Thought on this? DS school situation..

She doesn't have to support your non-diagnosis. He clearly needs more guidance and support but from home in the first instance.

We had this 15 years ago with my dyslexic daughter. Teacher deliberately wiped the questions/instructions off the board before she could copy them down. Denied there was such a thing as dyslexia. Said it was an excuse for middle class parents with thick kids. Leaving them up supports all students and different learning approaches. This is an easy win for the teacher! Unless it's flagged as a memory test then no need to erase. After all you get an exam paper with the question printed!
Ps daughter got a 1st at a Russell group uni in a 'real' subject and won the Dean's prize for an outstanding dissertation. So not thick!

What was he kept in for, if he had finished the work?

Otherwise, you are miffed she didn't speak to him. She has replied, she has said she will speak to him, she has thanked you. She can't go back in time and speak to him and change the break situation.

Your son finished on time, despite saying he was delayed as he didn't have the questions down to begin with and then getting stuck trying to answer them. So that sounds like he's actually doing OK? Aside from not speaking up when he should.

Lost break time is usual in my child's school but as above, I can't work out why your son lost time given he'd finished.

OP, there are going to be things that happen at school with your child that you or he don’t agree with. The school, and any future school, will make decisions that you wouldn’t have done. But you really need to pick your battles otherwise when you do have a real, genuine concern, your credibility will be tainted as you’ll be seen as one of those parents who complains about anything and everything.

Let this one go, this is not a hill to die on.

Op, have you had a chat with the SENCO about your son's ADHD traits? It is important that he has a SEN passport. They can infact give this without a diagnosis, as it concerns any additional educational needs or support.

I also agree with acouple of other poster in that the teacher's methods seem a little outdated. Nobody copies from the board in my dc's school, it does sound a bit archaic and will disadvantage certain children. I also don't agree with taking breaktime away for minor things. Some schools have some horrible rules, mu friend had to complain as her little girl (5) was the only child in the class not to get a biscuit from the teacher. Her Mum forgot to update the reading record for one of the days, and if not complete they don't give the kids a biscuit! It is ridiculous hardly in a 5 year olds control. Don't get me started on attendance awards as well!

Do you and your husband look for trouble? You said you think he has ADHD, the teacher does not. Start the process of getting him assesed if you are that concerned.

As someone said upthread certain behaviours are not always ADHD. I know parents who have had children assessed for this and it is not.

I think the issue (which the teacher hasn't really addressed in that quite confusing email she has sent you) is whether your son was messing around / misbehaving, which is why he didn't finish, in which case the punishment is fair enough, or whether he was punished for not finishing the work, in which case clearly, the teacher should have asked whether he was struggling with it and sought to support him, rather than moving straight to a punishment.

100% this.

Once in a while it would be nice if someone managed to put themselves in the shoes of a 9 year old and understand the things that matter to them. Sometimes it's actually ok to not be on a power trip and try tell a kid what's what, and instead they and understand their perspective. School is difficult for kids in part because so many adults expect far too much from young children. The whole damn point is that education is an ongoing experience and that's not just academically.

Thus lies the danger of mum-diagnosis for autism and ADHD, both of which are truly very rare in the general population, and are not a catch all for all behaviours.

Hey OP, I think some of the replies you've had are harsh. Copying questions from the board is generally considered poor classroom practice now. Any kid with dyslexia or any other visual or processing issue in that class will be disadvantaged by this, as well as your son. It's also a waste of time for the most able.
I think the issue (which the teacher hasn't really addressed in that quite confusing email she has sent you) is whether your son was messing around / misbehaving, which is why he didn't finish, in which case the punishment is fair enough, or whether he was punished for not finishing the work, in which case clearly, the teacher should have asked whether he was struggling with it and sought to support him, rather than moving straight to a punishment. I am all for supporting teachers, they are amazing and should be paid ten times more for what they do, but I'm not convinced on the available evidence that this teacher got it right on this occasion. I think it would be fair to ask further questions - in a polite and non confrontational manner. I would also ask your son more questions about how he is feeling about the work in school, whether he is struggling and whether he finds copying from the board hard. I'm surprised the teacher would offer an opinion on whether or not he has ADHD.

