This is a hard one and not one that I wwould have liked to have found myself in.
My son is a Summer born boy and just finishing his first year in Reception. He can be a little shy but once warmed up he is very confident. I have been on maternity leave this year so I've had the oppurtunity to work loads with him at home. I am an experinced Early Years Teacher who has been working between Reception and year 1 for 7 years so feel I know the framework fairly well. My son is definitely not exceeding in any areas but I would have put him at expected for most of the 17 areas bar writing.
I have attended all parents, evenings, workshops, events, trips and specifically asked his teacher if he felt he was due to meet expected and if he was on track and I have always been told yes. Parent's evenings have been short and I always felt he didn't really talk about my son specifically, we were all handed a generic work sheet. I wasn't too impressed with their record keeping. My son has a topic book, it very generic and you can't really build up a picture of the child from it as there is not one qoute or observation. I presumed there must be observations elsewhere ie 2simple and it would be shared with us at the end of the year. But I was always respectful and made sure we were both on the same page. There never was any concerns about my son other than he can lack in confidence but is improving. His teacher is rather awkward and doesn't really talk to parents and avoids eye contact. I know everyone is different. Again I just brushed it off and presumed his skills must lie in the classroom as it is a reputable school.
Imagine my horror when I read my sons report, it didn't sound like him and he was put in emerging for all area's bar technology. I am in total shock.
My son came into Reception on track. I asked after the Baseline Assessments and was told he was on track. I asked at both Parent's Evenings and told he was on track. I am appauled by the lack of communication.
It's left me asking these questions. Why was this never communicated with me? Has my son had any intervention? Where are his observations?
I feel I have let my son down in some way. I emailed the head straight away and explained the situation. A few days later the teacher has given me letter and explained that it was best fit, he doesn't have the observations to support him getting expected and it was his confidence and independence holding him back. He then said he accidently ticked a few boxes wrong on the report and he actually got the elg for 4 areas including Number . I had my son with me and my baby so I said I want to talk about this in a formal meeting. I frankly feel it is not good enough, I know he has met many of these goals. For example moving and handling. My son can hold a pencil correctly, form letters and write on the line, he can swim 250 metres, ride scooters and bikes, climb equipment and so on. His imagination and creativity is something strangers, friends and colleagues comment on, its very strong. He builds models all of the time using a variety of materials at home and at school. He knows all his high frequency words and with encouragement can read yellow books at home.
I know children can act very different at school but it baffles me the fundamental personality of my son has not come through at all in an early years setting. If there were concerns then why wasn't I told because I would have tried to help him overcome his lack of confidence. It's not even the academic side that has upset me it's everything else. I personally find children can display many of these goals just observing them in the Learning environment.
Sorry for this long message and I thank anyone who takes the time to read it. It's obviously close to my heart and I want to stay professional but what would you do now? Can the data be changed? In my heart of hearts I feel the record keeping has not been good, my son is quiet and he may have slipped out of view. He said there wasn't enough evidence but he was just on the cusp for everything. The TA also told me that he is not actually in Reception for much of the day as he mainly works in yr1 and 2. He had no idea how the teacher did observations.
All in all I know my childs own personality and abilities. I take him to the park and I watch how he interacts with friends. At times he can be shy but has a very lovely nature, very sharing, kind and considerate. He can hold his own if need be but isn't loud like some children. I agree he can lack a bit of confidence at times. But I still feel his report and goals do not reflect him. I wish I could have supported him and worked with the teacher so he could have shined.
All advice welcome