Advice on what to ask in school meeting?

[ohhahhh789]

Tomorrow I have a meeting at school with the class teacher and senco about the year 4 summer born boy. The meeting has been set up because at parents evening I was told that my son is working at year 2 level. I raised my concern that every school year I'm told this and told that if it doesn't get better by next term then further intervention or accessment will take place but then nothing happens and we are back to square 1 in the next academic year. I am told that there are concerns regarding his attention which has been an ongoing concern. I've asked whether we should now be considering whether there's any defecit and asked about Ed psych assessment. I'm not sure what else I should be asking or what else the school should be doing at this stage? I was concerned as the class teacher had no idea whatsoever about what support or assessment should be provided next. All she could tel me is that she tries to give more 1-1 support but can't due to the other kids.
Also just to be clear before I'm told that I need to be doing work with him..... we do 40 mins-1 hour of reading every day, about 20-30 mins writing plus spellings and times tables and at weekend homework. We can't do any more. My son finds academic work really hard, often gets upset and struggles with concentration.
Any advice on what to ask would be great. Thanks

I think you are trying to do FAR too much at home with him. though I know that isn't what you asked

What you need to establish is what the specific issues are, and what the school are putting in place to support him. They should have (already had) a written plan, with targets on it - what they think your ds will be able to achieve in 3 months from now. They should also list what they are doing to help him reach those targets. It then ought to be reviewed after 3 months, and the next plan written. This all builds up evidence as to 'lack of progress despite differentiation and additional support' - if that is the case, or, more optimistically, it will help him make the progress to reach the targets.

Thanks. I didn't used to do so much at home but at the start of this academic year I just got so worried that his handwriting is absolutely appalling. It was more like something from a child in reception. At school he hadn't learnt how to form letters at all so it was just getting worse and worse, particularly when trying to them do cursive writing. School haven't even seemed to have notice how he had no idea how to do the basics!! That's why I decided that we need to tackle this as I came to the conclusion that it isn't going to change by just the time he does it in school so we need to do more intensive work. The only work we do above what is set by school is the writing. He's actually come on sooo much since we have been doing it so I think give it a couple more weeks and we can probably put that down to once or twice a week. I'm really not a pushy parent at all but it breaks his heart being so behind so then breaks my heart too.

What book band have they got him on?
Are you only using that at home or going above it?
If his concentration is poor is he managing 40min reading?

Have you seen an improvement with the reading ?

I would suggest to do less but maybe more efficient. I would first ask what your son needs to work on;
handwriting? look at magic link handwriting and maybe sign him up for a class once a week or an intensive course during half term or holidays.
maths? try to understand what he is struggling with is it the concept ie does not understand what times/ add/ subtract/ divide represent or is it just a recall of facts he is missing If he understands the concept maybe kumon could help, he would have a worksheet to do per day (and you can set the length, if his concentration is not good, aim for 10/15 min max)
English what is he struggling with? reading? comprehension? spelling?

I would go and ask exactly what he needs to work on and I would also ask for maybe a phys assessment as well if concentration is really different from the other children of his age. Is he a good sleeper, does he spend lots of time in front of screen?

Wishing you the best of luck for the meeting

If it were me, I would be getting quite assertive and asking why nothing has been done in previous years. Furthermore, the school is the education specialist, not you, so they should be offering you suggestions, not the other way round. I hope the SENCO is more clued up than the class teacher seems to be.

The sendco at this point needs to be setting up a my plan or iep, whichever they use. This is a plan that tailors specific objectives which need improving and detail interventions that the school will implement. What they have (or have not ) been doing is not good enough . Read their website for their SEND policy and be prepared to quote it to them .

I see the meeting was today - hope it went well. You need to get tough now, the school is failing your child and they need to tell you what they are going to do about it.
He needs to be on the SEN register and have a specific plan in place with SMART targets and regular reviews. The school needs to be putting in place appropriate interventions to help him close the gap between him and his peers.
He likely needs an Ed psych assessment and potentially referral to whoever the appropriate team are in your area to look at the concentration issues (could be inattentive ADHD?)

I would also be having a separate conversation with the Head teacher about the class teacher - if she doesn’t know how to support your child, she is not doing her job and that needs to be addressed too.

Don’t take no for an answer, make sure you have a written record of all discussions (send an email confirming what was agreed after a meeting for example)

Really important to do this now and get support in place before the transition to secondary

Good luck :-)

Awkward he's on book band white I think. He has jumped through a few bands already. I think 40 mins would be a struggle. He can manage about 20 minutes but is usually rolling on the floor whilst reading 🤣

Thanks @Lolakath19. They agreed that it's good to focus on the handwriting at the minute and also suggested number bonds and times tables so we will continue with them. The hand writing, we use a work book and he does 1/2 pages. We've actually finished it so need to find another suitable one to do next.
I think schools main issue is his concentration rather than academic ability. I think they think that concentration affects it all.
No he doesn't spend much time in front of a screen. He probably only watches tv about 4/5 times per week for about 30 mins to an hour at home and maybe plays with a phone or tablet about once a fortnight.

but it's really hard to concentrate when the material covered it way above your head.
like watching a foreign language film you don't understand.
i would not accept that as the source of the problem or the solution to why he is behind.

The teacher will have access to a TA for party of the day. The teacher should differentiate the work for the class and he should work on his level. Often a small group works with a TA on their tasks and this can be different from the rest of the class due to their needs. Hopefully the senco is doing this for him.

I would concentrate anyway if I didn't understand what I was learning either.

It does sound like they're expecting a lot of him vs what they're actually doing to help.

WOULDN'T

Case in point!

Aah!
Had a lengthy message all typed out then bloody deleted it.
In short.. fight, fight for your son to get support. Don't let this drag on any longer. This is their fault. I work in a secondary and rightly or wrongly we feel that primaries sometimes have a vested interest not to get the support in place and quietly ignore these children. Especially if on the whole he is not particularly troublesome. Countless children come to secondary unable to read or write properly. Then it is too late.
Maybe an Ed psych might be beneficial but there can be a long waiting list. My friend paid for this to be done privately. I don't know how much it costs but if you can afford it do this.
Sadly, a couple of my friends who have children with additional needs have told me they have to fight and fight to get appropriate support. Councils
Do not want to give it; despite all the legislation regarding disabilities.
Don't take any bull. Get the right support for your son. Get that Ed psych in.
Disgusting how they've palmed him off all this time.
Even if there is maybe too much work being done at home well done for actually trying to help your son. So many parents just leave it to the schools.
Good luck.