Early Bird Plus course

[babnye1]

We had a bit of a breakthrough today at Early Bird Plus.

 

The class TA comes along and it is clear that no one in the class really understands my son or his needs. She admitted this openly in the group today. She said he never communicated anything to anyone and really got lost in the crowd as he didn't cause any bother.

 

She admitted to me 'off the record' that he gets no help of any kind at the moment despite being on SA+ - not even in terms of differentiated teaching.

 

The EBP team are visiting school next week and she said she would have difficulty arguing to be able to attend the meeting. The ed psych running it was astounded. The course is supposed to be there, partly, to help school with strategies.

 

I felt relieved that my suspicions were true but appalled that this 'outstanding' school has allowed this to go on, despite my constant nagging.

 

I rang parent partnership who said move schools! They can't attend out meeting on Friday.

 

I'm sure school will just say 'we're doing the EPB course so you just need to be patient'. But the SENCO (deputy head) told me last week that he is 'secure' in his knowledge of ASD as he worked in an autistic school, so why is he not providing anything for him?

 

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Parent Partnership say move schools and that a SA would not be granted while school could still be accomodating him on SA+

[baddad]

Hi babynye -

 

I would be very cautious about what a TA tells you 'off the record', and I'd be a bit nervous about the circumstances under which she chose to tell you (EB+)

I'm not, of course, suggesting she's 'wrong', but it does all sound a bit odd: If she had concerns about the schools working practices I would have thought there were more appropriate ways of voicing those concerns to you and the school(?). If on the other hand her motives are less straightforward, then the method she's chosen is likely to cause far more problems for everyone concerned...

Erm, if she is the teaching assistant in the class shouldn't she be giving your son the help he needs? I know there's some confusion over the terms 'Teaching Assistant' and 'Learning Support' but either way she's in the classroom to help 'teach' and that role incorporates supporting your son in being 'taught'. Was she at EB+ within her capacity as a TA (i.e. under the school's direction?) or was she there as your guest or as a casual observer? If the first, then maybe that's why the school have sent her there - to get a better understanding of your son's support needs?

I'm not sure why you would consider this a 'breakthrough'? In your position (and even if it confirmed my suspicions) I'd be absolutely devastated to hear this from my son's TA(?)

I can appreciate this might not be what you want to hear, especially if the TA has reinforced your pre-existing concerns, but this just does sound really 'fishy'. In the same vein, if you've spoken to parent partnership and their only advice/support has been to say 'move schools' I'd be asking some very pointed questions about that too

 

Not sure I've got any 'advice' other than to say proceed with caution, because this all sounds really strange to me.

 

L&P

 

BD

[babnye1]

OK, thanks for that.

 

She is a class TA and she gets told what to do by the teacher - is that not the way that it works in schools? I'd be very surprised if TAs had roaming roles and decided what they would do each day themselves.

 

She is not a gossip and is very tight lipped usually. The course has been an eye opener to her and I think she was shocked. This is an Ofsted outstanding school with a very domineering head and the TA considers herself way down the pecking order. However, she will do OPENLY what she can to help andf will now argue to be present at an extra session. School see the EBP as a training exercise for the school not as provision for my son and were going to send another TA who doesn't even know my son (and who I have never even met) for the rest of the course.

 

I cannot see for one minute why this is fishy and I can't understand why you wouldn't see that it helps a parent to get an insight to what is going on in a class when school, teachers and SENco will not communicate this to me.

 

I have posted about applying for an SA and my concerns about the school which you might not have read and which might explain my attitude. However, it is very hard for a parent when school refuses to communicate or do what they should do. I suspected that he was getting no help on SA+ after school told me they'd stopped his social skills classes. So now I know I'm not just being a suspicious, unreasonable parent.

 

That might mean nothing to you but as a mum with a young son with social communication difficulties, struggling to find out the right thing to do, knowing that I am on the right track by pushing school for extra provision is an assistance to me as is establishing communication with a woman who I have always considered to be very professional and has, as far as I can see, no axe to grind.

 

I'm sorry if you think it's fishy but I saw it as at least getting an ally who has promised she will try OPENLY as much as she can to get assistance for my son -even by speaking to the head

[babnye1]

As for PP, they have been offering me assistance on and off and their view is that you cannot change the attitude of a school which doesn't want to know. I can understand that. I have friends with statements for their children who spend their life chasing their so-called guaranteed provision. Who wants to live like that if there are other schools out there which are more concerned about children with SEN?

