am i expecting too much?

[jools]

please be honest......i can take it!

 

G is dx dyspraxia and adhd has been mentioned by camhs (think it was dx not entirely sure ) and i'm still querying asd with the school supporting me. he is on school action plus

 

G has been very unsettled since returning after xmas. his teacher who appeared to be understanding in sept is obviously starting to lose patience with him and has resorted to sending him out of class frequently. some of this i see for myself (i work in the school) and the rest G tells me.

 

i have been in school tonight to speak to her as a parent, not a member of staff. i explained he had been unsettled at home (alternating meltdowns and being withdrawn) and asked how was in class......giving her opportunity to tell me. she says he is fine so i queried her about yesterdaY as an example

 

1. he was kept out of PE. she says because he wouldn't walk sensibly down the corridor. ok i agree she doesn't want children being silly, however when i asked if it was upsetting the other children or encouraging them to join in she says no......so i really think he shouldn't have been kept out of it. maybe sat out for a little while if she really needed to make a point but not necessary for him to sit with no work for 45mins!

 

2. he was kept in at lunchtime to complete his literacy. i asked if he had been silly or refusing to do his work during lesson time.....no, he just hadn't completed it. well that will be because he needs support, something i keep being told by her, and until he gets it work will be unfinished, especially literacy......its his worse subject......so i don't want him kept in to complete work.....i want him supported during lessons!!

 

3. he was sent to reception class during circle time (again with no work). when i queried why she told me its because he finds sitting and listening very hard to do and we need to work at it.....i agree but to do that he needs to be involved, probably best by sitting next to teacher so she can help him. sending him out at the first sign of wriggling won't help. G actually told me he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing with the piece of paper that was being passed around.....it read ' I feel ______ when ______' and each child had to complete the sentence. it was circle time about feelings.....not his strong point.....lol

 

now the school say they are supporting me and will be going for a statement when all reports are in. this wait has been backed by camhs as the specialist teacher sits on the moderating panel and has said it may well be chucked out if all documentation isn't presented straight away.......she sits on the panel so i have to trust her.

however i'm also well aware that the process is long and he is obviously not to going to get a statement (if at all) until next school year.

 

i would like to see some 1-1 support in place for him now but school say they can't do it.........they haven't said but i know its down to funding.

 

my view is that he should not be sent out of class...i know its hard and i know he can be very frustrating (god knows i know that......lol) but i firmly believe some allowances have to be made or the school need to turn a blind eye to some of the behaviour that may be annoying (like constantly wriggling in the seat) and he shouldn't be compared to every other child in the school......cos he isn't like them!

either that or they MUST get him some support

 

am i being unreasonable?

you can be honest......i don't mind.

its just that sometimes i think i maybe don't see both sides because i obviously want him to be happy and at the moment he's not

 

and i'm sorry this is much longer than i intended

[OPooh]

Sorry I don't have an answer but this sounds very frustrating for you and so I wanted to offer some <'> >< <'> >< <'>

[sue45]

Hi Jools,

 

It looks to me like you're having to do an awful lot of understanding here; You're looking at your child's needs and sympathising with the school/teacher's viewpoint as well and wondering what your position should be, but at the end of the day, your child has a right to have his needs met. I'm sorry but I'm poorly equiped to give you sound advice on what to do but I'm sure someone like Nellie or Phas will come along and fill you in properly. Just wanted you to know that you're not alone and to wish you luck.

 

Sue

 

xx

[UltraMum]

Just wondering what the school provide for him at school action plus - are they just calling it this because outside professionals are involved?

 

It may be an idea to try to have a word with the SENCo and ask for support to be provided ... otherwise if he goes for assessment and the LEA find that he has no support in place they may play the ' the school hasn't done all it can' card and you then have to wait another six months to apply for assessment again - sorry to be so cynical

[Helen]

Jools, I don't think you're being unreasonable, you're asking the school to address your son's needs. If a child is on the SEN register, the school's governing body must use their best endeavours to see that appropriate provision is made to any pupil who has SEN.

 

Have a look at this link: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/96056-ba.htm It refers to The Education Act 1996, scroll 1/2 way down the page for 317(1), a, b and c. It mentions the Duties of governing body or LEA in relation to pupils with special educational needs.

Edited January 14, 2006 by Helen

[Suze]

You sound very much like me 2 yrs ago. we were in the exact same position. My son had many problems , no understanding and little support.If the school have,nt already apply yourself for him to be assessed with a view to a statement.The ball needs to get rolling.

[jools]

support he receives in school at the moment is

 

1. 10 mins a day handwriting practice.....initiated and provided by me!

2. 1 session with a ta who is timetabled to work with other children. he tags along during this session because i teach his class for this session and have refused to do so if it means working with G.....its unfair on both of us. i don't see this as an acceptable solution and the school have said it is a temporary position until he gets statement!

[Zemanski]

I remember you having difficulty before with being asked to teach your son, etc.

 

this is a very difficult situation to be in and I think outside support might help

 

you could try talking to parent partnership or (better) Ipsea - be persistent with the ipsea phone line, they take ages but are worth the effort

 

Zemanski

[LKS]

Hi jools you must be so frustrated. Sorry if I've got this wrong but wasn't the whole point of LEAs not 'wasting'valuable time and resources on statementing supposed to ensure that support was in place for a child as soon as they were starting to have difficulties. For someone who is obviously having problems with handwriting, why on earth would a teacher think its a good idea to keep the child in for non completion of work I'm sorry but I think we need the experts in here, just wondering if it says anywhere in your schools sen policy what they are supposed to provide at SA+

[phasmid]

G is dx dyspraxia and adhd has been mentioned by camhs (think it was dx not entirely sure ) and i'm still querying asd with the school supporting me. he is on school action plus

 

Sorry, the school are supporting you how exactly?

