Please talk to me about p levels?

[used2bthin]

I've been looking into ss placement for dd age six who has just started year one. Found out yesterday she is p2 to p4 which statementing officer said would meet ss criteria. Does that mean not many children at that level are in mainstream do you think?

Lots of factors for the move, I am feeling a bit sensitive over it all though and to top it off there is not actuall space atm in ss. So may do something more gradual but I am worried this will take a while and DD very much isn't coping atm.

[Kettledrum]

My DS is also on pivots (They are the levels before the National Curriculum levels). I was told by my Ed Psych that most children are expected to have finished the pivots by the end of the first term in year 1, and be moving onto the NC levels (of 1C, 1B, 1A etc).

Pivots go up to 8 iirc.

My DS is on levels between 1 and 5 across the different criteria, like yor DD he is in year 1.

[silverfrog]

P levels are the bits before National Curriculum levels start. they go up to 8 I think (god, I can't believe how much of this stuff I hav forgotten! I blame baby brain )

then, after P8 you prgress to NC level 1, and work through the criteria for that, and so on.

P scale breakdown found here

dd1 has just gone into yr4 equivalent (she is young for the year, so just turned 8). she is working at NC 1 for most things, but is still on Pscales for a couple of areas (mainly to do with writing/motor skills). she has a typical spiky profile thoguh, and fulfills criteria in NC 2 in some areas, but has not yet mastered all of NC1 (or indeed P scales at times)

At the end of year 1, it is expected that children in ms will achieve a solid NC1 across subjects.

[used2bthin]

Thanks for replies. The senco seemed surprised that they were so low. But at least she meets the criteria for ss I guess. DD has made very little progress over the year as she was the equivalent of p2 when she entered the foundation unit a year ago for social and emotional and she is now p3.

kettledrum is your DS in mainstream?

Silverfrog how is your baby? My dd2 is three months now, its gone very quickly!

[silverfrog]

it is so hard to know what the levels translate as.

dd1 functions quite a way above where her 'academic' scores place her, but she does absolutely need to be in ss, and not just in academic terms.

ds is doing well thankyou. he is 9 weeks old now, and not looking much like a baby anymore, sadly. he is a chubby happy boy most of the time, but he could do with sleeping just a little more overnight

[used2bthin]

Having read through that link i think my dd functions above what she scored as too but her language skills would have meant she scored lower maybe. Argh finding it all a bit of a blow despite having known all this for ages really. And stressed at what is coming as I am completely lost with what the system is tbh.

As for baby glad he is ok, know the feeling with lack of sleep! I found that the summer holidays forced me into not catching up on sleep in the day (or trying to)and I feel better since I stopped trying to but still have the odd little nap when DD1 is at school.

[Kettledrum]

Yes my DS is in MS (for now at least as its not going great :()

[used2bthin]

similar situation then, I am finding it so hard and dd1 is off school till fri due to having had an upset tummy. I am actually feeling relief at not having to send her. Its a lovely school but she has not coped recently and its been incredibly stressful, she has been hurting other children lots and doesnt seem happy at all. Sorry to hear you are having a tough time too.

[Lougle]

Mmm it's tricky. To be honest, I think lots of MS schools would score a child lower than a SS would, because with the skills of specialist teaching, children can often reach goals differently than they would without it. DD1's school has children ranging from Profoundly and Multiply Learning Difficulties to Moderate Learning difficulties. I'm pretty sure that none of them would be as low as P2 for anything.

For example, P3 for Social and Communication is:

"Pupils begin to communicate intentionally. They seek attention through eye contact,
gesture or action. They request events or activities, for example, pointing to key
objects or people. They participate in shared activities with less support. They sustain
concentration for short periods. They explore materials in increasingly complex ways,
for example, reaching out and feeling for objects as tactile cues to events. They
observe the results of their own actions with interest, for example, listening to
their own vocalisations. They remember learnt responses over more extended
periods, for example, following the sequence of a familiar daily routine and
responding appropriately."

Now, I think that even kicking someone with purpose could be seen as intentional communication. So a child who is unable to reach out or talk, but could kick when happy or sad, etc., could reach P3.

Regardless, that's good news.

DD1 is in special school. I haven't had pscale reports since February (annual review time) but I think her target for this February is P7 in areas. She's year 2.

DD is quite verbal, but unclear. She still needs hand over hand to form letters, she still isn't reading (she can recognise the odd isolated word in context), etc.

[ouryve]

DS2 is, but he has a lovely 1:1 who he really trusts - it can take him years to build up relationships with people, so I don't want to disrupt this one until he clearly needs something more.

[used2bthin]

Thanks and ourve I am the same with dd's school and TA i some ways but her behaviour means its happening for hher more quickly then it would have. I have not helped matters by having a baby and adding to her stress I also think her school, lovely as they are have not had many children with sn which makes a difference.

lougle yes I see what you mean and definately DD has been under scored from how I know her and that worries me as she has good non verbal cognitive scores according to a private ep report a couple of years back.

ss has children between p1 and p8 I think but mentioned spikey profiles and dd certainly has that too. And definately kicking etc with intention! I knew year one would be the test but am surprised at how little resistance so far there has been to the idea of moving her-just think it will be a slow process. Hope she won't be too affected, she hates change and I keep worrying that she needs time to settle into year one but I know deep down, the ss can bring her forward more now.

[ouryve]

DS2's definitely spiky - and variable. He normally ranges between P3 and P5 for the various English skills, but every now and then he utters a grammatically correct sentence that's clearly not copying anything he's heard because it's completely centred around his own quite peculiar interests. For the maths and science skills, he ranges between P5 and P7, now. A year ago, he was barely registering on the P scales in a lot of areas, except maths, so we're delighted with the progress he's making at the moment.

[used2bthin]

That does sound great, its amazing what the right support does. I have just realised that dd may in fact be functioning much lower at school than she does at home.

[ouryve]

I think it's helped that I've begged for more support for his 1:1 regarding ways of working with him and resources available to her. She's been with him 3.5 years, now and she understands his chatter as well as I do and is great at supporting him socially. It's just the expert guidance she was needing more of.

[used2bthin]

Yes that makes a huge difference, ours have changed which hasn't helped. Head at s school didn't return my call last week, hoping to talk with her soon but am concerned that we may not be given a place there now as they are full