School situation

[mrsla1]

My DS who has ASD started Reception this year at a mainstream school. He's coped with it better than we thought, he has had an amazing 1:1 since September and has thrived under her care. They have a really special bond and DS adores her. Previously he has had issues forming connections with others so the fact that he clicked with her straight away was amazing. He's come on leaps and bounds and as I said, is doing really well.

However, just been told that his current 1:1 is being moved to another class in a couple of weeks and DS is going to have somebody completely new.

I'm gutted and naturally, I am worried about how he is going to manage with the change. Apparently they have known for weeks she was moving but only just communicated to us.

AIBU or does this usually happen in schools? I know of course there are other SN children to consider and DS isn't the only one, but I thought they would do all they could to avoid disruption and change. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing but it's just disappointing

And ofc I knew at the end of the school year he would have been leaving her anyway and getting somebody new in Year 1, but I thought he would have had a bit more time with her

As frustrating as it is schools often move staff around based on balancing needs throughout the school. In a lot of ways it is better in the long run for the child to get used to a few different people providing that care rather than becoming over reliant on one person.

ask them to spend some time over the coming weeks transitioning him.

It has happened in the schools that I’ve worked at, but I’m not experienced enough to say whether it’s common across the board. On the plus side the 1-1 will still be at the school and your child will still be able to see them and interact with them which is great.

Have you asked how they are going to manage the transition? Are they going to phase out the current TA and phase in the new one? I think just swaping one day without warning g would be damaging. My school would manage the transition and do an ending.

Yes this happens a lot. Staff are moved around according to need.

It does happen unfortunately. Schools are always moving staff around - usually down to staffing or financial issues . If your son has a 1:1 though then it’s funded , so the new one will be funded too so I don’t see why they would move her , but there could be many things at play ! It’s sad that children are messed around like this . Could it be that the new 1:1 will also be with him in year 1? i hope that’s the reason and he doesn’t then have to change again !

As a mother of a child with additional needs I will say that in my experience the end and beginning of terms are awful for our children - was for mine - he is autistic and every single end of term and beginning of term he would be very unsettled for a week or so just due to all the changes so if they have changed her now and she’s going to be with him in year 1 , it’s better to do it mid year / term than at the end of the year x

@WowOK The new 1:1 has been shadowing since last week apparently and will continue to do so up until Christmas, so I suppose they are managing it as best they can

I agree it happens a lot, so much so i'm surprised he's only had a single 1-1 staff member for the last few months.

She is moving to Year 1, so hopefully they will be reunited next year maybe. But they can't be sure yet, she may move again. Just seems a shame that they do this to children with additional needs, knowing how much it can affect them. I know in some cases it can't be avoided but it's not the point, they should do what they can to avoid disruption imo

I'm a Child Development Practitioner in a school for children with complex additional support needs. I was moved quite suddenly from a class with children with medical requirements to another with behavioural issues. The parents of the children in the first class were outraged and upset I was being moved after a year with their little ones. The thing is, I am specifically trained and also tutor in de-escalation techniques so my skillset at that time was better put to use elsewhere.
Staff will often be moved around because of their training or experience. This is not something the school are obliged to discuss with you. To the parent it seems like an unnecessary disruption but there is normally logic behind the decision.

The alternative argument is that having him used to multiple staff members in the role actually does reduce disruption as it means if something happens he still knows the person taking care of him and they know him.

when ds started secondary school he had one 1-1, nobody else knew him well at that point but they bonded well. Then over Christmas of the first term something happened to her and she went off long term sick and ultimately left. The next term was a nightmare while things where sorted and the placement nearly failed.

he now has a 1-1 but we have also ensured that other members of the learning support team have worked with him so they know each other so if his 1-1 isn’t available the change is a smooth one.

i fully get it’s hard but looking at the bigger picture having a bigger team able to support him in a lot better.

They DO do what they can to avoid disruption. There is not an endless supply of trained staff to facilitate meeting every child's needs specifically...even if there SHOULD be. Ideal world scenario and all that.
Staff are in short supply and the situation is often desperate.

