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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

IEP for year 1 age 5 boy

41 replies

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 13:17

Hi I have a 5 year old one of the youngest in his class he will be 6 in June.
He was put on a IEP just before easter and i was devastated there was no warning that he was going to go on it and his targets where writing simple sentences using finger spaces. Numeracy was to know simple add an subtractions.
I believe he was put on this because we went on holiday and he missed a big massive chunk of his learning which probably at the time was adding and subtracting and senence writing.
I have since been to tutors and he is now being tutored at home for 45 min week as when he did the assessment I could see where his grey areas were.
I have saw a goo improvement but when I asked the teacher she said he made little improvement. He is having extra literacy lessons in the morning for about 30 mins doing letters and sounds.
I have a meeting with the teacher as Im a bit confused as to why he is put on a IEP without notifying me.
Had anyone else had this sort of issue and saw results?
X

OP posts:

IndigoBell · 27/04/2011 13:31

Having an IEP just means that school are providing extra help for him, eg the extra literacy lessons.

What is worrying you? Him having an IEP? Or school not communicating with you enough?

2BoysTooLoud · 27/04/2011 13:39

It sounds like you are worried about communication and a bit shocked. Try to see IEP as a positive thing. It sounds like it is to help him catch up. An IEP is not a permanent thing I don't think unless it needs to be. Try not to worry and chat to the teacher. Good luck.

mrz · 27/04/2011 13:41

My first thoughts were

How long was he on holiday?

Why is a 5 year old being tutored for 45mins?

sorry not helpful.

If he is having 30 mins each morning doing Letters & Sounds is this outside the classroom? If so what are the rest of the class doing during this time?

Letters & Sounds is used to teach blending for reading and segmenting for spelling so wouldn't address the targets in his IEP which seems odd. Personally I would ask the teacher exactly what his difficulties are and work with them to support your son.

GiddyPickle · 27/04/2011 15:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LIZS · 27/04/2011 15:49

Unelss it was a very extended holiday he is unliely to have missed so much that wouldn't have been reinforced and retaught for the benefit of all. dc school covers maths topics in rotation and consolidate previous work before going on to new work. The things you describe as his weakensses are ongoing not one-off lessons.

There is no stigma to an iep , it may only be needed for a short time and as you can see he is already doing better as a result of the booster sessions. Presumably you were contacted at some point or you wouldn't have known about the targets . Frankly I suspect a tutor is rather a waste of money at this age , he should n't need to be spending extra time studying at 5 :(

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:23

Thanks for you replies. He is in year 1 and the amounts that were missed from school was 5 weeks so nearly half a term. We had parents meeting a few weeks before the IEP was issued and there was talks about his writing not being so good. Which I knew about and then said to me that he has been chosen to do extra literacy lessons to help him with literacy but still not mention of IEP was mentioned. We generally talked about targets Which was writing simple sentences and knowing double numbers to 10. Which I think he is confident in the maths area.
If he gets spelling then he generally gets them all right. I think he may get a bit lost with instructions about what he needs to do and needs to be reinforced or teaching ways need to be changed as boys generally have a tendency to switch off if he is not interested or doesn't quite understand. He is turning 6 soon an I can already see he is reaching a mile stone so I am
Glad that they have taken exta care to notice these issues but I though it was a bit harsh to put him on a IEP without notification.
I have a tutor because he doesn't really listen to me and he has a different style of learning from the way I am teaching him. She is quie good with him and I will see how he improves or not in 6 months.
X

OP posts:

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:28

Ps his target where on his IEP an I was shocked to see a maths one but it has made sense as it seems to be the maths that was covered during the time he was off.
He does the literacy lesson during the morning before children come into school and before the 1st lessons starts. X

OP posts:

mrz · 27/04/2011 18:33

I'm sure there has been a misunderstanding and that the targets discussed at the parents meeting were indeed those agreed for the IEP. Five weeks isn't a huge amount of time and really you shouldn't need to spend money to employ a tutor.

MrsMoppet · 27/04/2011 18:35

Please don't view the IEP as "harsh" - it exists purely to help your DS, not to stigmatise him. My DS is almost exactly a year older than yours, and he has had an IEP for about half a term now - I had to BEG for one. He is very bright, but obviously dyslexic despite being a bit too young to be formally tested (i won't go into why it's "obvious" on here, but trust me, it is, and his teacher and tutor agree!).

An IEP acts purely as a framework, sets out which areas need to be focussed on, and should be reviewed regularly with your DS's teacher and SENCO, and tutor too if he has one.

Quite frankly, if the school have proactively given him an IEP, it means that they have recognised that he has specific needs in certain areas and are striving to meet those needs very quickly and with your son's best interests at heart. Please don't think that this implies that your DS is "stupid" or "backward" in any way (which I think may be the reason why you are so shocked and think it is harsh).

An IEP is not a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) - are you perhaps confusing the two?

Hope you get some answers to your questions when you meet the teacher. You should ask for the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator - again, NO stigma or judgment attached!) to be present too.

alardi · 27/04/2011 18:38

I think you're making too much of a big deal out of the IEP status. How is it "harsh"? It's just paperwork, the mechanism by which they keep track of their paperwork, to document that his non-standard needs have been identified & are steps are being taken to meet them.

