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Primary education

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DS1 (5) excluded from school two days in a row

319 replies

pinkandsparklytoo · 21/09/2012 22:35

DS has been in year 1 for just over 2 weeks. Yesterday he was excluded for hitting the teacher. Apparently she had asked him to pack up the train track and he refused. He went on some sort of chair-throwing rampage and hit her in the back a few times tehn kicked her. They called his Recepton teacher in to deal with him and phoned me. He was out of there by 10:20.
Today I missed got a voice mail from teh schol. When I rang them back I found out that they thought he had bitten someone this morning but they couldn't see any marks and let him carry on with the day. However he had then later bitten someone and left a big mark, the headteacher said it was because the other boy wasn't paying attention to the teacher. She also said that my DS had told her that DS2 bites him and that's where he got it from. DS2 is 1 and hasn't bitten him for months. Later on DS told me that they had been playing dinosaurs and he was T. Rex and the other boy was T. Rex prey so he bit him to eat him up.
This week has not gone well for him in general. Tuesday I got told not to pack him fruit strings in his lunch box any more as he refused to eat the other food in it when I did. This is besides him having had them twice already this month and it not being a problem. Wednesday I had a word with the teacher to warn her that some boys had said they were going to cut his hair off (it is shoulder length) and she told me that I need to tie it up or cut some off as it is "dangerous". This was due to it becoming tangled in her big beaded necklace when she bent over him. And then the exclusions of the last two days. I don't really know what to do with him. Has anyone got any advice?

OP posts:
mrz · 23/09/2012 19:22

My son was the same nooka, rewards or sanctions had no effect because it was totally impulse and immediately regretted.

EBDTeacher · 23/09/2012 19:31

Absolutely nooka.

IvotedSaxon · 23/09/2012 20:02

My dd2 has just started year two.

She has been excluded 5 and a half days since she started year one, the last one was a week ago.

All for behaviour problems. A lot of people think I am a bad parent, and have had parents threatening to make petitions to get her out of the school, as 'no child like her should be in school'.

She has hit out, kicked, scratched, refuses to take part in class activities, guided reading, reading one on one, thrown things, ripped displays down, tried to get the coat hooks of the walls, screamed, shouted, cried amongst over things. She hurts over children, as well as staff. A few LSA's and MDA's can't handle her, and have walked away, leaving the learning mentor with her, who seems to be one of the few people in the school willing to help her.

She has a lot of support, and has done since reception, she has a place she can be taken to calm down, the learning mentor is in the class with her a lot of the time, her new LSA is fab with her, very patient, as is her teacher.

The exclusions have been for the before mentioned reasons, and the last one was because she had worked herself up so much, no amount of calming down from the head, senco, or an LSA who has known my dd since starting school, worked.

She has an IEP, a consistent management plan, and various strategies in place from the behaviour support team. She will do well for a while, and then be back to square one. We recently had a TAC meeting, and we may finally be getting somewhere with her at last - while some are learnt behaviours, others are, quite likely because she has not learnt how to interact with other people, and how to do things 'right'. We are looking at some sort of developmental delay in her, as in so many ways, she is like a toddler. She is highly intelligent, yet does not understand how to behave. She tries very hard, and sometimes she gets it right, but most of the time, she doesn't.

She cannot cope with any kind of routine change, and has to be told in advance of activities changing. She struggles in whole school situations, and quite often has the choice to either go to assembly/out to play/PE/performances or to sit quietly with the learning mentor and read.

DD1 is like any other child - she tests boundaries, but ultimately knows how to behave, and accepts that not everything can be how she wants, or that she can do/have everything she wants.

DD2's behaviour is not down to poor parenting, not having boundaries, all that sort of stuff, as I have bought her up the same way dd1, and changed things as needed to suit her. No amount of telling off works, as she listens, says she wont do it again, but it never sinks in. She gets things taken away, looses things, but again it does not work. Right now, one suggestion we have had is to explain why she should not do something and tell her what will happen the next time she does it.

OP, I would be asking the school for more support, there is a lot they can do, and they can seek advice from various outside agencies. Take any advice you can get, I have had a behaviour support worker to support me, and she confirmed what I was doing was right. It is easier to manage behaviour at home, as you can easily remove from triggers, and distract whereas at school/activities, the teacher/LSA can't so easily. Good luck to you, and I hope you get somewhere, you both need support, and it is hard to get that.

EBDTeacher · 23/09/2012 20:23

Well said Saxon. OP, this is the path you need to be taking. It's not an easy road but recognition and pro-activity are really essential for your DS.

RandomMess · 23/09/2012 20:44

I also know other dc who have eventually got diagnosis who were either perfectly fine at school but very very challenging behaviour at home and vice versa. Please be pro-active in getting your ds the support he needs.

Fairenuff · 24/09/2012 17:38

How did it go today OP, did you manage to arrange a meeting with staff at school, as recommended?

pinkandsparklytoo · 24/09/2012 19:33

Yes, I have arranged a meeting with the ht tomorrow before school. Apologised to the teacher and the mother of the bitten boy.

OP posts:
Lougle · 24/09/2012 20:10

Can you answer this question, Pink?

If you were told your DS had a significant SEN which explained his recent behaviours, how would you feel? Would you be relieved to find out the reason for his behaviours, or would you feel defensive?

I ask because for me, the knowledge that DD1's (significant, but not diagnosed until 2.9) behaviours were due to SN was a complete relief.

