Yr 7 report

[LKS]

My as ds brought home his yr 7 report yesterday. Not too bad but many suggested targets from teachers about improving his handwriting His english teacher who we have had some trouble with in the past started off with a lovely comment about him being very bright and having an 'unusual' and sophisticated style of writing She then continues however he only does well when interested in a text or topic A while ago I posted on here a piece of writing he had to do about himself. He was VERY uncomfortable with this, but he gave it his best shot. The teacher has written. He did poorly at the autobiographical writing task and put in little effort and included few details

He obviously has difficulties with handwriting and I have suggested he uses an alpha-smart but I am wary that this would mean he takes even longer to get started on tasks and it would also make it difficult for me to keep track of his performance. He has many talents in English but I am very concerned that with his lack of concentration and motivation he could become disaffected She is the only teacher that has mentioned lack of motivation so perhaps it is her Of course in the front of the report the HOY and form tutor have decided to concentrate on this particular aspect of the report.

I feel fed up a) because none of them seem to appreciate the effort that we put in at home for the homework and The english teacher's comments have worried me

[Canopus]

These are fairly typical remarks for a Y7 English teacher, so I wouldn't be too worried at the moment. Most kids only do well in English if it is a topic they are good at. Some kids are good at factual writing whereas others excel at poetry. Autobiographies are not your son's strong point but was it the first time he ever had to write an autobiography?

 

Some teachers have an obsession with handwriting and still think school leavers need to write copperplate with a quill pen. Is your son's handwriting illegible scrawl or is it acceptable for everyday communication and exams? Only if your son's handwriting is below standards acceptable for use in an exam will remedial action be required. You could give an Alphasmart or laptop a trial run to see if it is an improvement or a distraction.

 

I find it cause for concern that the HOY and form tutor have latched onto the issue of lack of motivation when only one teacher has mentioned it, and have decided to concentrate on this issue. I suggest you have a meeting with them and discuss the matter.

[LKS]

Thanks canopus. There is a parents evening next week, when I plan to bring up certain matters. It was his first attempt at an autobiography and it made him very uncomfortable writing about his thoughts and feelings I just would have liked the HOY to concentrate on some of the good points like his excellent marks in German which he seems to have a natural apptitude for and is top of his class. I can see why the English teachers comments would cause concern, but it is strange that nothing has ever been mentioned to me before about his lack of motivation and concentration in this lesson. His hand writing is quite poor as he has dyspraxia, he did his sats in year 6 on the pc as that was his usual method of recording his work. He has been very reluctant to use his alpha-smart in secondary as not one other pupil uses one and he is very wary about 'standing' out. Teachers are forever getting him to try and slow down and concentrate more on his handwriting, when he does this he never finishes any of the classwork and has to do it at home + all of the ordinary homework. He also had a morning break detention yesterday as I had failed to sign and return a proforma at the bottom of a letter. The form said to be returned as soon as possible and was given out Wednesday. This was my fault and not his. I was so b****y cross with the school yesterday

[phasmid]

We have had similar problems in the past with letters from school just not being passed on (although they never went as far as issuing a detention because of it!). One way around this might be to ask them to e-mail them to you. That way they KNOW you will have had them. You fill it in and send it back - job done! It simply isn't good enough to give children letters and EXPECT them to pass them on and then punish them if they are not. Some parents never sign stuff at my school and we have had to chase them up to sign even for a free trip out somewhere (Sad to say some children have missed out on trips because of this, even when staff - including me - have offered to pay their share of the cost, the parent just didn't want to sign the letter. Insurance meant: no permission, no trip).

 

As for the report I can remember Phas jr's last one before dx....it went on and on about lack of ability to work with others, staying on task aduring things he found 'boring' and so on. The next one however, well chalk and cheese. They had taken on board his dx and the fact that it proved this was something he just couldn't help - it was (is) the way he is. We still had the odd comment about it but it wasn't every page and every teacher! They really must take into consideration his dx, not doing so is not 'reasonable adjustment' and is likely to be in breach of their SEN policy. I'd be asking for a copy of the policy (if you don't already have it) and looking to see where they are in breac and tackling them over it.

[LKS]

Thanks Phas. I actually haven't got a copy of the secondary school SEN policy yet. Think it is about time I got one. I thought as he is statemented and has a pupil profile and I.E.P. that lists his biggest problems they would take this into account. Every teacher apart from 2, mentioned his hand-writing and 4 gave it as his target for improving. In H.E. and C.D.T they have said he is rather slow and disorganised, well I know that, these lessons both require quite a lot of dexterity, bringing it to my attention as if there is something we can do to improve it is pointless. I think ds has made an absolutely brilliant job of transferring to secondary school and managing to fit in. I would have liked some appreciation shown of the huge effort that took from all of us. I really like the idea about e-mailing me forms to fill in. He can't understnad why he was given a detention for forgetting something. Do they really think this will make him remember next time! Again his profile mentions his poor short term memory and that teachers should ensure that any relevant information be written down in his organiser. If they had done that on Thursday (I must ensure I bring in proforma tomorrow) there wouldn't have been the problem. I don't think the school make any reasonable adjustmnets at all for my son.

p.s. Why would a teacher find it difficult to keep track of his performance if he did his work on an alpha-smart or word processor, can't quite work that one out.

[Canopus]

Why would a teacher find it difficult to keep track of his performance if he did his work on an alpha-smart or word processor, can't quite work that one out.

 

Why did so many teachers at my schools and my EP insist that I had to write homework with a pen rather than use a word processor? I can't quite work that one out.

[LKS]

Well canopus if anyone does manage to work it out perhaps they can let us know

[Canopus]

Any ideas anybody?

[LKS]

I had been in contact with the senco to ask if one of the L.S.A's could bring an alpha-smart/dana into the lessons that they think my ds might need it most. This I thought would take the pressure off of him at the moment regarding him remembering to take it everywhere with him. (we will be working on that though) Anyway L.S.A turned up yesterday with one for him to use, guess what lesson? German

[Canopus]

Does Alphasmart have keys for Eszett and a o u umlaut?