Yeah, you should. Big time.

Yes i would............. that is crazy, what if your child started school reading at level 24?? what would they do for the next 2 years?

No way, not normal AT all. How is that catering for a child's needs? If a child is tested at reading level 19, they should be reading level 19!

There is no way making a child read below where they are at is at the best interest for the child.

By all means, keep a child at level 18 if they GENUINELY have stuff to learn at that level, otherwise...NO! How is that going to help them learn?

I am beyond flabbergasted at this!

OMG, I just realised - so he will only be allowed to go up 6 levels in year 2 before he will be stuck again?

What a stupid idea!

Yes felicis....

Who do I start with then? I had the discussion with last years teacher, do I go to the principle next then to discuss this particular policy?

I would start off by talking to this years teacher - give it a few weeks into the term to let her get testing etc done first (she could be an entirely different kettle of fish - and lastyears teacher could've just bn blowing smoke about it being a 'school wide policy' )
if it REALLY is a policy - I would have to ask what sort of school would be so willing to stifle ability and progress???
doesn't sound like a normal policy AT ALL, and a really really stupid one - If this years teacher is no better/more forward after talking to her, I would go straight to the principal to get her reasoning behind the policy.
and would be looking around at other schools if thats the case as who knows how many other stupid policies they have.

I would see what this teacher says as well. I have had discussions with the teachers before about ability to read vs. ability to comprehend. Sometimes I feel the child is put up in reading level because they can read, but they can't comprehend. I agreed to have my kids kept at a reading level specifically so they can work on comprehension. Make sense?

Yep I understand the comprehension side. But to be kept on the same level for nearly 2 terms, if he had comprehension problems, he shouldn't have reached this level you know? Its a school rule no more, no less.

I know its a school wide policy and that this years teacher will be no different, because I spoke to another mum whose kid had his this years teacher last year for yr 2, whose daughter was not allowed past level 24 for reading.

The teacher suggested the library for extension reading.

Is it worth uprooting the kids from friends and a nice school for this? I don't know that it is?
An you know teachers, they all cover each other, and tell you what they want you to know, no more, no less...so I find it impossible to get anywhere.

If I wait a couple of weeks and ask for a copy of his reading running record, would that tell me more? I feel like I need someone impartial to discuss whats best for my child with myself and my school, and surely it shouldn't be this hard?

I had a friend whose daughter started school in Australia and they had exactly the same policy. It frustrated her no end as well as her daughter was reading really well and wasn't allowed to move up levels.

However, it hasn't held her daughter back at all - she is still a really good reader going in to year 5.

I guess you may have trouble getting the school to change their policy for one child. I would be unhappy with it as well but would weigh up everything else the school does and see if it really is a deal breaker for you.

Honestly, by the time kids get to year 3/4, reading changes so much at school anyway. My kids from year 3 just read their own chapter books (both read the Harry Potter series in year 3) so reading levels really did mean absolutely nothing by then.

Wow that is such a stupid policy!!!! I cant believe any school would adopt something like that, how does it benefit any child who is skilled at reading?

My DS was up to level 25 by the end of the year last year (yr 1) He'd reached level 17 by the end of term one - could you imagine if they had held him back for the rest of the year! He'd have become so bored and disinterested in books at school and become disruptive.

As a parent I would be pretty annoyed that my child was being fit within "their" box rather than "his" box.

My worry about the school is that this policy makes it seem like they don't deal with extending kids at all, and my concern would be that that will go far beyond reading and into other areas. There is simply no good reason for such a stupid policy, and what other stupid policies do they have?
I would seriously look at other schools.

That's CRAZY. That kind of thing makes me so mad. My DD started school on a level 11 and was up around 22 by the end of NE. Last year she was reading her own books. What is a fluent reader meant to do for a whole year if they aren't allowed to go up to the next level?

I would make an appointment with the team leader/head of the junior school to discuss it.

I don't get why they're holding kids back?

