School don’t get it when I say I can’t

[NeverEndingFight]

DD is on PP due to my low income.

I’m a single parent.

I do work part time but have no childcare so literally work 4.5 hours a day. There’s no school wrap around and the childminders and external wrap arounds that go to DDs school are full with closed waiting lists.

DD is 7 nearly 8. Is suspected dyslexic and suspected dyspraxia/dcd. She also has hypermobility and vision and hearing issues – she can hear but struggles with subtle differences. I get that she’s complex.

She’s generally well managed at school, behaves well and has friends. She’s working at around Reception level in Literacy and Year 1 level in Maths. She can only read 3 letter words, can’t blend, can’t spell, struggles to hear the difference between sounds due to her hearing, and due to her vision issues struggles to see the differences between letters. She can write but her arm tires quickly and due to spelling ability most of her writing is nonscense.

In the assessment reports we’ve had so far they recommend some apps for DD, I keep being told by school I have to buy them. I can’t afford them; some of them are subscriptions costing £5/month there’s 4 of them and 3 of them want the subscription, the other is a one off cost of £60.

I’m told I should stop DDs out of school activities if it’s a problem as these apps are needed – there’s no guarantee they will work and I only let DD go onto her tablet for a few hours on my weekends, her dad doesn’t let her on at all – they’re apps like Nessy and Reading Eggs but more geared to dyslexia.

Her activities are the love of her life, she doesn’t really enjoy school so she lives for activity nights, and I do think they help her overall. She has gained confidence, and learnt her own abilities. She’s also made friends outside of the classroom.

School then say I should ask her dad for help as he sees her regularly, EOWend only and he doesn’t pay maintenance, if I ask him for money he tells me I’ve got more than him and see her more so it’s my job to pay for things – the CMS can’t find an income for him.

I get told without these apps she will fall further behind, I’m told to work more hours, I asked for them to guarantee her a spot at the wrap around at one of the two external companies so I can work more and got told that’s not their job or up to them.

I asked if school had these apps that DD could try to see if they’ll be suitable but I’m told school can’t afford them either and it’s the parents job to help her progress. School keep saying “If she can crack this we’ll have her reading”

I’m terrified for her future as I know she will struggle for the rest of her primary years. We’ve been rejected for an EHCNA so taking the council to tribunal over that, school are saying we won’t get any more assessments as she’s “Not badly behaved enough”. She behaves in class, but then lets it all out at home, gets very upset over every little thing.

I despair and don’t know what to do. This is the second primary school she’s been to and her last one said the same “She’s not badly behaved enough for an EHCP or 1-1”. I don’t want to move her again as she hates this school slightly less than her previous one.

Just ranting really. I’m sick of fighting. This has come after yet another email last night (that I've only just read) from her teacher saying she needs these apps. I think they think I can't be bothered or expect school to do everything - I read with her daily, I battle her to do homework, I always go to parent workshops, I go to parents evening, I do every medical appointment alone.

Apart from the fact that the PP should pay for these apps, does the school have a PTA? I'm sure they would put some funds towards this if you ask the right person or ask the senco to ask on DDs behalf

First of all you can request your child to be assessed for dyspraxia through your doctor.
Also you can request directly to your local authority for her to be seen by a psychologist.

Also I can highly recommend the following website:

Teach your monster to read. They do one for number as well. It is free to use on a laptop. There is a very small one off charge for downloading as an app.
Teach Your Monster: Free Phonics, Reading and Mathematics ...www.teachyourmonster.org

I can also recommend the following website:
teachhandwriting.co.uk/

Number blocks on YouTube may also be useful for you.

Yes, school should be providing Nessy etc for your child to use at school. They have no right to say that you must provide these apps for your child. I would complain firstly to the Chair of Governors and if you have no joy there to your LEA.

Good luck and let us know the outome.

Sounds like to me as if she needs some specialist support with her work. ECHP are not just for children who have behaviour difficulties.

Apply for an EHCP yourself. You can make a parental request and school have to support it. But really...you need to move her. The school doesn't sound at all supportive.

I have applied for the EHCP, I am waiting for the tribunal as the council refused to assess. Been told it's a 12 month wait roughly unless they concede beforehand. So it's going to be awhile before I can get the EHCP.

@NeverEndingFight I've sent you a pm

It sounds as if their plan is to pocket the PP and palm off the actual teaching of your DD onto you, with you paying the bill and doing all the spadework.

OP I saw it reccomended down thread but Toe by Toe taught my daughter to read. It really was amazing. It was a slog and took us a couple of years to get through, she hated it but it's just 10mins a day. It's the best £20 I ever spent. I honestly cannot think that any app could do better.

Also Everyone Can charity carry out assessments for adaptive technology, they might be worth a ring to see if they could help.

