1:1 TA getting no support off class teacher. Want to leave my job.

[Bringmecoffee5]

I am a SEND 1:1 in a mainstream school. Child is autistic, pre verbal.
Class teacher is also the senco.
Teacher gives me nothing to do with the child. No SALT which child is supposed to receive. No sensory activities. No learning that child can access, no targets, nothing. Told me to try dough disco, told me I just need to engage child, which I have been trying to do since last year but child is anxious, struggles around other children and runs away all the time. I feel I am failing the child and I hate my job now. I used to work in a specialist school where everything ran so smoothly and the teachers were amazing, experienced and skilled.
Parents have named mainstream on ehcp but I can’t do this any longer.
AIBU

I can’t type loads as my keyboard for my iPad has gone to shit but I didn’t want to read and leave.

Have you raised this with anyone else? Our LSAs have a co-ordinator (for lack of a better word, basically she takes concerns higher up if needed, or in this case would probably speak to both the class teacher and SMT to make sure that course of action is really what is best for the child) and I’d take it to her.

Unfortunately, as she’s the senco, I’d be prepared to find another job, because I suspect they’ll defer to her. It sounds like a very difficult situation to be in, though, and I’m sorry you’re having to go through it.

Does school have a sensory room even sensory corner in the classroom?

Child should have an education plan listing targets and how they are going to reach them. However I would have thought in a mainstream setting the child should have the ability to follow classroom routine and engage in some class activities even if they have been simplified.

I would raise issue with teacher again even ask if you could sit on in a meeting with parents to make a list of what engages the child, their strengths, what calms them.

Look up pupil passports. Even if teacher wont agree to a meeting you could ask parents to fill a pupil passport in. I think your going to have to get creative and work out how to engage the child but you will need information about them

Has the school received a speech and language plan from a therapist?
Similarly OT?

What happens when these professionals visit?

No sensory room. We sit in the library, teacher says I don’t keep child in the classroom - head backs me
Up and says child decides when they want to leave (gets distressed, scratches, screams)
It’s their second ms placement (they are 4) after first school couldn’t meet need.
No professionals have been in, only the Ed psych.
I don’t know if we have a SALT plan - teacher has said we need to do a screening, on which child will score low but hasn’t actually given this to me.
I feel like I know the child pretty well. I would say their needs are more complex than the vast majority of same age children at my old MLD/SLD school. They really would thrive in specialist where their sensory needs could be met but parents want them in mainstream and ask me if child is keeping up with peers/playing with classmates - the child can’t tolerate the others and we spend most of the day without structure walking the corridors. Other members have staff have gone off sick when they have been put on the rota to work with the child.
I used to love my old job and felt so privileged to work with the children in the specialist school. Now I dread every day and feel so lonely and down about it all.

Apparently their old school paid for SALT but they have no NHS SALT although the ehcp states that this is necessary - I have told parents to contact child’s consultant or go through Pals if necessary but they say this is schools responsibility.
Headteacher hailed me as an autism expert which I’m certainly not. I’ve done courses, training and have an interest in autism - but if the environment is so very wrong then all the training in the world is useless.

So it sounds like the NHS are not providing support for the school?

You cant just freestyle a SaLT programme or OT - it needs to be done by a professional and you have a programme to follow. They model and QA delivery.

Teacher was talking about a Well Com programme. We have not been given a specific programme to do with them and EHCP says SALT should be provided by the NHS.
I am out of my depth and effectively babysitting on a level 1 wage without any guidance or support.

Oh, and no OT.

Why are the parents so insistent on being mainstream. Sounds like the senco and school are well out of their depth. Not excusing them but I think many schools would struggle without a lot of external support. Really feel for you what a difficult situation. I would look for another job this one is going to be difficult to sort out ...

You are babysitting. He honest with the parents about how he is in school. He will end up in special school at some point as his disabilities seem very severe. As you've worked in special schools could you talk to SENCO about buying any sensory toys ( sounds like the HT would back you. There must be a plan somewhere with his targets on?

Sounds like an early annual review is needed.
SALT provision can be put into section F, then it will be the responsibility of the LA to provide it.

There may be no places available in specialist as they are all allocated for reception. I know a few parents who were told mainstream would be fine, found out that it wasn't and then that all the schools were full so unfortunately moving to specialist may not be straightforward even if that is what the parents now wanted.

Doesn't sound like the child should be in a mainstream school AT ALL.

I have two children with 1-1 LSAs. Are you able to chat with them?

