Frequently asked questions

What are print concepts?
What is Reading Recovery?
What should I expect my child's teacher to tell me about my child's performance?
What curriculum level should my child be at?
Where do I go to get help for my child?

What are print concepts?

These are concepts that show how much a child knows about how books, text, and pictures work. For example, reading from left to right and top to bottom, and making connections between the text and illustrations.

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What is Reading Recovery?

Reading Recovery is one-to-one teaching for children who have made slow progress learning to read and write in their first year at school. Most New Zealand schools provide this catch-up opportunity. Children's reading and writing is assessed close to their sixth birthday and the lowest scoring children take part in Reading Recovery at school as soon as a space is available.

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What should I expect my child's teacher to tell me about my child's performance?

Expect more than a score. Your child's teacher should be able to tell you:

• what particular strengths or weaknesses your child has in different subjects
• how your child compares with the rest of their class and peers in the same year
• how your child interacts and work with their peers.

They should also be able to tell you what your child needs to do next to continue learning; and what you can do to help.

What curriculum level should my child be at?

This diagram shows the approximate relationship between curriculum levels and school years. Students progress at different rates. Not all students in the same year will achieve at the same curriculum level at the same time.

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Where do I go to get help for my child?

If you are worried about your child and how well he or she is doing, call the school secretary to make an appointment to talk with the teacher or the school principal. Make sure you prepare for the meeting so that you come away with answers to all your questions. You may find it useful to write down your questions first, or to take information such as school reports or homework with you. If you would like your child to be at the meeting, make sure you tell the school secretary when you set up the appointment so they can arrange for the meeting to take place outside of class time.