School are holding my daughter back when it comes to reading

(95 Posts)
cakebake Wed 28-Nov-12 14:19:35





I'd appreciate any suggestions on what to do next.

PolkadotCircus Thu 29-Nov-12 16:53:48

Exactly Mrz I don't see how school is holding the op's dd back with just 1 book a week. Sometimes it's quality not quantity and there are 101 places for a child to get reading material from.

Having said that re these early readers I do think more could be done but it isn't a case of sending more books home.

I think schools need to send book lists of recommended reading material coupled with reading targets and questions/focus to concentrate on for parents when hearing said able reader read.

I also think schools need to up their game re reading material in schools(but it costs money)and have more involvement in what able readers read.At our school you're just left to do your own thing which is fine for me but not for parents who have zero background in literacy.

yellowsubmarine53 Thu 29-Nov-12 18:08:05

I'm still not sure what the teacher is supposed to do.

Sounds like your dd is doing great, OP.

BeerTricksPott3r Thu 29-Nov-12 19:23:16

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GobHoblin Fri 30-Nov-12 10:08:36

My opinion in the 'why are parents so hung up on reading books and levels' is that it is usually the only thing that comes home that we have any guide to how our children are getting on. So some parents unfortunately get fixated on it.
I can sort of understand the OP's frustration, but as she is getting a variety of books etc through you at home, i really think you are in a good place and i would simply carry on doing just as you are.

choccyp1g Fri 30-Nov-12 17:49:49

Mrz, to answer your question, my son was a v.good reader at KS1, but would never have chosen to read a fiction book of his own accord. At home he would pore over Top Gear annuals, Dinosaur books, football comics.
His fiction skills (the inference, guessing what's going to happen next, characters feelings etc) came from reading the school reading books, which he read grumpily, and never admitted to liking them, but sometimes he would get engrossed.
That's why I would have got cross if the books weren't changed regularly, and moved up the levels when he was ready.
He does read a bit of fiction now, though not as much as I'd like him to.

mrz Fri 30-Nov-12 19:00:59

Did the school not teach the higher order reading skills in class through the study of literature choccyp1g?

pinkpeonies Fri 30-Nov-12 19:23:39

At the school my DC go to children change their own books as and when they need/want to. They are trained to do this in YRec and it continues. They have a book bag in which their home link book is kept at all times. Books are kept centrally and teachers have magazine type boxes in their classrooms which they keep stocked up with the various colour banded books appropriate for their cohort. Children know which box to select from and simply pop their old ones back and select a couple of new ones. Colour banded targets both for decoding(tool box type) and suggested inference questions are glued into the children's books to aid parents. The teacher writes very little in the home link book unless their are issues or they are moving them up a level. They are heard routinely in guided reading anyway teachers keep meticulous notes and obs during these sessions anyway. I don't know why more schools don't do would take so much angst away from the parents at the gate who routinely check book bags as soon as a child leaves school.

LatteLady Sat 01-Dec-12 00:12:34

When I was in the first year of juniors... Yr 3 to you youngsters, I was given a school prize... The Magic Primrose, I was insulted, I read it through by the end of the prize giving... it was so puerile. From then on, I ignored whatever books the school gave me and just raided my local library, I read so quickly and so much. OP your child will read to their level regardless of what the school does, they will pay lip service and move on without them.

choccyp1g Sat 01-Dec-12 00:36:40

Yes Mrz, that's why I say he learnt from reading school books, and from school lessons, guided reading etc. What I am getting at, is that if he hadn't learnt it at school, he certainly wasn't going to learn it at home, despite that fact that we have a houseful of books and go to the library.

I think in his case, school could have "held him back" from achieving his potential by keeping him on a lower level or working with lower level groups. However her daughter is reading a variety of texts at home, so she will pribably do fine.

choccyp1g Sat 01-Dec-12 00:37:49

oops probably and I mean OPs DD will do fine.

Moredofbumsnet Sat 01-Dec-12 14:20:48

OP are you happy that the school is pushing your dd forward in other areas of the curriculum ?If it is only reading that she is being held back in maybe they feel that she is excelling and doesn't really need pushing.

mrz Sat 01-Dec-12 14:32:01

Can someone explain how the OPs daughter is being held back?

ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs Sat 01-Dec-12 14:41:33

Haven't read the whole thread, but I had the same thing with dd1 at age 6. The teacher told me "its important notto let her get ahead of herself"- eh?? I politely asked how she suggested I hold her back- did she want me to take away her books at home?

The next year they conceded that she needed extra stimulation and gave her extra comprehension homework, which she loved. Coincidentally this coincided with a school inspection, and was never followed up subsequently.

I let her read what she wants (well, obviously not 50 Shades etc!) What we did was to read them chapter books- dd1 would read on ahead, and then when we read to her the next night she could ask about words she didn't know, or any comprehension issues. That worked quite well.

Tbh, I don't expect the school to cater for my kids- I've always felt far more in control of their reading material than the school. The stuff they get from school they read for duty. The books we all read at home are for pleasure, and their reading is probably well above average, but I don't really know or care.

Llareggub Sat 01-Dec-12 14:56:27

I don't really understand the problem. I see school scheme books as providing my children with the tools for reading. The books they read at home are for fun. We write about both in the reading diary.

yellowsubmarine53 Sat 01-Dec-12 21:27:28

OP's dd has read 40+ books since September.

In no way, shape or form is she being 'held back' or 'stagnating'.

learnandsay Sat 01-Dec-12 21:40:33

There's a difference between "the school is holding my daughter back,"


my daughter is flat-lining in her reading. (The difference might actually be me and my library card.)

But the school shouldn't be letting her coast.

yellowsubmarine53 Sat 01-Dec-12 21:43:48

It isn't, from the information that OP has supplied.

Tgger Sat 01-Dec-12 21:51:16

You beat me to that comment yellow. If said child is not enjoying any of the books she is bringing home (rather than just reading them pretty quick), then there is a case for asking for different books or not bothering with them.

LaQueen Sun 02-Dec-12 10:06:37

I kinda saw what happened at school as a sort of loose framework which the DDs followed, just to tick the requisite boxes.

Their real reading happened at home - supported by DH and me, with the books we provided. But we also encouraged to them to read magazines, TV sub-titles, posters, menus, anything really - just to give them as much variety as possible.

We've ended up with two extremely strong readers on our hands - but their teachers don't especially revere them for it or anything - it's more a case of 'Phew, well that's one child I don't need to worry about.'

It's never really bothered me - I knew they were good readers, so didn't need it regularly confirmed by school. And, it's probably more fair/better that their teacher's time be spent aiding the children who aren't strong readers, and who don't have much parental support.

CecilyP Sun 02-Dec-12 10:45:21

Yes, I can't see the problem either. From the OP, you would think that school was the only source of reading material. If she reads the book sent home from school in 2 days, there are 5 other days to read books of choice. You don't even have to buy them when they can be borrowed from the library and, these days, there is an abundance of books for young fairly fluent readers.

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