Seeing SENCo next week, what should I be telling her?

[MerryMarigold]

Anyone who has been through this already or who is a Senco? What is useful to know/ hear? Lots of examples of behaviour I am concerned about? Should I say things I suspect he may have (quite a few things, but nothing really obvious) or leave that up to her/ an ed psych to assess?

A senco is a special educational needs coordinator, but I'm guessing that you already knew that. You want the best for your child. Be as honest as you can and talk things through - but

your interest is to get whatever help will enable your child to reach his or her potential. So, basically, talk your child up and up. If she can count to twenty, but not when the radio is on, then say so. And say that you think that the radio distracts her. But if you think that she's just stupid, then say nothing. She may be a genius, unbeknownst to you.

Give her the benefit of the doubt.

Give the senco your opinion on things, he or she will most likely have her own.

when I first met with the senco she told me she had 2 sides of an A4 piece of paper filled with concerns about ds.

It's still really helpful (for you and for them) to hear your side, no matter how small the concern. Hope it goes well for you OP

Thanks so much. I will give my side of things - probably at least 2 sides of A4 too. Tbh school haven't been that concerned, I have pushed for this. I think I expected the class teacher to identify things as she's very experienced, but she's taking care of 30 kids, and doesn't even teach them everyday, so it was probably a naive expectation. After a chat with class teacher, I think she is seeing my concerns as legitimate. What I see in him is anxiety, but I assume the anxiety stems from something...don't know if Senco can do something. He struggles with reading/ writing/ maths more than I think he 'should' as he is an intelligent child.

Merrymarigoold.. i am going thruogh this prosses at the moment as well...and i think you should be as honest as you can...
what we think is trivial might mean a different/impportant thing to SENCO

Similar to you i have a ds 7rs(yr3) and the 3 r's are at rec/yr1 stage but very bright/intelligent in other ways

School have been good in their budget but he has had supply teachers since december so not sure of his progress or lack of it..!

Try and bullet point your worries as it will be easier..

Anxiety is one of my ds's probs as well...they know they are not doing the same as there peers....they are clever enough to know this...

Let me know your results
HTH

MM - SENCO's don't assess children, nor do they dx them.

There is almost no chance your child will see the EP (through school)

Normally, the EP can only see 1 or 2 children per year. So unless your child is throwing chairs is the worst in the school, it's highly unlikely he'll be seen by the school EP.

Basically, don't expect anything from the SENCO :(
But it's still a necessary step you have to go through to get help for your child.

If the SENCO thinks your child has dyslexa or dyspraxia or whatever, they'll probably want to put your child on a standard intervention that an EP recommended for a child about 5 years ago, and they've used ever since.....

This intervention may or may not help your child. But school will be pleased because they're now 'helping' and 'they're doing everything they can'

They will tell you

• Don't worry
• We know what we're doing
• He's not the worst
• He's making progress
• We'll put him on this and that intervention
• We'll speak to someone about him
• Don't worry.

It all depends on the EP. My DD saw the EP last week, which was kind of surprising. The school buys in EP time, and my DD was one issue they wanted to discuss, the EP decided to see her herself as part of giving advice. However that is nothing like getting a full EP assessment.

Some SENCos are fabulous, some are okay, a few are useless. Most try their best but few have the training + wealth of experience + temperament to be truly fabulous (I know one Fab one).

However getting a good relationship with the SENCo is a key step. Do keep a diary of what they say, what they say they will do and deadlines.

Indigo!!!

I never say those things!!

The SENCO will not be a medical expert; most likely she will be a teacher who's had a bit of training. I found you could get a lot of help out of SENCOs as long as you spelled out very clearly what your concerns were and how you thought those could be met. But other people will be doing the diagnosis.

Sorry, I'm so negative. As you all know the reason I'm so negative is because of my experiences with 3 kids and 3 sencos and 3 schools.

I agree building a relationship with the SENCO is key. You are going to be seeing this lady every term for ever, so you do need a good working relationship.

If the school knew what to do - they'd already be doing it.

The reason they're not helping - is because they don't know how to.

What you need to get out of this meeting is a list of action points that school will take and a date for your next meeting.

If they say they'll put him on an intervention, ask how they'll measure whether it's working it not.

If they say 'wait and see' tell them you've already been waiting 2 years (3 if he was in the school nursery)

I believe everyone in the school genuinely cares, and genuinely does their best. That does not mean their best will be good enough to help your son.

You are at the begining of a very long and hard journey. You can trust school to do their best - but you can't trust that their best will be good enough.

Mrz - I'm sure you don't say those platitudes. I'm equally sure you would have picked up problems with this child 18 months ago and put him on interventions then.

We know this isn't a brilliant SENCO - because if they were, they would have contacted the OP last year.

Thanks guys. I have a good friend who is a SENCo. I told her about ds1 and she said he may or may not grow out of the 'issues', but it is best to get balls rolling now in case he doesn't. Plus to start a dialogue with the SENCo. She also said I can ask for an EP assessment and they have to give one. She worked for many years in our borough so I assume I can insist on this.

Thanks for all the guidance. I know I need to be clear. I just don't know where to start really.

Thanks Indigo for the specific help with what to ask for, deadlines, measurement etc. He will go to a Junior school in Y3 so that will be a whole new SENCo. This teacher isn't even a 'full time' SENCo, she's a class teacher who gets 2 days to do the rest of her job which is 'inclusion manager' whatever that may be.

I don't know of any borough where you can insist on an EP assessment (not that I know many boroughs.....)

