My duaghter started full time Reception year in Feburary 2019 when she just turned 5. Prior to this she was going part time to reception class, 4 days a week and going in at 11am until 3.20pm (hometime).
Since she started part time in September (because she found it hard to settle) EYFS lead and deputy head said she could come in at 11 as the mornings were overwhelming her. Fast forward to the first parents evening in November, the teacher literally had no work exmaples to show me that my DD had done. She further said I have no idea what progression has been made because you brong her in at 11 am and all I can tell you is she can count to 10. I was so shocked. I said to what do you mean I bring her in at 11?? This is what your EYFS lead and head have suggested! And I have requested she go 4 days a week to ease her in. She then said well are not aware of this, all the staff in reception always roll their eyes and say DD is not in again or is late again. I was fuming. I said to her so you are saying basically you have no teaching plan in place for my daughter and hence no work has been done with her? I also said regarldess if whether a child is part time or full time, there should be a learning plan in place!! She then said of course I agree we would have had a learning ppan in place but this was not cummincated to us. My DD was given spellings and reading books prior to this that were checked intermittently, not every week as they shiuld have been! I complaoned to the HT, she apologised and aaid this is not the level if teaching we expect at this school. Suddenly that teacher was gone after Christmas break. Come Feburary my DD started full time with a new teacher. This teacher kept asking us to practice writing which we did every day even though I had just had an emregency section and a newborn. My duaghter started real phonics lesrning and writing then! And when she finished reception her report said she was meeting all her expectations.
Now she is in Y1 with a teacher who I feel doesn't know or interact with my duaghter. My duaghter is behind her peers bevause she didn't attend their nursery and started full time in Feb and prior to that they failed her hence why they got rid of that teacher! I approached this teacher in Nov this year and asked for intervention as I was concerned my dd kept saying she doesn't udnerstand some of what is being tuaght in class and I asked the teacher why my DD is getting reading books and homework that is beyond her level (she is band yellow) and it seems ti me there is no differentiation. The teacher said ok I will look into it and she said bevause she had been off for about 2.5 weeks at the beginning of term that she is just getting to know the pupils now. I said but it's mid Nivember!! My dd should have had intervemtion earlier on. The following week on parents evening she ssid yes she is behind but there are other children further behind too and she loves to learn so we will try to give her targeted homework rsther than the general work she is getting now and we will discuss every Friday her progress. I tried to catch her for meetings to get updates on DD's progress but she would say next Monday or I have a meeting, etc. Fast forward 3 weeks afyer parents evening when there is pupil progression updates going on at school she said to me she is very concer ed my DD has SEN because she is on phase 3 phonics and isn't blending and always needs prompting when doing independent work and she seems to remember one day but forgets the next day what we did. She said the reception teacher also agrees.
I said to her but of course she would be behind when all the children in school have come up from Nursery and the school did no real work with her from sept til Feb. She said that doesn't matter. I don't know how to help her and I am referring her to the SENCO! We went to the HT the same day and said hiw can she say 3 weeks prior she is behind but there are others also behind and now she has potention sen issues? None if this was flagged up last year and how can she have met her eyfs goals?? The HT looked perturbed because quite clearly it all doesn't stack up. It's spoilt my xmas I'm just so worried. The way she said it was like life is over for my daughter. She said "She is very different to all the other children and her communication doesn't help either." Last year the staff said her communication was very good and has helped her to make friends and voice her feelings when she is upset or unhappy. The HT told us briefly on the last day of school to count with her in 2s, to read stories and get her to recount sequentially what happens, to do activities such as 1 more than 8, 1 mire than 19, to teach her how sentences are formed (capital letters, full stops). I went in at home time that same day and showed him examples if her doing this at home! He was a bit shocked and said can I hold on to these and show the teacher. I said to him I gravely concerned at the competency of your staff and hiw they are assesing my dd! She can count to a 100 and beyond, she count in 5s to a 100 and beyond, she can count in 2s upto 40! She knows capital lettera for the beginning of a sentence and for names if people and countries and she knows they end with a full stop, question mark ir exclamation mark depending in what is said. This is all what we practiced in the reception year and I haven't revised this since. She remembers it! I have made video evidence of this all to show them.
Where she is significantly behind is her phonics and reading and I'm not denting that but that's because they started teaching her in Feb!!! The HT said she will meet us on the first day back ti discuss everything as this all happened on the second last day of term.
Do I go ahead with this SEN assessment if they push it? I am a secondary school maths teacher and I honestly don't see any SEN in my duaghter. I see their failings and inconsistencies for which they applogsed last year but hiw can the teacher dismiss rhe gaps in my DD's learning from reception as not having a detrimental impact on her learning? What would you do? This teacher is newly qualified as well and I know the parenrs as an entire class last year complained about her to the HT.