Any teachers/former teachers? Advice please.

Sounds good flaxseed

That all sounds very positive. Your DD definitely did the right thing. Communication is so important, especially when our DCs and DGCs are involved.

Yes. Well worth having a talk with his teacher and I hope he continues to get the help he needs and makes good progress.

Perfect outcome

DD saw the teacher after school. She was lovely (job share teacher) and very understanding.
She says DGS is on a table with an LSA as they recognise he needs support. She advised against getting him tested as he already has the support he would get anyway, and feels that it would be wasted money at this stage.
Apparently, the after school extra support club that he is now part of is run by two teachers who have had great results.
The ‘detention’ at play time is more for children who have no home support or access to online support, rather than as a punishment.
DD explained about DGS passion for football and that she wants to encourage this by playing with his friends at play time. The teacher seemed supportive of this.
Everything seems positive for now but DD is on the ball and will monitor things closely.
His homework is going to be adjusted to his ability.
We both feel happy with the teachers explanation of things.
DD knows I will pay for assessment or extra tuition should he need it, but both of us are happy for now.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread.

My DGD when in Y3 got a bee in her bonnet that those who didn't do well in a test the following week wouldn't be allowed to go into Y4.
"But they haven't told us what WILL happen to us"
Nothing we could say made any difference
As has previously been said, make a proper appointment with his teacher (not 90seconds in the playground), ask what was actually said re. homework, explain how stressed he's getting etc etc. Good luck

Dyslexia isn't really diagnosed before Year 3 and as your grandchild is the youngest in that year I can understand the teachers are setting him some fun games in Maths and English to see if that helps and he starts to make some progress. Some children are just slow readers.

As for the punishment for incorrect homework I personally find that harsh. If he is attempting the work but he has made mistakes then surely that gives a marker to his teacher where he is struggling. He doesn't need to be punished for trying. His parents need to see his teacher about this before he is upset and stressed about missing break time with his friends. What benefit will that have? Only negative ones that I can see.

Mainstream Primary schools have a wide range of abilities to teach without the money or resources. If you don't get any help from talking to his teacher then ask to see the SENCO at his school. He or she will be the one to set the ball rolling should you need to go down the assessment route.

Having experience in this I wish you all the best but time is of the essence, especially for your grandson.

This was exactly the situation for my GS he was struggling with reading, writing and spelling (maths he was good at) at age 7.

He was kept in at playtime as he had never completed his work, my DD had a word with the school and ensured this didn’t happen again. She also engaged a tutor for 1 hour a week
, this has been totally life changing,

18 months later he has now caught up to standard in all the difficult areas but the main thing is he now has confidence whereas he used to say “I’m too stupid, I can’t do it”.

A good personal tutor can really make a difference.

The focus should to teach to ability, rather than to age.

Luckygirl3

*What a shame there’s no targets for kindness* - indeed so.

What is needed is kindness homework!

At the DGDs' primary school there are awards for kindness, Headteacher's Superstar awards for all kinds of activities, not just academic work.

I had a look at the website and noticed that this is listed in their important dates:

World Kindness Day – 13th November

'Encouragement' and 'positivity' seem to be key words that are included in the school's aims.

Please do not tar all teachers with the same brush.
I have been known for handing out Kindness homework

E.g ^ Children, no homework tonight. It is a beautiful day, get out and enjoy the sunshine^

The homework I issued (school policy) was differentiated to suit pupils' needs.
One failing teacher/ school is not an indication of all teachers or schools.

Sorry about none fiction. My computer decided to auto correct

I used to teach Yr3 and I was often amazed by the levelling up that took place. That said I was also aware of the children who weren't levelling up and discussed them with the SENCO. I also differentiated in the work levels. As other's have said, book an appointment with the SENCO and class teacher. Voice your concerns and explain that your child is becoming anxious. They've obviously already picked up on the issue as they're offering extra support. Ask if you can work as a team with them. What extra support can you offer at home that doesn't feel like even more lessons? You say that he loves football. Why not buy a football magazine and read it with him? Talk about the pictures etc. Go to the none fiction section at a library and let him pick something that interests him. It doesn't matter if it's to hard for him to read. Lots of non fiction books are full of pictures to talk about. Maybe pick out one or two relevant words. Let him see that books can be fun even if you can't read them properly.

