The National Strategies Primary Framework for Literacy & Mathematics

[mummytippy]

Hi There
My DS has a SEN and is in year 4. He's recently completed the National Strategies Framework Assessment (Writing). My DS is in a Year 3/4 class but as said is a year 4. He has scored 'secure 2 / High 2' ... although at the bottom of the assessment sheet it say 'Overall Assessment Tick one box only'. Can someone please tell me whether this is poor/average or good considering his year group. He is nine in July. The school are saying he's on level with his peers but surely it's about his own individual targets etc.
My DS has had a Dyslexia Assessment done (2013) and a Dyslexia progress assessment done (2014) as he struggles with reversal of letters and numbers and has issues with spellings too. In contrast to this he's an excellent reader. I really need to know where he should be at in relation to this assessment and his age/year group as I personally think his result is poor and would like to know where he should be result wise. Anyone in a teaching capacity/tutor or similar who could comment... it would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Bumping as I have a similar situation with my yr3 dd

Bumping as I have a similar situation with my yr3 dd

A secure 2 would be the expectation for end of year 2, with a high 2 being the lower end of what you might expect a child to be achieving at the end of year 3. Assuming linear progress (big assumption) you would expect roughly secure 3 at end of year 4.

Apart from that, the strategies were shelved in 2010 (maybe a bit later) and we have had a new curriculum from Sept 2014 with higher expectations. So a secure/high 2 is further behind than it would have been. He's certainly not on a level with his peers as far as I can tell.

Thank you Rafals...

Just as I thought.

I have serious concerns my son hasn't been and isn't being supported adequately enough at his school. I only came to see the assessment paper as it was stuck inside his literacy book and I found it on parent consultation day in March. I knew my son had done the assessment as my son was concerned he hadn't done well. He was comparing himself with other children. I raised this concern with the Senco a few days after it was completed. She said she'd ask my DS's class teacher. When I didn't hear anything, I sent a polite email chaser but haven't had a reply and this was again in March.

I was told about the change in the curriculum (higher expectations) by my son's maths teacher at the parent consultation mid March (in which he also struggles).

Now I don't know what to do. I'm due to go back to Court over custody matters and my DS's fathers opinion is our DS is doing well at this school. He said 'He's come on leaps and bounds' which I strongly disagree with. He will say my son will find a school change detrimental. Prior to this school my son was at a prep school and had an IEP in place which was worked on at least three times per week. This school was coming to a natural conclusion last July at the end of year 3 but then my DS's father applied for custody.

Is there a way I can get a professional person to confirm what you have said? I was going to ask the Dyslexia Institute for their view on matters. Their reports were given to the school (by myself) but I have seen no evidence of how the school have implemented any of the Dyslexia Institutes recommendations.

I voiced my concerns to my solicitor and she asked the Head to complete a report (in April). She agreed at first but recently came back with 'All children will be issued with reports at the end of term'. By this point it will (in my view) be too late as I won't be able to discuss anything the report says.

Thank you.

Here is the report (With name etc removed).

Sorry, this fell off my TIO. That is the APP grid in that photo. Do you know when that assessment was done?

I was about to ask if you knew why one box was ticked with the highlighter, then a second box was ticked, but I see you asked that in your OP. The only thing I can think of is that the initial judgement was done by the person who high lighted it and who thought it was a secure 2. It may then have been moderated with other teachers who decided it was actually a high 2.

I'm sorry I can't help with how to get someone professional to back you up. The Dyslexia Institute might if you have used them before. You might be able to find something from an official government document that gives the expected levels at end of yr 2 and year 6. There isn't really any official guidance as to expected levels for the end of other years.

Thank you Rafals

The assessment was done 24.02.15.

I think you may be right on the reasons for 2 boxes being ticked but as I've said in my OP I am still waiting to be told the result by the school. Comunication back from the school is certainly not the best.

I have been in touch with the Dyslexia Institute and they have said my DS can have a further planning screening interview as 6 months has passed since the last one (last done Oct last year). I'm hoping to make that happen as I really want to know honestly where my DS is at. A big part of me doesn't trust the school and I genuinely think they are just fence sitting as they know that there's going to be a Court hearing regarding custody if my DS.

