Ds helper at school. Ds stressed and upset.

[Ds8and9]

So my son is 9. He has autism and learning difficulties. He has an ehcp. One of the things he finds hard is to take in information/instructions. He's working at year 1 level. The ehcp says he's to be given extra time to take things in etc. He's also meant to have a sort of 121. It's not strictly a 121 but would normally be on the table ds is one with a few others . That's how it was when he was in year 3 and he was really happy.

But ds has told me . That his helper hardly ever sits with him or helps him. He said she's hardly ever in the class and always going of to the dinner hall or to do something else. But I don't know if this is true as ds has no concept of time. I did mention it to senco once . And his helper then spoke to me and said M is doing really well. I wish I could spend more time with him. That's the only time she has ever communicated with me since last September.

Ds has recently told me that when he's been told what to do his teacher went away for a bit. Came back to check om ds . And shouted at him because he had not started his work. His ehcp says he needs things explainer to him in a simple way. And time to take in what's been said.

Ds also told me that his teacher said to him M it's about time you started doing things yourself . This was when ds was asked to get was certain book out of his desk but came back with the wrong one..

When he was in year 3 his helper was fantastic he was always with him. Would keep me updated. Explain things clearly to ds .

With ds and some of the tomes that have been said o have just said to him never mind. You Bern finished soon abd get a new teacher in September.

I get stuck what to do . I don't want to over protect ds. Also things are not always what they seem. I'm not sure about saying much to the school because I doubt they are going to say yep we spent minimal time with him . And ignored his EHCP.

I'm lt sure if there's anything I can do / say to maje sure year 5 is better when he starts in September.

Yes I'm definitely going to do that. Hes really struggled this year so I really don't want him to have the same helper or teacher. We will have to see. Abd take it to there . I should find out soon who he has.

Your child's ehcp, if as posted, makes no mention of an additional support adult, there is no mention of any 1:1 TA/support at all.

There is every chance there may be no TA in future classes and as it isn't in his ehcp I can't see how this could be insisted upon.

I think you may need to go back to school and see if there can be a review and to try and get more specific support included, if you feel it's needed.

I also found thus

This needs to be far more specific, with timings. 'Plenty of' is not a measurable unit.

That is also too woolly and vague - “plenty of”, “adult”, “such as”, “always try to”, “think about”, “can be made”, pre-teaching 1:1 with who, how often, how long for… It isn’t enforceable and you need to request an early review from the LA using IPSEA’s model letter.

So like it's not clear ?

It's not picking at things. It's like calling a nurse a helper. It's condescending. I am pointing it out as you'll presumably go into school to talk about it and they might get irritated at the wording.

The rest of my point was to talk to the senco.

@Ds8and9 it suggests lots of things but there is no mention of how these things should be achieved.
No mention of an individual working on these things.
So , no , not clear at all .
It's like giving you pages of things that you need to do to where you live.
Insulate the bathroom, lower the ceiling, have new triple glazed windows fitted, replace radiators, fit new boiler etc
All excellent ideas and would achieve an objective of reducing heating bills but no mention of who will do it or how to find fund if

No, not clear. Provision in EHCPs must be detailed, specified and quantified - who, what, when, where, how long sessions are for, frequency… Think of it like an employment contract. It needs to be explicit.

Unfortunately OP from what you’ve shown of your EHCP, it’s just not worth the paper it’s written on.

Based on that the school really doesn’t have to provide any form of 121 assistance, you need an EHCP which is VERY specific, highlighting exactly the hours your son needs, how many of them, whom exactly will provide them, how many days a week, where it will be done.

I agree 😭

I am a primary SENCO. The wording on the EHCP does not specify a 1:1. 'Small group' will mean either in a pair or up to four children. Educational staff will know this and will be used to' EHCP speak.

If your child is going into Year 5, he will begin to work on being more independent ready for secondary school. This may have started in Year 4. I would expect that all the strategies named would be in place to support him towards this, and for it to take a couple of years to get to being more independent (but not totally independent). He is unlikely to have a 1:1 at secondary school and working towards this usually starts in Year 5 to prepare him, rather than suddenly being removed when he changes from Year 6 to Year 7.

