does this sound like a report you would want?

[SaliMali1]

Hi,
Just wanted some input from wise MNers

A boy I support has social difficulties and was diognosed with attachment disorder at 4 now 6 he is coming on great guns from a behaviour POV, when he started with me in nursery he would throw chairs, hit me , kick me etc now after a great deal of very very stric behaiour managemnet systems, and clear boundries he is now sitting with the other children all the time, comes in to school and all together is a different boy.

At the end of reception is mum moved him to a different school she has mental health issues and this has a big part to play in her decistions etc. He had been to 4 pre schools before starting school.

Anyways this child finds academics difficult, not beacuse he is not bright but concetration, listening skills etc are not great but we had to change the behaviour before we looked at academic side.
Now is next challenge is developing these so that he can accss the learning better.

His school report which goes out the day before the break up of school is SO negative i felt sad. It says things like
name does not try hard in class
name hates maths and therfore does not try
name needs to put more effort into his work
name has not tried to learn any sounds this year.
name does not listen and is rude on the carpet.
name has made no progress in this area
name can't write unsupported.

To me that is awful is it bad or the norm?
Sorry about spelling its been a long long long day

Yes that does sound negative. Were there any positive bits in it?

Does the school realise he has SN and is seeing you? doesn't sound like it from the report?

Agree with tribunalgoer that it could help if you wrote a counterbalancing report re the massive improvement in his behaviour.

yes there were positives,
ie maths:
names can when he wants to count in 10s to 100
name however does not try as it appears he does not like the subject as he often switches off.
name is better with practical maths.

I am his LSA BTW- I wish I could but my hands are tied, plus I am the only one who has worked with him since he was 4

The extracts you've shared make it sound like an incredibly negative report

I'm a fan of writing honest and useful reports (there's no point pretending that X is a budding mathematician if s/he is struggling with number bonds to 10 because s/he spends maths time throwing blutak at other children) as I think it's important that the parents and next year's teachers have an accurate picture of each child's progress. I also think that reports can often contradict the anecdotal reports we teachers make to parents and if parents/teachers have concerns about a child's development then to ignore anything which relates to those concerns is also, in my opinion, wrong.

In general I'd include a sentence about overall performance e.g. X is currently performing well above/above/at/slightly below/below the level expected of a pupil in Year X. Followed by phrases relating to things we've learnt about this year and how X is coping with these e.g. with adult support X is able to count in 10s/X is able to use co-ordinates to both plot and find positions on a grid/X is beginning to use his/her multiplication knowledge when solving word problems. I'd also include comments on attitude towards each subject e.g. X finds maths particularly stressful but has made excellent progress by asking for help and is now beginning to join in with small group tasks independently. The other thing I always try to include is something about what will help the child make progress e.g. to continue making progress X needs to use a small whiteboard to practise answers/needs to try to volunteer to answer one question a day (in a small group) or X needs to keep his hands and feet to himself!

I think it's about balance. A report shouldn't all be negative but it needs to address areas of concern whilst also celebrating each child's achievements and progress.

As a child of two teachers and a parent of three children I am amazed you are allowed to write reports that say that stuff. Our main bugbear is that DS (ASD) nursery records are only allowed to say positive things and not record his difficulties. I did not think you were allowed to write negatives - and yes of course you should celebrate the positive.

The only rationale for writing a report is if you are trying to get him statemented / get extra support - is there a hidden agenda. Otherwise it seems very harsh and not my experience of the norm at all.

in my reports I would only write positives...what children could do...other teachers can then read between the lines...what is left out says it all, there is no need to put negative things