[jimssmom]

[i totally agree with this, and my sons current school are doing a bang up job of getting rid of him, and have suggested another school in the district.

 

This Potential school the current school have mentioned are far better equipt and more experience. My sons LSP is a chocolate kettle

[baddad]

Hi again Babynye -

 

I can see the situation a bit more clearly now (and no, I had not read your other thread) and I do agree with PP pov, etc. But I'm sure you'll see my resaon for concern when I thought that 'change schools' was the only advice they had given you.

No, I wasn't under the impression that TA's just roamed around doing what they decided for themselves each day, but I would expect a TA to know the children in the class they were working in and to have some expectation of supporting children in that class with identified disabilities or needs, which would apply to your son, being on SA+. TBH I don't know the boundaries of a TA post, but that would be my understanding if I was to apply for a TA post.

 

I didn't mean either that the school saw EBP purely as a training opportunity directly related to your son, but as wider training opportunity. The fact that they are involved in it, though, and (presumably) funding the attendance of a TA to access that training in order that they can bring that expertise back into school, does imply a positive rather than a negative on their part.

The reason it seems fishy to me is purely as stated: A TA has attended a group on autism and effectively slagged off her employers who have funded that attendance(?) I think in your last post that you've said the school were going to send a different TA for the remainder of the course(?) Do you know the circumstances of that, and how the TA felt about that decision or why it was 'overturned'?

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying (as i ackowledged in my first post) that your TA has got it 'wrong', I am only suggesting that you proceed with caution. It may well be that your TA has only altruistic motives for 'speaking out' like this, but there are other possibilities, especially if she has been 'tight lipped' in the past.

 

Hope that makes sense, and that whatever the circumstances you cann access the provision your son needs

 

L&P

 

BD

[babnye1]

Ok, facts...

 

1. The course is not 'funded' by schools but by the LA. The school's cost - a replacement TA for the class that morning. Do they supply this? No.

 

2. Do they receive funding for my son being on SA+? Yes. Is it spent on my son? No.

 

3. The course is being used as an opportunity to train staff generally which is not actually the purpose of the Early Bird Plus course. There is an IDP on autism which should form the basis of minimum knowledge. The school have not accessed this. No ASD strategies are used in the school.

 

I am surprised that, given that you know nothing about the school, or my experience with it, you are so quick to jump to their defence.

 

At no point did I say the TA was 'slagging off' her employers on a course. We have to talk about how the children have been and she had to admit she didn't know because she didn't work with him and that no one worked directly with him. She also had to admit when we talk about what strategies have been successfully used that week, that they don't use anything as he is left to his own devices effectively.

 

The Ed Psych and trainer on the course were taken about. It was what I had suspected so I know now I'm not going right which gives me the courage to take this on.

 

But of course she could have lied and pretended she knew all about my son and what kind of week she'd had to make the school look better.......

 

I'm not really sure what her ulterior motive would be.

[baddad]

Hi again babynye -

 

I made a suggestion about being cautious. You do not have to take it, or listen to me - just ignore it. Feel free, it really is fine...

Facts:

I'm not defending your son's school - I don't know it or anything about it. I do, however, feel that in this situation you seem happy to accept that the entire staff and school are actively working en-mass to deny your son the support he needs and seem equally happy to accept the TA's confirmation of this. I do think the fact that the TA is telling you exactly what you believe yourself has some relevance to how open you are to accept that assessment. Would you afforded the TA the same credibility if she had said this morning that the school were doing a wonderful job in supporting your son?

I don't know what the intention of school involvement in EB+ is: I assumed it would be to provide a general knowledge base/expertise as providing it on a 1+1 basis for a specific pupil/TA combinations sounds like a missed opportunity and a very expensive way of going about things. I don't know the costs to schools or anything like that, but assumed the school 'funding' would be to pay for the TA to attend. Whether that 'cost' equates to paying the attending PA or to buying in another TA to cover her while there is a distinction I can't really get my head around - it is still costing the school 1 x TA salary per session either way (and I was, of course, knowing nothing about your son or his school, unaware that they aren't providing this additional cover because it did not say in your post and I am not psychic).

No, you did not say the TA was slagging off her employers... I did, on the information you provided.

I don't see any other possible interpretation of her telling you that your son receives no support or help whatsoever and that nobody in the school understands him or his needs (or shows any desire or intention of trying to or wanting to, though that, obviously, isn't directly stated only a logical conclusion to reach from the previous statements).

