PE teacher and dyspraxic DD

[doodlesnoodles]

DD is in year 8, she was diagnosed with dyspraxia not long before leaving primary school but her primary was very understanding even before her diagnosis. She struggled with PE but was kindly encouraged to have a go. This has been very different since starting secondary, especially year 8. Her PE teacher has taken a strong disliking to her, she's aware of DD's dyspraxia but seems to treat it as just an excuse. She's quite quiet about it but has explained her teacher that she finds PE difficult especially tennis and netball which seems to be all they all. Her teacher told her in response a list of all the sports she does and how she teaches PE 5 days a week and DD only has to do 2 hours a week. She sits out of a lot of lessons, I give her a note if she's really worrying about it and this really annoys the teacher and often tells DD off for it. Yet she also has a go at her when she does something "wrong" when she does participate. She seems to particularly pick on DD despite there being other students who also don't join in. When I met this teacher during parents evening she wasn't understanding at all when I explained that DD worries about going to PE lessons, I can certainly see why she doesn't going

Oh don't be silly. There is no legality at issue here.

Almost certainly the teacher has suggested ways to involve the Ops dd, in fact who knows that she didn't think of something on the lessons that the OP wrote a note for?

Sadly there's no legal requirement for a teacher to make every child in her class feel fabulous about themselves, otherwise I'd have taken dds Spanish teacher to court by now

And how is the teacher supposed to be teaching the rest of the class if she is trying to oversee a personalised program for your dd? Or do they not matter?

Just like a classroom teacher does. You tailor your planning to suit the different levels and learning styles of all students.

You make sure there is a structured templated for Bobby, and print out a copy of what is on the board for Sally because she needs it next to her. Mary is going to need a couple of extra pages of next level questions, and Joe is going to need to be reminded to use counters to show his working. Josie needs to type up her work on the iPad. During this lesson, Jacob and Susie need to finish off their assessment that they missed last week. Alex saw his mum last night for the first time in six weeks, so he's going to need some quiet time in the morning, and John's dad left for the army on the weekend so keep an eye on him.

These are all of the things going through a teacher's mind when they are planning a lesson. There is no reason a PE teacher shouldn't be thinking the same things. Our PE teacher manages it quite well, even dealing with multiple physical disabilities, as well as behavioural needs.

@Fazackerley

You're being really nasty and also lacking in basic reasoning. I wonder why that is? Do you think it would be fine for a dyslexic child be made to stand up in front of a form and read something that was too difficult for them and then get berated fro doing it wrong? (NO? Then it's not acceptable in PE either).

Either PE is a compulsory subject or it isn't. If it isn't then DD can just be excused and she can do exercise outside of school. If it is an important subject than it has to be adapted so those with a disability can take part properly yes it's a legal requirement.

If you think it's OK to berate a disabled child because they can't perform as well as a child without a disability then quite frankly you should be kept away from all children.

Almost certainly the teacher has suggested ways to involve the Ops dd, in fact who knows that she didn't think of something on the lessons that the OP wrote a note for?
Why are you so certain? Your experience with schools and PE lessons may be different but this certainly hasn't happened otherwise surely she would have at least made DD aware of it

And how is the teacher supposed to be teaching the rest of the class if she is trying to oversee a personalised program for your dd? Or do they not matter?

The same way any other teacher does. If they want to only coach physically able students they can start a selective sports team. If they want to teach a compulsory curriculum subject in a school they have to adapt it to all the students in the class.

It is absolutely the job of a PE teacher to help the confidence of students who are less physically able by giving them appropriate physical tasks which will improve their strength and ability. If they are given activities which don't match their ability and are then criticised for not performing well the teacher is doing a very bad job.

My DD has to carry out lots of balance exercises to strengthen her gross and fine motor skills, her OT has noticed a big improvement, the thing with DCD it causes lots of stress it also gets worse when DD is having a bad day, it is not just the body wired different, her brain is effected. I could PM you some of the exercise sheets, if they would help.

If you think it's OK to berate a disabled child because they can't perform as well as a child without a disability then quite frankly you should be kept away from all children

What a horrible thing to say and of course you know that's not what I said, but some posters really love an outlet for their own frustration and anger. Ypu should be ashamed of yourself.

@Fazackerley
Well this is exactly what OP has said is happening. So if you agree that the PE teacher's actions are clearly unacceptable you could offer a little more constructive advice to the OP instead of ridiculous statements that she should pay for private education if she wants her disabled child to be accommodated in PE lessons!

I wonder how many people have been totally turned off from sport and exercise by their bullying PE teachers? As another poster has said, they appear to be a law unto themselves in secondary schools - totally one track minded and unable to see the bigger picture and what might actually build confidence amongst their pupils. They have mixed ability classes but are only interested in their top 'stars'. It's a pity there's not a more enlightened approach with the PE curriculum to have things that can be fun too, like dance, Pilates, etc.