You sound like you are doing a great job.

@NeverEndingFight

I have applied for the EHCP, I am waiting for the tribunal as the council refused to assess. Been told it's a 12 month wait roughly unless they concede beforehand. So it's going to be awhile before I can get the EHCP.

It definitely isn't 12 months. If you've entered your appeal, you should get a reply within around two weeks which will include the timetable. As Refusal to Assess appeals are usually dealt with on the papers (i.e. without a full hearing), they are a bit quicker and I think you should get a decision within mourn 16 weeks at most.

However, if they agree to assess or are ordered to do so, they will have to get the relevant reports and then make a decision about whether they are going to issue an EHCP. If they are not going to issue, they have to tell you within, I think, 10 weeks, and if they are going to issue they must finalise within 14 weeks.

By Year 4 my DD was still struggling with reading and writing to the extent we were asking for dyslexia assessment.
Although she didn’t have the complex issues you describe your daughter having, she had her own difficulties and DH and I were very worried. We had no faith in the ‘good’ school she attended, which seemed only concerned with its brightest children and boasting of standards we didn’t recognise from our own experience.
We researched and visited another school in the village. It’s not an academy and it serves a mainly low-income catchment area with above-average numbers on free school meals.
The head was very welcoming (but not boastful) and unpretentious. She explained how the school could address DD’s difficulties and admitted to my DD her own childhood problems with writing and maths and how she overcame them, but still isn’t great with numbers!
After moving her there, my daughters reading, writing and confidence progressed within weeks and we were so glad we made the change. In Yr 8 now and loves English. She writes stories for fun at home and exhibits imagination and skill.
The school used a programme called Read Write Inc global.oup.com/education/content/primary/series/rwi/
Please don’t let the school treat your DD as a problem (only to be fixed with apps). Try to find a school that will let her flourish and value her for the person she is.

Can you contact the school governors about this op? I’m sure your situation could be discussed and they may be able to help.

Find your local SENDIASS service and contact them with this query. You will likely be successful at tribunal as the bar for a EHC needs assessment is really low. Good luck with everything.

@NeverEndingFight

DD is on PP due to my low income.

I’m a single parent.

I do work part time but have no childcare so literally work 4.5 hours a day. There’s no school wrap around and the childminders and external wrap arounds that go to DDs school are full with closed waiting lists.

DD is 7 nearly 8. Is suspected dyslexic and suspected dyspraxia/dcd. She also has hypermobility and vision and hearing issues – she can hear but struggles with subtle differences. I get that she’s complex.

She’s generally well managed at school, behaves well and has friends. She’s working at around Reception level in Literacy and Year 1 level in Maths. She can only read 3 letter words, can’t blend, can’t spell, struggles to hear the difference between sounds due to her hearing, and due to her vision issues struggles to see the differences between letters. She can write but her arm tires quickly and due to spelling ability most of her writing is nonscense.

In the assessment reports we’ve had so far they recommend some apps for DD, I keep being told by school I have to buy them. I can’t afford them; some of them are subscriptions costing £5/month there’s 4 of them and 3 of them want the subscription, the other is a one off cost of £60.

I’m told I should stop DDs out of school activities if it’s a problem as these apps are needed – there’s no guarantee they will work and I only let DD go onto her tablet for a few hours on my weekends, her dad doesn’t let her on at all – they’re apps like Nessy and Reading Eggs but more geared to dyslexia.

Her activities are the love of her life, she doesn’t really enjoy school so she lives for activity nights, and I do think they help her overall. She has gained confidence, and learnt her own abilities. She’s also made friends outside of the classroom.

School then say I should ask her dad for help as he sees her regularly, EOWend only and he doesn’t pay maintenance, if I ask him for money he tells me I’ve got more than him and see her more so it’s my job to pay for things – the CMS can’t find an income for him.

I get told without these apps she will fall further behind, I’m told to work more hours, I asked for them to guarantee her a spot at the wrap around at one of the two external companies so I can work more and got told that’s not their job or up to them.

I asked if school had these apps that DD could try to see if they’ll be suitable but I’m told school can’t afford them either and it’s the parents job to help her progress. School keep saying “If she can crack this we’ll have her reading”

I’m terrified for her future as I know she will struggle for the rest of her primary years. We’ve been rejected for an EHCNA so taking the council to tribunal over that, school are saying we won’t get any more assessments as she’s “Not badly behaved enough”. She behaves in class, but then lets it all out at home, gets very upset over every little thing.

I despair and don’t know what to do. This is the second primary school she’s been to and her last one said the same “She’s not badly behaved enough for an EHCP or 1-1”. I don’t want to move her again as she hates this school slightly less than her previous one.