I have no idea what her 'ulterior motive' might be and have now said twice that i'm not saying she has one; only that what she has said and the place she has chosen to say it sounds 'odd' to me - which it still does.

 

As I've said, I'm not in any way forcing my opinion on you - if you don't like it ignore it (which I'm sure you'll do anyway and you don't need my permission for!) - but the fact that a TA has effectively confirmed what you wanted to hear doesn't necessarily mean that no other possibilities whatsover exist. I think a good sstarting point would be to ask for the schools comments on all of this, but I suspect any sort of 'denial' on their part will be taken as confirmation of the TA's story and what you already believe, and that if they put their hands up and said 'well we accept that certain aspects of our system could be improved' that would also be taken as confirmation of what the TA has said and you already believe. Which effectively means any attempt at effective communication over your son's needs is stymied before you even start...

 

Hope that makes sense and if not please ignore me.

 

L&P

 

BD

[babnye1]

Thanks for your comments. I think you would have to go on an Early Bird Plus course to understand the context for the comments. It is not a one-off course but an eight week course and I always wondered how school were going to manage it as no one has any direct interaction with him, I don't think they'd thought that bit through.

 

It is a very interactive course with lots of parental and TA contribution about things which do and don't work. TA is very articulate and measured and has not been called on to say anything until today. Slag off? It was said as embarrassed fact not as a whinge. She saw other TAs with their families and felt awkwards. I think it was brave of her and I promised to keep her comments 'off the record' not the other way around.

 

I have asked for school to confirm TA etc support before and have never had a reply.

 

 

[baddad]

Thanks for your comments. I think you would have to go on an Early Bird Plus course to understand the context for the comments. It is not a one-off course but an eight week course and I always wondered how school were going to manage it as no one has any direct interaction with him, I don't think they'd thought that bit through.

 

It is a very interactive course with lots of parental and TA contribution about things which do and don't work. TA is very articulate and measured and has not been called on to say anything until today. Slag off? It was said as embarrassed fact not as a whinge. She saw other TAs with their families and felt awkwards. I think it was brave of her and I promised to keep her comments 'off the record' not the other way around.

 

I have asked for school to confirm TA etc support before and have never had a reply.

 

 

I did do EB with my son (the vids of him taken on the home visits are still lovely to watch), but didn't sign up for EB+ as, in all honesty (and I don't mean this to sound bigheaded it's just how it was), by the time that option came along there was little I could have got from it that I hadn't covered more fully in my working environment. Like I say, not 'accussing', your TA of anything just suggesting keeping an open mind to other possibilities. TBH, I am very wary of 'off the record' comments, especially 'brave' ones, because at the end of the day they're not worth the paper they're not written on which you can't reference anyway...

Anyhoo - as I say feel absolutely free to ignore, but please appreciate I'm not defending your school or accusing your TA - I'm just pointing out that there is an awful lot of ground to consider between either of those points.

 

L&P

 

BD

[babnye1]

I did do EB with my son (the vids of him taken on the home visits are still lovely to watch), but didn't sign up for EB+ as, in all honesty (and I don't mean this to sound bigheaded it's just how it was), by the time that option came along there was little I could have got from it that I hadn't covered more fully in my working environment. Like I say, not 'accussing', your TA of anything just suggesting keeping an open mind to other possibilities. TBH, I am very wary of 'off the record' comments, especially 'brave' ones, because at the end of the day they're not worth the paper they're not written on which you can't reference anyway...

Anyhoo - as I say feel absolutely free to ignore, but please appreciate I'm not defending your school or accusing your TA - I'm just pointing out that there is an awful lot of ground to consider between either of those points.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

I understand and appreciate what you say but if the comments had shocked me by telling me something I don't know, I might be more prepared to hang fire with my judgment.

 

I have been banging on at this school for over a year. They refuse to call in an Ed Psych. Ignored SALT's recommendation. Have to be pushed to take action each step of the way - SA, SA+ all instigated by me. They have confirmed directly there is no social skills provision and have not answered, despite numerous requests, my questions about provision.

 

My son is 7 so it is possible to ask him what happens in class too.

 

I have just not had anyone, in a year, talk directly to me about my son before so I felt it was rather significant for me on a personal level.

 

I don't post here very often so perhaps I',m guilty of not setting out all the background so you can properly see where I'm coming from. I just wish there was some kind of doubt about this but there isn't.

