Reception child not meeting phonics targets, how concerned should I be?

[phonicsorswim]

My reception ds had his second parents’ evening yesterday and he isn’t quite where he needs to be in terms of phonics and reading. I’m a little unclear about what exactly the issues are. He is able to read and blend basic words fairly easily and can recognise some digraphs although he still needs to practice.

I guess maybe the problem is consistency. I’ve noticed when I read with him he starts off well and then attention wanders and he just shouts whatever word comes to mind - it’s frustrating as this evening he spelled out and the end correctly blended ‘picks’ twice then the third time it appeared he just couldn’t seem to get it and kept saying has and fast which clearly are nothing like picks!

I am just fretting a bit that he’s really behind. Can any reception teachers reassure me?

A word like ‘picks’ should be fairly straightforward in reception at this stage. Can he read words with digraphs or trigraphs e.g. been or light? If you look at the sounds he knows now and what the teacher has sent home, he needs to be able to read words containing most of those sounds. If he can’t sound out more than one letter at a time then he needs lots of practise until he can.

Thank you.

I’m fairly sure he couldn’t read been or light but I’d have to try him - they aren’t in the book that comes home with him. He can read picks but it isn’t consistent - it appeared on every page, he read it fine on page one and two and then seemed to zone out on page three.

It sounds like he’s quite behind, then?

My son is in reception and can’t read picks or light or been. He’s apparently on target. They’re only just one 4 or 5 letter words like stamp.

Your child sounds fine vs our schools expectations!

It’s a bit confusing. I briefly saw a book the teacher showed me and explained it was the next one up and where most of the children are - I only glanced at it but it was something about a toad in a road so I’m guessing the next step is the digraphs with ‘oa’ in, and maybe others.

I do need to do more practice with him but I worry about boring him and also it takes so long as his attention wanders!

Retired Primary School Deputy Head here.

Please don't worry about him, he's only 5. When is his birthday? Remember that one year is a fifth of the time he has been alive.

As for phonics; when he has sounded out a word, ask him to find the word on other pages in the book, so that he begins to understand that the combination of letters always says the same thing.
Perhaps if you read the book to him first, then he reads it to you, he might see the consistency better but it sounds to me, without being there, as if he is getting tired by the end of the book. School is very tiring in Reception. He will get there if he isn't put under pressure and is allowed to enjoy books just for the sake of it.

It could be that our expectations are high at this point with our phonics scheme. This is what is typical at our school and what I would be looking for by June (when we fill out the EYFS profile) that they can read 10 dugraphs in words, can technically include ss, ff, ck. I’m not saying he’s very behind there’s still lots of time for progress. I have taught children who can’t recognise all single letter sounds at this point in the year or at the end, never mind digraphs.

it can depend on so much, if he’s a younger child in the class, his ability to concentrate, desire to learn etc. for some children it takes longer. Please don’t think I’m saying he’s ‘behind’ I don’t know your son. The fact you care enough to post here means he’ll have lots of support at home, which is great. They are very young just because it takes him longer now doesn’t mean he won’t find it easier as he gets older.

@phonicsorswim it sounds like he's doing fine (I have taught phonics for many years!), he just need some more consolidation. Did they tell you which sounds he's not secure with?
With my son, I used foam bath letters (all lowercase) and each bathtime I would put 3-4 words or digraphs that he he had learnt the previous week (his school are very good at sharing this info every Friday) to get him to say them when he got in the bath. I would sometimes include a tricky word that they were learning. This is just a light touch and casual way of reinforcing the phonics learning. He's now in Y1 and I still do it lol with the sounds and words they are currently learning!

Thanks @Pearlstillsinging . That’s a really good idea. I’m worried about getting frustrated as I know it’s the worst thing you can do, but when you just want to say - it’s THERE!

He was five in December so he’s one of the older ones. He isn’t in the bottom group which is good in a way - not that it matters but I guess he has been progressing. I just fret about him falling behind with reading as it’s just so crucial.

So he does know ‘ff’ - I think; he can sound out off and huff and puff (all featured tonight!) and ss (Tess, pass, miss, mess) and ck (picks - though this was a headache!)

I do want to support him but it’s hard fitting it in as I have a two year old too and so have to read with him when she’s in bed and he’s tired then.

If he can sound and blend words such as ‘picks’ then I’d say he’s doing just fine for this point in the year. Inconsistency from a 5 year old who is tired after school and who’s lost focus is totally normal. I teach in reception part of the week and I wouldn’t be that concerned. Practice his digraphs if those are a weakness but I wouldn’t worry too much just yet.

Thank you. With tricky words I read a lot with him just for pleasure and when I come across one in the wild I get him to say it so he gets a lot of natural practice that way.

Thank you, you’re really putting my
mind at rest.

There is no should at this early stage.

Remember how some children walked long before yours? It's the same with reading.

Some countries do not even have children trying to read at this stage. And reading at home should be you reading to him and having fun with books, not assessing his abilities!