Thats good. Its not going to be a sudden change. Maybe you can do a nice ending at the end of term. Let DC pick her a little gift and make a thank you card. After Christmas keep reminding DC that they will have new TA when they go back. Also, expect some teething problems at the beginning of the new term. Change is hard. Have you looked for social stories about changing TA?

ETA: have a look at social stories and see if you can adapt them to help manage the transition.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-3997-new-teacher-next-year-social-stories

Quite likely, if he is in reception, they have recently appointed this person when he joined the school, and the other person has only ever really been covering him. If that's so you may keep this one longer term, but as you recognise there are other needs that they need to respond to and if he is thriving and continues to he may be given to new people throughout his schooling. I would think the new TA is far more likely to be with him next year than the one that has just been moved away - do you know if she is covering a specific child or if she is going back to a whole class role?

I totally get that is worrying for you, but these things have to happen for the kind of reasons described above.

It sounds as though the school is managing the transition really well if his new TA is already shadowing.

On the upside your DC will have two people in his school life that he will feel secure with. There's a real danger with strong and lengthy bonds, that some children become so reliant on them that they find it desperately stressful if their TA is off sick, or they're asked to work with someone else.

As a teacher in a special school who had three or four TAs in her class, I found a really good connection between a child and particular TA was really beneficial in many ways. But it was something that I needed to manage carefully as I needed to be able to deploy that TA as needed, and I also needed not to add an extra layer of dependency issues to those the child already had. Expanding their comfort zone was the kind thing to do, ultimately.

We got through three 121s in nursery years, it was harder for me I think because I trusted them and then I had to learn to trust someone new. Sounds like they're handling it as well as possible, and they'll still see them around.
We've now had the same 121 since Reception (now in yr 4) but she's transitioned to more of a TA altho technically still DSs 121. No idea how anyone will cope of she isn't with them til the end

They need to get used to other people because what you don't want us your child heavily reliant on that adult in school because it will cause problems if that adult is not around.

Also found out the new 1:1 isn't special needs trained. This doesn't make any sense?

Sorry, OP. One of the most frustrating things about parenting children with additional needs is that as soon as they are doing well, schools will often say "Look how great they're doing, they don't need [insert specific support here] anymore!"

Then they withdraw support and, surprise surprise, the child starts struggling again.

@Scattery I feel so disheartened, it seems like everything ends up being a battle but I suppose I've many more years of this to come so better get used to it

They will get the best person they can. It may well be that there isn't another SN trained TA available and there is greater need of the existing one elsewhere. With respect OP, this is the sort of thing that schools deal with on a professional level. I understand it seems disappointing because your only concern is your own child. The move may well not make sense to you because you don't have all the relevant info and are not, I assume, an educational professional. But it will make sense when all factors are accounted for.

Maybe I'm naive for thinking mainstream would be the best choice for DS

None of our 1:1s are ‘special needs trained’. We are hiring people who are expected to change nappies, work with extremely high need and often physical pupils at barely more than minimum wage, for between 20-30 hours a week, tto. Schools are in no position to be picky. Nobody has applied at all for the last two LSA adverts we put out. One of our pupils with a new EHC plan assumed they would be having a qualified teacher trained in ASD as the 1:1. What they got in reality was a mum from the playground who had never worked in a school-that was the only person who applied.

It is likely that as your son is new, they are hiring someone with the funding they now get for him and this person was just covering until they recruited.

With flexible working and WFH now more available, the once rather desirable jobs in schools to ‘fit around the children’ are no longer necessary and schools are having huge troubles recruiting (often very poorly paid) support staff.

they should do what they can to avoid disruption imo

It sounds like they are doing that - going above and beyond from what you have said. Having 4 weeks of shadowing is unheard of.

The school advertised a job role for a SN teaching assistant. I'm assuming somebody has left hence the changes. I was in shock at how low the pay is, I really do think it's disgraceful they are paid the minimum for what they do