Not enough support in daughters class.

[User473847284737]

This has been going for a year or two.

shes in year 3. No formal diagnoses as such but she has an EHCP which she's had in place since pre school. She does not need 1:1 but needs some degree of extra support. Her issues include speech delay, her speech was quite far behind at the point of starting reception and unclear, she has made huge progress but still quite far behind for her age, she has motor skill delays, can't run or walk down steps very well, she struggles to get on & off the toilet, was told she has hypermobility and low muscle tone but it's believed she also has dyspraxia which could also be the reason she struggled with clarity of her speech.

she is really quite far behind at school, working at beginning of year 1 level. She can't really read much. Her speech therapist said it can be tied to how significant her speech delay is. She really wants to learn though.

also, we believe she's showing signs of asd. It's extremely likely as her older brother is on the spectrum (diagnosed aged 4). I'm also just about to contact the gp over an assessment for myself as it's been obvious for a long time I'm on the spectrum. I score 190 on raads r, over 65 suggests autism.

I believe Dd masks a lot and copied with her friends are doing.

Despite this she is quite social, has lots of friends (but I feel like the gap is widening between her and her peers as they get older though).

anyway, back to my op. She's in a class of what I believe is 25. There is at least 5 of them needing extra support. Dd is the only one with an EHCP as far as I know. the senco told me there is only 3 in the school with an EHCP, 2 are mine so only 1 other. There's lots of children needing them but aren't getting them. I've been quite lucky that my oldest has been supported, Dd is not. She's not making much progress at school. I can only do so much at home to help her academically, I'm no teacher.

I'm not saying for one minute she needs more support because of this, children should be supported EHCP or not. But my issue is with the school. There is often only one teacher and ta in the class which I don't believe is good enough for the amount of children needing support. some of the kids in the class are generally just disruptive too but don't have sen. It's a really challenging class from what I can gather. I can sympathise with the teacher

but is 1 ta enough. Surely there should be more?? I know it all comes down to money but it's not good.

My sons also doesn't state level of support on section F but he has pretty much had 1:1 throughout!

What banding is the funding from the ehcp? Can you discuss with the senco asking for higher funding? Ds2 has highest and has funding for a 1-1 he was offered the lowest first and the school were told he needed a 1-1 so they hit back and said they "couldn't meet need" suddenly ds got the higher funding offered which gave the school enough money for his 1-1

He doesn't have an official diagnosis either he is however over four years behind in some areas so it's a bit fucking obvious

Absolutely. I think TA's are wonderful and are so under paid!

She needs an accurate assessment. From what you say she may be better placed in a specialist provision. They typically have OT and S&LT resource as well.

Not sure why it was &
SaLT

It's not on my parental copy, apparently it's not put onto a parental copy where I live? Is that normal everywhere? School are pretty secretive about it all! On my copy section F is blank. Case worker at the local sen team is beyond rubbish. I've emailed them before and got a reply a month later, I know they are so over stretched which I get but it's not good!

Sadly there is lack of specialist provision in my area. My oldest cannot even get into a sen school for secondary despite that his needs are quite significant. He is year 11 working at ks1 level. dd wouldn't stand a chance.

I’m sorry to hear this and as posted above, most schools are suffering from an acute funding crisis.
I know you say you are ‘no teacher’ but as she’s so young you should be able to help support her at home with learning her letters and numbers, spellings etc. there is a wealth of videos and tutorials on the internet and places like The Works sell workbooks etc which may help.

Look at the echo what does it say is needed. Are they complying with it. Many moons ago under old statement system my child was allocated 3 hours a day of 1:1and head said to me 'that's more help for the children in the class'. I said no those hours are exclusively for my child. I had to fight for statement those hours were not going to someone else's child. Might sound harsh but statement said that was his requirement .
I then checked in with my child and ta appointed that the support was given. This was an extra ta in class.
So check and enforce what you and other professionals have agreed is needed

The senco was her class teacher for the last 2 years!!

Ask the school for a copy of the full ehcp. Check if it is draft or final. Look at when it was last updated . You can request an early annual review however without an accurate and up to date assessment of her needs that may be pointless

what does the paediatrician think are her needs? When did they last contribute to the ehcp annual review process?

Of course and I try my best. Her attention span is short and my children both have strong associations, school is school and home is home. Home schooling during lockdown was a total nightmare! My eldest has significant needs too.

I disagree that a diagnosis needs to be in place for an EHC plan-this isn’t true, it’s based on need.

