What should be happening for this child and others in his class?

[ConnectedToo]

There's a child in reception who has a genetic disability (I've been told it's name but can't remember) that makes him appear like an overgrown toddler.

He's adorable in the way that toddlers are but the size of quite a big four year old. His language is very delayed. He has some words, but on sentences. e.g. every day without fail when asked what he did at school is response is to shout "bricks"

He has no perception of the space he occupies and will trample through and/or over other children and their work.

Other children are regularly complaining that he has either hurt them, spoiled their game or damaged their work. He doesn't mean to and he's not being at all spiteful, he just does. He literally has to be told to sit down every few seconds, which must be disrupting the teaching other children are receiving - I know this because you can hear it at pick up.

He doesn't have a statement (EHCP?) as the school's application was declined, so there's no funding for a 121. What support should he be getting? Whilst having complete sympathy with his parents and the school and being quite fond of the little boy, other parents are beginning to get frustrated that this isn't being dealt with properly by the school. His own parents are of course very worried too. Is there anything anyone can do, in light of the assessment that he doesn't need an ECHP?

His mum knows I'm posting BTW

[albertcampionscat]

Hello! You might have more luck on the special needs boards. Not to say you shouldn't post here, of course, but there's a lot of expertise over there.

[ConnectedToo]

Really? My child is affected by it but apart from that him mum asked me to!

[Aeroflotgirl]

The school should be supervising him ver closely. Tgere should be top up funding, so that he can have a 121 TA to support his needs. The SENCO and teacher need to be documenting evidence, and applying for an EHCP again and again with this evidence, and keep gathering more and more that he needs support. He has the right to an education like everybody else. You need to be concerned of how his behaviour is affecting your child and what is being done to keep your child safe. I think the more this is relayed by parents to teacher, the more evidence for the EHCP.

[BarbarianMum]

Tell his mum the school are bullshitting her. There is a lot more they can and should be doing. And YY to reposting on the Special Needs boards- lots of knowledgeable mums hang out there.

Basically though, his parents need to understand what support he is entitled to legally (you probably won't get this info from the school/LA) and advocate for him.

[insan1tyscartching]

Get Mum to contact IPSEA and SOSSEN and let them support her in getting an EHCP for her child. In the meantime the school could apply for funding to fund TA support whilst the appeal is sorted. Mum has a legal right of appeal and should have been informed of this.

[Saucery]

She could also (in addition to the excellent advice above), contact the organisation relating to his genetic disability. Their advice can be very helpful when dealing with schools and most have advisors who can support both parents and teachers.

[ilongforlustre]

Ah, welcome to the world of non existent support for children with SN in mainstream school.

It should be no surprise whatsoever to the school that their request for an EHCP has been denied. They can have precious little evidence at this stage. So they need to gather more evidence, and then more, and then more and reapply until the LA agrees to assess. Until then the school is expected to spend it's own budget on the support that the child needs... which is evidence of need see, win win.

It's really not brain surgery, but of course, in my (sadly extensive) experience schools are completely incapable of figuring any of this out. So expect to need to spoon feed them this information...pureed. Perhaps your LA have a nice cartoon that explains how it works. This cartoon, far from popular belief, is not for parents.

(bad day)

[Brokenbiscuit]

I'm a primary school governor. We have children at our school who clearly need 1:1 support but don't get the funding for it. It's crap, but the cost of supporting these children therefore has to come out of the main school budget. A lack of additional funding should not be considered an excuse for failing to provide appropriate support.

[Kapoww]

Tell them to appeal the refused assessment or apply again. Definitely contact Ipsea. They are especially interested in those who have been refused assessments and can sometimes help with the case.
Sometimes an appeal in progress is enough to get the LA to change their mind.
He sounds like he needs 1:1. Tell the parents not to give up. x

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

Everything Kapoww says. Local authorities turn down requests for assessment in all but the most extreme cases, appeals are more often than not successful. IPSEA will be able to advise.

[BarbarianMum]

And, in the meantime, the school will have to pay for the support he needs. They aren't allowed to say no.

[mrz]

The school has a duty to meet the child's needs regardless of whether they qualify for an EHCP.
Schools receive a notional SEN budget for this. In reality it is a joke and costs come out of main budget.