Should I move my Year 3 kid to another school

[LoudBrickTiger]

I have a kid in Year 3, he has some learning difficulties but behaviourally he is fine to the extent that he can fade in the background for days at school without anybody noticing something is wrong.

We have been struggling to teach him how to read, his Year 1 Phonics score was below 10. His class teacher shifted the blame on us even though we read to him every day. I have used help from external specialist to improve his reading and he did pass his year 2 retake but his fluency is behind.

We have been tracking him more closely in Year 2, there were several instances where he was not allocated a phonics book to be read at home. Sometimes we remind the teacher, sometimes we let it slide as we don't want to rock the boat and we started to have our own phonics book to help him.

Now in year 3, he been placed in a small SEN group to improve his reading. It is the same issue again where the books are not allocated to him and this week, I tried to read a book he was supposed to have read multiple times at school.
He could not even read the first word of the title and struggle to read the book with good fluency. We know he is able to read quick when he saw the text first time.

I asked the SEN group teacher if he is following at school, she said he is engaged and making progress and read the book multiple times. She got quite defensive even though I was not blaming her as I know he can lose focus etc.

I'm at my tether end with this school, they are not very constructive and do the basics. I was thinking to transfer him to another school with less SEN and maybe the results would be better.

What do you think? He has no real friends at school and he doesn't seem to bother interacting with other kids to form deep friendships, this is another issue too.

If you feel a transfer would benefit him, then start investigating - but bear in mind that he is currently settled and disruption might be a big negative.

Have you documented your concerns with the headteacher? This would be a good idea, see if you can get the problem fixed.

Have you had him tested for dyslexia/Irlens? One of my son’s friends has both and he has some coloured overlays which help him.

One of the biggest issues in mainstream schools is that they are cutting back on TA’s etc so children who need extra support, unless they have an EHCP allocating some hours of 1-2-1 support can struggle but it’s positive that they already have him in a small group.

I would speak to them first and ask them what they think and try to get them to do an ILP (individual learning plan) they call them at my kids schools. Kids who have this have extra support and they also have extra parents meetings (once a month) to review the plans/progress.

The friendship thing could also be an issue at another school if he doesn’t want to mix and a new school could be upskittling.

does he do any clubs/hobbies? Things like sports clubs/ beavers/ swimming/ drama with any school friends - or even the wraparound care a couple of sessions a week can be helpful to integrate.

A school with less SEND children doesnt necessarily mean better. In fact, sometimes quite the opposite - my child's (large) school has almost 40% of children on the SEND register, with half of those having EHCPs. Every class has at least 1 TA, most have 2, some have more (EHCP needs), and they have developed excellent interventions and catch up strategies. My child's EdPsych commented that he'd never seen a mainstream school like it.

The reason their numbers is so high is because they are great at what they do and therefore have a reputation locally.

There's a lot to consider, especially things like established friendships etc. Would he transition easily to another school? Does he have an EHCP? Is there a good school that has a space for him? Etc.

The alternative is to continue with some tutoring as you did last year. I would question if, even with the previous tutoring, a change of school would actually help.

I assume you've had all the usual covered - been to optician? Is he able to express what he finds difficult - wondering if there could be more to it - difficulties with eye tracking, visual processing etc?

I don't understand the issue, he's getting extra support at school. Why can't he read it at home? Do you think the TA is lying about his ability?

Look up toe by toe and do it at home.

I have talked to the deputy headteacher and they did make some changes including the small SEN class. It is a constant fight, there is no changing bad staff, they always revert to form.

I think they know I have a good income and can get external specialists. He suffers from some speech issues and I had a private SaLT in until the NHS came in.

What really annoys me is the state is so lazy (cost cutting) and want to wash their hands, whenever I put private specialists, they step back. I told them, I'm not here to "subsidise" the state.

My frustration with the private specialists is they treat it as a part time job/cash cow. They work some months and then move on. I had to make the last one commit to at least finish the year.

The Senco is part time too, the headteacher is part time too and job sharing with another school miles away. This is a 3-form entry school from Year R to 6.

