If the child has missed lots of lessons

[Mother in Need]

If the child has missed lots of lessons is the school responsible for making sure the child can catch up/keep up?

 

My son missed most of this school year, partially due to not coping within the school environment, then spending 6 weeks in a psychiatric day unit, then trying again for one week with disastrous consequences, then illegally expelled for 5 weeks. Now he is reintegrated back into school again, and the LEA is paying for full-time LSA FOR REINTEGRATION ONLY. And even now (ie the last 5 weeks) he has only spent 1 at the most 2 lessons a day actually in class (out of 5-6), the rest of the time he talks to the TA to consolidate the relationship. He has been brought to lessons where he has obviously not been able to cope due to the large gap in his knowledge, he then gets so agitated that they have to take him out again. In other lessons they are practising their SATS and once again he has no clue what's going on and hates tests anyway, so out he goes again. How is he going to be able to access the education that is provided to the masses if he's not given any extra help? Surely school should use all that dedicated TA time to run over subjects with him and work on areas that he needs to know in order to be able to get back into the classroom?

 

His school doesn't seem to think so and have suggested that if I am worried about this to go to the BBC Bitesize and Samlearning sites with him. Excuse me, isn't this their job, trying to teach him at home is like trying to make him do homework....a BIG no no to him!

[Flora]

MIN, What an appalling situation. I'm absolutely gob smacked that the only thing they could come up with was the BBC website.

 

I don't have any knowledge in this area, but I really think that part of the reintegration package should be 1-1 teaching to help him cover some of the ground he has missed. What is the point of sticking a child in class to do lessons where he is a year behind what they are teaching?? It absolutely beggars believe. Reading your post made me so angry on your behalf. Surely they can't get away with offering so little? Surely too they can't expect your son to adjust back to school life AND catch up with the work he's missed out on. Most adults would find that daunting.

 

I hope you can get something changed and more help in place for your son.

 

Lauren

[Mother in Need]

Lauren, thanks for your reply, made me feel a little better! It's good someone is angry, I feel so battlworn that I haven't got any emotions left.

 

That's what they seem to be thinking exactly, I am trying to get them to commit this to writing so I can prove to the LEA he is not receiving a suitable education at that school. I like the way you worded it, would you mind if i used that to quote?

[Flora]

I like the way you worded it, would you mind if i used that to quote?

 

 

I don't mind at all.

 

I hope you can get some sense out of your LEA.

 

take care

 

Lauren

[jen]

Lauren

There is no reason why your child should not go into the class for the introduction of the lesson then he should come out and do a modified lesson that he can cope with. What does your childs statement say. My childs statement say the following which would obviously cover a lot of special needs children.

 

 

A broad and balanced curriculum appropriate for his needs, learning style and abilities including full access to the National Curriculum. The breadth and balance of the curriculum may be temporarily adjusted in order to address .......... priority special needs

 

In order to improve his skills, ........... teaching programmes should be underpinned by the preparation of an appropriate and thorough curriculum. Ongoing assessment of ............ strengths and weaknesses should guide an intense educational programme that aims to address deficiencies and build on already assimilated skills. This monitoring and assessment should inform and enable .......... movement in terms of group placement or setting as his skill level improves

4. ........... class teacher should work closely with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, learning support assistants and the appropriate LEA support services to ensure that there is a focused, co-ordinated and effective approach to devising and delivering the following programmes and activities which should include:

4.

 

 

The class teacher should liaise with the SENCO and learning support assistant(s) to ensure that through the careful deployment of the school?s core and additional SEN resources, an appropriate balance of whole class, small group and individual teaching and support is available to ........ throughout the school week. Detailed and ongoing monitoring and evaluation arrangements, through the IEP and the school?s broader SEN policy must be put in place to ensure that the investment of these additional resources and strategies are deployed effectively and have positive measurable outcomes in terms of ..........rate of progress.

 

8. .............. teachers and learning support assistant need to plan together and prepare appropriately differentiated material (if necessary). Class teachers need to be aware of his individual Education Plan (IEP).

 

9. Full access to any specialist resources, materials and equipment within the school regularly available for use with pupils having special educational needs

 

 

a) A structured behaviour programme delivered in an environment with clear boundaries and the implementation of firm, consistent and solution focussed approaches. The programme to include individual targets relating to:

 

Hope this helps

 

Jen

[Guest hallyscomet]

If the child has missed lots of lessons is the school responsible for making sure the child can catch up/keep up?

 

My son missed most of this school year, partially due to not coping within the school environment, then spending 6 weeks in a psychiatric day unit, then trying again for one week with disastrous consequences, then illegally expelled for 5 weeks. Now he is reintegrated back into school again, and the LEA is paying for full-time LSA FOR REINTEGRATION ONLY. And even now (ie the last 5 weeks) he has only spent 1 at the most 2 lessons a day actually in class (out of 5-6), the rest of the time he talks to the TA to consolidate the relationship. He has been brought to lessons where he has obviously not been able to cope due to the large gap in his knowledge, he then gets so agitated that they have to take him out again. In other lessons they are practising their SATS and once again he has no clue what's going on and hates tests anyway, so out he goes again. How is he going to be able to access the education that is provided to the masses if he's not given any extra help? Surely school should use all that dedicated TA time to run over subjects with him and work on areas that he needs to know in order to be able to get back into the classroom?

 

His school doesn't seem to think so and have suggested that if I am worried about this to go to the BBC Bitesize and Samlearning sites with him. Excuse me, isn't this their job, trying to teach him at home is like trying to make him do homework....a BIG no no to him!

 

Hi MIN

 

I have been through this with my son, and am now doing through it with my NT daughter because of health reasons.

