Year 5 in sept and can hardly read or write,how would he manage?

[stripeycat13]

I have a boy age 8,9 in August.He has had a tough time since starting school as no one helped him in his first years at school and I had no idea what I was dealing with.All I knew is he was a happy nature loving boy one minuit and an angry unhappy child the next.I took him out after 18months as no one was doing anything,he was 2 yrs behind and getting bullied.When I say unhappy he was saying I want to go back up to the stars mummy.So I tried an alternative school as I knew he was in a bad way emotionally,this helped but still no support academically.So after a year we home educated for the last 2 year but after a year he refued again to read or write, I now have him a tutor but he is desperate to go to school and be part of it all again. His anxiety has reduced and he just needs learning support.I worry he wont cope in year 5 as it gets high pressured I hear so I am full of anxiety myself now as to what to do.Any suggestions.He has siblings starting school soon so he is reallhy feeling alone.How do I make it right for my boy?

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335158/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Mathematics_220714.pdf page 30 onwards

Are you saying that he has a Specific Learning disability (SpLD)? Is his development in other ways typical for a boy of his age? How is his mathematical skill?

The difficulty is that reading and writing are core skills that all other areas depend on. If he doesn't have a general learning disability then a (typical) Special School is out of the question, nor least because he wouldn't have a peer group.

Have you consisted getting a software like Dragon naturally speaking? It might help him to associate the text with his spoken words.

Also, you should try 'Head Sprout'. It's a computer based phonics programme which has been used to help acquisition of reading skills, even with children who are non-verbal or use eye gaze to communicate (don't be put off by the American accents).

I was also going to suggest using software to help him catch up a bit before September - there's one called Nessy for dyslexic children which might be worth a try (you get a month free trial) or more general ones like reading eggs.

Without special needs a child of this age could actually learn to read and catch up with average peers by September with 1:1 every day IMO (in countries where children start formal learning at 7 they are reading and writing in a few months as on average 7 year olds pick it up much, much faster than 4 year olds) but even with SN anything will be better than nothing and if you start a new programme you can frame it to him as "to get ready for school in September".

The OP has already said her son has difficulties identified by an Ed Psych before she removed him from school.
It's important to remember that English has a more complex alphabetic code than most countries where children start schooling at age 7.

I didn't say railroaded!!! I think what you want will be extraordinarily difficult to achieve and you have failed in finding the right setting several times. I just think you may continue to disappointed and I am sorry you seem not to want to listen to practical considerations. If it was easy, no doubt you would have succeeded by now.

I am not employed by a school but I have a background in SEN provision in mainstream school and placing SEN children in that provision. That is why I know you will face difficulties. Shooting the messenger is fine but I do think there are issues with you finding the utopian school of your dreams. State education has its faults but there is no point rejecting everything you are offered. I would be interested to know what setting the Ed Psych recommended and whether, or not, a statement was considered. You could then talk to a school, with professional advice and help, about what provision they can make to meet his needs, for example 1:1 TA time. However, as you have found, this is extraordinarily difficult in a mainstream setting. A statement, however, does allow you and the professionals involved, to agree on a school and they have to accept him. I do hope this helps. I am not trying to be difficult - just realistic.

Milly it's not statements any more - it's EHCPs.

Ouryve but there were statements when the OPs child was seen by an EdPsych

Mrz at the end of her original post stripey asks how to make it right for her son. Telling her he will struggle and is failing and she needs to take action without delay answers the title of her post but not her wish to help him cope.

What should the OP do? The situation exists, she can't go back in time. Her approach now she's decided to get him back into school surely needs to be two pronged:

1. Get him a school place for September work closely with the SENCO there (if they are still called that) and his class teacher to be, to ensure they are aware of his needs and get a plan if action in place and their advice on anything you should do in advance - work or admin to apply for help or aassessment or whatever.

2. Try to help him progress his reading skills as far as possible over the coming 8 weeks or so.

I'd say there is a lot of progress you can make in 8 weeks if he has the new motivation of a fresh start at school to prepare for. Regardless of the complex coding system of English a child of this age can learn to read in 8 weeks if it's worked on daily in small 1:1 sessions of 20 mins twice a day. The OP ' S child has processing problems so he won't learn as fast but he's not starting from scratch either.

