End of reception reading level

[Cleosinsttropez]

Hello!

My son finished reception on Oxford Reading Tree level 7/Turquoise reading band. We’ve continued reading with him over the holidays and have worked our way through the library’s turquoise collection.

I was googling to see what the next level is so I could buy him some books when I came across the attached reading guide. I was quite surprised to see turquoise band is the level for the end of year 1.

I was wondering how accurate this guide is? Trying to establish if the chart is about right or, in practice, most children go beyond this and it’s a base level?

For context, my son turned 5 a few days ago, he’s one of the youngest in his year. He is at a private school where they read with them individually 4 times a week, we read with him too. His report was excellent but there were no comments specific to reading other than he’s coming along well.

I am friendly with other parents but I don’t particularly want to message them to ask what reading level their kids are on, I don’t want to come across a competitive parent but I’m just interested to try and gauge his level, especially compared to his autumn/winter born peers, if he is actually quite far ahead, or if this is relatively standard.

Would appreciate if any teachers had any input or how this tallies with your reception/year 1 age child.

Many thanks 😊

Yes state seem to have no suggested minimum for things like reading with teacher/ta or number of books. Similar with homework/marking.

Great list.

I’d also throw in: John Burningham, Anthony Browne, (we have been reading Little Frida a lot this week) and Matty Long.

If DC read with parents every night, teachers don’t need to check out reading every day. My state educated dc had a much better and varied reading experience in YR and Y1 than my privately educated DD did.

State educated DD1 had free choice of book every week from the school library and in YR, aged 4 (August birthday) chose the Diary of Samuel Pepys published by Ladybird. She could not read much of it, but great for discussion. Similar books followed. We went to our local library and picked out all sorts of early reader books. We were pre the phonics regime thank God. DD could recognise her breakthrough words (140 of them I think?) after 1 term and a bit and we also introduced her to poetry. Stuff decoding. Read for fun.

If it helps for comparison purposes, my summer born boy was on orange (band 6) at the end of reception and my autumn born girl was a free reader at the end of reception, and both were considered to be advanced by the school.

They are at a state primary and had 1-1 reading maybe once a month or even less in the case of DD. If I was paying for private education and having the kids read daily then I’d absolutely expect them to be further ahead with reading!

Theres no need to discuss it with other parents and it doesn’t matter what band he is on now - with a boy id suggest working on his writing and just keeping going with the reading as you are.

Mine was a free reader by then end of reception as well, I really wouldn’t worry about it tbh, some kids pick it up faster than others. I would make sure he’s reading other stuff as well, we tend to buy a lot of books for her because we aren’t near a library. I think just encouraging reading broadly is a good idea.

Definitely focus on writing, DD always lagged on that (because she’s a bit lazy tbh).

I am a primary teacher- not reception though. The class will be at a, wide range of levels. Turquoise is good but not exceptional.

@harrietm87 Why? Doesn’t make the reading better! In DD1’s state primary class 4 went to Oxbridge. Parents didn’t demand teacher heard reading every day. I heard DDs read every day! Fortunately before boring phonics was thrust upon us so we had a marvellous array of books. If a teacher hearing reading every day meant privately educated dc were ahead of the DC at state primary, they would all be at top unis wouldn’t they? But they aren’t because they just don’t have the same intelligence and the teacher hears reading for just a few minutes anyway . I did far more!

It’s a myth that parents choose preps to get dc “ahead” as well. There’s other considerations. I don’t believe a teacher hearing reading every day makes any difference at all. The difference is the culture of reading at home and how good the child is as reading. There’s a range of ability. At the best preps there’s fewer struggling but the parents tend to be high achieving and take education seriously.

My DD was on Yr 1 books by the end of Reception and then by the beginning on Year 2 was on the free readers scheme.

She had a reading group at school of 4 or 5 children who were all on the same band. So not massively unusual. Some kids are just natural readers.

We pretty much started to ignore the school book by the middle of Year 1 (bar reading the minimum required) because she found them boring and tried to encourage her reading at home. She's now on full chapter books and reads by herself. Her current favourite books are the Captain Underpants ones by Carl Pilkington and the Danger Gang by Tom Fletcher.

We don't test comprehension really, I ask her about the book though (like I would ask my DH about his book) and she tells me the story line and her favourite characters and why, so I assume she's taking it in properly.