I have forced them to apply for EHCP but the paper they gave me to sign is bare and I asked the SENco to show me the full application but for some reason she is stalling.

He has been to an optician to check colour blindness and now he also wear a very weak prescription glasses.

I think he would transition to a new school easily since he doesn't get attach. He left nursery and his bonded with a great after-school worker but when that person left, he did not feel sad, I asked many times, he says he doesn't.

They are applying for EHCP after I pushed now though I could have applied myself but I know how hard it is to get one so I just pay external people to help him.

He reads at home but there is so much I can do also because he spends the majority of his time at school. My disappointment is he could not even read the title of the book.

He does all these clubs etc, he is just a loner in some sense. Playing with other kids is superficial, he plays with them when therenis nothing else to do.

When we walk in the street and people recognise him, he just ignores them.

If school are supporting EHCP there's other issues than reading. I think you need to start to detail everything. Y3 and not wanting friends is socially unusual. What are his other interactions like?

If the school is requesting an EHCNA, I wouldn’t move school now. It is an unlawful reason but LAs sometimes use DC recently moving school as a reason to refuse saying they ‘need time to settle’. Now, as I said, it isn’t lawful and you could appeal if that happened, but I wouldn’t give the LA to opportunity to use it as an excuse.

If the school is stalling making the request, just do it yourself. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

They are not really stalling but going very slow and not giving me the draft EHCP application even though I asked twice.

Yeah, the EHCP application is a barrier to moving but at the same time tired of that school.

I emailed the county admissions, out of the 3 schools I selected, only 1 has space but a bit far where I will have to use a car but our neighbours use that school rather than a local one. These kids also went to the same nursery etc.

I will have to keep looking for other schools and see.

i feel for you because I think public education in this country is broken down and without going to the extreme homeschooling we, parents, must help our kids and their teachers. Its

Please DM me this school name?

Has an EHCNA request actually been submitted to the LA? If not, just do it yourself.

I would throw all of my resources at figuring out why your child is struggling, as if still struggling to this level despite reading regularly at home there is probably something else going on.

we found a full ed psych assessment really helpful in narrowing down the issue area and also helped understand strengths that were going unrecognised due to general inability to read/write, We were able to rule out dyslexia, but dc was in the bottom 10% for visual processing. We’d had multiple eye checks before on nhs, including a pediatric ophthalmologist due to a mild squint, who all said vision more or less fine. It was only when we we went to a specialist optician on the recommendation of the ed psych that we got insight into how the eyes were working with each other and identified several challenges (tracking, maintaining focus at different distances ) that don’t get looked at in a standard exam but profoundly affect dc’s ability to read. As dc has gotten older is better able to articulate what she is experiencing, but in y1/2/3 I don’t think they realised that anything was unusual and certainly couldn’t describe their visual experience.

most schools are a bit crap at unpicking send, and universally there are not enough send resources to meet needs, so I would be cautious about moving school on the hope that the next one will be any better

Whatever you decide on the move, reading fluency in Year 3 can still change a lot with the right support. Ask school which phonics phase he's secure at and make sure his reading books match that phase, not his age. At home, ten minutes a day rereading the same matched book builds fluency faster than lots of new books, because he gets to feel successful. Little and often with sounds he finds tricky helps too. As a teacher, I've seen children at this stage make big jumps once the books fit where they actually are. Happy to message with some home ideas if useful.

Thanks I know all this.

The issue is the school deviates from policy where books are not even allocated on the Collins Hub platform many times.

I have lost confidence in that school. I have use my own phonics books etc but I do need the school to do their job.

It sounds like a really fustrating place to be, especially with the effort you are putting in. Before deciding on a move, I’d say shortlist some alternative schools and visit them with specific questions about how they would support him and check his progress. If helpful, feel free to message me again when you’re looking at schools. I’d be happy to help you put some questions together. School language can sound reassuring, but as a teacher, I can help you unpack what it would actually mean for him day to day. Also checking the inspection reports can also help too.