Inclusion policies are not working

[somewherbetweenHoneyandTrunchbull]

I am an experienced teacher. And every year budgets are being cut and more and more children are being chucked into mainstream. Non-verbal, extremely sensitive to noisy kids being put into an overcrowded open plan mainstream school. Some have a little speech but couldn't hold a conversation. Many not toilet trained. Many cannot control their emotions and anger. Some where English isn't a first language. Many with social work involvement and living through ongoing trauma at home.
Meanwhile support staff numbers are being cut, year on year.
I had been managing just about. Spinning many plates. Constantly juggling. But then they enrol another two kids with complex needs into my class on 28 individuals. I just can't do it any more. This week I've been bitten, scratched, hit so hard I thought they had cracked a rib. Violent incident forms all filled in but reality means not much will change as I can't get more that 2 20 minute slots of teaching assistant time each week.
I love my job. I love the kids. I love those lightbulb moments. But at the moment I can't do my job of teaching children. I can barely keep them and myself safe in my class. I try. I'm exhausted. I'm worn out working day and night so that I'm super organised so everything can go smoothly but it never does. If it was just one child having a meltdown I probably coolyld cope. I just do t know which firework will go off when. I don't know what is setting them off and once they go, others follow.
I cry most days at how hopeless it feels. I have some really bright and eager children too. They are also being let down by this system. I'm not sure who the current education policies help. It doesn't seem to help anyone except desensitising children to daily bouts of violence and the language.
I'm very broken tonight. I'm so sleepy but won't help x

When my autistic DS was suspended for attacking a teacher I was in complete acceptance. No way should the message have been 'he can't help it". He needed to learn to, and did. It just took longer and with more strategies and planning plus close parent teacher cooperation.
The idea put forward by other parents here that somehow it would have been discrimination is ludicrous. Account for the disability yes. Make it a get out of discipline free card? No way.

I didn't say that though. Children thrive in special schools too. It depends on the child and their particular needs and whether it's the right environment for them.

It's just the implication from a few posts seemed to be that kids with SEN shouldn't be in mainstream and I wanted to point out that it works very well for many.

As well as being a Head and a SENCO and a class teacher, I am also the parent of a child with ASD, I see it from all sides😂

OK, but as I said, OPs post wasn't about those children.

Teachers tend to write the reports though, this is the pull I was talking about. Teachers also attend meeting if they say what they need to and its minuted both the reports and minutes can be used as evidence for need, need of assessment, provision or placement not meeting need etc. This is huge, parents can submit these as part of an appeal or quote them during needs assessment or draft stage.

Nobody is to blame, except the f*ed up system.

I don't think for a moment, teachers stand by passively or even worse covering up bad behaviour with positive reports.

Maybe a small majority does, but I can't believe this being the main problem about the increase of children wit additional needs having violent outbursts in a mainstream school.

I notice you didn't make the same point to the original post? Clearly not what I'm saying either.

My SIL was a primary teacher, and she liked working in deprived areas. She said children came to school, unable to put a sentence together, because the only time their parents talked to them, was to give commands. They couldn’t use cutlery, because they’d only ever been given food, like pizza and chips, which they could eat with fingers''

That's depressing.

Is it ant wonder schools are in such a state with parents who literally just produce children then abandon them to their own devices?

Never talking to them, never reading a story or interacting- just why not use contraception and save themselves the bother.

Children with send come from all walks of life including the wealthy. Wealthy parents can be just as guilty of lazy parenting.

In exactly the same way that some teachers aren't fit to do their job. Some are amazing, some should have never trained.

I have 30 children in my class. I fill in countless forms taking hours and hours of my weekends for children requiring referrals of all kinds. I supported 10 children last year to get support. I also have a full time class responsibility.

I refuse to take responsibility for the shit show that is SEND funding and support.

I don't have time to make 10 phone calls each day to query progress of support. I barely have time to go to the toilet as it is.

Posters pushing the rhetoric that teachers are lazy and don't want to push for support are wrong and it's a dangerous message. We're desperate for more support.

The government are already great at blaming schools and teachers for their errors, lack of funding and awful policies.

Parents and teachers need to work together.