Just ranting really. I’m sick of fighting. This has come after yet another email last night (that I've only just read) from her teacher saying she needs these apps. I think they think I can't be bothered or expect school to do everything - I read with her daily, I battle her to do homework, I always go to parent workshops, I go to parents evening, I do every medical appointment alone.

I haven't read the whole thread but wanted to say that there's lots of free resources available to support literacy (and other aspects of education). One that I would recommend for you to share with the teaching staff is highlandliteracy.com/where-to-begin/ Although this is a Highland Literacy site developed in the Highlands of Scotland it is a free resource for anyone to use. It is designed for teachers and parents to take a developmental approach to literacy for all children and was developed by teachers, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. Feel free to DM me if you want more info.

So found the PP information for 2020 but not 2021 on the schools website.

Less than 2% of the school population PP in 2020 and it's an under-subscribed school so even though there's 3 classes per year no year group is full, so roughly 600 children which means just over £16k PP.

According to that per year group there was less than 2 children per year on PP.

It was used to provide a TA to support pupils (whether PP or not) who needed specific targetted support, so the TA was already and still remains employed by school (the TA is named) but they sent her for training with the money in 3 areas, 2 of which DD has recieved support with and the other 1 she's likely to need support with in future.

So that's where the PP money is going and DD is benefitting from it technically.

I would ask what her PP money has been spent on. Not angrily, just very politely. It should cover things like this and school trips. Often schools use it to fund extra staff or activities so it doesn't get used on the child it should.

Schools have access to a program called PURPLE MASH they should be able to set her up a user name and the activity she needs to do. I know this as my cousin has a learning disability and he got given one during lockdown and still uses it now at home. If school require ger to use these apps they need to fund them or provide an alternative method she can access. I subscribe to reading eggs by choice but there’s no way I’d have a school telling me what I should be buying for my kids to access at home!

Ask a direct access barrister?
Have you done a SAR of the school/LA?

Just to say thanks for starting this thread, as my daughter has suspected high functioning autism, awaiting diagnosis and has been stopped from attending bfast/after school club as her behaviour can be challenging. Which means I can only work 5h per day just like yourself. I didn’t realise i could apply for DLA until reading through some of the advice you’ve received here.

Please look into Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. These are common symptoms for this, it's very under and mis-diagnosed.

Go on turn2us.org.uk to do a benefits check.

www.bebefitsandwork.co.uk do guides for applying for dla. If she cannot do an activity reliably, repeatedly, without discomfort, nausea, breathlessness etc, she cannot do the activity for the purposes of the form. You need to know how to answer the questions to get the points The guides are invaluable.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk

www.turn2us.org.uk

@ultraviolet4753 OP has already stated her DD is hypermobile. That may well mean she has in fact been diagnosed with EDS or HSD; if not, it can't be diagnosed by laypeople over the internet. Self diagnosis is not helpful. Even if DD is diagnosed, I'm not sure focusing on it here is that helpful.

[quote Innocenta]@ultraviolet4753 OP has already stated her DD is hypermobile. That may well mean she has in fact been diagnosed with EDS or HSD; if not, it can't be diagnosed by laypeople over the internet. Self diagnosis is not helpful. Even if DD is diagnosed, I'm not sure focusing on it here is that helpful. [/quote]
Hypermobility is not the same as EDS. An EDS diagnosis opens doors to more help and more support, and evidence for benefits, if eligible. It's completely relevant.

I was not diagnosing, I was making them aware this may be something to look at, as many people are left to advocate for themselves. Many people don't get diagnosed until their 50s or later. A diagnosis for me in my school years would have changed my life completely.

I supported people with disabilities in a charity for over half my life.

@ultraviolet4753 I'm well aware, but the two are often used in ambiguous ways and there is great imprecision in how diagnoses are applied. Many children who ultimately turn out to have EDS are only labelled as hypermobile, and doctors are often (quite reasonably) reluctant to apply the EDS diagnosis given that hypermobility is so common.

My son is dyslexic and I have a good income and could pay for such apps. When I have offered to and asked school for recommendations, school have got really defensive about it and provided him with logins to things to help him, a specific book only for him to learn the read with (red book, £25 on Amazon - worth a look) which helped and logins to various i things all via a login on the school website.

Now he’s at high school I’ve offered to pay for computers and technology to help him, get school have provided and he has access to a computer at home for homework (though choose do do most at school).

My son doesn’t have PP or any extra funding for his dyslexia diagnosis.

Ask the school what YOUR child’s PP is being spent on.

Surely it’s a benefit claimed for her benefit so you should know where it goes. Threaten to pull her out the school
And her funding with her if they don’t allocate the funding to her!

Can you take it up with the governors and/local authority?