My 6 year old, year 1 DD and being observed by SENCO ?

[ahwhat]

We’ve been informed our DD struggles to concentrate. She doesn’t interrupt class and behaved very well and is trying very hard to do her work. But focus is an issue for her.

she forgets sentences as she’s writing and often asks for instructions to be repeated.

anyway the teacher suggested having her observed by their designated senco.

my DD goes to private school.

anyway she’s academically not doing too badly and is on track for reading, getting there with her writing and generally seems to be doing okay. Friendships great, effort is great.

it’s lack of focus that has prompted all this.

can anyone help me here ? Should we get her to be observed ? Does this sound like adhd ? I feel like the teacher is trying to ‘ get the ball rolling ‘.. but she’s only just 6. Maybe she just needs a bit of time ?

any help/ experiences appreciated.

Let her be observed.

never ever delay sorting this if there is something to be found/sorted.

Why wouldn't you let her be observed by the senco?

I think you may need to consider why you would be resistant to getting her observed OP.

If she needs instructions repeating you could request a hearing test but if she also lacks concentration I presume they are thinking it may be inattentive ADHD.

I agree with pp - good to let her be observed, if ADHD better to know sooner and it can manifest like this.

Yes get her observed. Had a similar thing with my daughter when she was that age, although she was also quite far behind academically. They put some things in place for her following the assessment and I do think it was just a case of waiting for her to catch up, which she did. She was the youngest in the year and quite immature for her age so I think that made things even more noticeable.

If they're having the SENCO observe her, her behaviour is outside the norm for this 6-year old cohort. Just let them observe and see what they say. Isn't it good they're trying to offer support?

What’s the harm in her being observed? If she shows neurodivergent traits then the ball can get rolling and if she doesn’t then that’s that.

We had similar and we now know DD is dyslexic. You can’t diagnose that until age 7 but with hindsight I wish the school had been on it sooner because we didn’t get even get the screener done until spring term Y4 when actually it could have been done right back at the start of year 3. I don’t think there’s any harm in an observation and honestly it’s great they’re keeping an eye and want to figure out how best to help her succeed.

My son was five when I raised concerns, so being only six is no issue. Let them investigate, the sooner the better.

I would ask for a meeting with the SENCO after the observation and see what their findings are.

Ok I’ll just let them do that. I’m just worried about her. I don’t know much about adhd / diagnosis in kids. Although I suspect I might have it ( I know lots of adults think that nowadays though ). But I don’t know much about how it works in kids, what it means and I guess I’m just scared for her. My stomach has been in knots all day. I am just uneducated on the subject I guess so I just thought it best to not jump the gun.

I know it might sound hard, but do remember the teacher sees numerous 6 year olds. They knows exactly what is typical for that age group, and also know when something should be referred.

So the school know your daughter, her areas of success and where she struggles. They offer support... and you want to decline.
SenCo observation is someone observing your daughter to get a clear picture of where she is struggling from someone more qualified in understanding what support the school offer and what might work for your daughter. She isn't going to walk away with a diagnosis, but maybe a step by step support plan... something as simple as having the instructions written down/drawn so she can go back and check.
I think you need to reevaluate your issue here. It sounds like you have worries/concerns over your daughter being labelled as under the SEND umbrella. Not really sure why as it is so unbelievably vast, and is there is give a little extra support. Best to get the support now to build those routines and skills so your daughter flourishes. You'd be mad to decline.

If she’s already 6 then she’s not even particularly young in the year group, so the fact that she is noticeably struggling with focus in comparison to the other members of her class is a reasonable cause for concern. Teachers don’t judge a child’s abilities relative to ‘perfection’, they judge relative to their experience of children of this age and what is ‘normal’. If she’s performing at a high level, that’s great but it may become a problem later when there is more challenge. I teach in a grammar school and we frequently see diagnoses of ADHD, ASD (especially in girls) and dyslexia in students in the GCSE years. Their overall academic intelligence masks their challenges throughout primary and the first year or so of secondary and then the wheels start to come off. You’re lucky if they do identify any issues at her age as it gives you lots of time to be proactive and help her achieve her full potential before she loses confidence.

