Year 1 attainment levels

[lulu2]

had parents evening last night and i asked dd's teacher what level she is at. Teacher told me that they don't mark them on those levels and my dd is where she needs to be.
What does this mean? I thought all primary schools assessed their pupils on the national curriculum levels 1-7.
I am confused.

Is it a state school? sounds a bit odd, thought they graded them as you say. Do they think its too early in KS1 to give your dd a level? I was told at the end of reception where my DD was. Think we need a teacher on here to give you an answer.

Dd1's school has never given out levels until they've done yr2 sats. Don't put the pressure on them. If the teacher said she's doing fine and you think she's ok then that's enough surely.

I'm a primary school teacher and although KS1 isn't really my thing I do know that in the schools I've taught in we don't make a big song and dance over 'levels'.

At this stage in Y1 many of the class may still be working towards the early learning goals of the EYFS and won't be assessed using the National Curriculum levels yet. It's not something to worry about especially if the teacher has said she is where she needs to be - if she had concerns about your DD's learning she would have said so.

One of the many problems with NC levels is that they reduce children's learning and achievements to simple numbers which will never truly reflect what they get up to in school. The other problem is that parents and children can become very attached to/obsessed by the levels and what that means in terms of how their child compares to the national average which is a shame. Personally I'm not that bothered about my own 5-year-old DD's level but then I have no desire to compare her to a national average - as I say to my Y5/6 classes, averages can be misleading as they mask a lot of true data.

I'd encourage you to trust the teacher on this and, if you want more information about what your DD's working towards then ask for her targets/next steps so you can support her with these at home - knowing the levels won't help with this.

Agreed that they are probably not helpful, what I find even less helpful are the predicted grades at the end of year one which our primary gave us on the term one report. I appreciate that teachers probably are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Of course first I freak out DS is working at a W+, I then check out what work at 1B (predicted end of year grade) looks like, on the National Strategy website, and decide that the goal should be more ambitious, he's doing 'better' work than that currently and so on. I imagine lots of parents have lots of similar 'conversations' with teachers which must be very irritating.

I don't like the 'prescriptiveness' of KS1 or the fact that subtle or not so subtle 'streaming' often happens on the back of these attainment levels and then people gradually begin to talk about 'ability' rather than current 'attainment' - I see it on here all the time. The age of the child isn't factored into KS1 levels either? I worry then when I read comments here about the 'bright ones and 'slow' ones. I worry about self fulfilling prophecies and loss of confidence.

I would prefer that we didn't have attainment levels given out but were told generally how we could support our children's learning or something similar.

thanks for replies. Yes it is a state primary.

The thing is by saying dd is where she needs to be doesn't mean that she is working to her full potential does it?

No, but then giving you a level only tells you where she is - I don't see what that has to do with potential.

Is she bored? Finding the work too easy?

Levels are for the senior managers in school, Ofsted and the number crunchers in the Local Authority. Of course the teacher knows what level the children are at - it will inform her planning and all the other paperwork which has to be put before the inspectors if and when they arrive. But it is not the 'level' which shows how easily a child learns, whether their self confidence allows them to ask, investigate and experience the joy of learning. If the teacher tells one parent what level their 5 year old is at, all of a sudden the playground competition begins... and who gains in that battle? Not the child! Its bad enough with who is reading which books without setting the mums up for another competition!.
If you want to help your dd, don't fret about her level, chat with the teacher to see what would be helpful to do at home and make sure that social events, physical games and fun don't get forgotten.

lulu2 if they gave you a couple of numbers and letters would you be any the wiser about whether she is working to her full potential?

Please help. I was talking to my son's teacher on Friday. She told me that he is currently working on 1a (for everything). He is currently in Year 1 with the last term still to go. He started in Year 1 having been scored 7 on the Learning Goals scale in everything. Will he be on target when he leaves Year 1 and then by the end of Year 2????

1A is where he should be at the end of year1.

so he is working ahead of himself atm.

Did the teacher seem pleased with him?

You sound worried. He is 6 and as long as he is happy I really would not worry.

I am not worried, he is still only 5 as he doesn't make 6 until July. The teacher I feel initially let him down and didn't push him to his full potential now I feel she is working with his ability. What I am worried about is him losing this love of learning and therefore turning off. I know his ability but she seems to doubt it quit a bit - I know home is different to school but he is able but I didn't feel he was being challenged in any way. He is a great reader and is reading Year 3 books. I am thinking ahead so at to prepare and look for secondary schools as we don't have great ones around us and I want to try and ensure that he is given every opportunity to achieve and to HIS full potential, it doesn't matter what level it is just so that he achieves as he is able and of course is happy. Thank you collision for your answer.

I would say that going from level 7 on eyfs to 1a at this stage is excellent progress.