My son is on an Education plan - What is it - can I get info..

[Cosmo74]

I have just spoke to my sons head mistress and asked if she could follow the process to get my son assessed as doc. says it could take a year to get an appointment - she agreed to take this on but she keeps talking about a plan that he is on at school - they briefly discussed this with me before but I didn;t really understand - she says the plan has 5 stages and he is on stage 2 at the minute when he gets to stage 3 he then goes to see teh behavioural management team and education psychologist - does anyone know where I can find out more info about this plan - his head mistress just skims over it and keeps telling me not to get stressed about it but I want to know what is ahead of me. Oh then she turned around and said that some kids like him do not suit commuity schooling ?? and I am not suppose to worry - she has a child herself that has ADHD and he couldn't go to mainstream school - I am not convinced that our DS has ADHD, yes he has trouble concentrating but is not behind in his ability etc.. I just do not like her diagnosing him with him seeing specialist. BTW his teacher is great she has told me he is not a bold kid, when I expressed my concerns about him being put into another class cause he can be a bit disruptive he laughed and said that that wouldn't happen?

Sorry have waffled if anyone could let me know if they know what this plan is and where I can find info about it I would be most grateful.

[cazzybabs]

I presume she is talking about stages on the special need register. This would mean he has an individual education or behaviour plan with targets to ensure he is making progress. You are supposed to see it though? so i maybe wrong??

[Cosmo74]

Yeh I think it is called an individual education/behavoir plan - we did see it when he started his star chart - it just had 5 basic points on it - like he has to sit by himself on mat for 5 minutes etc. is that the first stage - if so that was way back in October and he hasn't been moved on since this - if he cannot do this stage can he not move onto the next stage and what is the next stage - is there anywhere I can find out what all the stages are?

Thanks for the info - Cazzybabs great name BTW

[cazzybabs]

well it should be reviewed. MY school reviews them every term and modifies the targets or keeps them the same. There are 5 stages - I can't quite remember what they all are. I shall go and look in my book. Don't know if this is any help too:

special needs booklet

[macwoozy]

My ds is on an Individual Education Plan and this gets reviewed every few months. I always get a typed report stating the targets they hope to achieve with him, what strategies are in place, and resources and techniques that they use and what has already been achieved. Go back and have a word with the head mistress, you have every right to know about this plan.

[macwoozy]

Good luck

[Cosmo74]

Thanks for all the advice - I think I will have a word with his teacher as she is better at explaining things - I know his first stage was 5 things he has to do - like sit on the mat unsupervised for 5 mins - not shout out in class etc.. thing is he has been on this since October and while some things have improved I still think he has problems sitting still some days - he has sticker charts and some days he is excellent and other days he is not so good - there is no real consistency - does he move onto stage 2 even though they cannot do satge 1 or is stage 2 because stage 1 did not work - he will not be seeing the Ed.Psychologist until he is at stage 3??

Cazzybabs thanks for the link I will print this out and me and DH can go over it tonite - ( probably after the footie though and as long as Man Utd win or you will not be able to look at hubby) If you don't mind me asking - What age is your DS and what stage is he on?

MacWoozy - thanks for the help - what age is your DS and how long has he been on the plan - hope you don't mind me asking

[macwoozy]

He started an IEP at pre school,but now hes in reception. I've not heard about the different stages, but since Septemeber my ds hasn't advanced much with his achievments either. My ds couldn't stay sitting on a mat for very long at all, so he's been given his own little red chair in the quiet corner and this seems to have worked for him. I can't believe the head mistress told you not to get stressed over it, if something isn't explained to you properly in the first place then you're bound to get stressed over it.

[cazzybabs]

I don't have a ds - I am a teacher (on materntiy leave at the mo).

Stage 2 is because stage 1 is not qworking. Basically its all to do with the level of support your son is getting. I think, but I might be wrong, stage 1 and 2 are in school support, where as stage 3 the school have decided your son may need help from external people, e.g. educational psychology. Certainlly stage 1 is simple the teacher raising a concern and keeping an eye on him, stage 2 he should be getting some help from the SENCO or some kind of extra support. But please go and ask the teacher to expain it to you - even ask to look at the school's SEN policy.

[JaysMum]

You can make a request yourself to the LEA for your son to be statuatory assessed. They may refuse. They have 6 weeks to collect evidence which would suggest an assessment is necessary...if it is then the assessment would take place and then the LEA would make a decission whether they need to give your child a statement of educational need.
If they refuse to assess at the 6 weeks point, you have the right to an appeal.
When his IEP was written were you involved with the planning of it???? The targets should be easily acheivable small goals....sounds like the ones they have in place are the norm for a child who is finding it difficult to settle into the school routine.If he has been not acheiving sucess since his IEP was written then I would go and ask for a new plan with more acheivable targets to be written up.
It is a bit of a minefield but there are plenty of people here who will offer advice and support.