I know other people who have been in complete denial about their child's SN, because they just couldn't cope with the impact of it.

nkf · 24/09/2012 22:36

Good luck, OP. I hope the meeting goes well.

pinkandsparklytoo · 24/09/2012 22:53

I don't know how I would feel to be told that. Probably relieved if it explained his behaviour, but I don't know about having to tell other people.

OP posts:
Aspiemum2 · 24/09/2012 23:22

How do you mean about telling other people? What would be wrong with that?

Would you be worried to tell people if he had diabetes or asthma, needed glasses?

Lougle · 25/09/2012 06:48

What if you were told there was a reason, and he finally got the support he obviously needs? Because I think your DS is being failed right now. He is crying out for help by his behaviour at school. He is five. If he was a girl, people would be talking about SN already.

Ed psychs don't diagnose.They define learning strengths and weaknesses. The strategies suggested last year are all used for children with ASD in schools.

My sincere advice as a parent of a child who attends special school after a fairly disastrous time at MS preschool, is fight.

First step, visit your GP and ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician. If there is nothing amiss, you willbe told. If he has a SN, you can start to address the areas he is finding so tough.

Fairenuff · 25/09/2012 08:23

Good luck, hope the meeting goes well. Make a list of all the things that have been suggested here and if you don't get time to really go over it, make another appointment to continue the meeting.

I agree that if you get a diagnosis of SN there will be a lot of help and support available for both you and ds. Quite often, it boils down to funding so a diagnosis can help the school apply for extra funds for staff to work with him, or specialist resources for him, or specialist training for staff. It will all be useful for him.

lljkk · 25/09/2012 09:16

Oh come on, Aspiemum, we all know that OP will get blamed for her son's BEHAVIOUR problems. It's certainly happened on this thread :(. Always the case with behaviour issues. Plenty true where children with ASD are concerned, too. Plus many people are afraid of their child being typecast as the bad one forever more.

Aspiemum2 · 25/09/2012 13:01

Fair enough but that doesn't make it ok. Nor does it mean that those of us with SN kids should hide the diagnosis away like its some kind of dirty secret, that does no one any favours

The more of us who openly discuss it the better. People need to start realising that this is not something to be ashamed of. That it is not bad parenting or something the parents are doing wrong and that it is no more okay for a parent to tell their child to actively avoid the "weird kid" than it would be if they were in a wheelchair.

My point to the OP was that you should never let the ignorance of others affect the way you see your child.

I could say so much more on this subject but as its not really what this thread is about it feels wrong to hijack it

anice · 25/09/2012 15:49

Most people do not blame parenting for behaviour problems when they learn that there is a diagnosis. However, there isn't a diagnosis here (unless I have misread the thread?).

Maybe there is one to be made, maybe there isn't. But how can anyone decide on a diagnosis based on a few lines of description provided over the internet?

However it is true that some children behave badly because of weak parenting, so its wrong to pretend that all bad behaviour should automatically be attributed to syndrome

TirednessKills · 25/09/2012 16:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Aspiemum2 · 25/09/2012 17:03

Thanks TK, I don't think I'm always that clear in what I'm trying to sayBlush.

I wasn't saying that there was a diagnosis, merely responding to a previous comment which I happen to agree with.
I'm delighted if your experiences are different to my own but think its a stretch to say that most people are understanding.

I have never personally met another parent with a child on the spectrum who hasn't faced criticism and condemnation from others.

I understand the OP's position of not being sure how others will react if there was to be a diagnosis. Lets face it, with a physical "acceptable" condition there is no issue. With SN, and yes particularly with ASD, there is prejudice and discrimination.

Hope the OP finds a solution to DCs problems and gets the right support regardless of diagnosis

anice · 25/09/2012 17:40

from one or two others but not everyone else, surely??

Isn't it a bit like mental ill-health i.e. people used to be very judgmental but now its seen as an illness? You always get the odd idiot but that's all, surely??

Currently, I am hoping and praying that my DS's (relatively mild) problem is not any kind of disorder at all. The reason is that I badly want it to be something that my help, maybe a little bit of intervention and some time will fix.

lljkk · 25/09/2012 17:52

Unfortunately the main opinions that get heard are the strongest ones; people who are open-minded or indifferent don't say much. So the bigots & ignorant can end up sounding like a loud majority.

TirednessKills · 25/09/2012 18:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thegreylady · 25/09/2012 19:24

Have only read first page but have to tell you about my friend's ds.This boy had shoulder length hair which wasnt an issue for the school and the boy wanted to keep it long.When he was in YR it didnt matter but in Y1 other boys began to rease him and his behaviour deteriorated rapidly.There were outbursts of anger and he was isolated from others.eventually my friend moved him to another school.It all began again.Then her dp insisted he had a hair cut.Within days there was a happy,integrated 6 year old who has grown into a well balanced sociable young man.

thegreylady · 25/09/2012 19:25

tease not rease!!

nooka · 26/09/2012 03:55

And to counter that my ds has long curly hair (it's also been short, but he mostly likes it long) he gets a lot of positive feedback on it, especially from the girls when he had his open day at secondary. He has never had any issues having long or short hair at school. He had one episode of nits at school in the UK (I think it was actually relatively short then) and none since we've moved to a school with no rules about hairstyle.

These things vary from school to school depending on what styles are in (the surfer dude look is popular here) and looking at your comment how well they manage bullying behaviour.

goinggetstough · 26/09/2012 15:13

Hope your meeting with the HT went well?