Am going to see SENCo and DSs Headteacher - any advice on what to say please

[stillenacht]

Background:

Last week i received the private Ed Psych's report that i organised as have concerns re DS1s literacy etc..This was my post last week:

So have had DS1's dyslexia report back which goes into all sorts of numbers and figures but the conclusion says:

"It is appropriate to describe A as having specific learning difficulties. Some of these are similar to those experienced by dyslexic children, but A has an expressive language weakness also."

So ....does he have dyslexia or not or dyslexia with additional things - i really want to know as i know he can access extra time in exams (am secondary teacher and every tom dick and harry seems to be able to get an extra 25% these days). It seems a little wishy washy as a conclusion.

Am very disheartened by the report as his reading comprehension age has come out at 6 years and 4 months (his raw reading is not much better at 7 years, the only glint of hope is his numeracy which has come out at 9 and 4 months)- he is 9 and 8 months.

Feel very let down by his supposedly 'excellent' (according to OFSTED) primary school. I asked about 'toe by toe' (?) last year to class teacher (his best friend is doing that scheme) and SENCO and was told he didn't need it (he has been on School Action since year 1). We have done everything the school has asked of us, extra reading, extra homework and he has a tutor twice a week (since last August) costing us a pretty penny.

I am hoping to send him to an independent school after he finishes primary where he can retake year 6 to try and catch up and then continue at that school until GCSE's (Its going to crucify us financially - both me and DH are teachers so not making big bucks).

Feel very as already have one child with severe SN (low functioning autism) and now my other boy is going to have all these problems too. My mum has three daughters who were all very studious and academic (I worked my arse off at school and Uni) so she doesn't really understand and just keeps saying ' It will be ok'. I just want to cry.
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Am going to see the SENCo on Thursday and the Head on Friday - any advice as to what to say apart from "Why the bloody hell has this school failed my son?????!!!!"

hi all

Well had the results of his QCA tests from last week and he got 3B with everything (literacy and maths - not sure about science).His SAS score was 96 on one of them (don't know about the others).He was very close to a 3A on one of them.

He also did some reading tests with the SENCo yesterday (where he has to read different levels and then answer 6 questions on each paragraph-can't remember what it was called - he did a similar test 18 months ago)and his reading age came out at 9yo and his reading comp at around a similar level - wtf is going on??(Ed Psych said basic literacy around 7yo level and reading comp at 6y and 4 months)It still makes no sense to me - she was sceptical about the Ed Psychs tests which i can understand as she knows DS better obviously but surely Ed Psychs test are more thoroughly diagnostic???

They are going to put more TA time in with him to work on phonics and give me Toe by Toe and another programme she is trained in but can't remember what it is called.They are also going to send home loads of stuff that I and DH can work with him on.She has my email address and I hers now so i will be in regular contact

I asked re extra time in KS2 SATS next year and she is going to enquire if he is appropriate but that he is able to have a scribe for one of the literacy papers and that his maths paper will be read to him (as will be the case with many of his peers) This apparantly is common practive which i didn't know.

Thanks all so much Am seeing Head tomoro....eeek

(I did go mental at the beginning of meeting and burst into tears saying school had failed him as they have an obedient boy who is keen to please and supportive parents who will do everything to help and still his literacy skills are 3 and a half years behind- pent up everything just had to come out!)Whoops but sometimes its gotta be done eh..

I did say that i didn't understand how he could be on school action for 4/5 years and little progress made.

Thanks again guys

Any advice for the Head tomoro - feel like i have said everything to SENCo - what 'guarantees' should i ask for? thanks ladies xxxx

all sounds very positive

thanks Araminta

What tests did the EP do? And which did the SENCO use? I used to be an EP a million years ago and I might be able to shed some light on the discrepancy between school tests and tests done by EP.

oh now your'e asking neolara - can't remember the names of the tests that the school did but will email senco and ask her and will dig out Ed Psych report later and let you know.

Thanks for all your help

(Good money in Ed Psych stuff )

wisc?

Sounds like Neale analysis. TBH I'd trust Ed Psych results over a teachers.

wisc and Neale look familiar...

eeek i don't want to trust the Ed Psychs things as they are more depressing but i guess probably more accurate..am seeing the head tomoro - DH and I are going to sit down later and bullet point everything we want to say.

Can I just check?
Your son is in Y5?

if so he is on target to achieve the expected level 4 in the end of KS2 SATs next year.

yes he is in year 5...most kids in his class are getting 4C/4B atm

He is considered to be very weak for his year group... i appreciate the average for year 6 is a 4 and we would be happy with that but its all this differences in grading thats concerning me...whats all that about Ed Psych saying he has literacy levels of 6 years 4 months-7years 4 months and school saying he is around 8 years8 months - 9 year mark....