Where did you find a school that let you take 5 weeks holiday in term time?!

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:43

Hi mrs moppet. Yes that exactly what I am thinking that an IEP means he has some kind of learning difficulty and to me he is learning quite well. I am getting mixed up with the two of them and that's why it is shocking me.
I've compared him to his other peers at other schools and my son seems to be ahead of them in all areas but lack in his writing. This is what is confusing me. He knows what he is going on about. I just don't want him to feel he is different coz he has to work with the TA sometimes.
However I do think his school has high expectations. Which I don't see as a bad thing I just hope with the help provided he will catch up and stop me worrying!

OP posts:

LIZS · 27/04/2011 18:44

You seem to be viewing the IEP as some sort of punishment or measure of failure. It isn't harsh to set specific targets and arrange sessions to help him make progress and feel as if he is achieving, surely ?

LIZS · 27/04/2011 18:45

and it isn't necessarily about where he is in relation to his peers (some of whom may have IEPs themselves) but realising his own potential by removing any barriers to learning.

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:46

Well alardi we booked 3 weeks but when he went back he became I'll so then had another were off and then there were 2 weeks holiday so that's where the break came from. Hope that helps and hasn't shocked u too much eh!
Also with the IEP business I've never seen one before and it has special educational needs on it so as a mother I am going to worry it's only natural!

OP posts:

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:53

Yes but Lizs when I asked her why is there a maths target is he average n she said no below average so isn't that comparing him to his peers. Isn't the classroom all about getting the children to a national average, so her saying he is below average that is comparing to peers.

OP posts:

GiddyPickle · 27/04/2011 18:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

alardi · 27/04/2011 18:53

But then he only missed 3 weeks due to holiday... right? Rest was illness and regular Easter holidays?

I get the impression that some schools do have very high expectations, you hear about schools where 50+% of students get Level3 in KS1.

You're right, you need to talk thru your concerns with his teacher.

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 18:57

Sorry 3 weeks was holiday then 1 week sickness and 1 week school holiday.

So yes I am going to speak to the teacher tomorrow so maybe she will reassure me that's this is "normal" as like mrs moppet said I am
Confusing the 2 with special needs and targets.

Thanks again all x

OP posts:

GiddyPickle · 27/04/2011 19:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 19:03

Thanks giddypickle. I think I have and you know what I am so glad I came on here with my concerns as I was going to go in with the wrong attitude to speak to the teacher. And now coming to think of it I was speaking to the SENCO about some concerns over my son being hit from older children (me being over protective) so she watched him for a week and probably thought to put him on the IEP.
It's all making sense now.
Thank you so much you have changed my way of thinking about my son.

But a few weeks ago I took my son to a tutor who decided to say he had ADHD this was a tutor who known him for 3 hours and I was fuming so then that's why I questioned the IEP and began to panic x

OP posts:

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 19:05

Oh I am so happy I came on this site. Thank you thank you to u all x

OP posts:

MrsMoppet · 27/04/2011 19:06

Well, if he's below average in maths in Y1, there is LOADS of time to bring him up to average (which you want to happen, I assume?) - so the IEP can only be a good thing as it will help everyone who comes into contact with him - teachers, TAs, people who come into the school to read with the kids on a weekly basis, cover teachers, etc - to sing from the same hymn sheet.

I think you may be worrying that you should have picked up that there was a problem before the school did. Well, you shouldn't have. That's the teacher's job, which she has done correctly.

You think there's a negative connotation attached to an IEP. Please believe me, there isn't.

He won't feel different coz he has to work with the TA sometimes. Trust me on this.

"Isn't the classroom all about getting the children to a national average, so her saying he is below average that is comparing to peers." - She is saying that he is below the national average at the moment. I can absolutely guarantee that many of his peers will also be below the national average but she is not allowed to discuss that with you, just as she is not allowed to discuss your DS with other parents. He isn't even 6 yet. He's got 5 more years at primary school to get to the national average.

I think that's really what's bothering you - you're worried that he's not as bright as his peers. May I say for the record that being below average in maths (or literacy or whatever) is not an indicator of intelligence. There are many reasons, APART FROM A SEN, why a child might be below average - illness, absence from school, easily distracted (often due to HIGH intelligence), poor concentration, disorganised, poor eyesight/hearing (might be worth getting these checked - my DS has shocking eyesight but none of us realised until he was 6), not getting enough sleep....

MrsMoppet · 27/04/2011 19:08

Sorry, x-posted with you OP. Glad you're feeling happier! There are some really helpful people on here, aren't there? - I've had some great advice recently

MrsMoppet · 27/04/2011 19:10

Just read your post about ADHD.

Again - don't panic, don't view this as a stigma. Go to your doctor, ask for a referral to a paediatrician. Calmly encourage your DS with his schoolwork/tutoring, and discuss it all with the SENCO as soon as you can.

Original poster

wahidahamid · 27/04/2011 19:13

Yes defo helpful people. An hey he wears glasses which is something that they picked up on an since having them he is doing better. And yes I am bit like he should be the best but I need to take a chill pill but having competiveness in the family make me more determined haha.
I've been so stressed an having panic attacks coz of this but honesty I can say I am going to sleep well tonight. Thanks again everyone x

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