Flexi schooling?

[ElsieDear]

My 5 year old DS started reception in September and the school are referring him for an EHC Plan (old Statement of SEN). He has a speech and language delay and also some potential learning difficulties, we haven't got a diagnosis yet. The school say he can get worked up and upset, particularly in the afternoons. I think it might be overwhelming for him (there's 28 in the class).

I don't want to fully homeschool but I am interested in flexi schooling and the school have said they'd consider it. I'm interested to hear other people's experiences. I've been I bit upset and overwhelmed myself by the whole thing and I just want to make sure my DS is happy and progressing.

Thank you so much xxx

Hi OP, We're just giving this a bump for you.

No experience sorry.
So would you pick him up at lunch?

I suggest you do a search of flexi-schooling groups on Facebook OP as you will get much more response.
It does sound like it might be the best option for now, particularly if the school is supportive. An early pick up, would help avoid the tiredness and overwhelm and a provide opportunities for you to work one to one on specific activities targeted at him. Then with schools support you can work on extending his day in school gradually at some point further down the line when you think he'll cope better.

I think this is the sort of situation in which schools are sometimes more accommodating, so it's well worth considering. Some children can cope with school okay for a while but not all day. Also from the school's point of view it would be more manageable to have to support your son for fewer hours, so one can see why it would appeal to them.

You might also like to post on the SEN board if you haven't already. One potential hitch as I understand it is that ironically, meeting the child's needs better can make it more difficult to document those needs and get the necessary support approved.

So for example, if your child does great on three hours a day then the LA might claim there's no evidence he needs any extra support, because he appears to be doing fine at school, and that it is parental choice to only send him three hours a day.

It isn't a situation I have been in, because I haven't sent my child who has SEN to school. But it seems to be a bind reported by other parents: it's hard to get support unless and until they actually send their child into a setting where the child will be overwhelmed. It must be very hard to have to do that. But possibly you already have a good enough paper trail from the school, if they have seen your son struggling there.

I'm sure that parents with experience of navigating the SEN system at school will have better advice; this is just an idea I have heard.