What a shame there’s no targets for kindness - indeed so.

What is needed is kindness homework!

luckygirl I agree.
They are little for such a short time

The only alternative to ‘conforming’ is home schooling, and that wouldn’t be an option in this case as both parents are self employed and need to work. Although thankfully DD is around for every drop off and pick up.
DGS loves the social aspect of school thankfully. DD had a message from another parent recently thanking her for raising such a caring child as her child is very reserved and finds it hard to join in. DGS took him under his wing and got him involved
What a shame there’s no targets for kindness

I will keep you posted.

You are definitely not missing anything! I am a former TA and worked with many children who were 'too young' for school. It may well be that your GS is dyslexic, but even if not, he needs differentiation and that means across the curriculum, including homework. To give what amounts to detention for HW not being done 'correctly' is ridiculous. Hopefully your DDs meeting with the school (including the SENCO) will yield results.

In the meantime, does he have a 'link' book or a 'journal' in which teachers and/or parents can write? If so, his mum could write a note that he has attempted his HW and was unable to complete it. I don't see how any teacher could ignore that and keep him in at break - at least any teacher worthy of their job!

Good luck. Do let us know how things work out.

PS Slightly off topic - the issue of very young children starting school could be mediated if they reverted to the old system of having two intakes. My two both started at age 4 and a half - one in September and one in January. That seems so much fairer to me.

Mr Gove has a lot to answer for! Good luck.

luckygirl
👏👏👏🥰

Classes are mixed ability and in effect mixed age - a year is a large proportion of a little one's life, so the summer born children cannot be expected to be at the same level as their older peers. And that is irrespective of any SEND.

As to homework in primary school - don't get me on that subject! When do these small humans get the chance to really be children? Childhood is gone in a flash and needs to be respected and treasured as the precious time it is - keep school work out of homes!! Bugger the national curriculum!!

He just wants to play football every waking moment!
He’s joined a team and everyone is very impressed with him, even other team managers, so it’s lovely that he gets a boost of confidence from that.

I agree nanna8
I hate the pressure he is under

Different here,obviously. A child of that age would not be expected to do homework. I think they start giving it out at around aged 10-11. Sometimes they have days with a theme and the children might wear costumes or talk about family trees etc but not formal. I am really against putting pressure on young kids, I think it is very wrong.

Quick reply as I am at work.

Thanks for all the advice, I spoke to DD earlier and she is going to make an appointment with the school.

We all encourage him in everyday life such as baking (incorporating numbers and reading) shopping etc and he likes a ‘football’ maths activity book I found.
He’s totally supported at home.

Although I agree that there’s a trend to ‘label’ children, unfortunately it seems that having a label is the only way to get extra support.

I don’t interfere nor do I go to parents evenings (wouldn’t dream of it unless invited!) but having been through this with DD I know how long everything takes

DD would tell me if I was interfering anyway.

It sounds like the school is almost setting him up to fail. I would ask the teacher to set him homework which is within his abilities until his confidence has grown.. Encouragement is really needed here.. I simply don't agree with punishments as a way forward..

I’m not a teacher, but there is something to be said for the “levelling out” theory in my experience as a parent. My DD2 was being considered for extra support at school at the start of Y3, though her teachers did still think she’d catch up. Her writing and spelling were described as “eccentric”, and her understanding of basic maths was practically non-existent, though she was obviously gifted when it came to art. These days she’d probably have been waiting to be diagnosed and labelled, then she was just described as a late starter. Sure enough a few months later something just seemed to click and she was quickly on a par with her classmates. She went on to achieve really well academically, as well as studying at Art School. She’s a Spring birthday, so that wasn’t the issue. Our son was born on 30th August and the only problem he ever had was that he was exhausted at the end of the day when he first started school. DD1, on the other hand, was one of the eldest in her class and was bored rigid in Year 6 when all the older ones were more than ready for high school.

It’s a shame your grandson’s unhappy, Flaxseed, and to me that seems entirely due to the pressure put on him by the school’s homework policy. Threatening 7 year olds with detention for not doing it “properly” just seems so wrong in so many ways.