I very much doubt the pe curriculum for the year consists of nothing but tennis and pe.
I expect the pe teacher is giving your dd corrections ie tips on how to improve which your dd is interpreting as criticism. Stop writing her notes no wonder the pe teacher is irritated!

What a horrible thing to say

To be fair - you can dish it out but apparently can't take it back! You think OP should have to pay privately because her kid can't do as well in sport as others you say it doesn't matter if her DD is getting anxious about PE lessons because it's not the teacher's job to "make everyone feel fabulous" but you're suddenly hurt when your comments are reflected back!

Of course they don't only do tennis and netball but it's what they seem to mostly do

I think sometimes PE teachers are a law unto themselves - schools have enough pressure with priority subjects so as long as they're ticking the box of providing PE they don't really care. This teacher sounds rubbish and not very nice.

I'd permanently excuse her from PE but insist she does something outside of school to compensate. Is she under an OT who could provide some exercises for DD to do? Is there a sport you think DD would prefer? Perhaps she could join a gym? Join a less competitive swimming club? Karate? A non team sport might help boost her confidence.

I am dyspraxic as is my daughter, who is very dyspraxic to the extent she cannot really run and cannot ride a bike at all. Very good swimmer though, brilliant pianist and now has a degree in composing.

The P E teachers were awful. No empathy. I had to see them several times, she would be punished for not trying!!! SO cruel! Made her very unhappy and me very angry! Her punishment was often to run around the playing field 5 times which she couldn't really do.

Dreadful treatment, no excuse and I eventually complained to the head teacher. This was nearly 20 years ago but I don't imagine its that much better now.

Don't allow it to happen to her OP! Yes exercise but being bullied is not.

Ooops - last sentence should say...

Yes exercise is good but being bullied is not.

This thread demonstrates PE should be optional, only a small percentage of students benefit

Franky I wouldn’t expect an extra programme and don’t. I do however expect empathy and understanding of the SENs involved. In our case shouting “you’re letting your team down “ when she stops for a break due to being in pain/ struggling and then reporting and threatening detention is neither.

I wouldn’t expect children struggling to read to cope with Bleak House that well. One would expect materials they could access to be provided and if support to aid reading skills wasn’t possible I certainly wouldn’t expect a spectacle to be made of them or threaten detention for struggling.

It is honestly as if PE departments think they’re exempt from having to deal with SENs. They’re not.

Op I wouldn’t keep her off she needs and is entitled to the lessons. Haven’t got much else to advise as our school is particularly shite in this area. My dd was previously doing the first half of the lesson and then seeing what she could do for the second which worked well. Then she had a new teacher, all went out the window and it’s back to ignoring SENs and shouting.Have suggested they may like to go back to the previous model.Think it’s going to be recommended so we’ll see if things improve.

Cherry the problem is school understandably doesn’t provide extra in the areas that need improvement. We get no details. I can only push hiking and swimming at home to keep her fit which don’t cure the dyspraxia or rewire the skills she is falling short of. My dd does indeed have the joint pain hypermobility too. Her consultant did say they can often go together along with tiredness.

"EDS - hyper mobility- has several forms only one of which (vascular) has any significant impact on joint pain and physical functioning." Bullshit! This is the condition my dd has and joint pain and physical function is absolutely a factor - are you even qualified to make such a stupid comment?!

My son has a neuromuscular disorder which present as dyspraxia would when trying to do certain physical things.

Things to suggest she allows dd to do are things like the reffing, fetching balls for tennis and help with organisation.
My ds started off with warm up and being support. He now joins in with most lessons and even chooses to play sport at lunchtimes.

She'll be far more likely to have the confidence to try if she feels they'll be some success.

rewire dyspraxia my arse!

OP, ex Sport Lecturer, PE teacher here.

I have had many dyspraxic students who have loved a sport or two, gone on to be coaches even. They'd have to love it as I only taught A levels and degree courses, so they chose to do it!

They all had one thing in common, a school PE Teacher who took up the challenge and made PE accessible to them.

If I were you I'd take in a lot of supporting info and sit down with the SENCO and ask them how best to tackle the PE teacher, head on, firmly and once only!

I really hope you can get some support from the SENCO and figure out how to improve things. Like so many others posting here I had some pretty bad experiences of PE at school (I wasn't in the UK either, so the stereotypical PE teacher problem is widespread ....). Too many memories of being viewed the same as the kids who weren't trying, when I was struggling to keep up with them (not dyspraxic but definitely had some gross motor issues).

For my own children all I've ever asked is that they are engaged with their PE sessions. My son (not dyspraxic as such but not tremendously well coordinated) doesn't enjoy team sports much. Doesn't see the point, doesn't know what to do when. Interestingly, last term when he was being taught a niche sport with its own rules, he enjoyed it much more than he'd expected - I think it "levelled the playing field" somewhat and he actually understood what was going on and what he was supposed to do which hasn't happened in the past. When he was younger I think teachers tended to assume that the boys knew how certain sports worked. There came a point that, when given the option of running round the field or joining in, he was quite happy to run laps. Doesn't work for the kid who can't run far though.