Generally, I'm the team teacher on this; kids need some resilience, and sometimes life isn't 100% fair, but he will still learn from this and 5 mins is hardly no breaks for a week territory, fine to clarify by any more is being unreasonable. What age is the child? - presuming KS2ish?

He lost just 5 mins? its seriously no big deal.

But his break is before lunch, he lost part of his break because he should have been doing the work and didn't complete it. He is 9, he knows how this works.

Completed it before lunch means that he possibly took time away from something else like reading as it is important to complete maths work. Maths is a building block subject, you need the foundations of what you are learning to build on it the next day. They need to finish the work before break as instructed as he will just fall behind.

The school day is really tight and this is why I never allowed my children do have music lessons in school as they miss core subject time. Mornings are core subjects so in the school I was in, maths, English and 30 minutes of reading.

Maybe your son has a history of messing around and cutting it fine for finishing work. To everyone saying shitty teachers, have you volunteered your time to work in a classroom? Until you have been in one, you don't know how difficult it can be to keep children on task.

I used to work with the low ability children, keep them on task, guide them where needed. They all tried really hard to do the work. Luckily I had a spare table that could accommodate them for a short time. Most classrooms do not have the extra room to separate children out and it is preferred that they work on mixed ability tables.

Your son has now learned that if he is struggling he needs to ask for help. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, you can model this at home by asking for help with things and point it out when you do it.

He didn't lose his break, he lost 5 mins!

Get a grip, perhaps next time he will raise the issue that he is struggling.

I agree with this. Putting the onus on a 9 year old to always be able to have the confidence to articulate they're struggling or don't understand something isn't appropriate. And losing your break for that is punitive on that context.

It was very common in my school if you hadn't finished something particularly a test you carried on into break or possibly got a detention to finish it if they thought you weren't working hard.

This isn't why teachers are leaving ffs. Children need to ask for help but teachers also need to continue to understand that children can find that difficult to do. Its fundamental.

If you believe he has ADHD, get him assessed and get a proper diagnosis so the school can put proper support in place. Imagine if every parent came in saying I think my child has XYZ without actually having a professional diagnosis and they expected special treatment. It’s just not reasonable.

He lost 5 minutes of break time. You've probably lost more time over this non-issue.
Forgetting books and homework is quite normal behaviour for young boys. I doubt he has ADHD but he has that parent.

It is 5 mins of his break. It is completely normal for children to sometimes finish off their work for a few minutes before heading out to break. Some of them are told to quickly finish it off and some of them ask if they can stay and do it. It really isn't a big deal. Sometimes they get an extra 5mins of break and that isn't a big deal either.

It’s 5 mins ! You’ve literally took the time to come on here about 5 mins of a lost break. Your son will be fine poor little darling. You’d best toughen up for the ride that is secondary school.

Who would teach these days, no wonder they are leaving in droves, he is 9 and needs to speak up. Her response was completely fine.

Plus the ADHD is for you to seek a diagnosis which begins with speaking to a Dr either NHS or private. Just because people forget stuff doesn’t automatically make them need a diagnosis.Having to go on in at children all the time is the parents job and why it can be tiring and isn’t easy.

Op I feel sorry for him and I think you need a diagnosis because there will always be teachers who don’t agree with you. I had years of my child being criticised and punished for this sort of thing.

The teacher already knows he might have adhd but chose to wipe the questions off the board without asking whether all the kids had written them down.

Kids with adhd may be 25% less mature than neurotypical so he shouldn’t be judged on the ‘typical’ child in has age group but one or two years younger.

Rather than looking for potential diagnosis, look for things that would support him

For example, a reasonable adjustment could be:

• Having the questions provided on paper in front of him

I don’t think breaks should be removed from children. They need that rest period and down time. I wouldn’t treat one of my team at work in that way and remove their break

This. It's sorted. Move on.