DS had disruptive child sat behind him

[CocoBean22]

There is a child in DS class year 3 who has spent the majority of his time of primary in the sensory hub but this term seems to be spending more time in the classroom with the other children and his teaching assistant sat next to him.

DS has been coming home saying that child X is sat behind him in class, and he sits and watches Paw patrol on a laptop with no ear phones and the volume on whilst my DS and the rest of the class try and concentrate and learn their maths.

He shouts out swear words and is very disruptive.

DS said he was told off by the teacher today for 'turning around' to see what child x was watching as the volume was quite loud and it was distracting him.

Shall I let it go?
Should I speak with the teacher?
And if so what would you say?

Maybe by using a quieter comfort/transition object or activity?
My youngest is autistic and found the classroom hard enough to deal with, without being sat in front of something noisy and distracting. My eldest had glue ear, he wouldn't have been able to hear the teacher. Classrooms are always a compromise but the other children aren't just there as learning aids for 1 child, they are also there to learn.

Not with an iPad that distracts everyone else.

I’d start by sitting in the class for the start of the day and talking about which parts of the day they will be in the class for.

I’d have them in the class for the first part of learning to get the explanation and then move them out to a desk with the TA.

I would get them in gradually with lots of movement breaks and sensory breaks.

Using the iPad watching cartoons is not appropriate in lessons, especially out loud without headphones.

If he needs to regulate with an iPad that isn’t something to be done in the class.

I have two sons with ASD, both of whom have struggled with classroom learning - one cannot access mainstream education at all and is not completely toilet trained at 7, the other moved to a specialist setting for high school with a mainstream syllabus but solely for autistic children.

I expect school to use the strategies that work for them but not at the expense of other children in the class.

I’m well aware that’s it’s not easy but it’s not acceptable to disrupt the rest of the class.

But can't you see that this child would also be much better off in a specialist setting? This isn't parents being harsh, it's just what's right for all the children.

Head's need evidence that a child isn't coping successfully to be able to get them a place in a specialist school - and one way that they can demonstrate that the child isn't coping and get them the place they need is for lots of official complaints from parents. Getting a place can be very difficult because there aren't enough.

No, this should not be let go. I have an autistic child who took a while to settle into mainstream school, I would not have expected her to be allowed to distract other children and disrupt their learning. And I worked in SEN for many years myself, I’ve never heard of this being allowed and it would not have been acceptable at either school I’ve worked at. This is terrible practice. @CocoBean22 I would speak to the class teacher and the head. And if nothing is done asap then move the complaint on to the governors using the schools complaint system. This is really not okay.

I would definitely talk to the teacher and ask if the child can wear headphones and if they can’t, suggest the that the teacher finds a time when it is less disruptive. This is where “integration” is a nonsense. The child may be sat in the classroom but they are certainly not integrating, just disrupting the others. In this situation no one’s needs are being met.

If someone won't wear headphones then they watch on mute. If they won't wear headphones OR watch on mute then they don't watch at all. It's not okay in an enclosed space where others can't get away from the noise.

if it is disrupting your son’s learning, I would speak to the teacher. Keep the focus of the conversation on your son. Your son is having trouble concentrating while an iPad is playing cartoons at a high volume. Your son is coming home upset for being chastised when he gets distracted by cartoons. Don’t ever say that the other child should not be doing certain things.

now, I absolutely agree that there is no excuse for disrupting the class like this. We went through a ridiculous number of headphones until we found a pair that ASD dd could use. It cost a ton of money, but it was a necessity. We never considered using her tablet with volume on around other people until we resolved the headphone issue. Yes, it was inconvenient, but I just feel like as a parent it was my responsibility.

I completely agree.

Inclusion is a complete waste of time when it’s not benefitting any party as is the case here.

My little bean would get zero benefit from being in a mainstream classroom and the mainstream children wouldn’t benefit having him either.

A targeted activity would be far more appropriate - eg my son lives bubbles so a playground activity with bubbles, balloons that all kids could enjoy would be far better for his inclusion.

SEN children in mainstream (who need this level of support) take significant attention away from the class and the average child loses out in scenarios such as this.

We really need proper facilities in place that can support children who can’t cope in mainstream without one to one support. All children are losing out at the moment.

And meanwhile what about the other children?

So meanwhile the other children will be distracted? Nope. That's ridiculously unfair.

Did you mean to quote me?

I wonder in what world it's become acceptable to have children in mainstream classrooms watching paw patrol on iPads.

There is no world in which it's in the best communal interest. Educational strategies are being put into place with no concern for the impact on teachers or other children. What a nightmare - I still believe school can only work if children in a classroom all face the same/ similar expectations.

Absolutely raise it. Had similar in my dd's class where the child in question was sat next to her and would sing shout bang his water bottle on the desk.

The school's initial response was that DD needed to be really grown up and not let him disrupt her.

Wtf. She was 9 years old.

I pointed out that it's far easier to not be distracted when sat on the other side of the classroom than right next to him.

They had a 'reshuffle' and he was then sat on his own.

Your dc's learning should not be continually disrupted due to another child.

So how would you suggest they go about acclimatising the child to a classroom environment?

Practising being in there when it’s empty and slowly adding more children at break times who are offered the chance to also watch Paw Patrol on their break as a treat in an effort to support this child, but not at the expense of their own learning. Until there’s a large group in there together and so he’s more used to the environment and no class time has been disrupted.

He hasnt started school yet but I'm glad he will likely go to a very specialist setting.

It sounds like this child needs to be in a specialist setting, too. The current set up isn’t working for any one. Let’s not pretend it’s inclusion it’s just cost cutting compared to a specialist setting.

It’s always the girls who are expected to tolerate and absorb that kind of disruption.

'Inclusive' education has gotten out of hand. I would pull my child out of that school so fast.

Yes I think you need to talk to the teacher. It is good the child is in the classroom but they need will need to consider what strategies are being used and the impact on other children.
Headphones would be one thing. Is there the possibility the child's table could be moved so they sit with the TA so they aren't as close as less distracting?
The TA will tell other children not to turn around as they will be expected to listen to the teacher. However the teacher should be overseeing and also reminding the sen child to be quieter if they are too loud.

Actually it really isn't. It's the well behaved quiet children of either sex.

Including children by making reasonable adjustments is one thing.

Watching TV on an iPad without headphones is not reasonable.

Inclusion is not always the right avenue to take but it’s become the altar everyone mindlessly worships at.

Hardly. It's just cheaper is all. Don't want those pesky disabled kids getting more than their fair share of the pie now do we?

Of course you should. I’d be speaking to them tomorrow. Watching paw patrol on an iPad with no headphones is not suitable in a classroom of other kids. I’d say my kid can’t concentrate what can you do to help? My child has had disruptive kids in their class and there is loads of things they can do which don’t involve this!

What absolute rubbish. This child is of no concern to OP and his inclusion should not come at the expense of the rest of the learners education.

If he can't be in the classroom without such disruption then he shouldn't be there at all.

I can't see how allowing a child to sit in the middle of a classroom watching paw patrol on an iPad is even remotely acceptable. It benefits absolutely nobody. I would go to the teacher about this.

Then he doesn't get the iPad.
Some level of conformity has to be taught.