Is carpet time compulsory?

[wwyd123]

Ds2 is in school nursery, they have referred him to SENAS but haven't heard back from them yet. He has glue ear and speech/communication delay.

He often refuses to sit and join in at carpet time, the teacher will insist he joins in. He will then have a tantrum. And not join in for the next hour or so.

Do all children have to join in? I do understand they are preparing them for reception but he will be 6 months older by then and hopefully his communication will have improved.

Do they have to make concessions for his SEN? Who could I speak to to check this with? Local authority? Ofsed?

I am meeting his teacher next Monday. And want to be aware of what I can ask for and what help he is entitled too. Thanks

[Emilywd14]

Hi
I am not sure what the legality is around this, I'm sure no child HAS to sit on the carpet ...
However as a special needs teacher myself (who has also taught mainstream ) even at his young age i would be really keen for him to join his peers on the carpet. Obviosuly its not working at the moment but I would be looking to find a way that he could come to the carpet even if its just for a few minutes (or less!) At first...
I would be thinking about what it is about carpet time he doesn't like. Is it too noisy / busy / crowded etc.? Do you know what the issue is? Would be prefer to sit on a chair atbthe back/ side or perhaps slightly away from the other children initially but still close enough to participate.
Is there a lack of structure to the session where he perhaps doesn't know what to expect and what will happen next? Could his teacher be providing some visuals to help. I love the use of symbols and pictures to help children see the steps ofbwhat will happen for example
"Play. Carpet. Story . play "

I think it's so important for his social development and also from the point of view that if he is allowed to not sit on the carpet now, then when there are things he doesn't like when older in class then he could well assume he doesnf need to do that too.

I totally get that you Wont want him to become distressed whenever there is carpet time but maybe his teacher and you could think of some strategies to help him access what is a really key part of his day!

:)

[lougle]

wwyd123 I've experienced both sides. DD1 didn't 'do' carpet time at preschool and was allowed to do her own thing. When she got to special school they said 'and we have circle time....'. I said 'oh, DD1 doesn't do circle time. Preschool let her do what she wants as long as she's not disruptive....' The teacher said 'Oh dear, well DD1 might not like us very much for a few weeks, because we do circle time'.

It did her the world of good. At her special school the children range from those with the most profound disabilities to those with moderate learning disabilities. Highly pervasive ASD to 'high functioning ASD'...they all do circle time, because learning to cooperate with someone else's agenda is vital to living in society.

So, I don't know the legality, but I do know that if having the communication skills to accept circle/carpet time without masses of effort was a criteria, 70-80% of the 130 children at DD1's wouldn't do circle time.