There's a myth that if you apply for a statutory assessment (which you don't want to do at this stage) that you will automatically get an EP report done. But it's a myth.

I'm very surprised that your friend told you you could absolutely get an assessment done.

My school get's X hours of EP time allocated a year (and we can't buy any more time, because the LEA doesn't have any more EPs.....)

Out of those X hours we have to prioritise which kids to see.

I can't see, in these austere times, any borough having enough EPs that all children who need a report get seen......

But, you may be lucky. I may be totally wrong. (or your friend may be out of date, and remembering how things used to be.)

I do think you want to ask for an EP assessment. And if they agree, then ask when (otherwise they can agree as a fobbing off strategy)

If your DS is seen by an EP you will need to fill in a CAF first. (Common application form?) So if you haven't filled in a CAF form, you're not really down to see the EP. (Again, unless things are different in your borough)

Again, sorry to be so negative. But this is exactly my experience. I walk out of a meeting with the SENCO thinking my DD will be seen by the EP - and she never is. But I stop hassling the SENCO for a few months......

Also, this is just a start. Really the most important thing you want from this meeting - is a date for the next meeting :)

As a SENCO I wish I could get an EP to see children that easily ... I get 14 hours a year EP time for 250 pupils.

I have had experiences of a fair few SENCOs too, and my experience has been:

a) that there are limitations to what a SENCO can do, mainly budgetary ones

b) that there are enormous variations between what different SENCOs can achieve: some will try to move mountains for you and others give up at the first hurdle

c) that medical professionals know perfectly well which schools have the best SENCO support

d) that working on a good relationship, being clear in your expectations and keeping good records yourself rather than relying on the school to do it is essential whatever the SENCO is like

I think what my friend was saying was that if a parent really insists on an EP 'viewing' their child (possibly not a full-on assessment, I don't know. She just said they are coming into schools now), that the school needs to do it. But I will clarify with her. With 250 kids, how many require EP assessments, Mrz? Ds1's infant school is around 330 pupils. We live in a very deprived borough so possibly get a lot more EP 'time', I don't know.

Is it an advantage to have been to GP? I spoke briefly to SENCo today and she asked if I had been to GP. I was a bit surprised...I haven't. Didn't want it all to get too serious and mental health/ anxiety etc. come up before anyone has even had a professional opinion of him.

ok, one other thing you need to know about the system. :(

(In general) GPs know nothing about how schools work, and schools know nothing about how the NHS works.

ie if the GP tells you he needs to be seen by an EP - she has no idea that school hasn't got any EP time.

And if school ask you if he's been seen by CAMHS or a Paed or an OT or whatever - they have no idea how hard it is to get that appointment.

The SENCO must have concerns to ask you if he's been to the GP.

Like I said the SENCO can't assess or dx. So if you want either of those things you have to go through the NHS.

Well I have 60% SEN MM and all of their parents really want their child to be seen by an EP and 2 a year are seen if we are lucky.

I can get a CAMHS and OT appoint quite quickly

All schools, all SENCOs and all LEAS are different, so you won't know what your school / SENCo can do until you've been to see her.

I am a SENCO and I do assess children, but I have done an advanced Literacy Difficulties course and am AMBDA qualified so I do know a fair bit about various assessments. But there are certain assessments that only an EP is allowed to administer because us mere mortals wouldn't be able to work out the results apparently. But most SENCOs won't have the expertise that I have, so would need to rely on an EP or possibly a SALT to do these assessments.

Until last year I used to get 3 x EP visits a year to school and had to prioritise which children were seen. It was true that any parent could request an EP appointment, but in reality these children just went onto the waiting list and if we as a school didn't consider them a priority then they never got seen.

Now I have to buy in EP visits and this year we haven't paid for the EP to come in at all. It costs us £500 for an EP visit and at the moment, because I have access to a range of assessments, I have been doing alot of what the EP used to do. Fortunately I haven't had a parent request an EP appointment this year, as I'm not actually sure what would happe then.

But in our LEA, the EPs do still have to cover Statutory work for free. I have applied for 2 Statements this year and got an EP visit each time for free as they have to contribute to the Statutory Assessment process.

It may be that an EP is not the best person to see your child anyway. It might be worth asking the SENCO if she felt that someone from the EBD team might be a better person to ask, as you have mentione behaviour traits. (But in our LEA I now have to buy in EBD services as well, so really a child now has to be quite severe before the school would justify spending that money, and I'm sure you would have heard before now if the school thought that was the case)

But, until you've had that chat with the SENCO you won't know your local (ie school / SENCO) situation is, or your LEA situation.

Mr Z - I get OT almost the next day (are they sitting twiddling their thumbs waiting for us to call I sometimes wonder), but CAMHS and SALT are very slow (currently 14 week wait for initial SALT appointment)

We pay for SALT to come in once a fortnight but from Sept this won't be available

Most of the services in my area have been halves by budget cuts so waiting lists for things like learning support is almost a year and no guarentee referal will be accepted so we are taking on more in school

Oh dear, it all sounds like a bit of a minefield. I'm sure I will learn. SENCo has been v quick to set up an appointment with me, so that's good. Whatever is 'wrong' with my ds1 is either fairly mild or he has good coping mechanisms. The only v obvious 'symptoms' are the sitting still and the sleep patterns. Academically he is below average but progressing so not major alerts on anything. Hmmmm...I think I'm going to need a proper sit down time with my SENCo friend about what to talk about at the meeting/ ask for etc. - since she worked for this LEA till last Sept, it can't be all that different.

Thanks all.