What we do to these poor wee kids is quite unbelievable ....

That’s probably a different discussion and I’m sure it has its merits but not what I’m hoping to get from the thread, if that is OK.

I would make a game. Tick off digraphs you’re working on (google phase 2 then phase 3 phonics and It'll give you a list of the order the sounds are taught in) and pick a sound to focus on. Write it on post it’s, make words in the bath or fridge, write words with the sounds for him to read with his toys etc. there are also online phonics games.

My older one struggles with reading (age 6). A few months ago I was concerned about dyslexia as she struggles to read off the page/do any sight words really. Her teacher was much less concerned but keeping an eye on it. We ended up getting a tutor and saw a lot of progress with a once weekly session over the space of a few months. A lot of it is confidence, and she doesn't like being wrong, so would almost rather not try than be corrected. We are making slow progress. Fortunately she loves books/being read to, so we are doing that and going very slow when I see a word that is easier for her to get "can you read that word?" type of thing. There are free apps which may help like Khan Academy Kids to change it up too.

I found that my son was better in the morning before school than trying in the evening. Perhaps try to do some extra practice over the Easter break when he doesn’t have school. Good luck 💐

Can I suggest that you don't worry so much about 'sounding out words' which is a very artifical way of reading, but share simple books, especially rhyming books but other predictable stories, too, such as 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', 'The Gruffalo', 'Hairy McClary from Donaldsons' Dairy'.

Read his favourite books over and over again, let him learn to say the words as you read them, point out where words are repeated, let him point to the words as you read them together. He will go through a stage of reciting the story but then he will recognise the familiar words and start to read them in other books, as well.
Phonics are actually more useful for spelling, although there are so many ways of combining letters to make a sound that even that isn't reliable. Learning to use a dictionary is actually a more useful skill.

OP, a December birthday still puts him 4 months younger than the oldest children in the class.

@Pearlstillsinging he’s been read to extensively since birth but it hasn’t translated into him reading himself. It’s obviously good in other ways as it expands vocabulary and he hears reading with expression but on its own isn’t going to teach him to read.

@Mum4MrA I agree, mornings are so much better! But the two year old just won’t leave him alone for a second!

I may look into additional support but it feels a bit overkill for reception and I don’t want to be that pushy parent or turn him off reading for life!

I think reading to children does help them learn to read. When mine were little I sometimes stopped and pointed something out ... e.g. where a double o appeared we would say the sound and hunt round for other double o instances ... it was a sort of Where's Willy game. And we would play Find the A or whatever. But all in small doses so as not to lose the story and I would stop if they seemed bored with it.
That way they connected being able to decipher the letters as giving access to real interesting stories rather than having to grind through meaningless garbage like the cat sat on the mat etc.
They need fun at that age and if they are resistant to it they need to just wait a while. No shoulds. No hurry.

My youngest taught himself pretty much using an app called Teach Your Monster to Read. It's a bit like Reading Eggs but £3 as a one off.
It was lockdown, I was stressed AF and he spent 10 minutes a day on it. Maybe you could use that in the morning before school when he's a bit more receptive?
He started school as a free reader so, to be honest, everyone anti screen can sod off 🤣🙈

Try reading practice in the morning when he is more fresh, and save after school / evenings for you reading to him, running your finger under the words, maybe asking him occasional easy words to improve his confidence?

I’m sure reading to children does teach some to read but it hasn’t for DS, and he has honestly been read to more than any other child I know! I’m an English teacher myself and reading to my children is one of my favourite things to do with them, but I’m posting specifically about phonics and the process of learning to read this way. If your child learned just by you reading to them the thread probably isn’t that relevant to you - I don’t mean that rudely, just how it is.

@JustMarriedBecca I’ve seen that on social media and The Bear Can Read, or something like that, what does it entail? I don’t mind throwing a bit of money at it, just worried I might cause confusion.

@TeenToTwenties i can try but it is difficult with the younger one in the mix! He’s pretty good at finding easy words like is and the and and, it’s more the slightly more complex digraphs he’s unsure with I think.

This child is in reception ..... he is very small and has years ahead in which ntro learn to read at the speed that is appropriate to him.

I’m sure reading to children does teach some to read but it hasn’t for DS - he may simply not be ready - to say it hasn't worked when he is presumably only 5 is not reasonable. It, and other things, will work in his own good time.

My DD's school used ReadWriteInc.
We bought the flash cards and made a postbox from a cereal packet.
Then we took the first few sounds and any she knew she could post in the box. At the end we opened the box and counted.
As she got confident with the first sounds we added more in.
It made a game and just practiced the sounds.

Younger ones could join in too depending on age.

I would look at helping him secure his knowledge of the digraphs, can he recognise these when they aren’t in the words? Pick a few to focus on each week and then help him apply them to words.

do you know which phonics scheme the school use? Most have rhymes which go with the sounds which help a lot remember them. So “oa” May be float on the moat and that can help them begin to remember the sound.