You’re wasting your money at that private school! My DD finished reception before the summer too and she read 1-to-1 every day. Her school doesn’t use the Oxford system, she’s on level 19 of a different system, but she can read pretty fluently out loud and can handle longer words with multiple syllables. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day, some kids are behind, some are ahead. They all catch up with each other eventually. It doesn’t necessarily mean a kid who’s on an advanced reading level early is extra smart, they may just have better concentration at an earlier age, they may especially like reading etc

As a teacher I think it’s important to check comprehension as children can often decode at a higher level than their comprehension level. I would try to read as many non scheme books with your child as possible and work on comprehension rather than pushing through levels.

Hello

My son is a year older than yours. The really exciting moment is when they start reading independently for pleasure. The books (or comics) which really kick started his love of reading were

• Beano Comic
• Dogman series
• 13th storey treehouse series

Lots of others but these made the biggest impact in spurring him onwards. He also loves reading children’s encyclopaedias and fact books (inside the body, my first nature book, etc).

Enjoy!

@MeetMeOnTheCorner where we are in London most of the preps advertise on the basis that they are working one full year ahead of the National curriculum across all subjects, to leave more room for extension and other activities as the kids go up through the school, and later 11+ practice, and certainly that includes pushing the kids ahead with reading in the early years. My niece is at one and the daily reading is a big part of how they market their services to parents.

Im not saying it’s necessary or advisable or that it has any relevance to Oxbridge applications (!) but it’s definitely a thing.

It sounds about right for private school op - which can differ a lot from the guidance.

What I would say, though, with dc further through the system now, is don't get caught up in the "Big Race." It is good to support your child's learning, but truly the best way is by supplementing what they get at school, not by pushing ahead along the school syllabus. The syllabus is what it is, but not the be and end all, and school doesn't have much time these days to enrich beyond it.

FWIW the dc I know who were pushed ahead with the reading books etc have mostly fallen behind by around the end of prep school, as natural intelligence and "deeper" learning starts to outpace that approach. If you are in the private system, a huge part of senior school placement will turn on the CATS testing or similar aptitude tests. They will all have finished the reading books by then and noone much remembers or cares who finished what when,

Just let them have a childhood. Talk about interesting things at the dinner table, visit interesting places, build deep learning into their homelife rather than bringing schoolwork home too fervently.

ETA The reading books are written in a certain way to cover specified vocabulary etc. It is also really useful to read books that were written with different objectives in order to give them exposure to a less stilted style of writing from an early age. One of the most inspiring teachers I have encountered along the way said that parents reading to dc was equally or more important than reading books in terms of the development of comprehension and listening skills and laying the groundwork for style. I'd honestly just let the school do whatever with the banded books and read them proper literature.

@harrietm87 They might well market that but it’s not vital and nor is working ahead of the curriculum. It’s just to draw in the gullible. One of mine went to a top achieving girls prep (getting scholarships to WA and CLC for example) and this rubbish was never mentioned to parents. They did not follow the national curriculum and had a fairly long day but much longer holidays! Plenty of time built in for enrichment because the days were longer. They did have bright dc but were not selective and still are not. It suits busy pushy parents to come out what this stuff but state dc are not left to rot. However parents need to have more input and the majority get it. I know London 11 plus is another world and we are only 30 miles from that madness but the Oxbridge dc were not behind anyone at 5 years old or indeed at 11. I know they all got top scores in our 11 plus and none, none, had tuition!

This is all neither here nor there. OP is paying for private school and so - I would expect - their aim will be to get the kids working ahead of age-related expectations in state schools. In which case it should be no surprise OP’s child is working ahead of age-related expectations in state schools.

I think at this age there is a big difference on reading levels and it gets less as they get older. Some kids progress faster at a younger age and then others later catch up. Your dc is def ahead at his age, but this does not always mean much for later years. I have seen children way ahead for reading at a young age only for them to fall behind in school later for whatever reason. It also depends on how much extra reading parents/teachers are doing with the kids. My older two dc were both on level 4 when the finished reception....but we were also quite relaxed with the reading at home that age. We spent far more time playing in the park then doing homework. They both ended up being in the top end of their class at the end of primary and going to highly selective secondary private schools.

One of my dc was still on single word flash cards and 3 words max on a page books which she couldn’t read going into year one , lilac band. The other was reading full chapter books having breezed through the whole scheme before starting school (she started in year one due to a house move and went straight onto free reading) same genes, so different! It doesn’t actually matter, that very slow reader has a far more complex degree and responsible job, incredibly clever but very slow off the blocks back aged 5.

that very slow reader has a far more complex degree and responsible job, incredibly clever but very slow off the blocks back aged 5.

