To think this isn't an acceptable way to talk about a child with sen?

[Hattymealy]

this was written by my sons class teacher for his ehcp annual review- ds is 9 and has adhd combined type and autism.

"Social/emotional/behavioural Development-

Behaviour during lessons - complete refusal if he does not want to be involved, this can lead to him exiting, singing over the top of the adults, starting a very different activity of his own choosing Etc.
He will get up and walk in front of an adult making an input- he has no care for the learning of others. Often, he will decide whether he believes a lesson is worth his time based on the initial input, if not then he leaves. Unless it is Art or something based around line drawing, in which case he is all in. If it is a lesson that he believes is "worth it' then he will focus and engage for a period and contribute but at the expense of others. He has a very inflated sense of worth. "

to me this reads like he's choosing to have the difficulties he does and that he basically just thinks he's better than everyone and above school work, and like she is making completely unfounded assumptions about his motivations. Baring in mind the opinion of professionals that have assessed him is that he has very low self esteem which is a large part of his struggles with engaging. He also cries about school almost every single night because he can't cope with the environment at all and it and it makes him feel stupid. I've asked him why he doesn't go in the class much and his answer was "nerves kick in and I can't" So to see him being described as having an inflated sense of worth is very upsetting that they can misunderstand him so much.

we are in the process of moving him to a specialist school but it is a long process and he currently only attends mainstream school 3 times a week the other days he's at an alternative provision.

Hopefully he gets everything he needs there op!

I agree.

That's an opinion and she should keep it to herself. The other comments sounds like things your son has probably said so they make sense to repeat. It's doing him a favour for her to be as factual otherwise though so he gets the help he needs. I appreciate it probably doesn't feel that way though.

It sounds as if a specialist school is the best educational setting for your son. I hope he can access a place very quickly.

Well yes, her report screams ignorance, frustration and lack of understanding of SEN.

Which is why it's so awful to read and shameful that a teacher with probably at least 3 DC with SEN in her class (at our school it's more like 20%) wrote it.

It's no wonder that students with ASCs end up refusing to leave their bedrooms by year 9. Or with severe psychiatric problems as a result of being blamed for who they are by teachers who thing character assassination of a disabled child is ok. No way I'd let this go.

Children with SEN do need certain allowances and cannot be held accountable for all their behaviour but they also aren't devoid of personality and nuance. Without observing your son it's difficult to tell where his behaviour crosses from one to the other.

You are also only privy to what your son says to you, not to the teacher and his classmates. It's possible her opinion is informed by his own narrative as much as yours is.

I would discuss with the Senco as sounds as if he needs more support in lessons. I would probably cut the teacher a bit of slack as it isn't a requirement to like your child, this may be an honest assessment from her experiences with him.

She's not saying this to the child, though. It's a report she's writing to ensure he's getting the required support.

The only time I have seen or heard of him doing this sort of thing is when he is very distressed, in a similar vein to covering your ears to block noise, he doesn't just obnoxiously go over to the teacher and start performing musical numbers or anything!
he doesn't follow her around singing. He does vocally stim sometimes so maybe that is what she means.
He is supposed to have regular movement breaks etc which he doesn't get.

You should also bear in mind that evidence of the failure of mainstream placement is really important in gaining access to the woefully inadequate number of specialist places. While it is always difficult to read, and could have been phrased with equally strong meaning but different language, evidence of problems can be beneficial in achieving the longer term aim.

It’s superbly unprofessional to write in that way. And ultimately pretty pointless too.

What are the needs like in section B, and are they met with appropriate specific and quantified provision in section F?

The teacher’s comments are just more evidence of the unsuitability of the placement. And she needs some retraining on ableism right now.

@girlmom21 So you'd be fine with teachers making personal comments about your dc if it was said in the staff room and they couldn't hear?

It speaks volumes that this teacher feels that it's acceptable to put this in writing, actually.

yes and if she’s willing to write in that way in an official report, you can be sure shes a nightmare with him in class.

i find the 'does not want to be involved' and the child deciding if a lesson is 'worth it' problematic and not factual.
Not the description of him singning and not being aware of others.

I would expect something more like 'staff have difficulty finding a way to engage child outside of their special interest and therefore they are unable to access much of the learning'

He is supposed to have regular movement breaks etc which he doesn't get.

Does he have the 1:1 funded adult allocated to him that makes this possible? EHCPs that are not fully funded often specify things - such as movement breaks - that are desirable but wholly impractical without additional staffing, but do not bring the school the funding needed for this.

Maybe you could ask to observe him/have a classroom assessment done by the SENCO if you think the teacher is misrepresenting his behaviours. She says he walks in front of adults who are teaching and sings over the top of them talking - if you think this is inaccurate or untrue that’s worth looking into.

Does he have 1-1 support in the classroom? If not then it is not the teacher’s fault he isn’t having movement breaks, that’s the fault of the school.

That's not what's happening here.

Well that is why he is struggling with school. This ignorant teacher.

To be clear I'm not saying that it's her fault he doesn't get them, I'm just saying that isnt HIS fault. I know that getting things properly funded is very difficult I just don't think that frustration should be taken out on a 9 year old

You think he’s being moved to a specialist school and has been assessed with autism
and ADHD because a teacher has recently filled out a form stating his behaviours in the classroom?

This really shows OP’s son is not coping in his environment and I hope it helps support an application to a special school.

Does he have 1-1 support in the classroom? If not then it is not the teacher’s fault he isn’t having movement breaks, that’s the fault of the school.

No, it is the fault of the Government, who do not fund schools well enough. A school cannot allocate a child 1:1 support - or even have a class TA in general - unless there is very specific funding. A 1 adult to 30 children model, unless some adult 1:1 is funded through EHCPs, us now the only possible norm in most schools.

Is she taking it out on the 9 year old? Or is she setting out plainly all the issues with having a child with extremely challenging needs in the classroom with no proper support, leaving her in a difficult position? Do you feel she takes things out on your child or treats him badly? If so then this js a separate issue I’d look into.

If you haven't found them already, the group Not Fine In School on Facebook are brilliant. Unfortunately this level of misunderstanding of SEN by teachers is common.

Yes that’s what I meant really. The fault of the system. But really this teacher can’t organise and enforce movement breaks while also teaching every other child at the same time! But I do think it’s unfair that schools can accept EHCPs that they physically can’t carry out. My son is also the same, they’re great at setting things out but not great at showing how we can put these things in action.

The inflated sense of self worth thing is completely inappropriate when talking about a 9 year old. I would want an apology for that one.

Other than that it seems pretty straightforward, unfortunately the presence of your son in the class seems to be upsetting the equilibrium, is there any way you can get some one on one support for him?