Any teachers out there ?

Clearly there’s a difference between primary and secondary practice. I agree that is some cases using a tablet / laptop will be beneficial, but not in every case.

As a current senco, secondary teacher and exam marker scribes are not as common as laptop usage at GCSE. Typing to prepare for high school with this seems sensible. A laptop will give the child more independence!

Agree. Really unkind.

I have had many children in my classes that I have managed to get support, on to EHCP pathways, etc. But more often than not, the best evidence has been to use support (e.g. a scribe) in a test and compare the results without that support. A wide gap shows that some kind of support is necessary. It doesn't mean that the test is the be all and end all, but tests are good to use as evidence because they are so easily measurable and comparable.

One of my own children had real issues with handwriting. I would caution believing the laptop is the answer to everything. It certainly has its place and she typed most exams from Year 6 up. But she also studied subjects like Maths and French which she found impossible to type. And she is now learning Arabic which is interesting to watch!!

I would suggest that the laptop is one support but that you also pursue ways that your son can write in some way with the least pain possible.

As a SENCo, primary teacher and exam marker for many years, believe me, scribes are very very common in exams. In a reading test, spelling and punctuation doesn’t matter, either via a scribe or a student. A grammar test is very easy to administer with a scribe. A child who has physical difficulties in writing, there is a strong likelihood that they may also have similar challenges in using a laptop. Yes, they are effective in specific situations. A child in Year 5 will not be expected to write essays though.

Thank you. Obviously I don't know the exact ins and outs of this child/situation. Maybe the whole school really is full of vindictive teachers who enjoy watching a child in pain, and are willing to go to great lengths to keep it that way.

What I do know is the hours and hours I spend trying to accommodate all the individual needs within my various classes. And I also know that it's never, ever enough, apparently.

Thats a really unkind response OP, the pp was talking about helping your kid, and others.
You are misinterpreting what they said, if he performs well with the scribe then it is an extra lever to show that he needs support, not that he can be kept in pain the rest of the time.

This is exactly why I need to get out of teaching. It literally doesn't matter how hard you try, parents will still be furious with you.

These teachers have put in intensive (ie expensive) additional support to help this child in the test. If this results in a good score, better than he usually performs in class, this will be a huge piece of evidence that he needs that extra support!! It's not some kind of bizarre scam to prove that he doesn't need a laptop. It sounds like a scribe is a better adjustment for him than the laptop is.

https://www.dmorthotics.com/products-and-services/product/dm18-glove-gauntlet-without-sleeve-max-4cm-length/ this is what DS has (referred via his OT) except his has longer fingers and is a bit higher past his wrist. It has made a massive difference for him especially in controlling pain.

@eatdrinkandbemerry then why not move him? For his own sake, short term and long term. A supportive school that will help in day to day lessons and put things in place for him and support you through his EHCP can be invaluable.

I work in a school and what you say doesn't sound right to me at all. They are massively failing your child.

I am a primary teacher but you have gotten all the advice I would give.

just wondered if you’d discussed finger splints or structure gloves for writing with the GP or whichever medical care team he’s under? I have joints which are too flexible and so get pain when writing - I use these as needed. They don’t cure it obviously - he would still need to do everything else they suggest, but it allows me to still fill in a form on a bad day! Generally makes life a bit easier as it is so hard to avoid writing totally and it makes it a bit less painful to do x

Op are you worried that you feel it will make it seem like he's doing ok and will be refused ehcp because there is a myth a child has to be x far behind?

You feel the school are being sneaky to try and show there isn't a problem? Which will upset tings for secondary?

Is it a maintained school or an academy?

If he's not allowed q lap top in secondary he's going to struggle immensely isn't he.

Many give out laptop anyway.

Have you followed the formal complaint procedure for the school? If they are happy to document that they are going against reasonable adjustments recommended by medical professionals they are very brave! If you have exhausted the schools complaint procedure then I would recommend a stenly worded letter advising that if they do not make reasonable adjustments as per the send code of practice you will take legal advice.....

Also - this should be much less of a problem with secondary.

@eatdrinkandbemerry the scribe won't make him excel it will level him up.

I can't fathom how all those people are ignoring a disability in his fingers.

If a school was trying to make a child walk without a crutch after an leg injury or with a leg disability that would be front page news.
How is this different.

I'd say next step is formal complaint to the council and strong doctor letter and then mp.

Do you have doctor letter, do docs realise they are forcing him to write.

Have OT been into school to look at reasonable adjustments? in the past we have had Ots who seem to suggest this as an easy option (for them) rather than working to help overcome the underlying issue.

laptops aren’t the be all and end all they are often painted to be, and measures should still be put in place to aid writing and strengthening hands in general. They need to be strong enough to be able to cope with typing anyway!

my son now wears a custom made Lycra glove when writing to provide him with the support his muscles can’t. He also has an intensive program of exercises as well as specific pens etc. When younger he used writing slopes and still uses a base for him books.

he does use a laptop for some longer bits of writing, he also has a scribe if needed which is actually more use in a lot of circumstances! (He is 14 now)

What isn’t?