DD6 has just told me that she is now in a group for people who need extra learning support and I am gutted

[conniedescending]

can anyone help me with this and am also suprised by the strength omy reaction

dd is 6 and in year 1. I knew she was 'behind' on was reading and was quite slow to grasp it and then reluctant to read but she has really imprved recently and seems to now 'get it'. However,the teacher still said she was 2 bands behind where she should be at this stage.

Her writing is also not where it should be but I'm not sure how her writing should be? She does alot of free writing and her spelling is awful and she doesn;t stick to the lines and her letters are either really big of really little but if you sit with her and remind her about taking her time, finger spaces etc you get a huge improvement.

At last parent evening they said her maths was ok but she has told me she now needs extra help with everything. A group called ELS?? Is this extra learning support or something? She's very upset that her friends get harder work.

She has always been a bit of a late developer apart from with speech which was very early. She takes a while to grasp things and doesn't like to try somethingif she can;t do it but once she's got it she's got it. I'm worried that she'sbeen labelled now and I can't understand why she has been selected as needing extra help. She seems a very bright girl to me and is interested and inquisitive about things and understands difficult concepts.

Can anyone give me some words of wisdom - I feelabit shocked that it appears not just her reading is behind but everything. Her writing looks tome just like evryone elses in her class - no worse at all.

try not to panic - don't see it as a "label" or some sort of set in stone verdict on her academic abilities - just a sign that she's finding reading difficult and needs a wee bit of extra support - far better that school is on the case now, than that it is allowed to drift. bear in mind as well that in other european countries they probably wouldn't even be starting to learn to read till now - that 4/5 is younger than we think to start picking up reading.

I wouldn't worry, my dd1 was in a similar position in year 2. She is now in top groups for all her subjects a few years later. Perhaps without the additional support she wouldn't be were she is now, so I'd welcome it tbh.

mine were all on this at some point at primary school.

DS2 is still on it and is still behind (he is 7) but all my others have caught up and are average or above in all subjects. It is frustrating and makes you feel awful for a while but hopefully the extra help will help her to keep up and she may only need to be on the extra learning support for a couple of terms.
HTH

sounds like you need more info from the teacher - e.g. as to whether it's the content of the writing they are more concerned about than the neatness etc.

ELs is extra support for the children who have got it a bit, but aren't moving on as quickly as they might. I think the main emphasis is on writing. It's a very structured programme run by a TA for Y1's

It may be a shock, but it will be very beneficial for her - it's not about how bright they are, more about improving their writing. She sounds like she is ready for it and it will help her get more independent.

She hasn't been 'labelled' now, don't worry.

I don't think you should be gutted, you should be glad she's getting extra help, that will benefit her. It doesn't mean she's not a bright girl, just that she'll get extra help to realise her full potential.

She hasn't been 'labelled' now, don't worry.

I don't think you should be gutted, you should be glad she's getting extra help, that will benefit her. It doesn't mean she's not a bright girl, just that she'll get extra help to realise her full potential.

I'm not sure about the content - she wriets stories etc but seems to think faster than she can write so it's a bit garbled on paper but if you sit with her prompt her to slw down she can get her ideas down better.

I suppose I should be thankful she's getting help but it's frustrating when I'm not sure why. She whizzes through her reading books at home and is still stuck on the same band. I have no idea why as she can read most of the kids books we have to me - she sounds out some of the words but also recognises lots.

I guess I'm panicking because I think she'll be stuck and labelled now.

All children could de with a bit of extra writing help in year 1, so I tihnk you should count your DD as very lucky to be getting this opportunity.

Learning support can be for 6 weeks, 6 months or needed forever. Some children just need a leg up for a while, a bit of extra support.
It depends what the needs of your child are. Early intervention is so much more effective than later on, and I think it's good that the school have spotted her early and are acting on it.

'She does a lot of free writing and her spelling is awful and she doesn't stick to the lines and her letters are either really big of really little but if you sit with her and remind her about taking her time, finger spaces etc you get a huge improvement.'

So, with support she will have small group or individual assistance, and will hopefully make significant progress.
It's always difficult communicating a child's needs sensitively to a parent, especially if you're trying to explain that a child isn't peer-equivalent and needs more help.
A bright, chatty, inquisitive child can still struggle with literacy, a very literate child can be confused with maths. A mathematical child can be disastrous with art and motor control.
If you can face the idea calmly and be willing to be a part of the support, then everyone will benefit. Most of all, your daughter.

thankyou bigtilly for clarifying what ELS is - that is helpful.

and thank you all for being the voice of reason. I feel a bit guitly that I don't do more literacy with her at home - can anybody suggest things I could do to help with this? Are there any resources on the internet?

connie, how about making an appointment to talk to the teacher about your concerns?

