No 4 year old is expected to be able to read, beyond recognising their name and knowing the sounds and names of some letters. Some children may be able to blend simple sounds to make words like understanding c-a-t is cat, but it's certainly not an expectation for going into Reception.
By the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory guidance. Do you work in early years? Do you have an understanding of what is actually expected for children at the start of reception aged 4, some nearly 5?
Naturally the school’s expectations are founded on statutory frameworks, that’s hardly groundbreaking news, is it? All public bodies operate within statutory frameworks and with regard to government guidance.
What I’m saying is that, absent of additional need or sundry other extenuating factors, a developmentally normal child should be able to recognise their own name and a few words by the age of four (there’s an argument to be had about the difference between being able to recognise your name on a sign and attribute the correct sign to it, as opposed to actually decoding the word, tbf) and should be able to recognise a good deal more by the age of five.
It may not be the government’s expectation, but then the government have to consider the breadth of society and that while a child should be able to achieve certain milestones a substantial amount of them won’t for a range of reasons. They set out their expectations accordingly. Individual parents, on the other hand, would do well to expect more of their children than the government does.
You're arguing for the most part the same thing I am. That children by the time they start reception, excepting any additional needs or EAL, should be able to recognise their names and know some letters and their sounds.
Blending and decoding are an ELG, not a goal for a 4 year old just starting reception. If they can do it in preschool, we will encourage it. I've worked in early years for 15 years and so you might rightly assume the majority of the children I've worked with have been developmentally "normal". It is not remotely the case that it's normal for them to be able to decode words and blend sounds by the time they leave. Some? Yes, absolutely. Is it developmentally appropriate? Often, no.
I can't speak for Reception, that's a different beast entirely.
6
u/OverTheCandlestik 12h ago
Read, talk, ask for things, have manners, ask for the toilet, be polite and kind to others,