Sounds like an awful situation and pretty common, unfortunately.
If you want to try to add some structure (and I appreciate that it shouldn’t be coming from you, but if you want to)
A website called ‘Commtap’ has helpful activities matched to specific learning objectives.
Do you have Infant Language Link?
Do you know ‘attention autism’? Even if child not autistic, it is a great teaching strategy and lots of fun.
Could you build a timetable with more of the sorts of activities you’d have done in the specialist school - outdoors when you can, sensory stories, life skills?

Child’s targets are mostly around using meaningful speech, pecs, visuals and meaningful communication with peers.
Head says she agrees child needs specialist but it’s not my place to have opinion and we need to tread carefully because the parents have a right to mainstream, that child will one day need specialist but there is ‘no rush’.
Parents said old school where child did 6 weeks was awful and that child was desperately unhappy but I believe they were probably just honest with them.
I can keep the child happy for the main part but I feel so sorry for them because they are still anxious and stressed.
I have a child with a 1:1 also and asked if they ever felt like this, because as a parent I would be devastated if this was my child. I don’t see what this child is getting from mainstream. Parents haven’t even looked at specialist and I wonder if they aren’t grasping the severity of the child’s disabilities, but then feel bad for feeling this way.
They said no because my child is verbal, is cognitively able to access mainstream and is in the classroom with friends but taken out for interventions (physical disability, missed a lot of school due to covid and shielding)
Dreading another day of this.

I love Attention Autism, tried this with them but child literally won’t/can’t sit still and again, I feel this would work with a small group of children but teacher is unreceptive.
Will look at Commtap - thank you.
I have tried different activities but their attention is so limited I just feel like I need five million different activities to fill the day and am out of ideas. We do spend a fair bit of time outdoors, again, child just bolts and I end up chasing them back inside and round the school 😂

"Doesn't sound like the child should be in a mainstream school AT ALL."

It is likely that the professional reports that went towards the ehcp did not say that. They are usually vague and rarely strongly recommend specialist settings. There will be lots of children like this one in mainstream. There aren't enough specialist places for them so unless the parents push for it themselves they start off in mainstream and often then cannot move to specialist later because of no places.

Ehcp is ridiculously vague.

There are two parts to this:

• this child is not getting education that meets his needs (not your fault!)
• you are so unhappy about your job that you're posting about it on a Sunday night.

The easiest way to solve the second problem would be to look for a new job. There would be no shame in that. You have every right to put your own needs first.

In the interim, or if you don't want to/can't leave, ask for a meeting with your line manager, or with their line manager if appropriate (im imagining that the senco is your line manager, in which case the headteacher may be the more appropriate person). Use your experience to explain what could be done for this child, as well as to flag that the child would have fitted we'll into special school. It's a shame that the head thinks it's not ok to advise parents; they provably feel they're not qualified to give that advice. Schools can't force parents to move the child, but can give advice and recommend. You can also give parents accounts of his day, which may help them see how little he's getting out of it.

I hope you have a good day.

It’s sad when parents are so much in denial about their child’s needs that they’re essentially stooping them from a progress.

I’ve known similar parents, insisting on having an obviously complex needs child in mainstream school, refusing to learn Makaton or any other alternative communication with their child because they wanted to “cure” his autism. Fast forward 2 years, the child ends up in residential care due to parents not being able to meet his needs.

I feel for you @Bringmecoffee5 , it must be terribly frustrating… not sure what you can do from your perspective though.

@Underhisi

There may be no places available in specialist as they are all allocated for reception. I know a few parents who were told mainstream would be fine, found out that it wasn't and then that all the schools were full so unfortunately moving to specialist may not be straightforward even if that is what the parents now wanted.

I think this probably depends on LEA,s my son has always been in a special school, but in my town we have quite a lot of send provision,Two special needs primary school,s and two special needs high school,s and they are ever expanding in numbers Not to mention a few ASD hubs I realise we are lucker the most The poor child doesn sound like he would be better off in a special school 😢😢

We have a fair bit of specialist provision here, however it’s still not enough. There are 4 local specialist schools, a few mainstreams with bases but my old school is currently expanding and although it used to be MLD is now more SLD because there just aren’t enough spaces meaning kids who used to access a base are staying mainstream, my 1:1 however needs one of the SLD schools. It’s such a shame for them.

"It’s sad when parents are so much in denial about their child’s needs that they’re essentially stooping them from a progress."

Many parents are not given an accurate assessment of their child's needs before their child starts school. Generally because it is cheaper to be vague and make out the needs are not that great and that mainstream will be fine. It can then be a big shock when the parents discover mainstream isn't working and the child's needs are severe.