You could do what we did last year - we didn't read any school readers. She had read the highest level they had (I think a 28) the year before and I wasn't going to make her read them again for a whole year. So I said to the teacher that DD would be getting her own reading from home and the library and I'd write down what she was reading on her sheet so the teacher could be in the loop. As it turns out the teacher didn't check the sheet or mention it to me again after that first meeting so I didn't end up bothering with writing it down. I let her read the fiction books she wanted to but also added in magazine and newspaper articles and some non fiction books we used for projects at home.

I suspect this year will be the same but I'm really hoping we have a teacher who might find some interesting reading material for DD.

It is worth making an appointment with the principal, to discuss, imo. It is not standard teaching practice, and it is not supported by any of the Ministry of Education advice on teaching children to read. Nor is it supported by any research. So it's worth asking why they have the policy, and what research they have which supports having a policy which goes against Ministry of Education advice.

Whether it's worth switching schools is going to depend a bit. If it was the only thing that was hacking me off, I might not bother - I'd just read loads of stuff at home. But with an attitude linke that, it's unlikely to be the only thing.

Who was at the meeting where "the policy" was discussed? If our school had a similar policy I would be challenging the reasons why, if it was purely to benefit them then I would actually consider moving schools, as thats just the sort of thing that makes a bad school IMO. If they seemed to have valid reasons in the childs interest (would be interesting to know) I would be talking to other education experts to see what their take on it would be, I can't imagine how it would help a child to not let them progress at their own pace.

What a weird policy.

Yes, this, totally.

I am a teacher....and think this is a dumb school policy. The schools I have taught in have extra reading material available for children who need extending.

I have the opposite problem with my eldest - reading at Yr1 level at the end of yr 3 - but it all comes under the same policy guidelines according to the MOE website.

I would read the school's charter and the school's policies around the curriculum. I would then compare what is happening with your child and the policies they have set, then see the principal. If they aren't willing to meet the learning needs of your child and you can enroll in another school I'd go for it (after checking the new school's policies first)

This is what the MOE says - and from what you say they are not developing and implementing learning strategies to meet needs (see below)

NAG 1

Each board of trustees is required to foster student achievement by providing teaching and learning programmes which incorporate The National Curriculum as expressed in The New Zealand Curriculum 2007 or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

Each board, through the principal and staff, is required to:

(a) develop and implement teaching and learning programmes:

to provide all students in years 1-10 with opportunities to achieve for success in all areas of the National Curriculum;
giving priority to student achievement in literacy and numeracy, especially in years 1-8;
giving priority to regular quality physical activity that develops movement skills for all students, especially in years 1-6.

(b) through a range of assessment practices, gather information that is sufficiently comprehensive to enable the progress and achievement of students to be evaluated; giving priority first to:

student achievement in literacy and numeracy, especially in years 1-8; and then to
breadth and depth of learning related to the needs, abilities and interests of students, the nature of the school's curriculum, and the scope of The National Curriculum as expressed in The New Zealand Curriculum or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa;

(c) on the basis of good quality assessment information, identify students and groups of students:

who are not achieving;
who are at risk of not achieving;
who have special needs (including gifted and talented students); and
aspects of the curriculum which require particular attention;

(d) develop and implement teaching and learning strategies to address the needs of students and aspects of the curriculum identified in (c) above;

(e) in consultation with the school's Māori community, develop and make known to the school's community policies, plans and targets for improving the achievement of Māori students; and

(f) provide appropriate career education and guidance for all students in year 7 and above, with a particular emphasis on specific career guidance for those students who have been identified by the school as being at risk of leaving school unprepared for the transition to the workplace or further education/training.

If you are generally happy with the school but they just have this one stupid policy, I would as others say, give it a couple of weeks for things to settle, then raise it with the teacher. If you get no joy there speak to the syndicate head. If this is a policy, speak to the principal and ask on what grounds they have made this 'policy' and what evidence have they based this decision on. Then if you get nowhere with the principal, don't forget you can raise issues like this with the board of trustees - they are there to ensure the school is managed in a way that is in the children's best interests.

IME 'policy' is often in the best interest of the majority of kids, and as soon as your kids falls outside the range of 'normal' they are no longer catered to by the main stream policy. So you are possibly going to be the only parent with a problem with this policy for a child in your DSs class. Don't feel like you are causing trouble by a staunch advocate for your child - no one else is going to do it.