Parents and teachers need to work together this I completely agree with. It's the best way to get provision in place and needs met.

She wasn't talking about children with SEN only. Very few wealthy parents only speak commands to their children or only feed them pizza and chips.

Many wealthier/ middle class parents (not so wealthy they have private education, given the discussion on here) work long hours, have both parents working ft, kids in wrap around care and are shattered when they do get them.

I don't see many poor parents banging on about gentle parenting. Poverty bashing isn't a good look and there are some clear stereotypes being used.

I'm really sorry for all the poor teachers posting on here in desperation, at breaking point, only to be told it's all your faults. Shocked at that. And tbh feels like a deflection or distraction, given the volume of posts.

I work as a 1 to 1 with an amazing pupil with cerebral palsy. 80% of my actual time is spent with 2 children who don’t speak a word of English and a child who need a massive amount of speech therapy

Yes that's unfair on Dc with EHCP

What proportion of children of middle class parents arrive in reception 'unable to put a sentence together, because the only time their parents talked to them, was to give commands.' How many 'couldn’t use cutlery, because they’d only ever been given food, like pizza and chips, which they could eat with fingers''?
Those are the specific examples we were discussing you know.

You know the answer as well as I do. I don't know how one goes about bashing an abstract concept like poverty and I don't consider statistics to be a stereotype.
I don't know what point you're trying to make about gentle parenting.

This stuff becomes so bizarre. Schools and preschools in deprived areas literally get additional funding to deal with the obvious and endlessly documented fact that the children attending there have more problems than those in rich schools. If it's now 'poverty bashing' to say that, let's just give that funding to rich schools that cater to wealthier catchment areas. After all, according to you they're just as likely to have problems.

Unfortunately a lot of the points the OP made, including the extra work resulting from increasing numbers of children who don't speak English, got lost. Pretty much the only parents here are going to be those of SEN children. The non-English speakers aren't here to argue, nor are the ones who couldn't care less about their children's behaviour. It completely skews the discussion in one direction.

You really think that middle class parents can't have poor parenting skills? Does thst also mean they can't abuse a child or give birth to a child with send. So financially poor children with speech or toileting problems is automatically attributed to bad parenting but that couldn't possibly be the case from wealthier families?

If you're going to go down this road are you going to address the wealthier parents that buy a diagnosis in order to not take responsibility for poor parenting? We all know that happens too.

Wealth and education brings many advantages, including knowing and being able to deflect, paying for independent reports as previously mentioned and being able to challenge teachers, schools and LA'S.

To be honest poor middle class parents can often afford at least one nanny. Instead of a tablet babysitting a toddler, it's a nanny. Having a bit of money makes a huge difference but it's still shoddy parenting behind the children.

@Cubic

If I thought that middle class parents can't have poor parenting skills, or abuse a child, or give birth to a child with SEN I would have said that. I tend to say that I think, in case you didn't notice. Of course you know perfectly well I don't believe that because literally no one believes that.

It's actually so funny, I could say something completely obvious like 'need for speech and language therapy correlates with socioeconomic status' and some righteous soul will tell me I'm an ignorant bigot because they once met a trust fund kid with a stammer. Equal funding for SLT for Eton!! Won't someone think of the rich kids!

Those wealthy parents buying diagnoses are clearly slacking on the job by the way, because SEN still manages to correlate with socioeconomic class.

We've paid for independent reports and we definitely aren't wealthy. A huge portion of those paying for independent reports are those saving DLA etc

@Pollyputhekettleon no what they would be telling you is that wealthy families don't wait for the nhs or accept a set amount of therapy for only one term then have to go back on a waiting list. They pay for it themselves because it is what the child needs. People with less money do not have the same ability to do that, they may have to prioritise putting food on the table or paying for heating.

Correlation isn't causation.

In addition correlation with socio-economic status isn't directly related to statement only giving parents who only serve finger foods which was the Iinitial claim. You're relating sen to poor financial status not bad parenting.

God, I think you actually are claiming that the children of rich people are just as likely to need SLT as the children of poor people. I did not see that coming. Either that or you're not following what I'm saying at all. I just can't tell. Anyway, that's definitely a sign it's time for me to move along.