The problems we see is that whilst the school are trying to bend over backwards to support their children with SEND, the LA are being obstructive at every turn. They break the 20 week statutory timeline all the time, don’t respond to phone calls/email, write paperwork unfit for purpose, don’t update Annual Reviews, try to reject every application initially, offer little or no funding initially-just try to make it as difficult as possible. I know when I finally managed to speak to a contact there in July-their department was down to a tiny skeleton crew as so many had suddenly left or were off sick.

Their latest trick is only offering sufficient EHC funding for a year to see how that goes and it’s then reviewed at the AR. It is very difficult as a school to suddenly find a quality 1:1 (in fact any 1:1) for a child, on a temporary contract-especially when the pay offered is minimum wage and often only 20 hours a week. We had funding agreed last January for a child until the annual review this October (some year groups need to have ARs done earlier in the year). It took until March for us to advertise and the person could start-we got them on training in May/June but they may well be out of a job in October if the funding is cut. We don’t have the budget to keep the staff on ‘just in case’-we can’t even afford the pay rises for existing staff.

Paediatrician signed her off during lockdown sadly. They said they weren't really needed anymore. Services in my area are terrible. My oldest was signed off a week after asd diagnosis.

Then go to your gp and get a new referral
She has ongoing physical needs and should not have been signed off

what occupational and speech therapy does she access?

what does the paediatrician think are her needs? When did they last contribute to the ehcp annual review process?

I have never had a paediatrician even respond to an Annual Review request for information! Nobody from health has ever come to an AR meeting, though the SaLT and OT are good at providing recent reports.

They don’t typically attend but their ongoing reports and letters to the gp can be used as part of the review.

Is the TA full time in your dd’s Y3 class? If she is then the class already has more than many Y3 classes.

You shouldn’t have to obviously, but if you can afford it then it might be worth getting a tutor to help your dd.

The school needs to apply for additional funding for extra support for her. This can be 1:1, it can be a lower ratio. Speak to senco about additional funding.

Do you have a regular review with school?

It is not unusual at all.

Many, many children never get any sort of official diagnosis.

An ehcp is about meeting the child’s needs, not what they are diagnosed with.

Op you need to ask for an emergency ehcp review as a starting point.

This does not sound good enough at all.

DS is year 3. His class have an unusually high number of kids needing extra support. The other year 3 class, aren't quite as bad but still more problematic than average. Their year is the worst in the school by some distance.

My understanding is this is universal across the country and the result of the pandemic hitting them in reception at a particularly crucial time. They never learn to sit down and learn and thats having a knock on effect. The kids more affected are notable in their home background as being the ones who, for whatever reason, didn't get home schooled / have attention or a structured day whilst at home OR are much more likely to be summer born babies.

DS's class really probably has at least two kids who need a 1 to 1 TA. One got an EHCP at the end of last term. He's getting a TA but it won't be 1 to 1 (although that's what he should have). Instead she's going to be mainly for him but will also do small group work with a couple of the others. The class already has one TA. Given the problems in the class it should have 3 overall but that's never going to happen and I'm over the moon at the news of the second.

My point is this: the situation you describe is unfortunately the norm for Y3. They really have got stuff by covid. SATS results are down significantly. Results for summer born girls are showing the biggest decline - that's highly unusual as it's normally boys who have more problems. Summer born born are also struggling.

Its affecting even the well behaved and bright kids in the class. They aren't achieving what they should. One parent pulled her son and put him in private school over summer.

I suspect at some point there will be an intervention for the whole year across the country as its been noticed. When that happens is my worry. I think it could come too late for many.

I think this is where you need to set your expectations. There isn't going to be a magic wand and that year group are the forgotten victims of the pandemic. Take what you can get and if you can help others get a EHCP do. There aren't the resources for TAs without add funding which is going to get hammered by fuel bills...

There is a big difference between children who need support because their parents haven’t bothered to do the minimum in terms of supporting their learning and development at home - and those who (like my son aged 10 who has autism and learning disabilities) have genuine sen. Parents and schools should provide the correct support to both but it is important not to confuse the two. Parents of children with additional needs shouldn’t feel under pressure to accept less than adequate provision for their children because the pandemic has created issues.

It’s like saying we should all accept the NHS is going to be rubbish because the pandemic has affected it.

Section F is blank?! That absolutely should not be the case, the EHCP is meaningless without provision specified and quantified. Please contact IPSEA or SEN:SOS to get proper advice.
Schools have been short of funding for years and as parents of SEN children we are regularly made aware of this when asking for the support our children need. The EHCP is a legally binding document, it needs to be adhered too but the first step is getting it well written. Please don’t think that due to lack of funding your child won’t get the support they need - once the provision is written into section F the LA must provide the support outlined, of the school don’t have the money they have to ask the LA to provide it. If they don’t provide it you can take them to court.