I just want to know the honest truth without any politics involved to either make the school look better or the Ed Psych report to over exaggerate...we all just want the truth. It is getting me down a bit.

Retrospectively feel like todays meeting at the school was all about them showing me that he really isn't that bad and oh the Ed Psych must be overplaying it ....i don't want any massaged figures one way or t'other.

God i hate education - its so bloody sodding political.

It the NC levels are accurate then the Ed Psychs figures are very wrong alternatively if the Ed Psych is correct then there is something wrong with the NC levels.
I appreciate that your son may be behind other children in his class but he wouldn't be considered "behind" if the school's figures are correct if you see what I mean ???
Really hard to know without knowing your son sorry.

This is so hard. Was the Educational Psychologist recommended to you? Do you know anyone who's used him that you can chat to?

The QCA tests are pretty mechanistic. If they are done properly then there's not a lot of margin for error. And I don't think there's much mileage in a school inflating grades. From a purely cynical point of view, schools ae judged on the level 4s and 5s they get in year 6, and usually grab with both hands any help they can get to get a child to those levels. It does seem to be a high achieving school - mostly 4cs and bs in Year 5 is very good.

If he can read Horrid Henry with ease, fluency and understanding then that definitely sound like high level 3 stuff - certainly higher than a reading age of 6.4.

I'm speaking as a parent, a volunteer reader and a school governor, so no proper professional expertise at all - but if I were you I'd be questioning the educational psychologist's findings rather than the school's.

Not sure if any of this helps...hope it does.

thanks seeker - it does

I just went into the staff room at school (i work there somtimes) and asked a year four teacher about levels. I know yours is year 5 but he was the only one there. He said that if a child could read HH fluently in his class he would be in the top of the middle set and considered very bright. He said only the very top of the class are level 4 in year four and five. The ones that are struggling are still on level 2 and low level reading scheme books. This is considered a high acheiving school. It sounds as though your DS is actually doing really well.

BTW I didn't say why I was asking

Aw thanks Araminta and seeker and everyone else xxxxxxx - you are all so sweet to do this for me I wish i knew you all in real life i could buy you a drink or two.

My DSs priamry is a high achieving primary which seems to do really well with the more able ones (but then who doesn't???) but struggles with those who are struggling - imo this is the mark of a school which is not outstanding - it is a school which has very many difficulties that can motivate and inspire and cajole and encourage and improve etc etc which is an outstanding school.

Thanks everyone again

DS has tonsilitus now from me and we are still meeting the Head this afternoon.

btw the SENCo yesterday (as lovely as she is) seemed very surprised when i said that DSs low self esteem may possibly stem from....being in the bottom set and knowing it (the setting is A, B, C!)..he is not stupid they all know who are the best academically and they sit in their set groups from what i can see most of the time We are going to ask for him to be moved around - he even says he wants to sit on his own (he did for a while in year 3) as he just wants to get on with his work....arrrgghh! Its driving me insane all this.....

Thanks again ladies xxxxxx

oooh stillenacht don't get me started on setting - i could rant on for hours, it is wrong wrong wrong sorry to hear he is poorly good luck with the Head.

I don't group my class by ability even so one of the boys came to me today and told me who were the best readers and writers in the class He wasn't completely accurate with his order but certainly picked out the correct children.

Well what a flippin joke the meeting with the Head was - he kept looking out of the window for someone he was expecting , he answered 2 phone calls while we were in the room and chatted for a good few minutes with them (ansafone?) , and left his door open so we could hear all the kids and parents outside his door who were going on a residential trip and towards the end (well i guessed it was the end because of this) hee started shutting the blinds in his room telling us he didn't want to throw us out but.... we had this arranged for a week - DH had to leave work early and cancel his after school tuition he does, i had to get my mum to babysit (she had to leave work early to get to ours)..i felt totally grrrrrr

Even as a lowly part time teacher if i was with a parent i would not answer my phone or be looking out of the window....

Unbelievable

Stillenacht that's awful How rude and unprofessional.

I felt like he couldn't really give a toss An 'outstanding' school my arse.

Was there any outcome reached at all?

have posted what happened in full in the AIBU section cornsilk - will bump it up

...but no, he will get class teacher to move DS a little so he can work with higher achieving groups hopefully to give him confidence

other than that my ideas were taken like a milkshake at a lactose free society....

So are they not taking on board his diagnosis of dyslexia then?

well the thing is i don't think he has a 'full' diagnosis - the Ed Psych said the complete 'label' of a diagnosis was not appropriate but that he has additional needs as well...

I want the label!!!!! I want the label!! Maybe then people at his school might be able to help him and us rather than say shitty (non)platitudes which mean bollox all (sorry re language am so livid) Thanks cornsilk for your help with this - feel like i am banging my head against a brick wall (I have already done this with DS2 and his autism/epilepsy... - i don't think i have the stregth to do it all again!)