Child been put on SEN register

[GladAmberOtter]

So as the title suggests my child has neen put on SEN register at school. The reason im posting here is because i know that a lot of who home educate have an issue with the school system and pigeon holing. My DC is 5.4 one of the youngest in the class and we knew she was a bit behind, but not this much!! They want to ‘close ‘ gaps and say it may not be permanant. My reservations about thd school system are coming true! I just believe she is learning at her own pace and should not be measured or compared to anybody else. Obviously im concerned, sny ex teachers here who can clarify? Are the standards too high?

OP this is not a home ed issue. Identifying your child as needing extra support and providing that support is in fact something many home educating parents would have loved for their child. So many feel they have to withdraw their child because the support they need is not put in place. So I would consider it a good thing that your chidk is in a school that seem to be proactive.

If you don’t agree with the curriculum or school system then you have the option to deregister your child and provide a full time education yourself,

Well I wish mine had been put on the register for extra help at 5 and not had to struggle to 13 - at which point we have no evidence of anything at primary . I'd see it as support and not a negative action.

I’d take all the help offered, OP.

In the nicest possible way OP you need to get a grip. This is something positive for your child, it means she will be getting extra help to attempt to close the gaps, they aren't going to hang a SEN sign around her neck or are doing this to "pigeon hole" her - teachers don't have time or inclination for this. Many people home educate for quite the opposite reason, because their dc have SEN and their needs cannot be met by the school.
Finland "pigeon hole" approx 50% of children in their first year as having SEN. With the right support/intervention this dramatically falls after one year, and by year 3 the majority have closed the gap. More, rather than less intervention is needed for all children in order for them to thrive.

Perhaps you should be grateful that the school have flagged up that they believe your child needs extra help in some areas of learning.
Why on earth are you upset about it? Would you prefer your child doesn’t receive extra support and begins to struggle.

Home Ed is full of parents whose children weren't getting special educational provision that they so desperately needed. It's tone deaf to complain to them about your daughter being given timely support.

It's all very well saying she'll go at her own pace, but if she still couldn't read at 10 things would be very difficult for her - and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be happy.

Being on the register means she'll get extra help which is great. She isn't being pigeon holed. I bet though you're one of those parents who would refuse getting her a diagnosis because you don't want her 'labelled' aren't you?

it was more about giving her extra support to catch up.

How awful

Stop for a minute, and actually picture teaching a class. Unless you have forgotten to mention that your child is at private school, I'm guessing she's in a class of 25-30 kids with one teacher and maybe a TA (although maybe not, or maybe not all the time).

You say she "should not be measured or compared to anybody else", but when you are trying to teach 30 kids, if you can't measure what they know and compare it you just teach them the same. Imagine maths

We're going to teach 2+2=4 - four things happen as a result:

• Some children have no concept of numbers - they get muddled and frustrated because they don't get "2"
• Some know 2 and 2, but "+" and "=" baffles then and they get stuck
• Some know 2, pick up the concept of "+" and "=" quickly, and get there
• Some learnt 2+2=4 when they were 3 and are bored stiff for the whole lesson.

Now, same lesson, but we start by comparing the children first. We compare those groups of children:

• the first group we know is going to struggle. In fact we know they are not ready to learn 2+2 = 4. So we set them up with a teaching assistant, paid for by the funding we get through most of them being on the SEN register, to learn what 2 is.
• The second and third group are maybe taught together and get there with 2+2=4
• The fourth group are taught something else entirely.

Without any measuring or comparison, there are no groups. There are no different levels. There is one thing being taught and the only differentiation is by outcome - children who learn it, and children who don't. Without children being labelled as needing more help, there is no knowledge of support needs, and no money to employ extra staff. So all 30 kids get taught one thing by one teacher. Those in the first group try to learn as best they can and most probably most don't.

The fact is that if we don't measure & label and then use that labelling to generate money to get extra staff and resources, some kids are constantly being taught stuff they know, while others are being taught things that are too hard. Embrace the labelling, embrace the support and embrace the fact that your child is being helped and encouraged to fulfil their potential whatever that may be.

No. But I don’t think all children need to be labelled, it could be we see children having to have a label or a diagnosis because they aren’t slotting into the system quite as easily as others. Why that might be could be for a myriad of reasons. I’m aware it’s tough teaching 30 kids. I’m aware they have to make things ‘measurable’ but I certainly wasn’t expecting my child to be on an SEN register. It may not be a bad thing, but we do have to start questioning why or how this has happened.

I know how you are feeling OP. My DD was struggling with both reading and maths at that age.

I'd say take all the support offered as things can change quickly as they get a bit older. For example, DD went from struggling with reading to become one of the best in her class. Maths was always an issue however. We tried at home and with some tutoring but she just couldn't reach the required standards. A total nightmare all round. Tears before bedtime every day of the week...

DD failed her GCSE Maths. First time the local 6th form college agreed she could do 3 A-levels (after some wrangling) and resit Maths. Which she also failed.

That said, she is currently in her second year at university studying Medieval History & Archaeology (her passion) and is doing very well indeed. Still without a Maths GCSE pass.

