IEP For My Son and what this actually means?

[vickibee]

We were called in to see the school, you may recall that we had a meet withn the Ed Pysch in Nov, fortunately that turnes out well after her assessment. However the class teacher is concerened about his progess and he is only achiveing level 1. Suggested referring for Special Needs and an IEo, was told to go asay and think it over
It is a high achieving school and he is only just below L2 . IMO he has always been late doing things, he didn't start talking til three and I am sure given time he can catch up. Could this be about the school and pressure to get results. They suggested I pay for extra tuittio to get him up to scratch for KS1 sats? He was 7 in February and is a happy chappy, more of a doer than a thinker. When you talk to him he has good general knowledge and is very articulate but can't record factual information, teacher says he can write creatively though

Help?

The sats aren't things for parents (or children) to be worrying about.

If there's a problem with his education which is affecting him (or indirectly affecting you or the family) then fair enough. But if it's some kind of school administrative angst then I'd be inclined to tell them that they can spin.

An IEP is no bad thing, the school will of flagged areas of concern within his learning and these will be given extra attention/teaching so that he catches up. It could well be that the school are thinking of their results but it could also mean that they do not wish your son to fall further behind.

School have sent home sample literacy SATS papers for me to practice with him, I am happy to help in this way. I guess what I need to know is it beneficial to pursue an IEP, dont know much about it

Does an IEP mean he gets additional help and support?

It's is a very good thing that the school has identified his need for an IEP, believe me, some schools don't bother.
It's an Individual Education Plan, which means they will work on identifying the key educational goals to target and to help him move on.

An IEP is very individual (hence the name!) so it's hard to tell what the motivation for the school in suggesting this. DS1 IEP has a range of things on there from a member of staff spending a few minutes a day doing handgym exercises and scissor cutting with him, to reminding him to go to toilet to staff providing harder spellings to keep him challenged.
All these things are obviously for the benefit of Ds rather than the school.

IMO an IEP is a just a piece of paper which sets out what teachers will work on with your child and what the child's 'targets' are.

They suggested I pay for extra tuittio to get him up to scratch for KS1 sats? He was 7 in February

are you serious? the sats are about the schools not the pupils, tell them to do one.

An IEPER is a way of recording the extra support a child gets and and monitoring its success. It is a good thing.

The important thing is that he is falling behind, not that he may do less well in his SATs.

They will be focused on good SATs results. You need to be focused on why he needs this extra support, ensuring that it is the right support and ensuring that it remains in place after SATs. His need for additional support isn't likely to go away just because the tests that matter to the school are over.

You can use the IEP to make them continue the support until it is clear that he has caught up or to increase it if that is appropriate.

Don't pay for extra tuition unless you want to be shoring up his education that way for the rest of his school career. If he needs additional support, the school needs to recognise this and put the support in place. If they can get you to pay for it, they are absolved of responsibility.

Be careful an individual education plan can be a good thing as it highlights areas of specific concern, however it doesn't entitle the child to extra funding and the extra support depends on the school.

Our school have been great and provided extra one on one tuition and the right equipment needed to enable my DC to attain the goals in the IEP. We have been lucky though.

Also an IEP doesn't allow for more time in exams automatically - you would still need to seek the support from the HT before applying for extra time. Is it less important for ks1 exams but does become important for KS2.

However at least an IEP can show within the school records and can enable other applications for support should they be needed. Ours has been useful and helps us determine what needs work /improvement. We also have a tutor through the school who uses the IEP to alter her tutoring accordingly.

Sorry IEP, not IEPER. Blessed autocorrect!

It is not a stigma then? It is a very missle class school and most of the kids have SAHMs. I have to work and probaly don't have as much time to spend with himas I should and I feel guily for that.
The School are trying to improve his literacy, he has difficulty remebering and recording facts, eg in the SATS there is a text to read and answer questions about it and he has struggled badly hence the low level.

X-posted with everyone else!

Goldmandra they are boasting about the KS2 results in the newsletter, top for added value in their area and 2nd overall. the problem is it is a small scool only 15 kids per year group so a couple of outstanding or weak kids can really skew the results

It is not a stigma then?
no not at all it is just part of the system.
the school really should not be asking you to pay for extra tuition, that is their job, hence the IEP surely.

Thanks for the replies, it may well be beneficial to get an IEP in place, I assume it is in negotiation with the parents?

not in my experience, my daughters IEP was just a standard form with stock phrases on it, in fact i think it had been re-cycled from someone elses, as whoever had cobbled it together had forgotten to change 'he' to 'she' throughout.
tbh it is not that important ime

keep an eye on the comprehension - can be a sign of dyslexia. I always REALLY struggled with comprehension exercises (and maths problems)

His dad is dyslexic if that is relevant, surely the school would know if this is the case? It is possible as he is generally and articulate boy with good general knowledge, has difficulty recording information.

If they are watching their value added, then it makes no sense at all for them to push your son to achieve a higher level than he otherwise might at the end of year 2. Value added is calculated on progress between the end of year 2 and year 6. When I level my year 2 children I am very careful to be absolutely sure that the child really is that level across all areas of the subject (not just that they did 1 blindingly good piece of writing or an exceptionally good Maths test) because if I'm over optimistic now it creates all sorts of problems in 4 years time.

There is no stigma at all attached to having an IEP. All it is (in every school I've worked at, including as SENCO) is a formal record of what the school feels the child should be working on and how they will support the child to reach those targets. In fact, it's in your favour to have one because if the school promises to do all sorts of things with him and then doesn't, you have some kind of come back. Also, IF they end up going for a statement further down the line (very unlikely based on what you've said - children have to have very significant difficulties to get a statement in my area now), the school will need paperwork to prove what support they've given him over the years.

There is no legal obligation for schools to produce an IEP for a child and to be very honest, for me as a teacher they're a bit of a pain. If I've identified a child needs support I make sure they get it, regardless of if they have an IEP or not. So I would be very surprised if your DS's teacher was creating extra work for herself unless she really felt it was necessary. Just make sure the targets they create are SMART, that they are agreed at a meeting with you and that you know when they will be reviewed.

Ice cream, helpful to have POV of a teacher. I guess it is good to document the help he needs as you have a better chance of achieving a good outcome if you have something to measure against.
How can you assess if a child is dyslexic?

What do you mena by SMART? Ice cream

How dare the school suggest YOU pay for extra tuition.
A sign of a lazy school.....

I want to help him the best I can but have limited resources and could maybe afford a few but not every week. How much does it cost per hout?

You really shouldn't have to pay for extra tuition and I would be cross if a school suggested it.

the school would not necessarily be aware of dyslexia. many bright dyslexics manage to find ways in which to compensate for it and therefore can actually be very good readers. If his comprehension ability, or lack of it, are out of alignment with what you would expect from verbal intelligence etc and his father is dyslexic then I would seriously consider it as a possibility. It can affect comprehension (not so much understanding a story but in looking for particular facts, hence the issues with an actual comprehension exercise), maths problems (can't pinpoint the important bits), learning foreign languages, spelling (although not always), handwriting, left and right, general erm can't think of a word to describe it but 'orientation' so finding where things are or remembering where things are.