jools

thanks i'm not normally this indecisive.....must be my age

what a day i had yesterday! it was my birthday and i woke up feeling ill. still went to work but had a phonecall at lunch to say my eldest felt ill and could i pick her up. just walked in door when phone rang to say G had bumped his head, felt sick and needed to come home. he had bumped his eyebrow on the head of another child and had an egg size lump. it took a while for it to go down and this morning it is still swollen. it has started to bruise. he seemed bright enough this morning so i have sent him to schooll. my mum has just been on the phone and is horrified i haven't took him to the hospital to have it checked! i'm now feeling like the worlds worst mother! i didn't take him yesterday because i know they would look for signs of concussion and he was fine. a bit pale when he first came home but by tea time much brighter. i also know that if the hospital take his word for it he will tell them he's fine....he just doesn't feel the pain because it is still swollen do you think i should have it checked?

well i gave him a card and a bag of sweets as a token gift. i decided i couldn't give him nothing (too soft i know) but it will make his mum wonder why i didn't get a 'proper' present

that is what my son asked last night when yest again he hasn't been invited to a birthday party. it doesn't normally bother him too much but this time it has. the boy in question is the son of a friend of mine, and they have been in the same class since nursery...they are now in year 5. i really feel for him and gave him the old tired excuse of 'well he can't invite everyone' problem is he almost has. all of the boys who play football at playtime have been invited but not G. in the past G has still given this boy a present, bought and suggested by me, but i'm in two minds whether to bother. when i asked G if he wanted to get him a card he said no. i know my friend will be expecting something for him but sometimes it really gets to me.

thankyou both of you david, the work was given to him, not because she thought i could help him, but as a punishment for not doing enough in class. this was made clear to me and him. he has done it. he has typed a short reply and has not completely typed up his original reply but to be fair i cannot stand the fuss he has made about doing it. he doesn't know that i'm not happy about him doing it. homework has always been a battle. everyone knows this. all reports about him state it. we have spent most of the weekend trying to do homework. i will be talking to the teacher again tomorrow. hopefully this was a one off because i won't spend another weekend like this

as i was leaving school tonight Gs teacher approached me and told me she had given him some class work to finish off at home. she said he wouldn't write anything in class so she asked him to do it on the alphasmart and he hasn't done much on there either. i asked if it was because he was being naughty that he got nothing done and the reply was 'he was just talking i think' she asked if that was ok and i said ok but the more i think about it, its not ok! apparantly he's not the only one not to have finished (informed by another member of staff) the work he has been given is to write a letter to a child in an african school. the schools have joined and this teacher wants the class to write to the children as pen pals. all he is focused on is that he doesn't want a pen pal......he doesn't want to write to someone he doesn't know. also today, due to disruptions in the school timetable this morning, everything was upside down this morning and literacy didn't happen. they were doing this letter writing last session when he has no support. quite frankly i'm not suprised he was off task and hasn't done much work. and i also don't think he should be doing it at home BUT i am his mother so might not be seeing things as i should.....lol what do you think should he be doing it at home or not?

my son is also in year 5. i do have one particular school in mind that so far is the favourite (and also the catchment school) but i need to go and visit. i will be ringing the HT this term to arrange a visit either this term or after easter. i want to meet with him and the senco and to have a look around while lessons are on. i then want to take G during school hours so he can see it Phasmid, your advice is great and i will be following it

my son is in yr 5 and also has the alphasmart written into his statement. i have asked the question ready for yr 6 sats and been told that the school will apply to whoever it needs to ask so that he is able to use it. they couldn't see a problem i would go back to the HT and if you have no joy maybe the NAS or IPSEA would be able to advise

we don't have one. i also work in school and as far as i know no other child has one. i don't think it is a legal requirement to have a home/school diary but i would presume that regular home/school contact is a priority especially with children who have sen. would your EP back the idea of a diary? maybe then the school would do it

i always say i live in a bubble.......and i like it that way!

year 3 should be working to level 3. this doesn't mean that all children will reach this level. in general by the end of year 4 children aim to be a secure level 3 and by the end of year 6 they aim be a level 4. no child in primary is expected to be a level 5 (althoough some do reach this) i found this about 3/4 way down the page is a good chart http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/SATS.html

lisa you must be able to read my mind. i've been awake through the night thinking about break times and wondering if i could mention this! break time is 15 mins each morning so effectively 1 1/4 hrs each week of support. another thing to mention.