 

Community Paed and OT have both offered to attend school for meeting this week as they are concerned.

 

Let's not argue about it. I'm under enough stress without engaging in arguments on a support board

[wasuup]

I understand and appreciate what you say but if the comments had shocked me by telling me something I don't know, I might be more prepared to hang fire with my judgment.

 

I have been banging on at this school for over a year. They refuse to call in an Ed Psych. Ignored SALT's recommendation. Have to be pushed to take action each step of the way - SA, SA+ all instigated by me. They have confirmed directly there is no social skills provision and have not answered, despite numerous requests, my questions about provision.

 

My son is 7 so it is possible to ask him what happens in class too.

 

I have just not had anyone, in a year, talk directly to me about my son before so I felt it was rather significant for me on a personal level.

 

I don't post here very often so perhaps I',m guilty of not setting out all the background so you can properly see where I'm coming from. I just wish there was some kind of doubt about this but there isn't.

 

Community Paed and OT have both offered to attend school for meeting this week as they are concerned.

 

Let's not argue about it. I'm under enough stress without engaging in arguments on a support board

 

Just apply for a stat assessment and see what happens from there. I applied for my eldest daughter to be stat assessed after 2 schools had let her down after making promises that they would apply for funding. My daughter has a diagnosis of SM and anxiety but I also had raised my concerns about her maths difficulties in the past but been ignored. Today the EP who had completed her assessment of my daughter confirmed my fears for her maths-she is below the 1st percentile in this area at 10 years old an average 4 year old would be better than her maths! She also has some visual processing and spatial awareness difficulties. So trust your instincts and fight for your child.

 

[wasuup]

Just apply for a stat assessment and see what happens from there. I applied for my eldest daughter to be stat assessed after 2 schools had let her down after making promises that they would apply for funding. My daughter has a diagnosis of SM and anxiety but I also had raised my concerns about her maths difficulties in the past but been ignored. Today the EP who had completed her assessment of my daughter confirmed my fears for her maths-she is below the 1st percentile in this area at 10 years old an average 4 year old would be better than her maths! She also has some visual processing and spatial awareness difficulties. So trust your instincts and fight for your child.

 

Oh and the school gave my son a sticker today for asking a question (the 5 year old being assessed for ASD). He asked "Please can you fasten my coat up?" Ok so read between the lines if my son has no problems then why such praise for asking a question my 3 year old would ask? My son will sit and not ask for a straw for his milk but will chat about his "ds" to his hearts content to the teacher. He won't initiate conversation. His teacher says "I only wish he would talk as fluently about other topics". Yet school maintain no problems. The SENco even said he seems to be behind the time frame when I talk to him-stuck in the previous sentence/topic. Yet school will not get an EP to assess.

He has quirky behaviours and he is in a mixed class and will stay sat on the carpet if his group is called. School don't see it and I don't think they realise while they are saying no problems that they are actually highlighting them without any understanding.

Edited February 1, 2010 by wasuup

[babnye1]

Oh and the school gave my son a sticker today for asking a question (the 5 year old being assessed for ASD). He asked "Please can you fasten my coat up?" Ok so read between the lines if my son has no problems then why such praise for asking a question my 3 year old would ask? My son will sit and not ask for a straw for his milk but will chat about his "ds" to his hearts content to the teacher. He won't initiate conversation. His teacher says "I only wish he would talk as fluently about other topics". Yet school maintain no problems. The SENco even said he seems to be behind the time frame when I talk to him-stuck in the previous sentence/topic. Yet school will not get an EP to assess.

He has quirky behaviours and he is in a mixed class and will stay sat on the carpet if his group is called. School don't see it and I don't think they realise while they are saying no problems that they are actually highlighting them without any understanding.

 

That is a really good point. It's like the home/school communication book that we have which is because he's not very good at communicating, but which they complain he won't hand in ........ maybe because he's not very good at communicating

[wasuup]

That is a really good point. It's like the home/school communication book that we have which is because he's not very good at communicating, but which they complain he won't hand in ........ maybe because he's not very good at communicating

 

I asked for one of those after reading one of your post about it at a recent IEP meeting-again why did they yes to it if there are no problems

[Sally44]

I had a similar experience in my son's first school.

But I would say don't place all the blame on the school.

This school you say is outstanding. And it is probably because they are good at what they do best.