I am just about to put another post on regarding the lack of comms from the school and my concerns as the last thing I want is my DS failing educationally and the Judge having reason to think I haven't pressed enough for the answers from the school or the Head.

Ideally I want to talk to my son's class teacher (who did the assessment below) and his Maths teacher. Only 2 and a bit weeks of school left.

I know you don't know my DS, but what chance would there be of him completing much more of the next level since February?

Thank you in advance.

It's more than possible that he could have made a sublevel progress since then. Which would put him within level 3. Probably on the lower side but roughly in line with what most schools would see as a normal range of achievement for the end of year 4.

As it's the lower end of normal achievement, they'd need to keep an eye to make sure he doesn't slip behind, but he would have been on track to achieve level 4 at ks2 if that still existed.

That's not to say there is definitely no problem. There might still be some specific issues or he might have made no progress since then. But I'm not sure you can use that assessment from Feb to show that he is behind at the moment without some extra information.

Thank you Rafals

I think the school have made a big thing out of the Nat Cur changing and that not as much is expected from the children because too much is being expected too quickly from them if that makes sense.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a sub level increase? Is it a proportion of how many boxes at level 3? Sorry, so many questions. I just want to sound like I have a vague idea when I speak to My DS's class teacher!

Regards

MummyTippy

Sorry should have explained. there are 8 levels, numbered from 1 to 8. As you can see from that sheet, each level has a description of the things a child working at that level can do/ is learning to do.

Because they are quite broad and don't really show progress over a short period of time they've artificially been split into 3 sublevels. You'll either see this as 3c, 3b, 3a etc or low, secure, high. It just refers to the number of criteria from a level that a child can do. So a low 3 or 3c might be able to do all the level 2 stuff and a few of the level 3 things confidently. Or most of the level 3 stuff but not particularly confidently. A high 3 or 3a will be able to do almost all the level 3 stuff confidently and maybe 1 or 2 things from level 4.

It's not an exact science and there can be variation in how it is done. Which is probably why you have 2 ticks in that bottom row.

Thank you Rafals that has helped me understand it a lot more and will help when I speak to my DS's class teacher tomorrow.

It would also be helpful if the National Curriculum could remain consistent too. I've also found it difficult not just because of the residency circumstances but because my DS's foundation was achieved at a prep school with a class size of 13. There was a lot of 1:1 work done with my DS within the school and they were working at a slightly higher level.
This combined with myself not now being able to work with him on school nights and the new school's relaxed attitude to homework seems to have allowed any advantage he may have had to have slip further.

Thank you for your time, you knowledge and advise is much appreciated.

I spoke to my DS's class teacher and she was very guarded when I asked about progress. She described his progress as 'gradual' and said that he was in the middle of the class and that there were children far worse than him in the class. She also said he only had a SEN because he'd attended a private school previously? And had he attended the present school from the start he would not have had a SEN? The school seem to be hung up on the fact he attended a prep school. If I'm honest I really feel the school has a problem with me when all I've done is be genuinely concerned and have communicated with everyone politely. I feel like I've been pacified.

When I asked about a copy of my DS's report she said it would be posted to me at the end of term. This was frustrating as she'd said they were all complete. She also said my DS's class was due to do another writing assessment last week so my plan is to speak to her again on Monday as she said nothing about when the results would be disclosed. I advised her I was waiting for an appointment from the Dyslexia Istitute to come through.

The Dyslexia Institute have offered my son a further progress assessment based on what I've told them but my DS's father won't give me permission to take my DS as it means a couple of hours out of school and because there's a Contact Order in place I need his permission.

My DS's father has had his solicitor send me a letter which quotes the Head of the school as saying further external assessments are unnecessary but the Head has not said this directly to me. I feel this has been done because my DS's father knows the Dyslexia Institute can discredit the school.

I feel so frustrated and feel like my hands are tied when all I want is the best for my DS.

I have parental responsibility for my DS and so any advice on where to go from here would be very welcome. Thank you.