SENCO

[Tez]

The SENCO at my son's school left last July and the school hadn't been able to replace her. In her absence the Deputy Head took on the SENCO role and made a much better job of it than the original SENCO ever did. During this period my son built up a relationship with the Deputy Head where he felt that he could go to him for advice and get him to sort out bullying problems. The Deputy Head always took him seriously and had the authority to investigate matters and deal with them appropriately.

 

Unfortunately, the Deputy Head phoned me the other day to say that the original SENCO had returned and that he would be relinquishing his SEN role to her to allow him to deal with other responsibilities.

 

THe problem is that as far as I am concerned this woman is the SENCO from hell. She has previously ignored all our phone calls, emails, showed no appropriate action towards my son and more to the point, my son is frightened by her. I am not alone in feeling this way, my husband dislikes her and when she left Parent Partnership said that it was the best thing that had ever happened to the school.

 

"A" insisted on going into school to take his Science SATS yesterday. Special arrangements had been made and amongst other things he was in a small room with a number of other SEN students. THis SENCO made him sit at the front of the class to take the exam despite it being written into his IEP that he dislikes having people behind him and that all teachers should be sensitive to his needs and seat him appropriately. I know it seems a small thing but it really upset him and he had a shutdown after the exam. As far as the SENCO is concerned he will have been perfectly ok because he internalises his problems and rarely shows them to someone he doesn't trust.

 

How do I get over to the school that if "A" is to return to school, as he wants to, this SENCO is not the appropriate person to have responsibility for his needs and am I even being reasonable expexting them to make arrangements for someone more acceptable to us and my son to take responsibility for him?

[helenl53]

Hi Tez

 

I don't know how appropriate it would be - but what about a chat with the Governor in charge of SEN issues - it might loosen things up a bit.

 

Best wishes

 

HelenL

[Kathryn]

Tez I though we had the senco from hell, who was very similar. (luckily she left and stayed away and her replacement was a 100% improvement).

 

Do you have a good relationship with the form teacher? S/he could help keep an eye on things and make sure your son is treated appropriately during exams etc.

 

It's not acceptable for this woman to continually ignore your calls (we had this too).

I've known parents march up to the school and sit in the foyer until they are seen by a particular member of staff. Never tried this myself but I've heard it works!

[Helen]

"A" insisted on going into school to take his Science SATS yesterday. Special arrangements had been made and amongst other things he was in a small room with a number of other SEN students. THis SENCO made him sit at the front of the class to take the exam despite it being written into his IEP that he dislikes having people behind him and that all teachers should be sensitive to his needs and seat him appropriately. I know it seems a small thing but it really upset him and he had a shutdown after the exam.

Tez,

 

Log down this incident for your own records. What type of relationship do you have with the deputy head? You say that your son has built up a relationship with the D.H. could you approach the D.H. with your concerns, making him aware of how you truly feel about the Senco and how this Senco is continuously failing your son.

Unfortunately, the Deputy Head phoned me the other day to say that the original SENCO had returned and that he would be relinquishing his SEN role to her to allow him to deal with other responsibilities.

This Senco obviously doesn't have any understanding of your son's SEN, what official qualifications and previous experience does she have? Sometimes the Senco role can be forced onto a teacher - I've read elsewhere that in one instance the Senco role had been given to an office administrator, in another instance the Senco role had been given to an LSA.

 

When my son was in his first primary, I was at loggerheads with the headteacher, the headteacher was also the Senco - a very bad combination, in the end I didn't have any other option than to remove my son from the school.

 

I hope you manage to find a way through this <'>

Edited May 4, 2005 by Helen

[Lucas]

Before my diagnosis I recieved a lot of 'help' from a classroom assistent that really did not have a clue and didn't care to learn anything. Meltdown mania.

 

I never felt there was anyone I could tell or turn to with problems, my mum always believed the assistent's story, and the teacher, anyone but me.