 

I sat down and wrote all the problems my daughter was having and how they were affecting her ability at school, then had a meeting with the principal. Went through the same with my ASD son but with him spoke with the School counsellor. My ASD son lost about 6months of school because of "MMR Booster"

 

Both times, the Principal and the counsellor took the view each child would end up having a nervous breakdown if we pushed them too hard given their current health problems, both chronic.

 

Firstly my daughter she is only attending school Mon Wed Fri and aloud to stay home Tues & Thurs to rest and recover because of her illness but she also is to use this time to catch up with Assignments. This is only until the school holidays so this was a 3 week period. So she is attending class as normal on the other days. She has been advised she can go to the Library for study periods and get support if really struggling, but has to advise the Principal first. Next Term when she goes back there is a maths teacher that is at the school 3 days a week, they said they have funding to give him more hours and will arrange study periods with him instead of attending sport, so she can catch up on all those grey areas. She is in secondary school Year 10 so it is an important year for her.

 

Secondly, my son, very similar situation the counsellor communicated with all his teachers and I communicated with all his teachers one by one. They organised essential work for my son, and the English teacher provided me with a list of problem areas my son was having in English, so we went along to a Speech Therapist who charge $50 per half hour to go over the areas he was having the most difficulty grasping, he did this for 6-8 months.

 

With exams he had a huge anxiety because the MMR caused a huge regression and he developed an Anxiety that caused him to need to get out of the class every 5 mins, this was a huge problem that put him in hospital at this stage I didnt know but the MMR had spread a measles virus through his colon causing Irritable Bowel then leading onto Irritable Bladder. The specialist said this is very common with children with Autism (but he failed to advise me the true culprit......the MMR.

 

With all this happening a lot of time off a lot of anxiety, I had to ring his teachers every month and they always were very greatful and advised me they will give him the absolute essential stuff to help him through, also the Paediatrician wrote a letter to the Principal and another the The Board of Studies allowing him to sit his major Year 10 exams in a room by himself with a teacher only there to monitor him, explaining his Autism and needing more time to complete the exam and the current health issues.

 

So to answer your questions.......write everything down, set up a meeting and speak someone like the Principal or school counsellor as they are the ones that can really make things happen or make heads roll if some of the teachers are being totally impractical, hence all my daughter was going through one of her teachers rediculed her infront of the whole class because of her weight. I sorted that B.... out too. So go to the top. They will make the impossible possible. Communication, communication ........

 

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Look after yourself too, this can grind you down enormously, I have acute back problems at the moment I believe is caused by the stress of it all........so I have been advised to do gentle "Hatha Yoga" swimming or walking but Not Pilates if you have a bad back, according to my Physio.

 

Hope this helps.

 

All the best

 

Hailey <'>

[julieann]

Lauren, thanks for your reply, made me feel a little better! It's good someone is angry, I feel so battlworn that I haven't got any emotions left.

 

That's what they seem to be thinking exactly, I am trying to get them to commit this to writing so I can prove to the LEA he is not receiving a suitable education at that school. I like the way you worded it, would you mind if i used that to quote?

 

 

Hi Mother in Need,

I believe that if you put it in writing to the LEA that you feel your son is not receiving a suitable education quoting the education act etc. The oweness is then on the school to provide evidence that he is in the form of a report to the LEA and yourself.

Julieann

[Tez]

Hi MIN,

 

Slightly different situation because A's statement does stipulate he should be taught at home by LEA. However, they only want to teach English, Maths and Science which doesn't comply with his statement. Have been told the same as you regarding other subjects, use SAM learning and exam board websites to establish the curriculum and teach him yourself. If he does ok with that we will consider supporting you.

 

We are still within the appeal deadlines for A's statement so with the help of IPSEA we are taking it to SENDIST in the hope that they will make the LEA write in hours of teaching (more than 5 currently being given) and subjects to be taught.

 

I believe you are still within time limits for appeal on your son's statement, could you speak to IPSEA and see if they think SENDIST could tighten up on the statement wording to protect your son's interest whilst he's so far behind?

[Mother in Need]

Thanks all for your very helpful replies!

His statement is still only in draft format, the draft is absolute cr*p so I am re-writing it and hope that when I have the meeting with the LEA they'll accept my version... you've all just given me some more things to add to it...

School (and Head) have been pretty useless, their communication skills are bad, and they tell blatant lies. But the LEA believes them.... When I dropped my son off this morning, the SENCO met him, but she didn't even say good morning to me or anything... She is also (deliberately, I feel) misunderstanding straightforward questions that I put in his home/school book (had to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to get them answered...), which I put in in an attempt for them to write down what they are and are not doing, so I have written proof that things aren't what they say... I have re-phrased the question regarding lessons to help him catch up, I wrote I meant lessons during his time in the LSU with TA. He has barely had any lessons this whole school year, do you propose to just put him back into lessons without a chance to catch up? How can he do, for instance, his maths as he has missed the last 6 months of lessons? I know it's not a 'proposing' it's what they've been doing, but let's hope she'll answer this straightforward this time...mmm, didn't invoke the Act this time though, so it might just get ignored, I'll find out later on.

[Mother in Need]

Nope, I didn't invoke the Act so I didn't get an answer... Now I'll have to wait till after Easter before I can take this further. I was hoping for some proof to help me prepare for the meeting with the LEA.

[Canopus]

You will have to investigate into exactly what material on a subject by subject basis your kid has missed. Although we have the National Curriculum, schools don't cover the same material at the same time. For example, find out if your kid has missed algebra or trigonometry in maths, Dickens or Shakespeare in English, and the Tudors or WW II in history.

 

It is the responsibility of your kid to read up on and study material that has been missed, but schools should have the decency to provide information on what has been missed and any books and study materials required. They should also allocate some time so that your kid can study and obtain help on things.