Y2- teacher assessment, can DS really improve to a 2 by end of KS1?

[Iwannabreak]

Hi there

This is my first post so here goes...

Along with every parent I spoke to whose child had this particular teacher, my son's progress was slow and painful in Year 1, partly due to her incompetence.Everyone said that they wrote the year with this teacher off!! Only found this our towards the end of the year though. Yes the alarm bells were ringing. She has since left the school at the end of the Year and his Y2 form teacher is a Y6 teacher who I suspect has a humongous task to raise standards and to bring the class up to speed before Y3 and possibly for the sats!!.

At parents evening we were told that my DS reading has improved since Oct 2009 from 1a to 2C , his Science is currently assessed at 3 however his English, Maths and RE are at level 1a.

Now that I am a bit more knowledgeable about the gradings (i.e c-a as opposed to a-c) I am now wondering whether he will, by the end of this year attain a level 2 which I understand is the average level for Y2 subjects?

I am not sure he is getting the amount of help he needs at school with the TA
( I am awaiting the Teachers confirmation and reply to me letter of yesterday expressing my concerns about what my son has said regarding the lack of assistance he receives) DS is a worrier and panics and hated it when he had to stay in to do one piece of work he hadn't finished.

I work 3 days a week and do help him with his work during the week before bedtime and weekends. Luckily he is an enthusiastic child who wants to learn and gets a lot of pleasure when he learns something knew and understands it.

I may be setting my standards high for him but my husband and I know what he can do and what he finds difficult.

Is it realistic to think that a child can jump from 1a to a 2 by July?

I have already booked for a consultation with a private tutor to assess and possibly help him.

I know he is only 6 but just fear that if he hasn't sufficiently consolidated his learning by the end of KS1, he will find the transition to Year 3 an uphill struggle.

I will appreciate your thoughts on the above,and if anyone has any experience and advice from any Y2 teachers out there and any parents who may have have been in our shoes.

Many thanks

A move from a 1A to a 2C might ( if judged purely on SATS tests) be just one mark! Children can and do make rapid progress at all points in their school education, these points just happen to occur at different times, so a child who flies through Reception, might find the transition to more formal teaching in KS1 difficult, a child who dislikes the unstructured format of a Reception class might blossom in a Yr 1 or 2 class. Similarliy the difference between children in KS1 and KS2 can be huge, some children "click" later than others- the ones you need to worry about are those who find it hard to click at all. If your child's teacher is a good one ( and I would suspect has been put there to raise standards in that year group) they will begin to know exactly what each child needs to work on to develop. This will help all the children in the class to progress. Whether your child needs additional support to this really depends on ther reasons WHY he is (only a little) behind. If it is simply the result of poor teaching, and he is a bright boy, then he will catch up rapidly. If there is an underlying problem he may well need more individual support. Personally I would consider a private tutor a little OTT at this stage but that is really a decision only you can make!

I think it is very likely that your son can go from a 1a to level 2 before the end of the school year.

As far as I remember children Y2 children are assessed on reading, writing and maths. Your son is already a level 2 for reading. In my experience writing is the hardest for children to score highly in. Most children drop a sub grade in writing, (I am sure there are some exceptions). With maths, it really depends on the child. The sample papers look horrendously difficult, but children are not expected to know everything - and anyway the actual tests are only supposed to form part of the level that is awarded.

Many thanks Primarymum and Madsometimes. It is refreshing to receive constructive, frank and honest feedback and it does give me the confidence to not be OTT at this stage ( I do agree with you about that). I believe my fears are partly based on my own childhood experience of struggling in Primary and Secondary and the culture back then in the 70's in my particular schools. Don't want to be fixated with what happened in the past with me but am trying to do the best, like we all are, to ensure our children are given the best start. By the way, on the way home tonight, I read the Evening Standard.There was a large 2 page article about the Mumsnet website and the different types of views expressed. I must say that following your feedback, I am more inclined to use this website and find it much more informative then Netmums!! Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. Kind regards.

As an ex year 2 teacher (12 years) I can say generally you hope for a child to go up a sub-grade each term, so from 1a to 2c is possible and what you would expect. Please also be aware that 1 mark can make a huge difference.
SATS are such a worry, my son did well in maths and reading but dreadfully in writing. The children are so young when they sit the SATS tests and it is very easy to take them far too seriously. My nephew did very badly in his KS1 SATS and has gone on to pass the kent test.
As for the next steps I would find out which areas of literacy your child finds difficult and support these - little and often, There are some great literacy and numeracy activities on the internet www.ictgames.co.uk has some lovely games.
Most importantly support your child gently, not too much pressure or emphasis on the SATS or you will have a 6 year old with exam stress.
I hope this was helpful

My son did not achieve average grades by the end of Yr 2, but he is now (Yr 5) beginning to move up the sets and his reading and writing has suddenly come on enormously, so I suspect we will look back on his early grades and say they didn't matter after all. It's not as if your early results are going to be brought up against you: both my children have moved up sets and had increasingly higher expectations put on them.

Thanks Livulugs and cory. Yes I am not concerned with the Sats at all only that my DS is more or less brought up to speed with his peers before he commences Y3. Thanks for the website recommendation by the way. I did write a letter to his form teacher at the start of the week and am awaiting his reply which I am sure he will note in the Homework folder tomorrow. Am hoping he will be a little more open as to my sons areas for development concerning literacy and maths. Yes I don't wish to heap any further pressure or stress upon my DS, I think I feel the pressure is on me to help him as much as I can or arrange for the extra help if necessary. We never mention sats or tests ( apart from spelling)to him although he is aware that he needs help with his literacy and maths. Luckily a Y2 teacher in our area has contacted me at my request and she is going to gently assess him and see whether his levels really require short term tuition before Y3 or not. Sort of like a 2nd opinion really although am aware she wll not have access to all of his school work.So will know by next Thursday either way. Instinct is quite strong to follow this route at the moment!!