I panic every now and then with regards DS and the extra support he gets at school, but as soon as I've talked to the teacher I feel reassured once again that she really does know my DS and know what will help him progress and learn more.

ELS stands for Early Literacy Support and is a group of 6 children who have about 20mins a day with a classroom assistant working on reading, writing and spelling. It's fab!!! I am a year 1 teacher and we call it the elves group and all of the kids in the class want to be in the elves group!!!

The children chosen are those who are working slightly behind the majority of the class but who are showing signs of being ready to catch up with that little bit of extra support.

They use a puppet and tell stories, write stories, read stories, reorder words to make a sentence, write instructions, match pictures to words games, play little word games, practis letter formation, handwriting and spelling etc... they should have an activity to bring home regularly for example one was matching pictures to words, like a picture of a cat and the word cat. My kids loved this and the whole class ended up making their own personal games to play!!! The new words that the children learn in els should match to the ones the class will be working on the following week.

It is a slightly odd time of year to start the group, would normally be January.

Dont worry - its fun and 90% of the children that i have put in els have caught up with the rest of the class by the end of year 2 after the els in y1 and a bit more extra support in y2

connie, TBH I'd suggest just letting her play at home, no need to give the girl too much work.

Encourage things like free writing by providing a variety of resourses (lined books, notebooks, post-it notes, postcards etc.) for her to use if she wants to, but don't lay on extra work for her, she gets enough of that at school.

By the time she's 18 it won't have mattered anyway, so just let her play.

ELS is a lovely structured programme for 'Early Literacy Support' with lots of games and use of puppets, etc. Your daughter's friends will be envious, because they'll all want the special attention and to do the fun activities! It is great that the school is doing this in Y1 - a real plus point to help children catch up in a fun way.

(I know it's hard not to be upset....)

I agree withe veryone else that it's not a huge thing, far better to deal with it in year 1 than have it missed until later.

DS2 receives help at this level and it's not that he isn't bright, he really isa dn that's obvious, it just doesn't translate into written schoolwork atm (school suspect adhd and dyspraxia, i think no on the adhd probably on dyspraxia).

The one thing that's really dragged ds2 p is finding a series of books he loves and is happy to read a lot, he still can't spell but it's helped the reading enormously.

thankyou so much

feeling much happier about it - it sounds like fun. I had visions that she was constantly in a separate group.

she has lots of writing books and enjoys writing stories so I'll just continue with that

One of my brother's didn't read before he is 9. He was a very late developer. He got a 1st degree and is now a university-lecturer. One of the problems is that in the UK children start too early and many parents think its really important to learn everything really early on.

Little things amde a diffence with our boys

werebalanced the budgets and made books an essential 9not always possible I know)

When we go away, first sto we make is to a bookshopp to make a big deal opf each cholosing our holiday book

It completely readjusts the images of reading, particualrly important for boys as I have I think.

I only got Dh reading two years ago mind, and his written language has jumped massively in that time, so if it works at 37.....

Ds had extra learning support and it was great; gave him a chance to learn at his pace rather than constantly feeling frustrated.

I was thrilled when my DS got extra help-the whole point is that it will help her catch up. There is no need to feel gutted-just be pleased that the school is doing something while she is very young.

Connie please don't feel it's a label. It's just some extra help to support her learning.

It's a Good Thing (not a good thing if her learning is a bit behind, but a good thing she is getting extra help). Imagine if she needed help but there was no resource available? You'd be fed up then, and rightly so.

Please try to see this as a positive move - and it may well be very temporary.

Also a Y1 teacher, and can only echo what others have said, particularly charliejess22. It is a great program, and can help children to make dramatic improvements. For some children it gives them the confidence to start flying with their reading and writing, with others, it just gives them that extra bit of attention and practice.
I really wish we could put many more students on this program! In our school, 6-8 children are taken out of class for about 15 minutes every day. There is never a feeling from the other children that they are 'different' or 'bad' or anything like that. There are many many intervention programs that are run in schools, and I would say about 50% of the class are taken out briefly at some point or another for various intervention programs.
One aspect of ELS that is crucial is the home involvement, so sitting with your child and helping her do the associated homework is super!
Do ask the teacher to be more specific about what needs improvement, I am sure she/he will be happy that you are interested!