School want to trial a part time timetable after just 2 weeks at the school - WWYD?

My mum was a TA for a little boy that was permanently excluded from his first school. He was primary age, but had learnt that kicking off meant going home and so that's what he did, day after day, until eventually they permanently excluded him. When he started at the school where my mum worked, they did the opposite. If he was well behaved, he was rewarded. If he misbehaved, the behaviour was ignored as much as reasonably possible or removed to regulate and then returned to class. The praise and lack of sending him home built trust and he went on to not need any support after the first year and went through the rest of primary and secondary with no issues.
I agree with you, I think a part time timetable is not the answer. If he is taking medication, is it wearing off by lunchtime - does it need reviewing? What other methods have the school tried? Have they tried positive reinforcement? Does he have somewhere safe he can go to regulate? Have they tried getting the TA to completely back off and only intervene if necessary (my son has TA support in his EHCP, but he hates it, so it is discrete and they help all children in the class and he is unaware that they are there for him)? Do you think they can meet needs?

Sensory issues?
rigid behaviour
issues with change?

could it be asd rather than odd?

re meds we are trialling and they do help
with motivation but not so much with impulse behaviour for my kid.

start y7 incredibly stressful before even the pru unit first!

i think secondary is bad for adhd as its more freedom and seeing worse behaviour to copy.
how was the pru? Might it be the better option as smaller etc.

i would just explain to him he is likely to be perm ex again like this.
But possibly he dislikes school?

Also coming in known as a kid from a pru to the teachers isnt going to start the best way.

Probably slower transition to start of half days would have worked better. Y7 is just too different.

are there no schools with a sen unit? As sounds like learning is an issue anyway if a 1-2-1

Maybe you could also spare a moment to think of the other 29 children in the class who are having their learning disrupted by your son. Do his rights trump all of theirs?

It's not just about what's best for your son - he has a whole classroom of children that are having their learning disrupted because of him. Part time may or may not be best for him, only time will tell, but it sounds like the only fair solution for everyone else.

How does a mornings-only TT work? So if Maths is two afternoons a week, does he just not achieve? When he sees that (a lot of) schools timetable the less-mentally challenging classes in the afternoon, will he demand to switch so he can do PE or whatever?

It absolutely IS a disability - and is treated as such in law.

This. Legally he is entitled to a full time education. I'd look this up on Ipsea or sossen websites.

If they can not meet his needs, eventually they need to state this.

My dd is in a ASD unit in mainstream and the unit point blank refuse 1:1 in ehcps ( this is also wrong btw) but they say that level of need in all secondaries within ten mile radius they say "can't meet need".

As an aside, SEN school isn't the end of the world for so many reasons. It can be extremely positive.

What about agreeing but on the proviso that if he kicks off in the morning thus not ending the day on a happy note they keep him (in isolation?) until the end of the day? That way he's not as you think learning that kicking off gets you sent home.

OP’s DS’s ADHD clearly meets the threshold for a disability. It clearly has “a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.

Sometimes it is and sometimes elements of it manifest as a learned behaviour. She implies this herself saying perhaps he does it so he can get sent home.

In OP’s DS’s case, which I was talking about since that is what this thread is about, it absolutely is a disability. Although in general any child meeting the diagnostic criteria for ADHD would also meet the criteria for having a disability under the Equality Act.

What is he having for lunch?

I preface this comment with saying I have zero first hand experience of any such situations. However, I did watch educating Yorkshire (bear with me) and there was a kid there who was fine in the morning but difficult in the afternoon but he was having caffeinated energy drinks at lunch time and when they stopped that his afternoon behaviour massively improved.

Not necessarily, it CAN be classed as a disability.

It isn’t a learning disability but it absolutely is a disability.

I’m saying difficulty as technically it’s neither. But it’s most definitely not a disability.

I don’t disagree with any of that and I agree that many parents would much prefer specialist provision for their child and that specialist provision can be beneficial to outcomes but MS is not the place for this provision. We should have people who have real life experience in education, planning policy and people with real life experience in charge of policy making in all areas of public life, not career politicians, whose children in all likelihood aren’t in classrooms where poor behaviour is constant due to inclusion.

There are DC in mainstream with learning disabilities.

The pp didn’t mention learning disability, she said disabled. ADHD is a disability under the Equality Act.

There is nothing in law that requires DC to try and fail in MS first. The problem is it isn’t uncommon for LAs act unlawfully. Even if parents challenge the decision, it can take time. There is also the problem that, for some DC, there isn’t a special school that is suitable.

Lots of people confuse learning disabled and learning difficulties- adhd would count as a learning difficulty. If he was learning disabled he would already be in a specialist setting.

But not only are they not getting an education, they’re severely impacting their classmates education as well.
Are all disabled children forced to “try” mainstream in the first instance?
What an insane system, if so. Totally unworkable.

Even if DC will never be independent, not providing education can increase the costs in the longer term. For example, it can be the difference between needing 1:1 or 2:1 (or even 3:1 or 4:1) as an adult, a residential placement being needed or a placement within the community, an ordinary residential placement or a secure placement, 24/7 care or only care for some of the time, contact with the justice system and not, needing prolonged hospital stays in the future or not…

As I said, many parents would dearly love their DC not to be in MS. The fact they are in MS isn’t the fault of the child or their parent. Schools following the correct processes rather than informally, unlawfully excluding DC provides helps to secure a different placement.

Is he medicated? If not, it sounds like he might benefit from it. (ADHD mum here.)

Mornings only is better than excluded. If they're suggesting it this soon, i think they have some very serious concerns about your child's behaviour and the effect on the other children.

The other part of me is worried it's just teaching him that if he refuses enough or struggles enough he gets to come home early. His primary school and the PRU used to send him home a lot to "calm down" and looking back I sometimes wonder if he learnt that kicking off meant going home.

What was the outcome of him being sent home early when he was primary aged? As in, what did the rest of his day look like so that he didn't learn to play up.

Is he medicated ? Perhaps his medication needs reviewed?

Did you agree to ms education? It sounds like he needs a highly specialised setting with specialised staff. I would work with the school but look at alternative options.
The other children are being severely affected if they want him on a part time timetable already. There may be teachers who will refuse to teach him. You can’t swear at and verbal abuse staff in a ms school. Staff in hospitals have a right to refuse care, teachers will refuse to teach him if you don’t get him the help he needs now? What happens at home when he is sent home earlier? Does he have both parents at home ?