childs reception school report vvvv negative and bad. Need a plan of action for Sept, advice please girls.

[deanychip]

The jist of the report is that he has zero attention span, is "disruptive not only to himself but other pupils too".
Disrupts lessons allot
wont join in with gtoup work
shows no interest in anything unless he wants to do it.
will need to learn to behave appropriately outside of classroom and with other teachers.

I was not aware of any of this due to there bieng zilch communication with teacher UNLESS i asked why is his name on the punishment bourd...which was about 4 times over the academic year. Even then, not told any thing in depth or to make me seek out action plan.

so Sept plan:

1. meet with new teacher tell her of previous issues.
   
2. ask for regular communication with herself re ds's behaviour
   
   what else do i need to do?
   What if he has fallen behind? she said in the report that there was no way of asessing his abilities due to his "lack of commitment"
   BTW he only turned 5 2 weeks ago

[Flightputsonahat]

This is why I didn't like school - they have your child and you don't have a clue what goes on with them all day!
I hope you find a way to open the channels a bit with them, I never could see a way to do this as they were thoroughly busy all the time and the parent's evenings were 10 minutes of 'He's very sweet, he's good at numbers, can't read at all, blah blah'. Never got a chance to discuss anything important. Nobody cared if I knew or not. They just got on with it.

I really missed him! Am HEing now

The school seems to have terribly high expectations of a very little boy, I am very sorry you've had to deal with this

[Amethyst86]

This sounds outrageous. Your ds sounds very similar to mine deanychip and within three weeks of him starting they asked for a meeting to discuss the ishoos. It wasn't much fun but I would hate to have been going along thinking things were fab and then suddenly have this big ton of negativity dropped in the form of a school report ('Reports' at age 5 ffs, but don't get me started on that!)

Naughty Board??! Is that for real? Public humilation for 5 year olds? Why not just put him in the stocks and have done with it?

I would definitely tell them that I wanted to be kept more in the loop with regards to his behaviour and any problems he and they might be having. I think the idea of approaching his SENCO is a good one. Doesn't hurt to look at all the angles.

[deanychip]

I have no idea what the school offer so i will speak with the teacher in September but think that this school/home book is a very good idea especially as i dont pick him up from school every day so wont get a verbal report back on a daily basis.

I think that the "lack of comitment" comment was meant for me tbh. i once wrote in his reading home book that we had not read it as we were playing in the garden and it got late

they think that i am a crap mother wo isnt interested in her kids education.

[hana]

our students sometimes have a home/school book when there are behaviour issues and we've even linked in rewards (never punishments) for when they've been good at home - back at school. It works with some children. That might be worth a go.

[CarGirl]

I agree that punishing at home for behaviour at school is probably not helpful but rewards for good behaviour/concentration could help.

An IEP does sound like it could be the tool to use, clear and measurable expectations that everyone knows about

[deanychip]

hana that sounds very sensible, im not burying my head at all, just want to approach this with caution and gently.

[deanychip]

Yes littlefish, i have spoken to her about my anxieties over his behaviour and have highlighted that i have always found him to be difficult.
Perhaps she didnt want to worry me with it.

When his name has been on the naghty bourd previously, i have told her that i would speak with him, and if necissary take something off him if his behaviour persists.
Thinking about this at home, i have a fundamental problem with punishing him at home for what he has done at school, effectively twice for the same crime.
This too i discussed with her.

I dont know, i am totally crestfallen and saddened for my boy.

[LIZS]

no that isn't helpful, which is where an IEP can useful because it gives everyone a clear idea as to what is expected, when and how it will be achieved . Even if it is to focus for 5 minutes during circle time to begin with.

[hana]

I don't see any sense in speaking to his old teacher.
I would see the new teacher but give it a few weeks - maybe even until the first parent-teacher consultations (usually early in October?)
the summer will make a difference
his age will make a difference

and see how he gets on

I wouldn't go to head just yet, were you not given opportunity to speak to teacher about the report before the end of the term?

[CarGirl]

TBH I'd rather that my child was discovered to have SEN and then labelled and given appropriate support than be labelled as disruptive to the class!

I do think the teacher has let you down by not discussing this with you earlier in the year.