But they may have little knowledge or understanding of autism - eventhough you say the SENCO says he does.

My son's previous SENCO also said he had experience of Aspergers (which my son doesn't have), but then continued to do many things that demonstrated to me that he did not have that much experience.

I became very involved with arguing with the LEA about my son's SEN not being met. The LEA informed me that the school SENCO was "very experienced". This infuriated the Head because she said he is experienced in what he is currently doing. He is not experienced in ASD. And she wrote a letter to me stating that because she felt the LEA were trying to place the onus on the school alone and she felt her staff were not being supported.

 

It was very clear to me that school did not know what they did not know. Which makes perfect sense. If you don't have the experience you won't even identify certain things as being relevant to the SEN.

 

Remember we live with our children 24/7.

As we become more and more concerned we begin to read up and can find ourselves in a position where we are much more knowledgeable about of own children's SEN and how it affects them than anyone else.

Schools and professionals learn about ASDs in a general way.

And remember that the staff members are starting from a zero knowledge base.

 

I gave up after my son had spent 3 years in his previous school. Whenever I tried to talk to his teacher or TA about concerns they didn't seem to understand what I was talking about.

 

So I had a good long look at what provision the school were receiving to support my son. This amounted to around 1 day per year from the autism outreach teacher. Occasional training days the school could send a TA to if they wanted to - but no obligation. The school reluctantly called in the SALT and EP and made it very clear that they would not be doing that again due to their EP budgets etc.

 

But I felt that school were also being forced into the position because 'mainstream' is the option all LEAs push because it is government law. But the Head told me that she would need to have indepth conversations with the LEA if they wanted to name their school in the Statement as she felt the school had not been supported at all.

 

And many times I was told things "off the record". This is unfortunately because no one is independent. The EP is employed by the LEA, the school have to follow the LEA line. The Autism Outreach Teacher has to follow her employers instructions even if she does not agree with it. I know for a fact that there was at least one LEA meeting where my son was discussed and the AAT said that she was disgusted with how my son was being treated ( reported to me by the PP ). The AAT also began to phone me on her mobile because she did not want her work colleagues to hear what she said to me. The EP agreed on the telephone that my son needed an autism unit but could not state that. She also confirmed that she had told the LEA SEN officer that he needed an autim unit and was not being listened to.

 

But the above is not a 'conspiracy', it is a very flawed way of funding the SEN of children. It is like asking the police to investigate the police. How independent a report is that going to be?

 

And parents do need time as well to come to terms with dx and what that means. Right at the beginning of the process the Head told me that my son would need to go to a school that had experience of ASD. But the LEA were telling me he could and should remain mainstream. The LEA told me what I wanted to hear and I followed that. It took 3 years to see that that was not a possibility. I am sure that over time and with training and experienced staff, his former school could have supported his SEN. But I could not wait any longer.

 

My son was not coping and he was not learning. I was exhausted. So I made the decision that I could not keep this up over the next 4 years.

 

It is also worth pointing out at this stage, that what is in the Statement is what you get. During the assessment process you may meet all the professionals and have discussions with them about your child. When the Statement is finalised you don't see those professionals again. You are dealing with the people in school who are teaching your child. So it is very important for it to State who does what and for how long.

 

So I made the decision that he needed to be in an environment where he was understood. So now the staff from the Head to the dinnerladies know about autism. That takes a huge weight off your shoulders. I'm not saying this school is perfect, because no school is. And they too have limited funding, but they do have to fulfill the Statement. And I am currently in a position where the ASD side is being met, but the dyslexia/dyscalculia side is not. So that takes you back into the SEN process again.

 

So the bottom line is. Do you think the staff in your son's school are going to understand autism in general, and your son in particular with the amount of training and input they are currently receiving. If the answer is no, then go for the SA and find another LEA school that has experience and expertise in ASDs.

[babnye1]

Thank you Sally for your incredibly helpful post. Our positions sound similar.

 

You are absolutely right about the system being flawed. There seems to be no one you can turn to for completely impartial advice. You have to guide the whole process yourself which means you constantly have to check that you are doing the right thing. It feels like you are constantly putting your neck on the line.

 

I have been very patient with school and supportive of staff. I understand that the teachers aren't experts and I think they do try and understand. The EBP course is a good sign too. But to leave him without any support when they know there is no time in class to accomodate him, is quite shocking.

