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?

I would start with the class teacher to get a better understanding of what is happening in the classroom. It can be escalated to headteacher if necessary.

I also think the debate about inclusion can be had without referring to "SEN kids", sweeping statements about "SEN kids" not needing to be in mainstream schools, and "whose needs are more important" Top Trumps.

While there might be some degree of overlap in a lot of case, SEN and SN are two entirely different things and encompass a wide variety of needs.

I don’t think it’s about “SEN kids not needing to be in mainstream schools” like you say. It’s the fact that OP is discussing how to approach her child’s school because their learning is being disrupted by a child watching loud video’s on the iPad. Perfectly reasonable.

We had this. We spoke to the teacher and asked for DS to be moved away from the disruption.

Out of education now, thank god! Here's my recommendation though.

Speak to the teacher in person first. They are likely already dealing with a stressful situation and won't appreciate being skipped in the chain of communication. Don't be labelled as 'that parent.'

Absolutely focus on your child and their right to their education. Do not even mention the other child, you don't need to and it will only hinder your case anyway. Again, this is about your child. Your child has just as much of a right to an education as any other child.

Absolutely bring up that the noise level from the Ipad is distracting and that you are concerned that this is not conducive to a good learning environment for your son.

If you get any push back, again stress that this is about your son's education and his needs. His education and needs cannot be sacrificed for another child's.

If no joy formalise it in writing, an email to the teacher will surfice. After that, move up the chain of command and follow the complaints policy. Usually it is teacher first, Head and then Governors.

Be reasonable but firm and don't get bogged down in anything that could be used as an excuse to throw out your concerns. Give the school time to address your concerns but at the same time don't drop the matter until you are satisfied. Hope you get some joy.

Don't believe everything your child tells you. I can't see them not having earphones!

Why is the child watching TV during class? Bizarre!

Yes we do need proper support in place but it isn’t there. Waits for diagnosis take years, EHCPs are being turned down, refused or ignored at increasing levels and even private services have long wait lists. LA budget cuts are increasing are 42% of LAs announced bankruptcy and a lack of specialist school places available. I hope that mainstream schools are doing their absolute best for as many kids as possible. Let’s fight for more and better support not each other

@BooomShakeTheRoom The issue is two fold. Firstly there aren't enough specialist placements and secondly, a parent can't be forced to take one if there was a place for them. Every parent has the right for their child to have a mainstream place. Many schools are now finding they have many more SEN children than they did previously. It's happened very noticeably in the past few years

Ex teacher here. I definitely think you must speak to the teacher. Yes, it's a tough situation, but this isn't an appropriate way of handling it.

Let it go.

Why?

Should the education of 29 children be compromised by the needs of one child? They deserve to be able to learn. I have a child with SEN so I know it can be struggle to support them too, but it isn’t reasonable that the rest of the class be impacted so negatively. The school needs to balance all pupils’ needs.

This child’s issues should not impact on others ability and opportunity to learn

Because you don’t know what is happening with the other child. DS had v disruptive child with additional needs in primary. Children learnt to work round his needs/ behaviour and his mum said how much it helped him. I mean if he is literally on a loud iPad for months then maybe chat to teacher, but I wouldn’t go straight in raising it.

So just completely avoid talking about the actual issue? That won't help anyone. The issue is with the ipad being played at volume and the solution is headphones, no ipad, or the child being out of the classroom. If the noise was being caused by something else, e.g. children shouting out, then the solution would be different.

Absolutely don’t let it go. It isn’t for the rest of the class to work around it to help bring on another child’s behaviour

Where have I said not to address the issue? I've said she needs to approach it in terms of the impact on her DC rather than focussing on the other child. The other child isn't her business, the impact on her child is her business. She can't say that the other child should T have a laptop or should wear headphones but she can say that her DC is being distracted by the noise and what steps will be taken to minimise the distraction her DC is experiencing - the issue needs to be raised with her own DC at the centre of her concern.

It’s not harsh to not want cartoons being played with volume on cms behind your child when he is supposed to learn/work.
At the very least the SN child should be sat away from the others, with earphones or sound high enough to be audible in proximity.

I would speak to the teacher. It’s not fair that the class is being distracted and it must be hard for your son to concentrate with someone sat behind them watching paw patrol.

There seems to be a culture at the moment that the needs of children with SEND come before the needs of 29 other children.
I've worked in schools and 90% of teachers and support staff's attention and effort is going on these children.

In my opinion if the child is swearing across the classroom, they shouldn't be in there. Yes they have a right to an education, but the others also have a right to learn in a quiet and respectful environment.

So yes, I'd be approaching the teacher.

Agreed.
My son had to tolerate years if disruption from one girl and one boy. The girl should never have been in that class, for everyone's benefit. The boy perhaps not either.

This is shocking. But completely accepted now in UK schools, if you take a glance at the many posts on MN that highlight similar issues.

It’s outrageous that someone is being allowed to sit and watch Paw Patrol with no headphones and free rein to disrupt all the other kids who are working.

They should be wearing headphones. And if for whatever reason that’s not possible, they shouldn’t be in the class for now.

The culture of catering to the every need of kids who disrupt the entire class really grates on me. Why are the other kids just expected to tolerate this and why are parents to accept that their child’s education is being interrupted daily? The OP’s son being told off for looking round is an example of this.

Of course I sympathise with the situation overall, but the child causing these disruptions isn’t higher up the pecking order than the others.

Definitely go in, OP. Don’t let it lie.

Absolutely, then at secondary level the disparity is even bigger. Going from lesson to lesson accompanied by a TA (if lucky) with big classes, short breaks, so overwhelming. That is why i know the best place for my DC is a specialist school, not a unit with mainstream lessons and noise cancelling earphones and extra obvious differentiated tasks, extra workload for teachers and demoralising for these children. Xx

She’s not. The OP says it’s been going on for some time.

But I suppose it depends on how many children or how many classes you deem acceptable to be disrupted by this. Personally I don’t think any child or class should be disrupted by someone watching TV with no headphones and shouting out swear words.

Rhis child clearly can’t cope in a mainstream class. The situation doesn’t seem to work for anyone.

So no - the OP certainly shouldn’t “let it go”.