 

 

1. he was kept out of PE. she says because he wouldn't walk sensibly down the corridor.

 

Exsccuse me? Did you not state he is dyspraxic! This may be (part of) the reason why he couldn't walk properly down the corridor...or am I wrong?

 

 

2. he was kept in at lunchtime to complete his literacy. i asked if he had been silly or refusing to do his work during lesson time.....no, he just hadn't completed it. well that will be because he needs support, something i keep being told by her, and until he gets it work will be unfinished, especially literacy......its his worse subject......so i don't want him kept in to complete work.....i want him supported during lessons!!

 

Not only does he need support for his work this time is a social time. If, as suspected by the school and you, he does have an ASD they ought to realise this is not good practice!

 

3. he was sent to reception class during circle time (again with no work). when i queried why she told me its because he finds sitting and listening very hard to do and we need to work at it.....i agree but to do that he needs to be involved, probably best by sitting next to teacher so she can help him. sending him out at the first sign of wriggling won't help. G actually told me he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing with the piece of paper that was being passed around.....it read ' I feel ______ when ______' and each child had to complete the sentence. it was circle time about feelings.....not his strong point.....lol

Uh-huh. Thats a great way of including a pupil with a possible socio-communication disorder - send him out of the class!

 

now the school say they are supporting me and will be going for a statement when all reports are in. this wait has been backed by camhs as the specialist teacher sits on the moderating panel and has said it may well be chucked out if all documentation isn't presented straight away.......she sits on the panel so i have to trust her.

 

If the school truly believe that he has an ASD they should be putting into place as much as they possibly can by way of support NOW. They can do no harm by doing this - they can do a lot of harm by NOT doing it. If this is support in their view I think they're wearing rose tinted glasses!

 

however i'm also well aware that the process is long and he is obviously not to going to get a statement (if at all) until next school year.

 

i would like to see some 1-1 support in place for him now but school say they can't do it.........they haven't said but i know its down to funding.

 

my view is that he should not be sent out of class...i know its hard and i know he can be very frustrating (god knows i know that......lol) but

 

Yes it can be a long process, but they could be doing more than they are in the meantime! 1-1 may be difficult due to funding, as you acknowledge but, they are failing to address needs they know he has as well as needs they believe he has. He is on SA+ so access to outside support is already available - why are they not getting it for him?

 

NO. They are going through the motions but they are not giving him full access to the curriculum by the sound of it. Just because your a member of staff there is no reason to accept second best. Do you have a partner or spouse who can deal with the school instead of you? That might be easier on you and them. If not, make sure they can see the 'work you' and the 'mum you' as seperate people and that they react accordingly.

 

HTH

[elainem]

I'm sorry not read all the replies. I think the shcool are unreasonable - he should not be sent out of class, should be finding strategies to overcome the difficulties he is experiencing. A small point in terms of the wriggling this might be a sort of stim and actually help him concentrate so would be unfair to insist he stops.

 

Elaine

[Canopus]

1. he was kept out of PE. she says because he wouldn't walk sensibly down the corridor. ok i agree she doesn't want children being silly, however when i asked if it was upsetting the other children or encouraging them to join in she says no......so i really think he shouldn't have been kept out of it. maybe sat out for a little while if she really needed to make a point but not necessary for him to sit with no work for 45mins!

 

Is this actually legal anymore? I thought that under National Curriculum rules, every kid has to be given an equal chance at every subject.

 

2. he was kept in at lunchtime to complete his literacy. i asked if he had been silly or refusing to do his work during lesson time.....no, he just hadn't completed it. well that will be because he needs support, something i keep being told by her, and until he gets it work will be unfinished, especially literacy......its his worse subject......so i don't want him kept in to complete work.....i want him supported during lessons!!

 

Was he given any help or support to complete his work during lunchtime or was he made to complete it alone? If he wasn't given any help then the school views him as lazy.

 

3. he was sent to reception class during circle time (again with no work). when i queried why she told me its because he finds sitting and listening very hard to do and we need to work at it.....i agree but to do that he needs to be involved, probably best by sitting next to teacher so she can help him. sending him out at the first sign of wriggling won't help. G actually told me he didn't understand what he was supposed to be doing with the piece of paper that was being passed around.....it read ' I feel ______ when ______' and each child had to complete the sentence. it was circle time about feelings.....not his strong point.....lol

 

Why was reception class chosen? Sending kids to the lowest class was traditionally used as an intimidation technique.

[jools]

thankyou all for the replies.

 

phas.....can i ask another question.

you say that on SA+ he is able to get access to outside help.

like what?

 

hubbie has started to take over dealing with school, under my direction (that sounds awful but you know what i mean). he had a meeting with the head and senco before xmas when we were given date for EP to come into school.

at the moment we do not have an SEN govenor so when he writes to the HT the letter will be copied to the chair of govenors.

 

i admit i feel slightly uncomfortable because i work there but my child comes first and i will do whatever it takes.

[phasmid]

Jools, it could be anything really, Autisum outreach service if your LEA has one for a start. Any support service they feel could help with training and/or awareness issues. A lot depends on the areas he/they are having trouble with as to the sort of help they seek.

[Helen]

hubbie has started to take over dealing with school, under my direction (that sounds awful but you know what i mean). he had a meeting with the head and senco before xmas when we were given date for EP to come into school.

There's your outside agency - the EP.