[welshgirl]

That's right, I'm a teacher too. There are 5 stages, stage 5 being the most severe, a child can be put straight on stage 5 if the problem is severe or if there is a medical connection eg child has a trachiotomy. Stage 1 is an initial concern, it takes a long time to go through the stages, though quite rightly they are reviewed half termly. There will be specific aims for your child, followed by how to achieve those aims, and you should be informed of progress. If you're still not happy, I'd suggest making an appointment with the SENCO (special needs coordinator) at your child's school. Good luck.

[Cosmo74]

Thanks everyone once again - you are all such a wealth of knowledge.

Macwoozy - I will speak to his teacher and ask for his plan - good luck with your DS.

CazzyBabs - ta for the advise I think he must be at stage 2 but has been on this plan since the start of October how long do they stay on each stage - the head mistress said the next stage is to see the Ed Psychologist and behavioural management team - What is the SECNO (sorry for being so ignorant). When are you due? I am due in August so am keen to get the ball rolling well before then as I may be a bit busy with the new baby - and still trying to keep the stress levels down too as I lost a baby last year and really could do without all this but I just want DS to get sorted and be happy and fulfilled at school and not to be made different.

Jaysmum - I will see what happens with the school before going to the LEA myself - I just do not know how long all these processes take - like with this IEP he got it in October how long should they give him before they decided that it is not working - it probably didn't help that he changed teachers half way through but his new teacher is excellent - actually admitted that she has a real soft spot for our DS and is the one who suggested that we get him assessed by doc - as head mistress always told us not to worry and just went on and on about changing his diet.

That is another question - does changing their diet really make a difference - we have cut out most sweets etc and he get a treat at the weekend but he is a picky eater and doesn't eat much veg/meat unless the meat is in the form of fish fingers or chicken nuggets - he does eat alot of bread and fruit though.

I think I will change my name to Mrs Questions/waffler - sorry once I start I cannot stop - just put it down to my hormones!!

[cazzybabs]

there is n0 time limit - its just dependepent upon needs. so he could stay on stage 1 for years. the diet thing depends on your views - some people use fish oils to help (like eye-Q) - try posting another thread about this, say in the special needs bit as I am sure you will get a wealth of posts back. How old is your son BTW?

senco is short for the head of special needs. It depends on how big your school is as to who it is - it sounds like it could be the head.

I have a 4 month old and am about to go back to work .

[coppertop]

Ds1 (4.5yrs) has an IEP. We meet with the teacher and SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator) to discuss the next targets. His previous targets have included things like taking part in role play with others (he wouldn't go near the role play area when he first started), using different materials to improve his mark-making skills etc. Each target should also include a plan of how the school aims to reach this target. Targets should also be something that can be 'measured', eg "will talk more in class" is too vague.
Ds1 has an average of 3 targets in his IEP, sometimes more and sometimes less. They are usually reviewed at least once per term. Ds1's are reviewed each half-term if he has made enough progress.

If your ds isn't managing the targets then the school may be expecting too much at once. If he does have ADHD then sitting still for 5 minutes on the carpet seems like a lot to aim for so soon. A lot of young children with no SN would find this difficult IMHO.

[Cosmo74]

I actually started my son on Omega-3 last Saturday - he was 5 last Monday - was told I could only give him the oils after he was 5 - I know started a few days early but hey - also told that it can take between 2 - 6 weeks for then to kick in - we had his birthday party on SUnday so he has lots of sweets/cake ice-cream etc.. but so far this week he has had Monday 10 stars (that is the maximum + got star boy of the day) Tuesday got only 4 stars and today he got 9 stars so this week has not been to bad but I just take each day as it comes - tonite is homework nite which is usually fun - NOT!

I think the head is probablt the SECNO - she has a child with ADHD (actually think he is an adult now) she isn't too bad but I think she is trying to diagnosis my son herself - she told me that her son had to be home educated - I don't know where she was going with this but I do know for a fact and also his teacher told me that he is not that bad.

Hope you are getting use to being a Mum it is the most wonderful feeling in the world - sorry you have to go back to work - when are you going back ? I was off until my son was 8 months but I had PND - not nice (especially when you try and hide it from everyone - I was really ashamed for having it) that is why I feel guilty that maybe my sons problems are my fault - but us Mums always blame ourselves for everything - enjoy your little bundle of joy - they do not be long growing up. i cannot wait til have my next one - DS insists it is going to be a boy though so if I have a girl she might have issues as I will have to dress her as a boy until DS gets use to her only kidding!!!

[Cosmo74]

Coopertop - Ta for that - I phoned his teacher and she is going to send me home his IEP so at least I will know some more. I know what you mean about most kids not be able to sit for 5 mins. his teacher is very nice now - he old teacher was a very young teacher with no kids and I think she expected too much of him - think she wanted to have a group of robot in her class one day she give him a bad report cause he jumped in a puddle - I just thought 'he is a boy!!! and he was outside in the rain!!!' I do not mean to slag off teachers as I know most of the do an amazing job and do not get paid properly for it - I know for a fact that I could never be a teacher but I have the upmost respect for them but his old teacher just didn't seem to know how to deal with DS properly.

OK enough whinging you won't guess that I am actually at work now - needless to say I will have a busy day tomorrow as I have not done much this afternoon.

Ta again