SENCO

[frutilla]

Is it normal for the SENCO to attend a meeting with the form teacher and parents to see how a child is settling in after 8 days at new school? The form teacher suddenly introdiced her and the SENCO said it was routine for her to attend all such meetings. Does this ring true? She had come into a class and made an assessment on my DS and had the form in front of her (which I stupidly forgot to ask to see). Not sure again if this is routine or not. They seemed to think there were issues and there will be a meeting before half-term. TIA for your input.

I don't know my children are not yet in school only a preschool. But even so I would say that it would not surprise me. Already I am quite surprised at the level of ownership that schools seems to think they have over our children, so I do sympathise. Maybe subtly ask other parents who they saw at their meetings?

It wouldn't be routine in the school where I work. The classteacher always meets with parents within a couple of weeks of a new child starting (outside the normal starting point), but would only involve the SENCO if they felt there might be concerns.

If they have concerns, then it's good that they're being proactive. Do you have any concerns?

Was not normal in the schools where my children went or in the school where I was a Governor. However, if the SENCO is present, I would say the school want to talk to you about your DS and they presumably think the SENCO's presence is helpful. This cannot be routine for all children though and I would say the SENCO has been asked to look at some children and it appears your DS is one of them. You can ask immediately (tomorrow) what the perceived difficulty is. What was your DS like in pre school? I assume the pre school have not notified the school of any problems. Ask what this is about as soon as possible.

My DS never went to pre-school, so has only had 7 days of schooling in his life (we lived abroad before). My issue was really with the teacher not mentioning that the SENCO would be attending and then the SENCO introducing herself and saying that her presence was routine with all new pupils. It didn't ring true and I just wondered what the policy was.

As a SENCO I would not normally attend meetings with parents unless there was a concern and the teacher wanted my input.

Thanks everyone, that's a great help!

is she a SENCO but also inclusion and other such related things?

If she is also responsible for inclusion then it is perfectly possible they are wanting to keep an eye on him if he has never been to preschool or in that kind of environment before. just to check how he adapts, especially as presumably he has joined a class who all met last term so they may be hoping to avoid any problems which may arise.

I would probably go along to a meeting if it was a child with who I am likely to have future contact. That may be as simple as a brief observation as your DC had not had pre-school experience, to find out if there was anything we could put in place to support transition for example.
A lot of my job involves transition and supporting parents moving into the school system. She may also be on the nagement team and simply on hand to help del with any school questions you have.

Well I will ask for a copy of the assessment she did. I did feel some of her comments were emotionally biased and they started trying to suggest stuff that was erroneous like that he is good at maths (never seen any such aptitude) and other attributes that hinted at autistic spectrum.

How old is your ds?
If he has joined a new school as a late admission and has never been to school before (you say hes only had 7 days schooling previously?) then the senco may have been asked to observe if the teacher voiced any concern.
However, its not a standard procedure after such a short time and you should ask to see any observations she has recorded. They will also normally ask you to sign a plan that they would like to implement.
As it doesn't sound like hes transferred from another school to this one, I'd be surprised at her comments because hes settling in to a LOT of new routines which is bound to have him showing slightly different to the norm.
If he has already been at a different school last term or previously, they may have flagged up a concern to be followed up.

Thanks, inthename. This is his first ever school and we were living in a non-english speaking country until now (though he is english mother tongue) so it's a big change.
I thought it was a bit premature and also I would not have had him attend the meeting but I didn't know all this would come up or that a SENCO would be present. He's not stupid, he must have understood alot of what was being said.

Its even more unusual to do this with the child in the room unless hes over the age of 11, which I assume isn't the case here.

You will need to have another meeting with the class teacher and the senco as it sounds like they are making a lot of assumptions, this time without your son in the room.

I've taught primary age in a predominantly non english country some years ago and the change will be a big step for him.

Yes, I will ensure he isn't present next time. Does anyone know if there is a protocol onlinewhere I can see what the process is when a teacher suspects a child has SEN?

From my own experience the LEA normally publishes details on the county council website as to what schools do. There is also an SEN 'code of practise' which you can probably google and each individual school should have an SEN policy which you can ask to see.