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Original poster

Whose responsibility to ensure primary child with SN's books are up to date?

27 replies

OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 09:33

Mine? DC's? Teacher's? TA's? Tough luck?

Yr 6, test on a topic next Monday. Brought books home this week, along with a syllabus for the topic. DC hasn't covered, has no worksheets and no notes on the last two points on the syllabus. He has a TA 6 lessons a week, 2 of them in this subject. The teacher is supposed to send home any unfinished class work for him to finish at home. We've had no work sent home for this subject this term, so I assumed all was up to date and there were no issues.

Aside from the teacher telling the children they can "revise if they want to but it's not homework" and therefore DS is refusing to revise because he doesn't want to.... how do I address this? I feel like kicking up a stink because I feel they should be making sure he has covered and finished the work, but I'm not sure they won't turn round and say it's DS's responsibility to finish and make sure he's done all the work.

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 01/04/2022 09:35

Are you sure the whole class has covered the whole syllabus?

Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 09:50

95% sure, I gave three of his classmates a lift earlier on in the week and whilst they were moaning they had a test coming up they didn't mention it wasn't fair they hadn't covered x &y.

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 01/04/2022 10:00

Isn’t there a middle ground between ‘kicking up a stink’ and ignoring it?

I’d just email the teacher (or talk at pick up if available) and ask if the class had covered X/Y topic because it wasn’t ticked off in DS’s workbook. And if the teacher said it had been covered, then express surprise the system set up to support DS hadn’t kicked in and could they enquire with TA why not? And ask them to reassure DS just to do his best in the test.

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Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 10:19

Oh definitely. Whilst I feel like going in and kicking up a stink, in reality, I'm far too British to do anything other than enquire politely. But I'd like some opinions on the basic question which is whose responsibility is it to ensure that work is completed?

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 01/04/2022 11:04

I'd like some opinions on the basic question which is whose responsibility is it to ensure that work is completed?

Well, ultimately it’s the teacher. They’re (I assume) relying on your DS’s TA (is the TA 1-1 or specifically assigned to DS?). And by Year 6 your DS needs to be proactive in speaking up - but obviously loads of children won’t.

Sorry - I think I’ve assume out of nowhere that your DC has some SEN but rereading I’m not sure why I thought that!

If he has no SEN then all the above applies but it’s not such a big deal, maybe? And more responsibility lies with him.

Sirzy · 01/04/2022 11:08

Really though what do you want them to do? Keep him in at break times to do extra work? Take him out of other lessons?

They only have so much time to do so much and it could well be the case that they are making sure he is secure in the first bits before moving on.

Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 11:32

TA is 1-1
DS ASD, dyspraxia LD of around 1-2 years and well aware of it (I.e. unwilling to stick his hand up to point out he hasn't understood/managed to do work etc).

Really though what do you want them to do? Keep him in at break times to do extra work? Take him out of other lessons?
We have an agreement with the school that any unfinished work is to be sent home. He works better at home and if he needs me to, then I can explain it to him again.

They only have so much time to do so much and it could well be the case that they are making sure he is secure in the first bits before moving on.
But he has a test on Monday on the entire topic. Is it totally wrong to expect that if he hasn't completed the work they either a) send it home as agreed or b) make sure he has a summary of the work in his book?

OP posts:
Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 11:35

E.g. give him a photocopy of the relevant page of the text book. The children don't have the textbook, the teacher has the class copy.

OP posts:
Hercisback · 01/04/2022 11:36

This is tricky because come secondary he wouldn't get work sent home. It's not like every child accesses every piece of work in every lesson either.

However you currently have an arrangement with the school and that hasn't been stuck to. I'd politely ask and see what the teacher says.

NoSquirrels · 01/04/2022 11:36

Look, you have an agreement with the school already that something should happen in this scenario, and it hasn’t.

The only thing to do is enquire whether a) your assumption he’s missed learning is correct and it’s not that the whole class haven’t done it and b) why this happened and what can be done to stop it happening again.

Why are you worried to raise it?

GnomeyGnome · 01/04/2022 11:43

Obviously it is not your responsibility to make sure your DC has done work that you had no idea about. Just ask the teacher. They may well be giving him a condensed version of the test that only has the parts he has studied.

Thingsthatgo · 01/04/2022 11:49

Will he definitely get the same test as everyone else? In my DS's year 5 class they don't tell the children they are being assessed at different levels, just arrange their seating and give out papers accordingly.

Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 11:53

Will he definitely get the same test as everyone else?
Yes.