[deanychip]

Star charts have always worked well in the passed and i have always used them as a positive reinforcement of good behaviour.

My first move is clearly to meet and communicate. I feel that this problem is not mine alone, as it is not the schools problem alon, we need to tackle it together.

They highlighted the problems yet have offered no constructive solutions. Suggestions like " he will have to learn to concentrate" are no helpful are they to any one.

[CarGirl]

is it dyspraxia that causes poor concentration? Could be completely wrong, but one of dds classmates has one to one support "because he finds it tricky concentrating" (as reported by dd) and I know his behaviour is challenging from when he's been to our house.

[Littlefish]

Ok - a slightly different slant if you have also been having behavioural issues with him at home. Are the school aware of this? Are they aware of the strategies which do and don't work at home?

[Littlefish]

Whether she was a lovely lady or not Deany, a report this negative is not helpful. It labels him negatively for behaving in a way which may simply be age-appropriate for a child who is only just 5 and not ready for an environment which is overly formal. It may be that this age-appropriate behaviour way may not suit her style of teaching.

If she had not mentioned any concerns at parent teacher meetings, why are they suddenly so important that they need to be in his report.

[elkiedee]

Could you contact the head about some of these issues? Clearly you care and want to help him get on better at school, but it seems a bit ridiculous to put things in the report that haven't been brought to your attention earlier.

Perhaps the school's management could help you and/or his new/old teacher to work out what the action plan should be.

[Whizzz]

Why don't you try the reward/star chart thingy over the hols - then he can get used to it &hopefully you & new teacher can use it together in Sept

[deanychip]

i have always had behavioural issues with him unfortunately.
hearing is fine, sight is fine.

[deanychip]

Littlefish, please dont get me wrong im not cross with her, she was a lovely lady i am just sad.
At parent teacher meetings, she had said that she was not concerned about him, that he was initially like a whirlwind (bearing in mind, he was only 4 a month pror to starting big school) but that he had settled.

ok, so i need to speak to both teachers and together we nead to form a plan.

[CarGirl]

My dd2 was on the SEN list because she was introvert and spoke very little and had speech delay, this meant she got an IEP, I meet with the teacher once per term to discuss how she was doing etc. In year 1 she came off the SEN list.

I do think it would be helpful to chat with his old teacher to ask if she thinks it's just immaturity or something more than that.

I know it's not nice to think your son may be "labelled" but it could be something very simple - how's his hearing? It could be a range of things or just that he's young.

[Littlefish]

Deanychip, you have every reason to feel cross. I am a former reception teacher and I make it a rule that nothing in a school report will ever come as a surprise to a parent (unless it's an extremely positive surprise!) and make sure that any concerns I have, have been shared with parents at the earliest possible stage so that we can work together on strategies that we both know might work at home and school.

This report shows a terrible lack of communication on the teacher's part. Was anything said at the parents' meetings over the course of the year?

I would suggest that you organise a meeting with both last year's teacher and this year's teacher together. Make it clear that you are prepared to work with the school to support your son at school, but that you must have regular communication with them in order to do this.

I expect that last year's teacher will already have spoken to this year's teacher, but I think it's important that you hear what last year's teacher has to say, so that you can find out why she didn't share her concerns with you.

[LIZS]

SENCO is the Special Educational Needs Coordinator who oversees the progress of any child who is referred to them by teaching staff, be their issues mild or marked, temporary or long term. Being referred internally does not necessarily lead to assessments , diagnoses, labelling etc but can enable the child to access small group work out of the immediate classsroom environment, specific literacy and numeracy schemes and even one to one sessions.

IEP is an Individual Education Programme(iirc), basically a document with a series of specific targets which are usually behavioural and academic related, measurable and time bound so they can be reviewed as the child makes progress. It should be agreed between the teacher(s), SENCO and parents , and child if appropriate.

hth

[deanychip]

hmm, special educational needs co ordinator perhaps???

one to one might be the little encouraging boost that her needs to find his feet.
dont want him labelled either you see as difficult etc

[deanychip]

IEP....Individual learning plan im guesing, but SENCO...not a clue

[deanychip]

whats SENCO? IEP????