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Primary education

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Original poster

4 children with statements in ds' reception class - help!

166 replies

ALittleBitConfused · 28/01/2011 17:26

DS is due to start reception in Sept. The choice we have for our first choice will have 3 siblings with SEN. One with profound difficulties, one with ASD and one with behavioural probelms. All have statements with 1:1 written in them I believe.

My friend has a ds with ASD and has put down this school, so there will be 4 children with SEN in the class.

Is this likely to impact on the education of my ds if he gets in? It's an overscribed school.

OP posts:
fircones · 28/01/2011 17:36

If the parents of those equally precious children want to send their children to that school it must be a very caring and supportive environment. Your child will be very lucky to attend such a caring school.

DurhamDurham · 28/01/2011 17:39

ut your hard hat on now.

I can understand your concerns but you are about to be lambasted for daring to voice concerns about your child's education being affected by having choildren with additional needs in the class.

Good Luck Smile

cansu · 28/01/2011 17:40

Any reception class is likely to contain some children with SEN. Schools are meant to be inclusive. Can you say what you are worried about? I don't really understand. If you did go for another school then you are unlikely to know what the make up of the class would be. I am assuming you know about these children because you know the parents.

McHobbes · 28/01/2011 17:41

oooh you're brave!!

I will have this one on 'I'm watching' for sure. Good luck.

McHobbes · 28/01/2011 17:43

Oh and my opinion is that having kids with additional needs in the class matters not a jot - apart from anything else, it helps the others to learn tolerance and open mindedness.

Hopelesslydisorganised · 28/01/2011 17:43

My DS has ASD and is Statemented. I don't consider this impacts on any of his classmates education as DS has 1-1 support to help him. Therefore the teacher is not taken up with supporting him and can do her job.

onanightlikethis · 28/01/2011 17:43

you are all for inclusion then?..

tibni · 28/01/2011 17:43

My ds was the child with ASD / challenging behaviour and a statement in reception. Having him within the class meant there was always an extra adult to support class / help with dressing etc after gym. In small group work (he was in low ability) there was an adult to support the group.

The children in ds class were great with him. Understood him as a person not just a label or diagnosis. Many of them still keep in touch with him now. Tollerance and understanding is also a part of education.

As your ds goes through school, chances are there will be other children that get "picked up" in the system with difficulties.

When deciding on any school go and have a good look around. Get a feel for the place, look at the relationships between staff and pupils.

Panzee · 28/01/2011 17:43

You'll get more staff in there. Can only be a good thing.

conniedescending · 28/01/2011 17:44

one class at my dds school has 8 statemented kids in it - cant see the problem

if they have 1-1s then the teachers attention wont be diverted

plus dont underestimate that it might be your kid causing the problems - you never quite know how a child will take to formal education

CockneySparra · 28/01/2011 17:47

Will it effect your child? Who knows? But unless you live in a bubble, there will always be children with SEN or EAL or other issues that may affect their learning and mean they require extra support. What is the alternative?

The key thing is that the children who need support are getting it, through a statement and one-to-one. My son has ASD and, prior to securing a statement, yes, his bevahiour did affect his peers because he was not getting the support he needed and was unable to behave in the way expected of him.

Hopefully the impact it will have on your child will be that he will grow up to be tolerant and with an understanding of people with different needs.

CockneySparra · 28/01/2011 17:49

Also agree on the 'more staff'. At one point my son had a one-to-one, there was another child with a one-to-one, a learning support assistant for the children who didn't speak good English and a general TA, as well as the class teacher. The whole atmopshere of the class changed for the better. Just having more adults around - even if some of those adults weren't supporting all children - made the children calmer and better behaved.

Hassled · 28/01/2011 17:51

FFS. Your DS's education is entirely dependent on the quality of the teaching and learning, and how much you engage with him at home. It's not about how many SEN kids there are. Has the concept of inclusion completely passed you by?

If they are statemented with 1:1 help there will be extra adults in the classroom. This is only ever a good thing.

Rhadegunde · 28/01/2011 17:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thegrudge · 28/01/2011 17:53

My dd in YR has 3 dcs in her class who have 1:1 support. I think she benefits from having the extra staff in the room. Its pot luck who you end up with at school. If you pick a different school he could end up with a NT bully in his class.

lisad123isasnuttyasaboxoffrogs · 28/01/2011 17:55

there are 4 children with SN children in my DDs class, her being one of them. Just because a child has a SN doesnt mean they will cause a problem to your PFB!!
Children are supported in main stream and if they are effected the class its the schools fault imo.

Hopelesslydisorganised · 28/01/2011 17:56

So consensus seems to be that the effect for your little one will be positive. My DS didn't have a Statement in Reception so was more likely to cause problems then rather than now WITH a Statement.

lisad123isasnuttyasaboxoffrogs · 28/01/2011 17:57

TBH I would be more worried about the fact you also seem to have an issue with children with SN, and wonder if this has been passed onto your child!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 28/01/2011 17:58

now i know how the woman at nursery who doesn't speak to me because my child has SN is thinking!

DurhamDurham · 28/01/2011 17:59

lisad that's a bit of a leap to make. Just because she is asking a question about her child's education does not mean she has issues with children with SN.

oddgirl · 28/01/2011 17:59

Well I am the parent of a statemented child in a MS classroom and I can only assure you the statement is a sign of help within the class-I would be far more concerned if there were no identified SN children in the class as they have probably been missed and will have an impact on your DS.

As a side thought, isnt it a positive thing to have your DS meet and engage with all sorts of different people (a bit like real life??). Of course you could send him to a school where everyone was an identikit of your DS (how incredibly dull) and where he wouldnt learn tolerance/good social support and role modelling/inclusion/acceptance/understanding etc etc

Goblinchild · 28/01/2011 18:00

Can I say that the children I find the most disruptive to the education of others tend to be the egocentric PFB with no concept of sharing and accustomed to the full attention of two or more doting adults?
( If your child is a FB but not PFB in the Mumsnet sense, well done.)
More adults, more support in class, tolerance and understanding positively reinforced, clear rules, good organisation...
You may find that some or all of the statemented children have qualities and talents you would want your child to acquire too.
So yes, it will impact on the education of your child, in a positive way. Let's hope that your child will prove to be an asset.

Lulumaam · 28/01/2011 18:00

I am intersted to know how you know that the children have statements and what support has been given

lisad123isasnuttyasaboxoffrogs · 28/01/2011 18:02

sorry, but just my opinion that too many parents are worried about how SN effects their PFB, and from the comments I got yesterday that "if a child has a SN they should be at a SN school" doesnt help.
SN arent catching and if your childs education are being effected its not the childs fault.

FreudianSlippery · 28/01/2011 18:03

I'd say it's a good thing - as long as those children are getting the help their statement requests, it must be a good supportive environment.