OP posts:
Sirzy · 01/04/2022 12:17

I’m not a fan of sending home work that hasn’t been finished anyway but I would just focus on looking at what he has done anyway

Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 12:56

I’m not a fan of sending home work that hasn’t been finished anyway
What's the alternative if he isn't going to fall further and further behind?

but I would just focus on looking at what he has done anyway
So no matter how hard he revises the stuff he has done he will never be able to get a pass mark in the test because he hasn't covered all the topic? Surely that's more disheartening.

OP posts:
Sirzy · 01/04/2022 13:20

The work he is being set should be at a level where he can realistically finish it at school. If he is regularly not finishing work then there is something going wrong what what is being expected.

Sending home work like that to me is basically punishing for him not being able to finish rather than actually looking at what the barriers to him finishing are.

NoSquirrels · 01/04/2022 13:26

You sound as if you think the school is failing your DS, OP. Because on the face of it, this isn’t an issue I’d be particularly concerned about past asking the teacher why the process has failed on this occasion and how they’ll mitigate for this in the test.

If you know he’s not at the usual Yr 6 standard why are you concerned about his performance in this particular standardised test? He should be evaluated on what he does know/what he can achieve which may not be at the same rate as the rest of the cohort. If he’s got diagnosed LD then his individual plan is what’s important.

If you have ongoing concerns about his teacher/the school then it’s understandable but just on the face of this one incident it doesn’t seem terrible?

Soontobe60 · 01/04/2022 13:33

@OTTExpectations

E.g. give him a photocopy of the relevant page of the text book. The children don't have the textbook, the teacher has the class copy.
What subject are you talking about? We don’t use any textbooks in our school. Nor do we have a syllabus. We follow the National Curriculum.
Soontobe60 · 01/04/2022 13:35

@OTTExpectations

I’m not a fan of sending home work that hasn’t been finished anyway What's the alternative if he isn't going to fall further and further behind?

but I would just focus on looking at what he has done anyway
So no matter how hard he revises the stuff he has done he will never be able to get a pass mark in the test because he hasn't covered all the topic? Surely that's more disheartening.

Does he have any cognitive impairments? What are the targets in his EHCP, because these should form the basis of all his learning.
Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 14:06

Nor do we have a syllabus. We follow the National Curriculum.
So does our school. A syllabus, as in a list of content that they are taught. It's obviously written by the teacher along the lines of
I can tell the difference between different types of light source.
I can explain the law of reflection.
I know how to split light into the colours of the rainbow.
I know how the eye works and know the different parts of the eye.

Sending home work like that to me is basically punishing for him not being able to finish rather than actually looking at what the barriers to him finishing are.
We certainly don't present it to him as a punishment! His plan states that he needs more time to complete exercises in class, obviously they can't magic up extra time at school so the logical conclusion is that he can finish stuff at home.

The school does have a long history of ineptitude.... however, his aims for this subject are the same as the rest of the class. He has working memory and processing issues.

OP posts:
Sirzy · 01/04/2022 14:14

If he has additional barriers to learning then how is it fair on him to be given the same targets as those children who haven’t got those barriers?

I assume he is leaving this school soon anyway so hopefully the plans for the new one can be more realistic

Soontobe60 · 01/04/2022 17:04

I completely disagree that he should be completing work at home if he has WM and processing issues. The only time I would advocate a child finishing off work after school is if they’ve purposefully messed around in the actual lesson - at which point they’d be doing if the next break time instead. Making him do it at home is just a punishment and must be so demoralising for him.
The support he receives should be ensuring he can complete appropriate tasks in class, otherwise it’s not support! I would be paring down the curriculum content and testing him on what he’s learned, not on what every other kid in the class has learned. It sounds like his teacher doesn’t fully understand how to support children with SEN.

jeffersonians · 01/04/2022 17:22

Completing work at home is not a common support strategy and not one I’d use. It also takes a lot more organisation than you’d think.

Our school is running on a skeleton staff due to Covid (and has been all term) and wouldn’t be able to organise this.

Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 17:27

Our school is running on a skeleton staff due to Covid (and has been all term) and wouldn’t be able to organise this.
DS's class teacher and TA have been present since beginning of February.

If he has additional barriers to learning then how is it fair on him to be given the same targets as those children who haven’t got those barriers?
According to every assessment he's had, they say that he should be able to make the targets if is work is prepared and made accessible for him. Unfortunately, his plan is worded that they only have to do this "if possible" so they of course always say it's not possible or practical to do so.

OP posts:
Original poster
OTTExpectations · 01/04/2022 17:28

I just spoke to a friend of Dc2's who is in DS 's class and they have definitely covered all the work on the list in class.

OP posts:
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