AIBU to have told DS he can ignore teacher on this one?

[OverExpectantParent]

DS is Yr6, has SN and a 1:1TA 6 lessons a week.
After reluctance to go to school, he finally said why. Yr3 teacher is ill and his TA is covering for her. He has been told he will have to go into the Yr3 classroom for his maths lesson today.

I told him he didn't have to, he could ask to do his work in the corridor or stay in his classroom. That I will back him on refusing to go into the Yr 3 classroom, but he must do his work. He's worried the Yr 3's will laugh at him and ask why he's there 🙁
AIBU to have told him that?

Ok, so playing devils advocate you should have dealt with the school and made it clear to them rather than your son.

However, I totally understand where you and your son are coming from and think putting him in a y3 class as a y6 child is humiliating and degrading - my heart hurts imagining a child feeling upset like this and to him, school is his world at the moment.

Can't say I wouldn't do the same but I'd like to think I'd contact the school either instead or on top of convo with son.

You are making a lot of assumptions , and, very importantly, you do not run the school and get to dictate how they organise his 1:1 time
Technically, it is timetabled so he has support in certain lessons, maths being one of them. It's not 1:1 time though if he has to go and sit in with another class is it? As I said, I don't have an issue as such with the TA being taken to teach another class if they can't get emergency cover. I just don't feel it's fair to make a Yr 6 go into Yr 3 because of it.

Nobody can know if the EHCP isn’t being followed based on this. It depends on what is written in section F of his plan. If it says “6 hours 1-1 per week”‘ with no specifics of when or for which lessons then as long as he gets it during the week then it’s still online with the plan. Not ideal by far and the solution shouldn’t be him going to another class but in terms of the plan not necessarily wrong.

many ehcp are deliberately written in a wooly way to make it harder to ensure things are enforced

I told him he didn't have to, he could ask to do his work in the corridor or stay in his classroom.

This is fine. His class teacher should be responsible for his work and progress, not his TA.

That I will back him on refusing to go into the Yr 3 classroom, but he must do his work.

This is not ok. You need to fight that battle for him and not encourage him to be refusing to do what’s been asked of him. I wonder what the logic is with sending him to year 3 anyway. It might shed some light on how much his regular class teacher is engaging with his progress and not in a good way.

I wonder what the logic is with sending him to year 3 anyway.

Year 3 teacher was absent and TA was teaching yr 3 in her place. So he was sent to be with his TA.

What would they do if there were no TAs available or if e.g. the TAs who were in school were supervising a child who would become disruptive or were being used to keep EYFS within ratio?
They need to do whatever that is.

That’s not how it should work.

His TA is not his teacher. His TA should be supporting under the direction of the class teacher.

How do school expect the TA to be supporting him while they’re teaching a year 3 class? It makes no sense.

You should have rung and spoken to the office and explained the situation and they would have passed the message on, if you couldn't speak to the staff.

You've put your son in a very uncomfortable situation, he will be the one who has to explain it to the teacher and the one that gets told that this can't happen. How is he going to feel and react then?

He can't sit in a corridor on his own, it's not safe. I'm sure you'd complain if he came home and told you he'd been left on his own in a corridor for an hour.

For those saying the ta should not be used. Yes it's not an ideal situation, but sometimes needs must, you can't magic staff out of thin air!

You should have rung and spoken to the office and explained the situation and they would have passed the message on, if you couldn't speak to the staff.
It's a small school, the office is only open two days a week. There was no one else to speak to and I didn't feel it counted as "emergency call the teachers during class".

He can't sit in a corridor on his own, it's not safe.
The children are often allowed to go and sit in the corridor to do work (there are 8 desks lining the corridor on both floors) if they can't concentrate because the classroom is too noisy, or to do group work.

From what you’ve said, he’s unsupported in the classroom at other times so there’s no reason for him to have done his maths without the TA on this occasion.

It’s worrying that you’ve said the class teacher has told you she often forgets about him or he just reads books or does nothing. It sounds like she has just dumped him on the TA.

I would have contacted the school as this scenario really doesn't make sense.

I would be requesting a meeting with the class teacher to discuss what happened here.

he’s unsupported in the classroom at other times so there’s no reason for him to have done his maths without the TA on this occasion.
That is my view, yes.

It sounds like she has just dumped him on the TA.
I'm pretty sure this is the case for maths at least. I doubt the class teacher has any idea what he's currently doing in maths. ( But maybe I'm maligning him, I'm super pissed off with him for another reason right now!)

I'm pretty sure this is the case for maths at least. I doubt the class teacher has any idea what he's currently doing in maths.

This really isn’t acceptable. It’s not fair on your son. It’s not fair on “his” ta. Don’t let this go.

You're teaching him to disobey the teaching staff - whilst in school he should be taught (by you) to respect their decision however much he may not like it.

Who do you think is planning your son’s work in maths?

Completely agree with @PurpleDaisies on this one. Sounds like a deeper problem , not acceptable anyway but the teacher is always ultimately responsible so the child should never be going to year 3 with TA. And the teacher should always know exactly what your child is able to do in maths.

You implied this when you said "the other class is irrelevant."

In addition, I don't see you offering an acceptable solution to the staffing problem.

Sometimes schools have no option but to use the available staff. The needs of the rest of the class have to come before those of one individual pupil, especially in an emergency situation such as staff absence through illness.

I do agree that the OP's child might feel awkward at being with a year 3 class, but it can't be helped, and it's not forever.

The OP shouldn't expect the child to suggest alternative arrangements, she should do so herself. If children regularly work in corridors then she might propose this, but it's unreasonable to expect the child to do it himself.

I do agree that the OP's child might feel awkward at being with a year 3 class, but it can't be helped, and it's not forever.

What do you mean “it can’t be helped”? Why do you think that the op’s son couldn’t stay in the year 6 class? There’s nothing that she’s said that suggests he needs to go to year 3 except the year 6 teacher not wanting to bother with him,

If it is a time when the EHCP states he should have 1-1 then yes the other class is irrelevant.

Ds has an ehcp which very clearly states he has 1-1 in all lesson times therefore no matter what staffing issues they have school are legally obliged to make sure he gets his 1-1.

@Droopinloopin - things have clearly moved on since you retired! Collateral damage?! The OP’s DC is entitled to his 121 TA time. EHCPs are not just nice to haves! Of course the TA should not have been pulled to cover another class. Their funding is likely directly linked to the EHCP, they’re not to be used and abused to cover gaps 🙄

ECHO is a legal document setting out a child's needs and the support required to be provided.

Schools can't just ignore EHCPs on any given day because it doesn't work for them!

EHCP even!

EHCPs often state the total number of hours of support rather than “support during maths lessons”. The school aren’t necessarily breaking what’s written in the op’s sons one. That 1:1 time absolutely needs to be made up though.

The op has a lot of questions the school needs to answer.