Home-School Book - who uses them?

[Anna85]

I am thinking of starting one for my DS for when he goes into Year 1.

Just wondered people's views and if you made them yourselfs and what you put in there!

x

[keepingupwiththejoneses]

We have one as standard for ds3, he is in ss. I think it is great, he gets a bus to and from school so is the only contact I have with school. Only problem I have really heard of is the teacher not filling it in, which tends to happen more in ms.

[keepingupwiththejoneses]

Sorry should have said, in ds3's last school it was just an exercise book, we put things like how he has slept, his behaviour since last day at school. I also use it to ask the teacher questions like, how much snack money do I owe? that sort of thing.

[growlybear]

We always use them as it is only form of communication on a day to day level that we have with dd ss.We just put in general things such as dd has eaten well or not,what she did in the evening,wether she slept well or not,upcoming appointments etc .

[Anna85]

I mentioned to school and they said they cannot gaurantee they will complete is....is this something that can be incorporated in a Statement?

[insanityscatching]

I have one for dd but for ds I communicate with the staff in the unit by email.
I let school know if there is anything that might affect them in school such as lack of sleep, change of routine or anything that they might have mentioned about school.
School update me daily with what they have done, any difficulties and all the positives. It works well here at least.

[madwomanintheattic]

usually they are started by school, not home. does ds have ft 1-1 support, anna? if not, it's unlikely that the class TA or teacher will have time to fill it in. is there a specific issue that you feel needs daily comment?

ours was beneficial for the first couple of years, but tbh wasn't written in every day, and was used more when we/ school were working on sopecific things to let us know how they were going, or to let school know if dd2 was likely to be different for any reason that day (as insanity says - sleep/ change to routine etc)

dd2 is going into yr 3 and we don't use one now. she is verbal enough for us to ask her what we want to know and for her to tell us - so we just pop in and chat with the staff if there is anything specific. mostly we get by with parent/teacher evenings and a termly iep meeting.

i haven't seen a home/ school book incorporated into a statement as it isn't specifically about direct support to the child - it's just a communication method between school and parents.

[Claw3]

Ds has one, which i use, i rarely get a reply back or even an acknowledgement that my comments have been read. Every child in ds's class has one, even the children without SN's.

The only reason i write in it, is so that i have evidence when it comes to reapplying for a statement.

[Anna85]

Well I wanted to use one for all positive things like stickers he gets he could put in here so he can look back that he can do things...also for them to write things he has done well etc!

No 1:1 full time !

[nadia77]

we have one it's brilliant my ds is in nursery going to ss in sept the nursery fills it in most days we fill in at weekend just put things like what he did how he behaved his sleeping pattern anything new he learnt in way it eveidence of his skills and his behaviour incase he regressesin sep in ss!

[silverfrog]

we have one with dd1 - she is at SN school, it is standard there.

it has ben brilliant for us - school write 2 sides of A4 each day (she has ft 1:1), and we write about the same amount back, under headings such as communication, diet/toileting, nat.curriculum, daily living skills etc, behaviour, sleep etc.

it has been a fantastic thing for us, but the school were completely onside (it was their suggestion - a requirement of the school that we fill it in, rather than the other way around!).

[coff33pot]

Yep have had a home book for a year now and its great. I mentioned to the EP that I would be assuming all was ok for a week only to find when there was a major meltdown suddenly told he had been "non-compliant" (hate that term) all week! And if I had been made aware meltdown may have been avoided. EP requested the TA/teacher complete a home book and they have done but he is 1 to 1 and it is filled in with the good and the bad. I give DS a sticker in it for the good. Also sometimes you can actually form a pattern of events going over it and can put forward suggestions to school to help matters.

[EllenJaneisnotmyname]

My DS2 had one throughout primary school, he has 20 hours 1:1. The teacher never filled it in but the TA used it once or twice a week if there was anything to say. My DS will never tell me anything about school so I found it really useful. I'd put in any issues I was having if I thought they'd affect his day at school or a bit of weekend info as he would never share any news but would answer questions. School provided an exercise book.

[streakybacon]

I begged and pleaded for a home school book when my ds was at school. It was always frowned upon when I wanted to talk to staff about my concerns, and they always had excuses for not giving one (eg "We only give them for very bad behaviour ") which would have been less ironic if ds hadn't been so violent and aggressive at the time.

Eventually I moved him to another primary but they weren't any better and still wouldn't give a contact book. We took him out to home ed a year later.

I think they're an essential communication tool for children with SN, especially when they struggle to talk about their school day so you don't know what's going on. Sometimes teachers forget whose responsibility the children are.

[cwtch4967]

Ds is starting ss in sept and we will have one even though I will be taking and collecting him myself everyday.(live too close for transport)

[starfishmummy]

DS has one at SS. This last year the class TAs have just done a generic word processed entry, same for every child and stuck it in - which has not been very helpful, as it has included stuff that ds hasn't done. The one for transition day was hilarious - it told us what the TAs had done with the new students going into their class, but nothing about how ds had got on in his new class!!

[signandsmile]

had one at pre-school, it's been brill, as ds was virtually non verbal it allowed us and pre-school to pass info, raise any concerns and give details that they (and we ) could use to prompt discussions with ds.

Am hoping for one with school in sept.

[EllenJaneisnotmyname]

When DS was at special school he had a home school diary but the TA had to fill in about 7 or 8 so they did tend to be pretty generic. It was more useful in MS when his TA put in stuff she thought I needed to know, rather than, DS did Literacy and Maths today. Like a fire engine visited the school and DS had a turn with the hose. If she hadn't told me I would never had known and I would have missed an opportunity for discussion.

[starfishmummy]

I agree about the discussion, as far as DS is concerned when he gets home he doesn't want to tell me what he has done (unless he has had a certificate) and has short term memory problems anyway so can't always remember; but having a few words from class about his day so that I can prompt him was very useful. I hope we do go back to individual ones next year - they managed them for many years so I'm not sure why these TAs took the easier option.

[Triggles]

We had one for DS2 in reception, however, the 1:1's never had time to fill it out, as they were far too busy with DS2. Although we had a "hand-over" in the morning and again in the afternoon, so we had 2 opportunities each day to touch base with them and see how things were going. We basically used the home-school book to write in upcoming things (like appointments, etc) and contact info (such as TA saying "oh I found this website I thought you might find interesting" or "I know where you can get that SN item for a good price, I'll jot it down in the book" or "here's my email if you have any questions or need another copy of his year one transition booklet"). It's been of great help in that regard.