"Don't Worry About the SEN"

[inclusivemyarse]

I'm winded.

Directive from HT is to focus efforts on the children who are capable of achieving the expected levels for the end of their year and not focus on those with SEN.

Feel done in. Want to support all children equally. This isn't inclusion. Christ, I fell into education because of a passion for SN. Now this shit. It's fucking OFSTED.

Gutted tonight. Disillusioned.

[inclusivemyarse]

Sorry I've NC. Regular. Stately homes, cock lodgers, MRA, odfod and the likes.

[jellyfrizz]

I pretty much got told this too. It's about making the data look good, the actual children don't matter.
It's a big pile of shite & one of the many reasons I left.

[Jaimx86]

I doubt it's for Ofsted. They'd be very concerned if a cohort of students were underachieving.

[silentlyfume]

As Mum of a child with sen I could cry but it doesn't surprise me at all given the change in the support said child receives 😞
Luckily we just changed to a much smaller school where they have time to push child.

[slkk]

At my school Sen are a key priority this year but I think we may be unusual. This was my fear with the new standards. Shall we just not bother with dyslexic children as they will never reach the standard in spelling therefore can't meet it in writing at all?

[Sleeperandthespindle]

I left mainstream (again) for this reason. School was 'outstanding' and now the head is head of a MAT. All resources focused on pushing for level 4 (at the time) leaving any children with SEN floundering. Challenging behaviour (even when clearly distressed) was managed out.

[Ditsyprint40]

At our school the top band are key priority this year - because we already do so well for SEN (as in, one of the best in country for value added for this band). Is it this? If not can how they say that! :o

[Stevefromstevenage]

What a ball of shit. Was the directive written. Personally I would leak it. What kind of HT does not realise that some of his/her staff may have children with SEN and others are just caring people and they are likely to be fucked off with that attitude.

[FreddoFrog]

Incredible and so, so disappointing. Agree with Steve above, is there a way you could leak the directive? (Am not in UK so can't really suggest how/to whom). How gutting.

At a friend's child's state school in Australia, the kids with SEN are essentially required to stay home on level testing days do their exam results don't bring down the school average

[merrymouse]

This should back fire because the children's parents should immediately kick up a massive fuss when it becomes apparent that this is happening and make HT's (and unfortunately your) life a misery.

However, HT is probably banking on the fact that they won't realise/care/know what to do about it. For children whose parents are less able/willing to fight their battles it will be double discrimination.

[jellyfrizz]

The way it was done in the school I was at was that teachers had a 90% 'meeting expectations' target (I know, so many issues with just that concept).

In pupil review meetings I was told ok, these children just aren't going to make it (because of specific SEN) so don't worry about them, they can be your 10%, concentrate on the borderline children. This would never be formally recorded though.

[jellyfrizz]

When I questioned it, they backtracked and said 'Of course you still need to be supporting the children with specific needs but also need to prioritise these borderline children'. Which was very different to what was originally said.

[Oblomov16]

[Oblomov16]

Saddened. Not surprised though.

[Stitchfusion]

Only surprise is that you got told so blatantly.
Welcome to the 19th century

[Oblomov16]

Even if you quote it, it will be denied that this was ever said.

[merrymouse]

It's just a load of rubbish isn't it - why concentrate on the children who are on some arbitrary borderline, not the children who, for a variety of reasons not limited to SEN, need more support at the moment?

How is that an effective education policy?

[merrymouse]

Even without the SEN comment, it's gaming the system.

[Kindlygreen]

I think this is fairly common now. School as a business, results as a product.

[Tiredmumno1]

This makes my blood boil, just seeing it written down, having my thoughts about how some head teachers have this kind of attitude confirmed. It's ok sod the kids with SEN they're a lost cause, aggggghhhhh. This is the sort of thing we've been fighting against for years, knowing that some people have this stance and not being able to prove it, makes me so angry.

Why should these children not get the best start that they can, they are just as important as the next child.

Can I ask if the other teachers feel the same as you? I'd love to know if anyone who works in a school and encountered this sort of attitude and whether they said something?

Anyone who has an opinion like that is clearly in the wrong profession.

Someone needs to have a voice for the children that get left behind.

Awful, just awful

[merrymouse]

This doesn't just affect children with SEN. Any child comfortably in the middle of a band will be ignored.

Children at the bottom, perhaps because of difficulties at home, and children at the top aren't worth the bother because helping them won't affect statistics.

[Imnotacelebgetmeouttahere]

What an awful state of affairs. Sadly I too am unsurprised as the mother of children with SEN we have witnessed this first hand even within nursery - all the other children are encourage to write their name on entry to the class each afternoon " oh don't bother X he can't recognise letters anyway"

[CancellyMcChequeface]

I was told this the year before I decided to stop working in schools.

I was working as an SEN/Inclusion specialist TA. Suddenly it was more important for me to work intensively with the children who were just below 'expected levels' and could be coached to reach them, than to support the children who actually had SEN and weren't going to meet the target.

This was in Reception.

I argued against it as strongly as I could, but I didn't have the authority to do anything about it.

I don't blame the headteacher or the school, I blame the target-driven culture that expects children to be identical, all progressing in the same way and at the same rate. They're not products on an assembly line, they're people. But a headteacher taking this approach might not get the right attainment data, so the school will be seen as failing, and the headteacher forced out. It's an impossible situation.

[Oblomov16]

I agree with kindlly : "School as a business, results as a product." Indeed, this is the way it is now.
And also with merrymouse, who said that this isn't just about SEN, all the kids in the middle get ignored. It's ALL about results now.
Why are you all surprised?

[Kindlygreen]

It's a very harsh environment for anyone remotely idealistic. We've had gifted and talented provision scrapped altogether as well as cutting back on SEN provision.