I think my son is suffereing clinical depression

[TruelyWretched]

My son has just started year 2. Last year he was on stage 9 of the Oxford Reading Tree. He has been put back to stage 6. (Ie. the stage he started year 1) He has also been put in a remedial maths group inspite of the fact that his year 1 teacher told us that he was in the middle of the class.

Anyway my son no longer wants to go to school. He has completely lost interest in food. He is crying for no reason and has lost all confidence in himself.

He is only six years old. He should not be going through this.

hi there, am sorry for you and your son

it sounds like he has some issues with learning. are they being addressed? if not, then you need to push for the school SENCO to get cracking organising referrals if necessary and getting an IEP in place.

his upset and worry is obviosuly tied to struggling at school and that has to be addressed.

have you made an appointemnt to go in to see his class teacher?

Make an appointment to see the head to clear this up ASAP.

If you are not satisfied with action from the head, see your GP.

Have you spoken to the teacher about this?
Why does he say he doesn't want to go?

Is he upset to be put back a few reading stages and in remedial maths or is it something else? Can you find out from him why he no longer wants to go to school? If not speak to the school asap. It is very common for children who are struggling for all sorts of reasons to behave like this. Very sorry for you and your son and hope it is resolved soon.

You need to speak to his teacher and find out what is going on. Go to her first. Don't rush to the head. Teachers hate that. I don't see why a child would be put down 3 stages. How do you know he is in a 'remedial' maths group? (not allowed to call it that nowadays!)
If there are learning issues here, you should have been informed. It is possible that there is a mistake? Call up the office tomorrow and ask for an appointment with the teacher.

Sorry, that came across a bit harshly. I am just really confused about what is going on as it would be very unusual for a teacher to do this without you having an inkling before that there was a problem with his work. Maybe your ds thinks he is getting taken out for extra maths help but the teacher is just doing some group work with small groups at different times? Maybe he has been given a level 6 book by mistake? I have at times given the wrong book for homework to a child?

Thank you for your replies. I have gone to see my son's teacher. It is not sympathetic. She is convinced that my son has learning difficulties. She cannot see that her actions are hurting my son.

Today I took my son for an assessment with a Kip Mcgrath centre. Apparently he was a reading age of 8 years and 6 months, a spelling age of 6 years 9 months and is average for his age group for maths. They want to put him on the eleven plus preparation programme. I just want someone to make my son do hand writing practice.

My son has severe glue ear. He has been made to sit at the back of the carpet and the teacher is refusing to use the soundfield system which was bought for another deaf boy in his class.

At the moment I feel very confused.

TruelyWretched

I would make an appointment with the Head and in the meantime, organise a letter from your son's GP or ENT consultant explaining his condition and the need for him to (at the very least) sit at the front of the class. Also, take along the Kip McGrath assessment to the meeting. KMcG are very good and very accurate! They had my little one down to a T!

Very strange teacher. If she thinks your son has learning difficulties, what is she doing to help him? Has the SENCO been involved? I would ask for a meeting with the teacher and SENCO. I would bring along your assessment report and info from the GP regarding the glue ear.
She cannot just say that he has learning difficulties and then not do anything to help.

the teacher needs to get the SENCO involved, and if she is not and not using the equipment that your son needs, then go to the head. go to the LEA. no wonder he does not want to go to school

is 6 not a bit young to be thinking about the 11 + ?

you have to be strong and take this further for your son

Childhood depression is on the increase and many believe that extra pressures at school are one of the main causes. I happened to read this months "right start" magazine yesterday and it has an article about childhood depression in there.

I agree with all the comments above, the teacher does not sound very helpful, make sure you get an appointment with the SENCO, preferably with both head and class teacher present. You need to stress that your child is depressed.

Definitely see your GP regarding the depression, and ask for a referral to a counsellor. Your child needs to be listened to, and given opportunnities to talk. This does not need to be a scary process. The article I read suggests asking your child "what are your three wishes to make things better?"

In the mean time, enjoy life all you can out of school, doing things that you all enjoy together, down't let it get you down.
I hope things get better for you both soon.