English is hard to learn to write (by which I mean spell) but my DC2 wasn't interested in learning to read in English at 4/5 the way I taught his sister yet when he started German school at 7 and learnt to read in German he picked up reading in English very rapidly alongside - he can't spell in English yet but could read fluently after learning to read in German only for around 4 months. No special needs so not the same, but shows 7 year olds who weren't the genius prodigies reading War and Peace (or even Biff, Chip and Kipper) at 5 can learn to read (even in English) very quickly.

Of course, ouryve. Old habits die hard! Whatever the latest legislation, the same advice applies.

NNKDWR did you read stripey's earlier posts where she said her son has sensory issues and that he has been seen by the educational psych who identified the poor working memory and visual and auditory processing probs.
How many pupils have you taught who have progressed from non reader to Year 5 standard in just 8 weeks? If you've got a formula for this you could make a fortune!

Mrz I said she will be able to make some progress - I said obviously he won't learn as fast because of the processing disorder, but still 8 weeks is a long time if the child is newly motivated by wanting to start school - and a new approach with software (perhaps trialling one of the ones designed for dyslexic children) might well give him a boost and a better chance. Any class he joins will include children working below, as well as at and above, the "required" standard...

I posted the expectations for English and Maths earlier in the thread I suggest you look at them and then tell me that a non reader won't struggle.

Think you should visit any prospective school and arrange to meet the SENCO to find out what support they can put to help your son (a) Academically and (b) Socially to help him reintegrate him into school and avoid the bullying encountered previously. Probably ignore the OFSTED and overall SATS levels as you want a school that is the best for your son and not the best for little Miss or Mr Average. Not all schools are equal in the amount of support they can offer or their attitude.

I would also consider applying for an EHCP plan before he starts (details on how to do this can be found on the IPSEA website). Your problem here might be how much documentary evidence you have to show his struggling from previous schools and remembering that EHCP plans can be given to support children with anxiety and social problems as well as the more obvious academic ones. LEA's don't like giving them out so you may have a fight on your hands and in any case would be unlikely to be in your hand by September even if everything went smoothly. Sadly, I suspect in your case they will attempt to blame the issues on the home education and ignore the previous failure at school (hope I am wrong on this). But if you don't apply then you definitely won't get and in our experience even applying did trigger some assessment and greater support.

You should also be able to get advice from a local independent advisor (used to be parent partnership but I think they have now changed their name). I use the term "independent" loosely as they are still paid by the LEA. But their role is to help parents with children with SEN get support and should be able to help you fill in the forms and attend meetings with you.

And also because as the parent of two children with AS and I see ASD everywhere have you considered whether this might be an underlying cause of some of your ds's problems - meltdowns, sensory issues, bullying (social problems), processing issues - are all red flags. A visit to your GP to ask for referral to Community Paediatrician or CAMHS would be the route to follow if this is a possibility.

I am an advocate for good special schools rather than trying to muddle through mainstream whilst getting the child's self esteem completely depleted.
Op gets a copy of the good schools guide for special needs. There are excellent schools that cater for bright children with specific needs. You will need to get a statement (although not called that anymore).
I get very upset when parents home educate children like this, it takes a huge amount of knowledge and expertise to deal with these difficulties, you need specialist teaching.

Yes of course a non reader will struggle Mrz - nobody is disputing that but that's why the OP needs ideas on how to help him catch up a bit - a child reading belowthe specific level but none the less able to read, will struggle less than one barely reading at all... obviously.

Just shaking your head and writing him off is deeply unhelpful.

From what the OP writes surely her son could be dyslexic. Dyslexia and Irelen syndrome have overlaps and the OP is having him tested for Irelen syndrome. I'd still think dyslexia resources are worth trying to boost his reading skills before he starts school - not instead of working with the school to get provision put in place and pushing for assessment etc. but as well.

No one is writing him off! But it's irresponsible to suggest that 8 weeks is going to make a difference especially as the OP has said he's resistant and struggles to retain information, which is why I asked about prior EP involvement. It might be vital that his difficulties were identified before he was removed from school so that the authorities can't say they are due to poor teaching.

I could post don't worry do some work with him over the next few weeks, find a nice supportive school for September and everything will be fine. It might make the OP feel better in the short term until reality hits.

