed and catered for

get help NOW though

it is very difficult to get help once they are 8+ and in Year 3

Please don't think you'd be wasting the teacher's time, or overly fussing, if you arranged an appointment. That's what teachers are there for!

If she is still L1 aged 7, they should now be considering some intervention strategies for her (ways of offering her extra support) and it would make sense to discuss possibilities with you, so that you can then support at home too.

Hey thanks everyone - I dont like to fuss and be pushy and I am not concerned that she doesnt shine at school but its really helpful to know it wouldnt be over the top now to ask for help. Just sounds so serious and an admission of failure to have a statemented child - she is loved very much and we are a fairly demonstrative family so I would hope she must know this. But she is a high maintenance child.

Several people have said to me "She should be on the stage" and, you know, I do wonder sometimes how much is real pain and how much is just for dramatic effect and whether actually she can tell the difference or is just living a fairy story!!

NR - wildlife films - wow thats a good thing to aim for - brilliant!

Have just discovered the Huddersfield Choral Society have a junior choir from the age of seven so will ring them tomorrow - think I need to give her the chance to do something well as you have suggested. Maybe she will see the point of reading if she needs to learn some songs!

It really isn't an admission of failure for your child to have a statement - both my boys have statements (for different reasons) and all it means is they get the individual help they need

hi Mytholmroyd... your dd sounds just like my ds2! he too sings and dances all the time and is a total drama queen. In fact for years now dh and I have a private joke that'll he'll be a drag queen when he grows up.
He also has an incredible vocab and thought processes which are way beyond his years (he's just 7 yr 2)
Anyway his reading is very good but his maths was being assessed at level 1 earlier this year. The school I'm sorry to say haven't been any help but I saw our GP who thought it was very likely he had dyscalculia but suggested waiting to see the ED Phy. until he was 7 as the results were more reliable.
We did employ a tutor as trying to work with him at home had become a battleground every night.
He has made huge progress in the last few months thanks to this tutor who had loads of ideas for games etc, to make the subject easier for him to understand. (of course he likes the whole hours of adult company as well
Definitely make an appointment to see your school. As everyone says ask to see her IEP, ask what plans they have in place. Will she continue in the same school at junior level? It could just be that she is a late developer in this area as obviously she has been developing other skills.
If you are still not happy see your GP and ask for a referral to an ED. Physc. Good luck x

It's not making a fuss or being pushy to talk to the teacher - in fact it sounds very much as though the school should be asking to talk to you. Your dd doesn't sound as if school is much fun for her, and I would look to investigate as soon as possible. Some of your dd's behaviour sounds very similar to my ds (another dyslexic child) and our school was also worried that he might be autistic (he isn't, but he is very much "himself"). Confidence is such an incredibly important thing, I think as a parent it is perhaps the most important thing to do to support them when they struggle. We had ds tested outside of school by an educational psychiatrist and he has never had any special help with reading from school (another great verbal communicator who struggled to express himself). We did get him some one to one tutoring in synthetic phonics which did the world of good, and now (in a new school in the States) he will get help from a OT with his handwriting. The school did help him with learning to take turns etc as they were more concerned with his social skills. Sometimes schools don't like to raise these issues with parents, but once they know you are concerned are very happy to talk about what could help. Good luck!

Would someone very kindly explain what the levels mean?

I understand key stage one is at 7 and keystage 2 at 11 (is that right?) but I don't know what all these blessed levels mean. What is a level 5? What is a level 4? And most relevant to the OP, what is a level 1?

nooka, I really agree; social skills, lack of confidence etc are so much more important than levels. Not all children conform to the norm, that doesn't make them immediately ready to be statemented or put in a box.
If myth's dd is saying stuff like everyone likes her bro more than her and things like that, it sounds more than just an inability to read.
One might stem from the other, but the important thing is confidence and feeling happy about herself.

My ds is 8 and is only just starting to read; he is a perfectly normal, reasonably intelligent little boy. So that in itself wouldn't worry me. Though I would expect the school to offer more support- ds has had quite a bit.
What would worry me more is her difficulties of interacting and her lack of confidence. She doesn't sound a very happy little girl at the moment. I would definitely see the teacher about this.

I am sitting here quietly shocked that the school have not arranged an appointment with you to discuss targets, how they intend to help her, and pulling her out of testing...

it may be that it is all happening, and they just haven't made a big deal out of it (which would please me no end as she's still fairly little), but it would be nice to be told!

that said - i've been a reading volunteer for a little while, and there are a quite a few in your dd's boat with reading and other stuff - but round here they are all getting additional help.

lol at 'an admission of failure to have a statemented child' - don't post that on the sn board will you?

i can happily join in most 'why I am a failure as a parent' topics for a multipilicity of reasons, but dd2's statement hardly features! , it comes up more on the 'how proud i am that i am doing the best for my child' topics

hope the teacher can reassure you, and the next one is a bit more on the ball - i can't believe they would start her in yr 3 with no help if she's been pulled from KS1 testing...

she needs an IEP .. go and talk to the school and find out what they are going to do about

appreciate that

1. some children do not learn to read through Phonics and there are other ways to learn to read

2. it is not an issue that she can't read yet .. unless she has some form of word blindness which can be diagnosed ... she will get it, it will click

3. school should be doing something and you should be finding out what

re levels .. they are crap crap crap but if you want to know

by end of reception children aim to be level 1

be end of year 2 they aim for kids to be level 2 (2C is below average, 2B is average, 2A is above average). Some children do additional level 3 papers

they go up 1 level every 2 years .. so end year 4 they should be level 3, and end year 6 they should be level 4. some kids do level 5