Worried about my niece

[Snickers94]

Hi everyone, I hope I can get some advice here.

My niece is 6 and currently in year 1. She is really struggling to read and write and her dad and my mum (her gran) have spoken to the school to ask for an ADHD assessment after we all noticed some symptoms of it. However the school didn't follow up and neither did the GP, and later parents were told that the school has cut funding for SEN so they can't support students who need additional support. Once my niece is in year 2 they've told parents that one class will have up to 40 children.

My niece is a lovely social girl but she's very clumsy, struggles to focus, struggles to grasp basic concepts in maths, she can't read other than the shortest words, gets all her spelling wrong and is quite absent minded. I've tried to help her with her subtraction homework but she doesn't get it and she can't even read the sentences in her homework booklet which results in us having to over explain her homework and all the problems to her over and over again.

I feel like the school are failing her and that my niece should have learned some of these things by now, I do think she may be dyslexic as do majority of our family but we just don't know how to get assessments or support for her. She will be going to summer school to catch up on all the work from year 1 that she's not been able to do but this doesn't seem like a long term solution to her issues.

Please can anyone advise on what to do for her? Is this normal for children in year 1 not to be able to spell, read, write or subtract?

Once my niece is in year 2 they've told parents that one class will have up to 40 children.

If in England abd state school, this isn't allowed. Well it is allowed in the classroom but there must be 1 teacher per 30 children, so a class of 40 will have to have two teachers working with them. So I'd challenge this aspect to start with.

Independent ed psych assessment and write to the Local Authority to request a EHC needs assessment would be my advice. If there are concerns about ADHD see GP and ask for a referral to the neurodevelopmental pathway.

I second requesting an EHCNA. IPSEA has a model letter that can be used to request one.

The school must make their best endeavours to meet a pupil’s SEN, but that won’t be at the same level as support that can be given with an EHCP.

In some areas you can self refer for an ADHD assessment, if that isn’t possible for DN the GP or school will be able to.

You will need to wait until she is at least 7 to get her assessed for dyslexia - until then a lot will fall under 'normal for age'.

I have a DD with both dyslexia and ADHD.

School did the dyslexia assessments back when she was 7 (was rather starkly obvious as she could read or spell), but we have had to go privately for the ADHD diagnosis as NHS waiting lists are currently 2-3 years for initial assessment in our area and GP recommended we go the private route if possible.

To be honest we've never got much help with the dyslexia - DD was in classes at Primary with a lot of SEN kids and so a lot of the Ed Psych recommendations didn't happen. Things like sitting at the front of the class and away from disruptive children - mainly because they had so many in the class with the same recommendation!

What made a huge difference for my DD was to teach her touch typing as early as possible and move to a laptop for everything.

I would suggest asking the GP for a referral for assessment, or looking into private assessors.

Hi everyone, thank you for your responses. We have asked her GP for an assessment, this was our first contact but the GP said "well she seems okay right now" during the 10 minute appointment and told us to contact the school instead for an assessment. It was really disappointing.

Obviously the school weren't much help either but today I've emailed the admin team about assessments so we can have a paper trail of our request - just to say, she won't be 7 until October so is there nothing that can be done until then? Surely they can't just say "normal for age" when she's barely progressing at all? That sounds terrible.

I feel sad for her as she's going to school 9-3 and then on Mondays she has to go to a tutoring centre 5-7 too, it's quite intense yet she's still quite behind.

Just to add, she was born with a condition that makes learning difficulties very likely - her mum isn't in the picture and my family are really struggling to come to terms with the fact she may have learning difficulties as they've got a bit of an old school south Asian mentality - when we were growing up you either got As or were labelled a disappointment lol. Obviously I am trying my best to keep her away from that negativity but I just want to get her some support as those she live with don't really understand learning difficulties too much.

You have to be that pushy parent. Sadly schools are so under funded and DC are and will slip through the net. Keep pushing. Ask to speak to head and the governors. Sadly this is how schools are going and one of the reasons teachers are striking

For heaven's sake, the school is being useless here, as is the GP. It sounds like this is a child who is in kinship care and/ or has been separated from a parent, and has either a genetic or environmentally acquired developmental condition.

You do not need a diagnosis for the school to offer extra provision. They should be doing this despite the lack of a piece of paper. Agree with asking the LA for an EHCNA. You can do this yourself, you don't need the school to do it for you, or to agree.

@Radiodread you're right, an environmentally acquired one rather than genetic though.

I'm not sure how to go about getting the ENC and am not entirely sure what it is.. please could someone explain?

*EHC sorry

^This. The school must make their best endeavours to meet a pupil’s SEN, diagnosis or not.

You do not have to wait until 7 for DN to receive further support or be referred for an ADHD assessment.

An EHCP is an Education, Health and Care Plan. A legal document that sets out a pupil’s needs and the support they require. An EHCNA is the needs assessment you first request as part of the process of getting an EHCP. On their website IPSEA has a model letter that can be used to request an EHCNA.

An EHCNA is the process that can lead to an EHC plan. An EHC plan sets out a child's legal entitlement to special education, and sometimes other services. The local authority has to then arrange that provision (ie, ensure a child is getting it). They are similar to the old statements of SEN.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/ehc-needs-assessments

Sometimes LAs or schools will tell you applying for an EHCNA is pointless or they 'can't' apply for one without a diagnosis. Technically this is incorrect and if they do decide to assess (they may refuse, which you can appeal) they have to seek evidence from educational psychologists, health professionals, and of course the child's education setting as part of the process. The school should be keeping records of what it has tried to help your niece, what the outcome was, and what it has changed when that provision did not work. If they haven't been doing that, then ask them why.