My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

How much daily communication do you get from DC's TA?

8 replies

lottytheladybird · 13/10/2015 10:28

My DS1 is 5 and has autism. His speech is coming on, but he cannot have a conversation with me about something unless I can help support the conversation. So DS1's 1:1 TA has always written a brief account of what DS1 has done in the school day. E.g. just a line about what he did in maths, literacy, PE etc.

DS1 is now in Y1, with a new teacher. At parents' evening last Thursday, DS1's teacher said that she thought DS1's TA was spending too much time writing. DS1 doesn't need the TA's help every second of the day, so to write a sentence here and there hardly seems too onerous a task, especially when DS1's TA's sole responsibility is to look after my DS1! We emailed DS1's teacher last night to say that the cut down version (DS1's TA only wrote one sentence about was done in maths) of the notes wasn't enough for us to help our DS1 have a conversation with us.

DS1's teacher said to me this morning that they would stick to the new reduced format for a few weeks and then review it. When I said that I really wasn't happy about it, the teacher told me to talk to the head or the SENCO. I'm at a loss as to why they're taking away the tools for having a conversation with my DS1 about his day at school.

How much communication do you get from your DC's TA everyday?

OP posts:
Report
2boysnamedR · 13/10/2015 12:16

I don't get any. A note of week if I'm lucky but his ta is a class TA as his statement doesn't specify hours of 1:1

Senco is even worse and just ignored me completly

Report
mumsuzz · 13/10/2015 12:25

Is the TA supporting your ds on a one to one basis?

I agree with you that he or she should be able to write something each day. It is really important for you to help your ds develop his ability to remember and sequence the day's events. My dd will just say that she can't remember unless I have some pointers.

I would arrange to see the SENCO and teacher together and make your point which is, I believe, an important one for a ds with autism. And reiterate that the TA is just for your ds. I think sometimes they get sucked into doing other things for the whole class.

Report
ouryve · 13/10/2015 12:27

I do a face to face handover with DS2, daily and catch up, then.

Report
lottytheladybird · 13/10/2015 12:38

mumsuzz
Yes, DS1's TA is his 1:1 full-time TA. DS1's TA told me to speak with the head of SENCO this morning when I said I really wasn't happy with the new reduced notes.

ouryve
I used to do this with DS1's TA too. Then, all of a sudden, this stopped after parents' evening too. I don't really know what to do. I can't really make the TA come out to talk to me... I just don't understand why they seem to have reduced lines of communication so significantly.

OP posts:
Report
Ineedmorepatience · 13/10/2015 17:13

I was in tribunal recently with the family of a little one I worked with and the judge ordered the LA to add time on to his daily hours in his statement to allow for handover. I think it was 15 minutes before and after school every day!

I used to do a long verbal handover at preschool and only wrote in his link book if it wasnt his mum or dad collecting or if an outside agency had been into see him. The little boy was also pre verbal.

You should definitely be getting a handover or accurate account of how his day has been!

I would go to the head or senco, the teacher is not being very helpful! Hmm

Report
ouryve · 13/10/2015 17:19

Yep - DS2's handover can't not happen because he needs direct supervision all the time and doing the in and out from the yard thing with 150 other kids is a nightmare of epic proportions with many things that can go wrong. We even had to stop that with DS1 because, even after a good day, it would put him into meltdown.

Report
AliceInUnderpants · 13/10/2015 19:32

My DD1 doesn't have a TA or a 1:1. However, we have a communication book that is filled in daily with how her day has been. Her class teacher takes the time to write in this at least once a day (usually morning, and afternoon) Sometimes it can be a sentence. Sometimes a full page or two!

Report
Maladicta · 13/10/2015 19:43

When I was a 1-1 TA I always did a verbal 'greet' at the start of the day to find out if anything had happened which needed to be taken into account - late night, disturbed sleep, problems over breakfast etc - then had a detailed verbal handover at the end of the day. The home/school book was a record for more formal things or reminders.

This format was discussed with the child's parents and between us we tweaked it to find what worked best.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.