Spellings

[Mummyneedsginnow]

Hi, I'm not sure it's AIBU however I felt I may get some more responses, my daughter is year 4, originally diagnosed with Global Development Delay however now specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia.
Each week for last 4 weeks she has bought home her spellings, 10 words, since beginning of term she has got 3 weeks of zero out of ten, one week she got one correct, she finds this upsetting although I reassure her and encourage, we practice daily.
She is currently unable to confidently recognise the 100 high frequency words/spell them fluently, words such as - called, about etc, her spellings set by school this week were words such as venomous, generous, dangerous etc, she cannot read them, spell them, or in some cases understand their meaning, I feel it would be more beneficial for her to confidently spell, recognise and read the common words before moving on to the more complicated ones.
I work in education however am an autism/Sen TA so not overly familiar with common practice, she does not receive one to one support and I understand teachers and assistants are hugely under pressure however I hate to see her so disheartened when yet again she gets a zero score, and myself knowing she has far more useful words to learn (I don't know if that sounds how I mean it too)
Sorry it's so long, just didn't want to drip drip

Is the new teacher even aware of your dds issues. Don’t presume they are as there is no ECHP. Information like this can get missed it did with my dd - her health condition.

@Mummyoflittledragon yes she has split teachers one of which was her teacher last year and her class TA is one who she's had in two years previously, she also has a one page profile for any supply or other staff, sorry to hear your daughter's information was overlooked

Definitely speak to the school. That is bound to be so upsetting for both your daughter and yourselves. My son has DLD and i have queried Dyslexia. So far ive had to contact his teacher 3 times this term. I've got to the point i don't let anything go. My son is P4 (age 8). His spellings this week were words like cross, across, floss, boss etc. He just manages these. His teacher also moved him back to a spelling activity page with pictures etc as helped him read the words. I know exactly how you feel. I cried for a hole afternoon last week over a piece of work sent home to correct as i was so gutted for my Ds

It’s even worse that they know

Oops didn’t mean to post. Thanks yes it was a hairy moment at the time. I hope you get somewhere with the teacher then.

@mummyof2boys30 it's heartbreaking to see them frustrated and downhearted, bless you I know how it feels.
Mine is 8, 9 next year, so I'm guessing we are are at same stage, please pm if you ever need a listening ear.

My daughter's school SENco did the tests for dyslexia however it all comes under an umbrella of an as yet not clear condition/s, she's had genetic testing which didn't pin point anything in that direction, it's all a bit of a pickle tbh

My one DC has very severe dyslexia. Their spelling is still terrible but part of their disability accommodation is to not be graded on spelling but on content. They also are orally tested as much as possible instead of having to produce written material. They are very bright and currently studying at the #2 University in the country, which is in top 100 universities in the world.
What helped us was cognitive tutoring using the Linda mood bell method from age 10 to 13, two days a week for two hours each session.
So it’s not too late to get your daughter the extra help and confidence boost she needs.

That's ridiculous. I'm surprised you've even wasted any time attempting to learn them. Poor DD shouldn't have to do the test no wonder she has low self esteem. I'd contact the teacher and let him/her know the work is not appropriate and DD needs differentiated work.

@PlanDeRaccordement I shall explore thankyou

I’m sorry but I don’t believe that you have been given correct information about EHCPs. Please consider looking into it further. It sounds as though your dd needs significantly more support than she is being offered.

@HandfulofDust I shall push further

@Elisheva I will look into it, I ended up in tears at that particular meeting out of sheer frustration, then probably seen as weak and to blame perhaps

She should still get help at school What help does she get. get an easier list from the teachers and concentrate on a few at a time. I did Alpha to Omega and Attack and Word quest. (for older ones and I did that after Alpha to Omega.) These days there is a computer programme called Nessy??( contact dyslexia associaiton for more info. ) Try to find way to remember for instace. Because " big elephanats can always understand small elephants". Necessary has one coller and two socks. (one c and two SS). DEf communicate with the teachers what is their plan they can not keep doing lists knowing child will get zero and do nothing.

In my experience with two DCs with learning disabilities is that the schools are a constant fight to get the support you need. That you cannot trust them at all to really help your child. You have to pay to get tests and tutoring privately and then be pushy and demand the school follow the plans set out by the private school psychologists. Even with official diagnoses and plans, you still have to constantly bully the schools into following and implementing them. There is a culture of low expectations. That a child with a learning disability is stupid and will be lucky to pass secondary exams and get any BS job. University, a career is considered to be beyond their capability. Don’t trust the school to do what is needed. You have to fight for your child.

@PlanDeRaccordement whilst the following makes me feel like a failure as mother unfortunately I am not in a position to pay for tutoring or testing, so unfortunately that is not an option but thankyou for your advice.

@june2007 she does approximately 45 mins of small group work spread over a week, however it's quite often disrupted by behaviour issues and she has hyperacusis and sensory issues so tends to shut down when others are kicking off

Make sure make time with her a couple of times a wk to read and go over spellings. Look cover write, labourious but does work. Contact Dyslexia associaiton they may have a local group near you or a representative. DEf do the pattern in word thing. Also look at games like Banagrams and scrabble. Does she know how to break down sounds. Does she know any rules like I before E except after c?