Senco isn’t looking to label or diagnose her - they are just looking for signs that her development is unusual in comparison with her peers.

If they see those signs they can put in place extra support like group sessions to work on specific skills/suggest to the teacher how best to support your daughter day to day in the classroom/suggest that you get an actual assessment and explain why they think that’s needed.

Definitely do the observation and see where it goes from there.

There are other possible reasons for lack of concentration/focus besides ND!
It would be a good idea to start with the SENDCO observation, then go on to vision and hearing tests, followed by a reading comprehension test.

Bear in mind the SENDCO is unlikely to be qualified to make a diagnosis but can say whether the child falls into the expected parameters for a child of her age. If she doesn't the SENDCO will be in a position to start the process of a more formal assessment of her needs and begin to advise the class teacher on ways to support her learning in the meantime.

My son is nearly 5 and started reception in September 2025, his teacher has already picked up on him not being able to sit still, fidgeting, lack of concentration and has asked if she can refer him to be assessed. From what I have been told its often a very long process getting children observed/assessed and have help put in place where they need it so the earlier the process is started the better

If you think you may have ADHD that is all the more reason to listen if the School are suggesting that her behaviour may be different from her peers as ADHD is usually hereditary.

Please do let the School SENCO observe her. Ask them if they are looking for Inattentive ADHD but also ask of they can refer her for a hearing test too. You might want to find an Opticians that will test her eyesight, just to rule that out.

The senco doesn’t diagnose. They will observe, make suggestions to the teacher on how to support your dd, they may offer small group sessions or other interventions and if they suspected anything they would discuss it with you.

Ask for her to be sat at the front of the class as close to the teacher as possible. It will be much easier for her to concentrate on any input if there aren't several children and 101 distractions between her and the teacher. Made a huge difference for DS.

Definitely let the SENCO observe, they may have some other suggestions that can be put in place to help her. Remember if she has ADHD then she'll still have it even if she doesn't have a diagnosis. A diagnosis won't change her into someone else, her struggles will be the same either way.

Handhold op. It is really easy for posters who are not her mum to say what is the harm of having her observed, but it is natural as a mum to worry about any developments that you may not have been prepared for.

I think on balance it is wise to let her have this attention - which is it all is really at the moment - because plenty of people are ADHD and helpful interventions can be made.

I think it is a bit disingenuous of pp asking what you could possibly be hesitant about though. Lots of children just take their own time to catch up and intervention CAN be interference in some cases. But just be mindful of that as you go along. And never let your mum instinct be talked down either. Yes they see lots of 6 year olds, but you also know yours better than they do. It sounds to me as though your instinct is that it could well be ADHD?

You are very fortunate that the school is raming steps to address a potential issue

She could be dyslexic.

I'm in a similar boat OP. My son is 6 and his teacher is concerned about his reading progress and his poor listening skills and focus. She mentioned that if things didn't improve she could move him onto stage two and write him a referral. I was really shocked. I am a primary school teacher teaching the same age group and I wasn't expecting this. I know his processing skills and recall are slow but I was putting it down to immaturity. He isn't focused when doing homework and is easily distracted but he isn't hyper at home and he is making better progress than the SEN children I teach that I would have concerns about. I'm not even sure if she suspects ADHD or dyslexia because it was a quick conversation at the classroom door one morning with other parents waiting to speak to her. I'm going to do some extra work with him at home and we are monitoring his progress.

It's understandable that you feel anxious but I would take on board what the teacher has said and allow her to bring the SENCO in to observe. There are lots of reasons why focus could be difficult for your DD and it's not necessarily ADHD. My friend's daughter was struggling to focus and it turned out she had some hearing deficiency and tinnitus. It could be that she finds some things in the classroom distracting or just boredom! So tell yourself it's ok to just wait and see what the SENCO says and take it from there. It's good that the school are on the ball and means your DD will get the help and support she needs. It's natural for us as mums to worry and think of worst case scenarios but worrying won't change anything so keep telling yourself to take it one step at a time.