 

I also think that SENCO needs to know what he does not know and ask. It's no use blustering and pretending he's got it all under control when I am asking questions he can't answer. He is the deputy head and should know better.

 

Your advice is dead right though. You have to get a feel for whether this is likely to change even with a statement. I am not sure at all that we would get one as unless the school really can't afford a little bit of extra TA time, then the LA would be right to say this can and should be accomodated by the school.

[chris54]

OK, thanks for that.

 

She is a class TA and she gets told what to do by the teacher - is that not the way that it works in schools? I'd be very surprised if TAs had roaming roles and decided what they would do each day themselves.

The role of the TA and how their time is used is very much down to the class teacher/the way things are done in a particular school.

 

From my experience (My son's) the class "TA"s time is divided up in helping (Teaching) small groups, roaming the classroom helping children as and when needed and doing preparation work.. Some children will need more help than others and with some thing more than others. This is were SA and AS+ step in and should direct more help to a child that needs it. Ones again this is down to the way things are done in a particular school. The next step being a SA.

 

In my sons school they have additional "TA"s who spend time in classes were there are children on SA, AS+ and have SA to give them additional support, as well as children like my son who have dedicated 1to1 support for some or all the time.

They also have 1to1 and small group work away from the class room. This being the SENCOs job to organise/coordinate.

 

Also it will depend on who much delegate funding there is to the school as to how things work.

 

[KezT]

We took DS out of his excellent small local school, with its excellent academic results, and absolute refusal to differentiate between children. It only wanted a shiny reputation and therefore only wanted "shiny" children. It had no interest in helping the others. After we left, a number of other parents did the same. So that school has got what it wanted - a class full of bright, middle class children who will keep their academic results high.

 

We moved him to the larger, nasty estate school down the road - with something like 80% on free school meals and I think I've only ever met one other "couple" of parents where all the children be;ong to the same parents LOL. Their academic results are, obviously, not as good. But they have been fantastic all along with DS, making every effort possible, FT LSA (funded by the school), and changing him from a 6 year old who was alomost a school refuser and who spent each day sitting outside under a table to a 9 year old who enjoys school, talks about his future exams and spends most of his days within a classroom full of his peers.

 

We had to appeal as the move was initially turned down by the LEA. It was a horrendous time & proably the most important decision I made for him. I am so glad we did it. Sometimes there is no point fighting a whole school ethos - it shouldn't be that way, but it is.

[wasuup]

We have some good news! The SEN officer has commissioned the EP to assess my son at last!!

[babnye1]

We have some good news! The SEN officer has commissioned the EP to assess my son at last!!

 

Great news!!

[babnye1]

We took DS out of his excellent small local school, with its excellent academic results, and absolute refusal to differentiate between children. It only wanted a shiny reputation and therefore only wanted "shiny" children. It had no interest in helping the others. After we left, a number of other parents did the same. So that school has got what it wanted - a class full of bright, middle class children who will keep their academic results high.

 

We moved him to the larger, nasty estate school down the road - with something like 80% on free school meals and I think I've only ever met one other "couple" of parents where all the children be;ong to the same parents LOL. Their academic results are, obviously, not as good. But they have been fantastic all along with DS, making every effort possible, FT LSA (funded by the school), and changing him from a 6 year old who was alomost a school refuser and who spent each day sitting outside under a table to a 9 year old who enjoys school, talks about his future exams and spends most of his days within a classroom full of his peers.

 

We had to appeal as the move was initially turned down by the LEA. It was a horrendous time & proably the most important decision I made for him. I am so glad we did it. Sometimes there is no point fighting a whole school ethos - it shouldn't be that way, but it is.

 

Kez, I have been wondering the same thing myself. We live on a fairly new residential estate which also provides some social housing with some 'problem' families (I'm not suggesting the two things go hand in hand but here it is the case). The school prides itself in 'dealing' with these children and turning them around.

 

However, there are alot of middle class parents here (many in the armed forces - we are an army/RAF town) who are very keen on SATS and 'booster' classes and ensuring that children pass the 11+. Yes, we have the 11+ here! Parents are frequently worried about how their children are doing. I understand that to have a chance of sitting the 11+ successfully, children have to have reached Level 5 by the end of Yr 5, so my view is that there is a drive to weed out and push the bright ones from early on.

 

Where does that leave a bright, doing 'ok' child, with SEN and a parent who seems to be constantly bothering you to take on additional work? It will take some effort to make him reach potential. Could they do without the bother? Probably.