She also secured a job over the summer as a v well-paid paid assistant manager of a charity shop without it - and has also got a similar role at another charity shop near where she is at university. Both willing to employ her term/holiday times as she needs.

Currently managing OK without a Maths GCSE. Not ideal which I completely understand of course. But her university and two different charitable organisations accepted her without a Maths GCSE.

They aren’t labelling her. 🙄

I don’t see how extra support could be viewed as a negative.

I am a SEND governor for my dds former primary school.

The SEN register is not just for children with or who are suspected of having additional needs. Dd was on it due to health issues that can impact her learning.

It is a list of children who need adjustments to the usual learning styles within the classroom. That could be that they need to sit closer to the teacher because they are anxious and need reassurance, it could be that they struggle to hold a standard pencil and need a rubber grip, they might not quite be there yet with toileting and need assistance with keeping themselves clean. Dd needed to have medicines administered and wear special gloves to protect ther from allergens.

It is not a criticism or pigeon holing your child. It is making sure that everyone who engages with the class is aware that there are individual adaptations and can accommodate them.

It also helps the school manage funding and resources.

You are being slightly ridiculous and conspiracy minded to be alluding to something more sinister.

Your child being put on the SEN register is not a bad thing, OP. My friend’s daughter was also put on the SEN register because she was behind and needed extra support. She received so much support after being put on the register and it opened doors for extra funding for some one-to-one support etc. Funding and support that she would not have got if she haven’t been put on the register. She excelled and caught up and has since been removed from the register. Sit down with the class teacher and the school’s ALNCO and discuss the IDP and the support that will be put into place for your child. It is a positive thing that they are trying to help her.

Conspiracy minded?! I’m purely asking for an opinion. I have friends who are teachers, we know it’s about metrics and stats. We know levels have been pushed up so much that it can become unnatainable. I’m merely asking if people see that as a problem, I don’t think there is something ‘sinister’ at play. Or teachers are doing this deliberately.

You seem more bothered about having an "SEN" child than her getting all the help available. I'd suggest it's a you problem.

That really isn't what you were asking initially though, is it?

Or did you deliberately post this in HE in the hope of whipping up a storm of people saying how terrible this school is for doing this?

Any child who is receiving support additional to or different from the provision for children the same age has, at the time they are receiving that support, a special educational need. It's not about being "put on a register". It's about documenting that the support is in place and its effectiveness is monitored.

No. I actually wish I hadn’t posted anything, to be honest I posted on home ed because people tend to have a broader view of the education system hence why they home educate. It’s not perfect, we know that. It’s confusing as a parent, because we don’t know what we are comparing it to. If you home educate, or decide on alternative education it’s normally because you realise the faults in the system. Some countries don’t start formal education until after 6, some countries don’t put so much emphasis on these things at such a young age, I’m looking for perspective, that’s all.

OP, why do you have a problem with being on an SEN register? It isn’t bad out shameful. Do you think less of children on this register? Your child hasn’t been labelled out pigeon-holed. The school have identified that some extra support is needed in order to help her develop and make progress. This is a good thing. Many parents have to fight for this. It’s a case of teachers are damned if they do, damned if they don’t.

My reservations about thd school system are coming true! I just believe she is learning at her own pace and should not be measured or compared to anybody else

Of course she's going to be measured, it's not for the purpose of comparing her to other children, but to give a standardized idea if she is age appropriate or not and progressing. If she was 10 with a reading age of 4, would you be happy and just think she's learning at her own pace? Who on earth in school is going to facilitate this? On reflection it's probably best for you that you do home educate, because you already think the system is utterly ludicrous for suggesting your child could benefit from extra support. As a mum to a child with SEN who had no choice but to home educate, I feel very angry at your complete disregard for for a valuable resource that so many are lacking.

Absolutely this. It's a good thing. Your child will get extra support to help her learn. This happens to many children. Some are taken off in year 2, some remain in year 2 and different children are added. It's not a negative.

Yes conspiracy minded

To quote your op... My reservations about thd school system are coming true

There is nothing bad in being offered additional support.

They are clearly concerned, you are clearly more obsessed by labels than getting your child the support they obviously need.

As another poster has stated..this is a you problem not a school or education system problem.

It’s not that complicated a question though. This has happened because the school are doing their job properly.

You may have an ideal of education that a state primary can’t possibly provide, but it doesn’t mean that what they can do is wrong. Schools are full of people that want to provide an amazing education for our children and do the best they can within the restrictions they have. They are not bad places ready to ‘label’ children just for fun.

The label you are talking about is meaningless. It’s just a way of identifying children that need extra support to learn the skills that school is supposed to be teaching and ensuring that they are getting help.

Have a think about why this is bothering you. Are you surprised your child isn’t achieving the same as the majority of her peers or offended by the name of the register or do you think that schools shouldn’t worry about it or tell parents if they think a child needs extra help, or what?

Why on earth would a parent object to the school noticing their child is struggling and putting additional support in place?

Very odd.