Anyone had dealings with SEN governers

[tiptoes]

Following on from my thread about my ds who has selective mutism and we have been told he will stay in reception next term rather than moving up to year one.

I totally disagree with this decision and have been advised to speak to a SEN governer to report my misgivings.

Anyone else had dealings with a SEN governer and was it useful,would you recommend it?

[tiptoes]

Bump

[Bananaknickers]

a friend is a sen governer. what reasons have they given you tiptoes?

[tiptoes]

Bananaknickers-They have quoted that they can only have 30 per class and they feel it would be in ds's best interests.
He will be taken away from all his friends he has started to talked to in class and also the other 4 children who are staying with him all have special needs.I would have that would be damging to them and they would reinforce each others behaviour.

Speech therapist has said he has made such progress we don't want him to regress.
The headmisterss is quite adamant and said she would argue her decision to anyone that it is the right decision.

[Bananaknickers]

She is working at the moment.She has a son with Asbergers and she is a support full time for a child with Autism.

Our school done this to both my sons.They are a small school and have a cut off point at 30 in year one, but they do all end up together in the end. Both my children have Dyslexia ( not known at the time). Ds1 suffered because of this. He is not to good at making friends and when he was kept back with the other sn children they formed a friendship that has carrried on through school, he is now in year 5.Having meetings with the L.E.A she actually said that he should be encouraged to be friends with other likeminded children because it will hold him back.he is very intelligent but because of the dyslexia he is put with some of the slower children and suppose he is treated as much by the other children.He has never fitted back in with the others.
Ds2 was kept back also and I went in and complained. I was scared the same was going to happen.They told me that they didn't feel he was ready to move up because he didn't want to do the work.When I said you have to make him then they just said that there has to be a cut off point somewhere and the head had made her mind up. Now saying this he is a different child and it has not affected him.He is good at making friends and gets on with all of them now they are all back together again.I think they were right and it done him some good.
Have you spoken to the senco or the L.E.A. If your son is good at making friends then it may not affect him.They will see each other during playtime and keep inviting the others home for tea ect. It is hard and I have rambled and maybe haven't helped at all

[tiptoes]

Thanks Bananaknickers it has been very helpful.

I fear that because of ds's mutism in school he will find it difficult to make new friends.The classmates he is with at te moment are very excepting of ds's mutism and he is a popular little boy in school.
He has built up a network of children who he has just started to talk to and the SALT says it is very important he continues to be with those children or he could regress back.

Like the head said to me there is a risk in this and it could be reviewed if they felt he was'nt settling but with selective mutism to do this and then find out it was'nt a good idea could be devastating and the damage would have already been done.
I as his mother don't want to take that risk.So much work has been put into ds getting where he is at the moment in schol,starting to talk,confident,it would be heartbreaking if he were to regress now.

The head has said the SENCO has'nt had much dealings with ds but have been told she should have had.Ds does'nt have a statement.

Have just spoke to the SEN governer and he will speak to the head again for me and said if I need to takle this further he will give me the relevant LEA information.

With your son who stayed behind did you fight the decision?Where any other options given to you and the right information about the LEA made available.

I have had to find out about the LEA and my next options from the mutism website ,the school did'nt make me aware of this at all.

[tiptoes]

Bump

[Bananaknickers]

I found out two weeks before the end of term so thought it was too late as they had told all the parents.I wasn't feeling as strong as I do now and didn't know they had dyslexia. I did know there was something not right but didn't have a clue at that time.
Fight for what you think is right for your child and I hope you get some advise from other parents.
My ds1 has found it difficult because he is forever trying to catch up with the others.Because he couldn't get things down on paper he was treated like he was thick and that has lowered his self estem. When wwe then found out about the dyslexia he was treated diferently by teachers.The friendship thing though is to do with the sort of boy he is though and his self estem.
I wished I had known and I would have fought for him

[tiptoes]

Bananaknickers-Don't feel in anyway responsibe for this as it is'nt your fault.I continually felt bad about my ds' situation and blamed myself and had really bad experiences with health visitors who put ds's lack of speech down to me and neglect in the home.It was'nt until the speech therapist got invovlved that selective mutism was diagnosed that we realised why ds was'nt talking when the HV visited.The signs were there and the professionals should have picked up on this.At that time I was suffering with PND so like you was not as strong as I am now.I have had great support from other parents who totally agree that this would be the wrong thing for ds at this time.

I too only had my letter of confirmation yesterday,whilst the other mothers had theirs last week. With the end of term looming have little time to sort this out.

Self esteem is so important and I think maybe the school focus more on educational needs rather than emotional needs.

I think putting these children with special needs all together and not intergrating them with other children who have no special needs is singling them out and making them different to everyone else,thus adding more pressure on them.
I am not an expert in this matter and am still learning but am just going on motherly instinct about my ds.

[MumRum]

My children's school always keep the younger children down.. I think this is because they've only had 1 term in reception. They do go into the year 1 class a lot and have their break times together.
Will he have the same teacher as last year?

[tiptoes]

MumRum-He will have a different teacher as his teacher will be with year 3.

This in its self will be a big change for ds as he had just started to talk to this paticular teacher along with being moved away from the children he knows and talks to is a big upheaval for a child with selective mutism.