good point. i will try my hardest not to suggest what they should do i know i will find it hard so might take some tape for my mouth

sorry i've got no advice but i think you could do with some hugs <'> <'> <'> <'> <'>

sorry if this is a bit of a ramble but best out than in g's statement is now in place. the lea have given him 10hrs to be used flexibly through out the day when support is needed. no need according to them to 'block' support (ie 2 hrs every morning if that isn't what he needs) school have employed someone who will work with him 9.30 till 12, mon, wed, thur, fri. (no support tue because she goes to college) some of the points in his statement are that he requires support to 1. help him remained focused 2. revisiting and reinforcing info 3. social skills group 4. structured handwriting programme his teacher has asked us to go in next wed after school so we can have input into the writing of his iep. i am pleased that she has done this and she is approachable and will listen to us. so far so good........... what she doesn't know yet is that i'm going to query the way the support is to be given ie in 'blocks' of time. the times this lady is in class with him will cover maths, literacy and sometimes science (happy with this) however i don't really want him missing core subjects (especially maths and literacy) to do handwriting and social skills groups. i am happy for him to do these before 10am (the start of math s and literacy) my main gripe is a friday. his class have a half hour PE session every friday morning. he doesn't need support for this nor do i want him missing it to do something from his statement. after all if he misses this once a week PE session then he isn't accessing the full curriculum! what i would like to see (in an ideal world!) is this half hour support given else where.....for example an afternoon. but the lady who is working with him already supports another child in the afternoons. now then.....my idea would be to suggest that this other child also joins the social skills group (it would benefit this child) so that she is effectively working with both children in a small group but doing what is required for G and his statement and his needs i have no idea what the school will think if i suggest this but i suspect it won't go down very well. but my argument is that i have fought long and hard to get these hours and i will insist they are used properly and he gets a full 10hrs support for something he needs......not PE sometimes i think i talk another language cos i just know the school won't see my problem. am i mad?????

well done!

thanks helen it is written in that staff are to have asd training so i will keep asking till i know that has happened. it was confirmed to me yesterday that the parent in question has been offered the job. she is to work 4 mornings a week, 2 1/2 each morning. i'm still not totally happy but am waiting for a meeting with his teacher after school one day next week so hubbie can come with me to discuss!

following our meeting with the LEA last week where we had bits of the statement changed we now have a final statement for 10 hours. it does not state that these hours should be evenly distributed through out the day ie 2 hrs a day. we were told it wasn't possible to do this but that is would be assumed school would do this and if there was a problem teh lea would meet with us and them. she also said she couldn't enforce who the school employed (i think he will employ a parent) but she would suggest some people she has on the sen list on the grapevine i have heard that 1. he has employed a parent 2. this parent will work 4 days, splitting the hours over 4 days i'm not happy but don't know where i stand. i would have preferred an experienced/trained ta but she may well be good...only time will tell! but if he is only to get 10hrs support i want it split over 5 days. can i do anything about it? i haven't been told officially this is happening yet but the lady in question has been telling others

she died this morning G is asking all sorts of questions and wants to know the nitty gritty of everything he has managed to make us smile with some of his comments i'll make a decision about teh meeting on wednesday once we know the funeral arrangements. providing its not wednesday we will still go ahead with it. don't think i could cope with both on the same day

sorry to offload but i need to before i crack up! we are all back to school next week (me and hubbie also work in schools) and not a moment too soon! G is completely off it and really needs the routine to return. so do I!! i have already told the deputy i will be late on monday as G has appt with camhs. they don't know yet but my meeting with lea is wednesday so i will need time off then....and i'm already stressing over it.(the meeting not the time off!) then today i had a phonecall to say my nana, who has been ill for sometime, is likely to die before the weekend is out. the kids all saw me crying so i have explained that she is very poorly and will die soon. they have taken it well but G has proceeded to talk non stop about death ever since. i just want to curl up on my own for a few days or weeks. i can't switch my brain off

i spoke to ipsea yesterday but i didn't really find her very helpful. she said she could listen to me read out the bits i was concerned about, which i did, but she didn't really tell me anything i don't already know, such as getting them to quantify things. i haven't tried parent partnership and i probably should but i've turned so cynical and suspicious of everyone i have her number and she works in the same office as the lea officer who is coming to see me on wednesday. how can anyone who works in the same office be as independant as they should be??

our meeting with the lea is next wednesday. i feel nervous!

thanks karen i really need clarification on what the school are going to do to 'top up' what the lea are willing to provide

i've been talking to a friend today who has worked in a primary school with a fairly high percentage of children with a statement. she believes that the lea (she is in a neighbouring lea) would normally expect the school to provide more hours out of there own budget, preferrably matching it. for example we have been offered funding from the lea for 10 hours per week. she would expect the school to employ someone for upto 20 hours a week (this is normal procedure in her school) i know for a fact that the school do not intend to employ anyone for more than 10 hours a week. when i mentioned we had a proposed statement and the lea were offering 10 hours both the senco and deputy, on seperate occasions, said 'that will be 2 hours each morning then' i beleive they see it as employ someone for 10 hours a week, 2 hours a day and thats there job done. no other support will be offered. the TA's in teh school are not class based so will not be available in his class on any afternoon to support him in any way. all TA's take small groups out of class on an afternoon for reading intervention which he does not need. i am ringing the lea back on tuesday to request a meeting and also ring ipsea on wednesday does anyone have any more advise please?

[HAPPY BIRTHDAY!