Help me get perspective on this school situation

[Needanickname1]

At my ds primary school there are children who have difficult behaviour, for a variety of reasons, as there are at all schools. As well as general disruptive behaviour, it is now normal to have physical violence in class (hitting, punching, throwing things at people), and also children being out of control in common areas of the school, to the point where other children are not allowed out of class or to walk past.

I understand that schools are struggling desperately with funding cuts and there are so few non mainstream schools around now. But is this normal in schools now? Does this happen in your school?

I would definitely do some research into other local schools you might be able to get him into . My DC don’t see or experience this. But dreading secondary as it’s not quite the same standard

They've cut the funding for SEN specialist classes and individual 1 to 1 in our school from £8k to £2k. The classes that were for pupils who needed additional help and learning in a smaller context have had to be cut - as a result, the children who could've benefited are now without additional help and are in the mainstream classes full time. Since this happened, the entirety of the new intakes scores gave fallen as teachers are now having to deal with more disruptions etc. Whilst there's not been more violence, there's less in place to help pupils learn to better manage/cope in large class size environments etc, and it's showing.

Working in a school and in the LA, a lot of it is SEN to me, particularly undiagnosed SEN. And often this runs in families. Lots of boys who clearly have SALT issues that are ignored because there is little money. SENCO at my DC secondary also says this (part of a large MAT) and they are redirecting money into SALT.

No doubt some kids have terrible parenting also, perhaps both of these. Time and time again though, I hear parents of kids with SEND who should be in special school, but are pushed into mainstream because of funding cuts. And the behaviour of children is terrible, because they are not being supported. Classes of 30+ is not for everyone...

I very rarely post but please move your child OP. I have a child the same age and this is not normal in their school or any of the other 4 schools near me (I would have heard though the parent's gossip!). This is worth trying a change of schools.

nor thanks. I have an appointment to look at another school tomorrow. My son is keen to move. But my younger son, who has only just gained his confidence at school, is devastated by the idea. I know as a parent I have to think of the bigger picture but I feel awful.

It's not just about undiagnosed sen. Children are starting school with a diagnosis but because of underfunding their needs aren't being met so they end up being excluded with nowhere to go.
I don't no how it can be acceptable for some of the most vulnerable children in society to not have a school place or education but that is what is happening at the moment.
Then if the parents have the knowledge, funds and enough strength to fight this, Local Authorities still fight them all the way to court. It's a disgrace that families have to go through all of this just to get a school for their child.

Why do your DS have to go to the same school?

Violent behaviour is a form of communication. It could be communicating that they can't handle the school situation - so the school is failing them. It could be that they are communicating a lack of boundaries (which must be both home and school). Or it could be communicating neglect/abuse.
Lots of schools do not have problems as described in the OP, they may have one off disruptive incidencies but then produce strategies to manage the behaviour, and minimise the impact on others. This could well be a mix of "coming down hard and swiftly" combined with coping strategies such as "a quiet place".
I know of at least one "lovely" school in which its "loveliness" was part of the problem as disruptive children didn't know what was going on. The timetable changed all over the place, rules seemed to change in an arbitrary way, and they seemed at times more bothered about being nice to staff than making sure they had the best staff for the job or effective SEN strategies (they also hated asking for outside help).

A school which is good at managing out the problem can be great for SEN children - as I know one which has helped several children get the EHCP that they needed to be able to be considered for Special schools. Maybe not what the government expects from a SENCO but she was very good at this part of her job (showing clearly how she was spending the £8000 - supposedly in the school budget for SEN per child, to show the child needed more funding).

And some schools that may seem lovely and with all round good behaviour might actually actively discourage SEN students from joining. Illegal, but happens all the time.