Absolutely this.

So often very bright dc are not all that cooperative with the very rigid way they are introduced to learning. It isn't a one size fits all system, and it tends to fit the middle band - which makes sense - better than either end.

@harrietm87 In that case, it’s utterly ludicrous and she’s been duped.

@SamPoodle123 I hate to break this to you, but some dc never catch up! Thats why plenty of dc struggle to access the curriculum at secondary. Any chat with a teacher in a primary school in y5 or y6 will tell you the effort that teachers over years have put into reading. It’s not succesful for some dc as they struggle with many areas of learning and interventions have not moved the needle much, even with supportive parents. If these dc were in a private school, it would be the same outcome.

Yes but in a way I think you and @SamPoodle123 are making the same point: much of this is just innate.

ETA I do think dc who genuinely struggle benefit from input; I just don't think taking the average dc and pushing them hard will turn them into a genius. It just robs them of hours of childhood and creates pressure they can't live up to once innate abilities kick in a bit more. Prep school syllabuses are very "gameable."

Thank you all for the input. Just want to be clear that we do plenty of non banded reading, I borrowed banded books from the library as a way to try and maintain reading level with phonics over the holidays. In any case, my son has genuinely enjoyed reading these books, it’s books like Goldilocks and the 3 bears. I wouldnt want him to read things he’s not enjoying, as he likes reading and I don’t want to kill his love for it. I’m not trying to blast through the curriculum and we do plenty of other enrichment- we’re lucky enough to be a few tube stops from the museums, so we do plenty of visits, plus theatre trips, park trips, skiing, football, gymnastics, plenty of crafting, board games, indulging his love of space etc. I am also aware this isn’t indicative of overall intellect, at age 11 no one cares who read the word “delicious” first! I’m just trying to place where he is now, especially as I’m conscious that he’s an August born boy.

As for private school, we are on the waiting list for local states. We made an application to 6 state schools and we were one of the unlucky 4% of the borough who didn’t get any of the schools we applied for. Despite having 8 schools in 15 minute walking distance, we were given a school in borough but a half an hour drive away. This school was our back up as I’d like to stay local, we didn’t choose it for daily reading (having said that I didn’t think the state schools we viewed did enough reading, but that’s another thread!) but we are happy enough with it!

Edit- @Calliopespa I can’t tell if you’re talking generally, or you think by reading banded books over the summer holiday I’m pushing hard? We have read the school books throughout the year sent home as part of the homework, outside of that we do plenty of other “fun” reading as my son enjoys it. I’m aware of the summer slide, so we continued with the band reading. If my son gave me any push back we’d stop, but he enjoys reading and I think he enjoys seeing he’s made progress.

@imisscashmere thank you! We actually went to see Dog Man the musical 3 weeks ago, I’ve read one of the books to him since, he hasn’t wanted to read it himself yet. Beano! I will google now as I haven’t seen it irl but I used to love when I was a child- thank you!

Yes, exactly. Some dc progress quicker earlier and then nothing etc. That is why don't compare yourself to others or you will just worry. The fact that so many come on here saying their dc were free readers after year 1 is my point. That would worry me if I did not already have 2 kids go through it (my third is currently going into year 2). Some kids will struggle throughout school, some will be late bloomers, some will peak early etc. The main thing is just support them the best you can.

I'm just talking generally really. I have seen lots of real intensity around these early years and it isn't fair on parents or dc to facilitate (and I think some schools DO, esp in the private sector where they want short term results) the notion that this early success is somehow going to sky rocket them on a longer term trajectory.

I have seen it become really detrimental to some dc who seem very fast out of the starting gate with lots of input being put in and lots of hype being built up round their abilities and then it all goes a bit flat down the line as others overtake and the momentum relies on different skills. That can be extremely hard on the individual child.

So I guess I am talking generally but also giving a word of caution! Being very chill is a great thing at this stage!

Please do NOT read any more ORT books at home. Either take him to the library or to a good children's bookshop and let him choose from the excellent selection of attractive books, fiction and non-fiction, that will be available there.
Reading isn't about how quickly you can move through artificial levels if a reading scheme but should be about the joy of books. He now needs to read something like "Not Noe Bernard" by David McKee and decide whether the monster is real or a figment if Bernard's imagination.
I have to say that if I were paying for my child's education, I would expect better than ORT for learning to read.