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SEN

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

Original poster

SEN currently in mainstream. Should we move her?

31 replies

alittlebitsocial · 29/11/2019 18:28

Hey all,

My daughter is 12 and currently in year 8 in a mainstream larger average secondary school. She has an EHCP and apart from being allocated an LSA to help her during lessons, no other interventions have been arranged with regard to her learning. I have asked the SENCO three times since May 2019, if they plan to implement any interventions and have been fobbed off due to a change in SENCO, to be then told that we will be supplied with an IEP within a couple of months to being totally ignored.

This has been happening since year 7 and no one wants to address the situation, she has been given an app named Lexia which she completes at home and is pretty useless. Her EHCP, states that she should have literacy and numeracy interventions in small activity groups external from class.

I'm not usually one to complain, I have a younger son in a special school with much greater needs and these needs are met as per his EHCP.

Am I asking too much? I just want a general plan as to how they intend to help her, so far I think we are expected to pay for external tutors. She is likely to fail her GCSE's without proper support.

We recently made aware of an independent school with amazing dyslexia and special needs attachment. We toured the school yesterday and it was amazing, we certainly feel like you have to pay to get the education she needs. Now the fees are not ridiculously expensive, she could apply for a performing arts scholarship and could be topped up by a bursary, my mother in law has offered a little support but I'm wondering what the likelihood of our LEA approving additional financial support. I have read so much about making sure that it doesn't exhause public funds. I'm not expecting them to fit the bill for the full £11k a year but perhaps assist with her extra tuition and intervention support.

The reasons we think the school would be a better fit:

  1. Classes of 12 not 30 pupils
  2. Small school of less than 500 pupils (it's a 2 - 16 years old)
  3. Dyslexia and learning support attachment giving them options to drop non-core subjects to help with the study of core subjects
  4. Her self-esteem has taken a battering over the last year and teachers haven't helped

I could give you a list. Has anyone ever been in a similar situation, unfortunately, I don't live in an area with many schools with dyslexia units. I know I will have a fight on my hands but she loves the school, it would be the perfect fit for her and just talking to the SENCO at the school was refreshing. I want my daughter to feel confident going to school not being told by teachers that she's failing because she can't hit 80% in a maths test!

Sorry I know I've gone on a lot, but I wanted to explain in a little detail where are currently at.

Please feel free to drop me a comment, positive or negative. I'm up for hearing it all!

OP posts:
Original poster
alittlebitsocial · 05/12/2019 18:00

Thank you Myself2020. It does feel that with 30 if not more pupils in a class and lack of funding in state schools we are having to look private.

OP posts:
Freemind · 02/12/2019 21:23

I had a similar situation and decided to increase my mortgage to pay for the private school offering specialist provision because I couldn't bear to see my child suffer any longer while I jumped through all the hoops and fought for his rights with an LEA that didn't have enough funding for all the children who needed it. The relief when he started at a school he enjoyed and which restored his self esteem and joy for life was so great and I am still glad I did it, but am also angry that it extended my mortgage repayments and cost so much. Pretty emotive stuff - sorry!

10brokengreenbottles · 02/12/2019 20:35

Unless your DD's EHCP is watertight then moving schools could be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Provision in Section F needs to be specified and quantified. "Literacy and numeracy interventions in small activity groups external from the class" is neither - what interventions, by whom - with what qualifications, how often, how small is a small group...

I would focus your energy on getting a good EHCP because then you can force the LA to provide the provision via Judicial Review whatever school DD is then in.

You would be unlikely to get the LA to agree to name an independent MS if a state MS can meet your DD's needs. You will have to show that other schools can not meet her needs, and have evidence she needs independent MS.

Make sure you keep a written record, follow up conversations with emails etc.

myself2020 · 02/12/2019 18:48

My oldest is at primary school. he has dyslexia, and we certainly feel we have to pay for him to have a chance to get an education. he is at a small independent school, and gets an amazing amount of support

Original poster
alittlebitsocial · 01/12/2019 20:57

Thank you for your reply. Its parents evening this week so I'm interested to know what they will say, I've written to the Senco again asking for details of what they are doing to meet her EHCP. As the lack of communication is issue enough.

I will give them a week or two to respond before going to the LEA to complain and asking for an emergency review.

The original one was October 2018 but by the time it was processed and passed to the school it was may 2019.

Thank you again for the advice. I will be looking to do that ASAP.

OP posts:
AspergersMum · 29/11/2019 21:23

They are ignoring you and not providing what is in DD's EHCP? That's reason enough to leave IMO. Can you ask for an emergency EHCP review and ask for the dyslexia school to be named? Even if your LEA won't fully fund it, it is worth trying incase you get partial funding.