Non-existent senco

[Movingtouk24]

We moved to the uk from overseas. My daughter has gross and fine motor challenges (we chose to delay getting her formally diagnosed) and has had occupational therapy since 2, including sensory circuits etc at school.

I mentioned when she started at school in January all of this. No one contacted me on this. I have since followed up 4 times with the school on support and how senco works (and was encouraged by our gp to do this, given the nhs waiting times for support- she mentioned support from the local schools was amazing). I’ve been met with radio silence despite contacting her teacher, senco, reception etc.

Meanwhile, my daughter is starting to see she is struggling with things others do not- not helped by her younger brother overtaking her in some areas.

Is this normal behaviour from school? They are undergoing changes in management but this seems a bit unusual.

It really depends on the school/person involved

It's really disheartening

You might need to go in person and be really insistent

Go to the office and ask for an appointment with the SENCO. Some also have teaching roles so you may need to be flexible. Be insistent though.

Unfortunately with budgets so tight and numbers of children with really significant SEND challenges or behavioural issues in school now. Your average school SENDCo will be absolutely snowed under juggling their own class with all the different needs in the school. Transition will be taking priority at this time of year too.
it’s frustrating and it isn’t fair that children like your dd don’t always get their share but the reality is that the SENDCo will be desperately trying to prioritise.
All you can really do it keep trying to get an appointment. If there’s a parent’s evening coming up the SENDCo may have slots available then. Sorry to not be more helpful, things are really stretched in schools just now and this probably isn’t the SENDCo’s fault.

Look on the school's website for the list of governors. There should be a SEN link governor and an email. Contact them. January to June is ridiculous! If it's an academy trust find their corporate website and contact the director with responsibility for SEN too.

While you're on the school website, find the complaints policy and consider using it.

The most likely thing is personnel change and your various messages have got lost, but it's still not good enough.

It would be normal at our school. It would have been easier to meet with the queen mother! Could you email/ring the headteacher and let them know you haven't heard anything?

Email the senco again but cc the headteacher. Be polite but point out how many times you have had no response and how disappointed you are.

Schools have to have a Senco but if the position is not filled then it devolves to the head.

they should be responding to your emails though.

sensory circuits are often recommended for children with ASD/adhd or who have trouble regulating. In my school they were run by a TA (who had had training). The focus wasn’t gross motor skills.

working on fine motor skills is fairly standard in most reception/year 1classrooms - does your child need additional input there above and beyond normal classroom activities?

Why did you delay getting a diagnosis? You’re unlikely to get much help from school. Can you go private?

Help should be based on needs not diagnosis. It is not always possible to get a diagnosis for this sort of thing or it can take a long time especially if you rely on the NHS. We have been in the process of getting a diagnosis for my daughter’s gross motor delay and are still not much closer to knowing what’s going on.

I delayed getting a diagnosis as when they are younger it’s hard to say if it’s due to a delay (but they catch up) or a true disability/ learning need. As she is nearing 7 it’s becoming apparent it’s more than just a possible delay. I’ve also been reluctant to put a label on it for lots of reasons.

She attended sensory circuits not necessarily just because she had fine/ gross motor delays- it was to provide support but we always knew she had sensory issues and so on. She may have dyspraxia / autism/ adhd (the latter two run in the family, albeit we are all largely highly masked and high achievers!). I had no idea what dyspraxia was until I googled why she struggles to ride a bike (it’s been 4 years of learning!) and all the symptoms are her.

I was told by a friend that for school support, a diagnosis had to come via nhs (not sure if this is right?). We can go private but it’s still a wait.

Good news is, I have a response finally. Oddly it’s been directed to the welfare officer for the school - as the senco is apparently changing next year so the senco officer is phasing out. Sounds more terrifying to me than it should be- I assume it’s because it’s the next person who could help, but not really sure.

It doesn’t explain why there was no response for 6 months though. Bit disappointing.

As a SENCO, this is exactly what is going on. It's nice to see some understanding and empathy for the staff trying to juggle everything.

To OP, email the Senco and class teacher, ask for a meeting and an IPP and profile for your child. Check they are on the send register and staff are aware of their needs. Request OT and LST input, they can identify if it is dyspraxia.
While your Senco shouldn't have ignored you for 6 months, that's a pretty standard time for observations before referral. They should have put interventions and support in place during that time as part of cycles of APDR.

Also, go back to the GP. They can request paediatric involvement, it's just an awful wait time the moment.

RE: diagnosis, private or NHS are equal in technical terms. However, again speaking as a SENCO - I do look at private diagnoses and question their validity, since they are almost a 100% success rate for diagnosis. Essentially, it feels like parents pay for a label.

My 9 year old son has been flagged by every childcare provider and professional since he was a toddler. We live in Wales so he has an IDP (England EHCP) equivalent. He is currently awaiting duel ADHD/Autism diagnosis and has been for several years.

My son barely sleeps and this along with his other problems are affecting him at school. Last week he came out of school sobbing, his teacher and the class TA have said he's not coping and the afternoons are very difficult for him to the point I said I was happy to collect him at lunch time and the teacher was going to put that suggestion to the head/SENDCO.

The next day I spoke with the Head/SENDCO who advised me he is doing brilliantly and there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

She has the governors in her pocket and the teachers from what I can make out are either besties with her or she's trying to get them out. I've spoken to other parents and she's generally ruling with an iron fist and will argue black is white.

I'm between a rock and a hard place what can I do? Has anyone else had any experience of this or similar and can advise? X

Start your own thread and include Wales in the title and hopefully some posters will be able to help.