Your child's weekly SEN timetable

[Helen]

Hello everyone,

 

I posted something similar last night (on a smaller scale), so apologies for repeating this information, but I think this post is relevant where a statement is concerned.

 

Parents need to 'monitor' the provision that has been allocated to their child. I am aware of a few instances where schools have deliberately disregarded the information which has been written in a child's statement, e.g. failure to carry out specific programmes. The parent has found out about it, approached the school for clarification and has been fobbed off. The parent then contacts the LEA to complain that the school is breaking the law by failing to provide a certain type of support, which effectively means the LEA would also be breaking the Law if it allowed the situation to continue. Very often the LEA dismisses this approach from the parent and considers the parent to be too forward/pushy - the parent becomes extremely annoyed and then decides to take the matter further, possibly to the Director of Education or even to the Ombudsman.

 

A Statement is a legally binding document, the statement must be adhered to, full stop. Whatever provision the LEA has deemed necessary and has written in the child's statement, that is what the child must receive.

 

If the parent has enough evidence to substantiate their claims in that their child has not been receiving the provsion which is contained within the statement, then the LEA's failure to comply with the statement could very possibly result in maladministration.

 

It would therefore be benefical to the parent, if he/she made a request to the SENCO, for the SENCO to provide the parent with a SEN timetable of how their child's provision is going to be distributed throughout the week and who is going to provide that support - this being in relation specifically to one-one-support and certain types of programmes.

 

This way the parent is able to monitor the provision. Instead of asking the child what he/she did in the specialist teaching time, the parent could view the timetable and know exactly what should have been implemented during that time.

 

Below are just a few examples of what could be included in a weekly SEN timetable for a child:

 

* Monday - lesson 5 - speech and language therapist - language programme - 1/2 hour.

* Tuesday - lesson 5 and 6 - one-to-one with support teacher - social stories, comprehension, dictionary work - one hour.

* Wednesday - lesson 2 - touch typing programme with LSA - 1/2 hour

* Thursday morning before registration - computer work - 'Success Maker' - LSA - 15 minutes.

* Friday morning before registration - handwriting programme - LSA - 15 minutes and also lesson 3 and 4 - Social skills programme with SENCO within a group setting - one hour.

 

Hope this helps someone, Helen

Edited September 23, 2004 by Helen

[admum]

Pre statement when son was school action plus my son was supposed to get 10 hours shared lsa help. We asked for a timetable as son kept telling us that wasnt getting it. We were told that had no right to that info and that was getting help. As son will return to mainstream possibly at some point does anyone know if we have the right to see the actual timetable? He now has a statement so I presume that that enables us to demand. Subsequently after a full investigation by the lea it was found that hadnt received the help due to the teacher forgetting to tell the lsa to do it ! No-one took responsibility , senco went off sick and accused us of causing her breakdown ! Thankfully son is no longer in that school.

[Kazzen161]

That's good advice, but your example of a timetable is one that most us could only dream of - lol!

 

 

Karen

[Helen]

Hello admum,

 

Have you thought about requesting an introductory meeting with the headteacher, so that all your concerns can be brought out into the open from the outset? You'd then be made aware of what the school expects from you and the school will also be made aware of what you will expect from it.

does anyone know if we have the right to see the actual timetable?

This information shouldn't be top secret, you could make a request for this information during the introductory meeting. If the school doesn't have anything to hide it will gladly give you this information.

 

I don't know if your son has 1-2-1 support, if he has then you could also ask for a copy of the break time/lunch time staff timetable, for you to know who is on duty each day - LSAs in my son's school have to do 'yard' duty, regardless of what is/is not written in their ward's Statement.

 

I can understand that you may be feeling somewhat cautious about this new school and rightly so given your previous circumstances, but give the school a chance to prove itself...

 

Karen: My friend and I were talking one day about the support that our SEN children received in the mainstream setting - that's where the above combined examples came from. I suppose I wanted to highlight to other parents what can be available to the SEN child - in a mainstream setting.

 

Both our circumstances have changed since then. My son doesn't any longer receive computer work before registration (his choice - because he became bored with the programme), he does SEN work during some of his disapplied time with his LSA and no. 1 SEN support teacher - just the three of them. As he has three hours disapplied time he also has the benefit of working with no. 2 SEN support teacher in a mixed ability class, where the work given is ability and needs appropriate. A SALT visits the school each week to administer both his social skills programme and his SALT programme. If my son doesn't take part in PE for some reason he has to make his way to the Senco's room for tutoring.

 

My friend's child doesn't any longer receive computer work before registration, her child now receives SALT with a SALTherapist who visits the school twice a week to implement the programme. Her child is also disapplied from certain lessons - this time is utilised by implementing SEN work, a handwriting programme and also a touch typing programme. Her child also receives 1-2-1 support from a Dyslexia teacher who visits the school once a week to administer a Dyslexia programme - the LEA had previously tried to enlist the services of a newly qualified teacher who didn't have any knowledge of Dyslexia, but my friend wouldn't accept it and she held out on this matter until a highly qualified and highly experienced Dyslexia teacher could be found.

Edited March 9, 2005 by Helen

[admum]

Sorry Helen I may have confused you. Current school is great. Co-operative and tell me al;l we want to know but it is a small private special school. Before that my son (asd,adhd, dyspraxia went to a v large mainstream primary which was hell for us and him as school wouldnt talk coperate and denied all his probs. I would like at secondary level for him to go back to mainstream but am scared after my previous experience which was to say the least appalling and v stressful.

[illy]

I have just looked at this with the timetable, My son had his Parents evening a couple of weeks ago now, and although they did show me his IEP (well notes lol) i have never been shown a timetable, and am yet to receive a copy of his IEP.

 

As a parent with many concerns about my child, what rights do I have? Can I go to school at the beginning of the school day, and after, to see how things have been with my son at school?

 

Thanks for any info

Hugs Illy