@june2007 we read together daily and practice spellings every weekday, look, cover etc, word spotting, splat, magnetic letters, writing in salt, plus any other techniques I come across in work, she doesn't hear initial sounds which makes it tricky but I do practice with her alot

Year 4 teacher here. She should definitely be getting more support. When you say her class TA, do you mean she has a one-to-one? I'm not sure what an ECHP is, apologies, I'm in Wales so perhaps we call it something else! But she should definitely have an individual education programme tailored to her specific needs. With attainable targets.

[quote Mummyneedsginnow]@mummyof2boys30 it's heartbreaking to see them frustrated and downhearted, bless you I know how it feels.
Mine is 8, 9 next year, so I'm guessing we are are at same stage, please pm if you ever need a listening ear.

My daughter's school SENco did the tests for dyslexia however it all comes under an umbrella of an as yet not clear condition/s, she's had genetic testing which didn't pin point anything in that direction, it's all a bit of a pickle tbh[/quote]
Just realised how poor my own spelling was in my last post. Trying to reply and work at the same time. Thanks for your reply. Hope your daughter gets some support soon. Its a constant battle. Im sure the school hate to see me at the gate now lol

[quote Mummyneedsginnow]@BluebellsGreenbells I have a laminated list that we pick random off of, look cover write check, etc

I will look that up now thankyou[/quote]
Do you play games with the words?

Does she recognise them? Read them?

Look, cover etc may not work for her yet.

Not sure if this has already been said.... but you can apply for EHCP yourself. Schools dont always want to bother so say it wont be successful but there is no harm in applying. Schools have to fund the first 6k of support themselves so this can be why they dont. However, your child sounds like she needs the support and a EHCP will male the support a legal requirement.

CONTACT charity can help with advise. Also CAB are very helpful.

You need to ensure that the EHCP is specific and measurable otherwose it goves too many loop holes for schools to get round the support needs.
Things like 1:1 with a dyslexia level 3 diploma for x hours per week within the classroom
X hours per week of tailored support for outside of the class with specialist support working on language understanding, tasks to develop pen control etc
Tailored curriculum to ensure work is both achieveable and workingntowards development of core skills.
Technology/other needs (dependant on age /ability) dictorphone to record notes, scribe for exams, coloured overlays, communication in print, sign support, special pencils to aid writing, lighting, size and style of font, colour and shape coding support. Laptop with spell checker, visual and speech dictionaries. Google live transcribe app. Etc

It is so important to get knowledgeable support to fill out EHCP both from a making sure its filled out properly and by liaising with experts of your childs needs to better understand what support is needed.

Good luck

Sorry, crosspost.

I don't think she's ready and I don't think the school are helping her.

@Stellaroses an EHCP is an Education, Health Care Plan. It replaced a Statement of SEN, in 2014 when the new SEN Code of Practice came out.

One of my children has dyslexia, and the other was on the gifted and talented stream at school. It was eye opening, seeing how the two extremes were treated at school.

In my experience, schools simply don't cope well with children with dyslexia. The support they give doesn't work. (And bear in mind the schools my children went to were all considered excellent by OFSTED, especially for their SEN support.)

The schools spent a lot of time assessing my child and writing reports about them; but they didn't actually do much to help them read or write. They gave them extra spellings to learn, and every year gave them one half term with extra spellings sessions, but that was useless. And it pulled them out of the classes they needed to keep up with other work, so it was detrimental in the long run.

Instead of giving your child spellings to learn, they should be teaching them strategies for decoding words properly. When Dyslexia Action was running this is exactly what it did. My child started with them in year 2, had lessons throughout primary school, had a couple of years off when they started secondary, and then started again when it became apparent the schools were failing them once more. It cost us a lot, but without those lessons my child would not be able to read and write now. As it is, they got their english and maths GCSEs, did reasonably well at school, and while they're never going to be good at writing they are competent.

I know it's hard, but specialist tuition is the only way to go in my experience. Schools just don't do it. And work on finding things to bolster their self esteem, because they'll take a battering at school.

@Stellaroses just a general LSA for whole class, daughter doesn't have a one to one

@Trackandtrace thankyou, there is a charity called families in focus which help with anything forms etc, I know it's all about getting the key words etc in, was the same for getting her disability living allowance.

@ColdAndSad funnily enough my daughter's school is outstanding, thankyou for your advice.

@ everyone who's replied, I feel awful saying this as my own TA work is spent managing challenging behaviours mostly, but sometimes I feel her being quiet and well behaved goes against her, because she's just left to get on with it, I of course wouldn't want her misbehaving etc, it's just something that's crossed my mind

On costs, I know you said money is hard to come by and tutoring is too expensive. But at very least try and find money for test and diagnosis plus report of accommodations.
It is usually ~£400for professional testing and diagnosis. Most places will have an interest free financing option. That test and report will then last until they turn 16. The schools have to follow the recommendations when doing the EHCP. At 16, you then have to retest your DC for post-16 education and that report and diagnosis then lasts for life and makes them eligible for disabled student allowance and also for accommodations from employers. That has to be done private pay (state doesn’t pay for post16) and usually with the company approved by the sixth form.

Of course, it might not be dyslexia but some other LD. So finding out exactly what your DC is up against is critical.