In Year 5, there will be a transitional annual review meeting which the SENCO of your chosen secondary school will attend, as well as all professionals (SALT/OT etc). My advice to you would be to meet with his class teacher and the primary SENCO to discuss what you would like to have in place for him at secondary school so that this can be discussed at the meeting.

However, all this does not help you now. I would make an appointment with the SENCO and his new class teacher either at the end of this term, or at the very start of next term to discuss your concerns and ask what strategies will be in place for him. You will find that both you and the SENCO will be on the same page and will both want the best for your child. As a SENCO, I always welcome this sort of meeting with a parent as I think this is best for the child.

On another note, the top-up for a child with an EHCP is approximately £3500 per annum depending on authority. This does not pay for the salary for a 1:1 TA. The school have to self-fund the rest of the salary (plus pension etc) and at the moment, schools do not have the funding to pay for an additional member of staff. Schools are expected to do their 'best endeavours' to provide the support on an EHCP. The school will inform their local authority that they need the funding to provide a child with 1:1 support if specified, but unfortunately, it has been my experience that local authorities do not provide the money and schools just don't have it. This is sad (particularly for the child) but also true.

Sorry, I managed to quote the wrong person (apologies). I am new to this MNing. I intended to quote the EHCP wording. Sorry.

’Small group' will mean either in a pair or up to four children.

Legally, unless this is explicitly written in F, it doesn’t.

There is no blanket amount given to schools to fund EHCP provision. Not £3.5k nor any other amount. It depends on what provision is in the EHCP. LAs are ultimately responsible for ensuring the provision detailed, specified and quantified in F is provided under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. That includes funding it at an appropriate level. EHCPs can be fully funded, but LAs won’t do this unless forced. Parents can enforce provision detailed, specified and quantified in F if it isn’t provided.

Some DC do have 1:1 at secondary. It depends on individual needs despite what LAs and many schools would like parents to believe. But if it is reasonably required the EHCP needs improving to detail, specify and quantify that.

Although LAs sometimes use the Y5 AR as the transition review, it should really be in the autumn term of Y6.

Ds gets 12k a year funding .

I'm.not sure how they can ready him for secondary if he's only working at year 1 level.

Focus on improving section F (and to do that section B will need improving too) rather than funding.

I really think the OP writing "helper" is not an issue on a forum like this when no one even knows who the TA is.

OP has enough to worry about without nasty people like yourself with your non issue.

How petty are you?

In the local authority where I work, £8k came from the school’s nominal budget. So, if your child was at my school, the LA would provide just £4k. I would speak to the SENCO to find out whether the LA do provide all the funding. If this is the case, then I would want to know how this is being spent. The breakdown should be provided at the annual review so you should have a copy from last time. I would also say though, that your SENCO is unlikely to be
the person who allocates the school budget and she may be as frustrated as you about the situation.

To answer the question about how a child currently working at Year 1 would cope at secondary school, and this is a general answer not related to the child in question as I don’t know him. I would say that hopefully in two years’ time a child will have made progress and will be working above this level, maybe Year 2 or 3 level. As a parent, I would be looking at either a special school or one with a specialist unit attached that provided extra support. However, some children at this academic level are able to cope quite well at secondary school with the right support. It would depend on the character of the child and what the parent felt was right for their child.

Grow up and stop trying to cause trouble over absolutely nothing.

I'm sure the school can manage to tell OP (the lay person) if they prefer the term TA.

As I said earlier, this is a non issue.

And your advice of talking to the SENCO at this point is no good.
The whole sen statement needs to be specific.

OP, you can obtain help from IPSEA for this.

EHCPs can be fully funded in whatever LA you live in. But LAs won’t do this unless forced. Don’t rely on the SENCO or LA giving accurate information.

Apologies OP, I meant the EHCP.

(Used to be called SEN statement)

Wow. Read your post back and think of I'm the one who is nasty. I was actually trying to help her before she went into school.

I wouldn't necessarily see it as a good thing that he had a 1-2-1 who always sat by him. It can encourage dependency, which isn't great. And I think it's actively good if the teacher works with your ds now and again. After all, they're likely to be the best qualified person in the class.

That said, I think you need you need to get the EHCP tightened up.

I'm not trying to cause trouble for goodness sakes
As for the senco, it's exactly their job to support with things like this.

Yeah right.

Think of the child before bringing pettiness onto the thread