Even in a nice supportive school her son is going to have to work biddy hard. It's going to take lots of effort and commitment from him. But the OP is likely to have struggle too given the past educational history and the new SEND code of practice.

I agree with Mrz. Dd2 has had 3 different schools and was HE for 1 1/2 terms (while we found a suitable school for her). I knew that anything I said re. Learning would be put down to that, so I didn't say too much.

They are starting to see how literally she takes things (e.g "write 3 spelling sentences using as many of these words as you can" resulted in a nonsense sentence because she had written all the words down in one sentence which made no sense at all).

The bottom line is that you need to prepare for school to be pretty tough for a while.

To offer an alternative perspective, could you identify what it is he misses about school and try to help him find that whilst continuing to Home Educate? Do you attend HE groups and meet up with other families? Does he join groups such as Cubs outside of school? Is what he is missing the school environment or the regular interaction with other children?

I would be worried about the potential damage to your son's self esteem from entering an environment where he is clearly going to struggle and probably labelled as "failing". I strongly disagree with the comment that he is "already failing" - he is recovering from the damage that has been done previously and beginning to develop confidence in learning - that isn't failing. It sounds as though the refusal to "work" is about fear of failure and in an environment where he is going to be constantly pressured and assessed, he may lose more confidence.

If I were you, I would concentrate on building his confidence, finding ways of learning that work for him, whilst continuing to work with his tutor to develop his literacy skills and basic numeracy. I would also be developing his social world in a way that will boost his confidence, rather than potentially destroy it. I'm sure there will be many who disagree with me but I am firmly of the opinion that it is much easier to catch up on academic development than social and emotional wellbeing. I do know home educated children who have learnt to read and write much later than average who have done very well in life. I wouldn't advise burying your head in the sand about literacy but I don't think for a minute that you are.

This DC does have a tutor though, so why has he not made marked improvement? He is not just being taught by his Mum.

I do agree about the difficulties of reintegration but I do think it should be tried. Just more of the same diet does not seem to be working. Everyone tends to think a child has dyslexia when they may actually have multiple problems which result in delayed learning in all areas, not just reading and writing. Children sometimes can learn about things they are interested in, such as all the details about nature , but struggle with the nuts and bolts of primary education because it is focused and repetitive. So children learn what they want to because they find it easy but not what is required. They seem bright because they do this but without up to date tests and assessments, how does the OP, or a school know what is best to meet his needs now?

I too think special schools can be wonderful. The teachers have greater knowledge and they have much higher staffing levels. Getting into one, however, is very difficult but home ed could continued whilst an assessment takes place.

Also, when I worked in Education, we had Home Ed Advisers who really helped parents and children. Could the OP contact the LA for additional advice on Home Ed?

I'm glad to hear that your son is less anxious than he was. I'd be wondering WHY he struggled so significantly. You were in a difficult situation, seeing your son in such distress. I can understand why you sought an alternative route. However, it could potentially complicates things, having gone the HE route as the identification of a specific learning difficulty COULD be assumed (however inaccurately this would be) to have arisen through lack of adequate input (teaching). A good assessor will still be able to diagnose but would need to consider these factors when interpreting results.
Returning to your concerns about Year 5, I think it's important for you to meet with the SENco and to discuss your concerns educationally, socially (you referred to bullying) and emotionally (anxiety). In my experience, schools will generally be particularly sensitive to those starting in Years other than Reception. There are likely to be few, if any, other children starting in his year group and his needs are sure to be noted as soon as he starts school following your chat about concerns and their awareness of having a new pupil in the class to settle.

Slight aside, but how would he do with cubs now? That would give him lots of social time with other boys in an environment that has much in common with school but plenty of chances to use his practical knowledge of the outside world.

If you let them know of his needs he may be able to jump the waiting lists and start in Sept.

What does the tutor say?

What about a fee paying school that specialises in processing difficulties etc and has small classes? The mother could return to work full time to pay for it?
I suspect however here the mother is going to find any solution difficult. It must be frustrating but I think there is too much of an expectation schools can perform miracles and perhaps more effort should be put in at home.
One of ours learned to read at 3 at home. there is a lot a lot of us parents can do at home and it is worth putting in the effort.

Also can you find something he's good at? That helps children which is one reason private schools with lots of hobbies and non academic activities work well as each child even if they are useless at all school work can find what they shine in and that can give them massive confidence for life.