Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

SEN

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

Flip

Original poster

How much help does your dyslexic child get at school ?

19 replies

isgrassgreener · 18/01/2007 17:56

Calling for help from all parents of dyslexic children.
I am not very happy with the level of support our primary school gives to dyslexic and children who struggle with writing and reading.
I would be really interested to know the level of support children receive in other schools.
Can you help me out please

OP posts:

Original poster

isgrassgreener · 19/01/2007 11:07

Hello out there, can anyone help please.........

OP posts:

UniSarah · 19/01/2007 21:11

have posted on SN thread on same subject.

Cadmum · 20/01/2007 16:09

Hello,

Seems a bit silly to answer your question as you have been answering all of mine...

Our DS (9) gets a whopping 15 minutes a week and we have to pay 10,000 Euros a year for his schooling as we are in Vienna Austria and he could not manage at an Austrian school because we speak no German and he struggles enough with spelling in English.

Blandmum · 20/01/2007 16:13

Most of the kids where I teach get 15 minutes or so of Toe to toe a week. If their needs are greater and they have a statement (rarer than hen's teeth) we can get them a reader and scribe in exams. Actually we get quite a few of them more time in exams

misdee · 20/01/2007 16:14

dd1 gets 30mins a day for small group work for help with her phonics with SN teacher. not yet dx with dyslexia but i think she may have. she also still uses a scribe for her work (year 2, almost 7years old) and is very well supported.

Saturn74 · 20/01/2007 16:15

DS1 got to stay in one break time a week and read to the school secretary in the Headmaster's office.
DS2 got nothing.
IME it is a hard and long fight to get any appropriate support in England. Our LEA refused to assess children until they were 9, or until they were four years behind their peers - although I think this is techically illegal.

Blandmum · 20/01/2007 16:16

ds is (as of friday) dyspraxic but also finds reading hard. He gets and extra 30 minutes a day 1 on 1 with an LSW and 30 minutes a week with the SENCO. School is private and he is in a class of 12 with a teacher and a full time LSW. We are very fortunate

Original poster

isgrassgreener · 20/01/2007 18:09

Thank you for all of your replies, very useful.
I am afraid I have confused this by posting in SN as well, I am obviously far too impatient....
It is really interesting to hear what extra help people get, it all seems very hit and miss to me.
Is there anything like a government/LEA standard that schools work to when it comes to school action and school action + or do they just make it up as they go along?
MB I have seen the toe to toe book it looks very useful, do they work on it with a teacher or can a TA do it as well? It sounds like you get a lot more help in a private school, which is something I have thought about a few times.
Misdee your help sounds great.
HC LOL at the thought of how useful it is to read to the seceratry once a week, although of course it's not really funny, is it.

OP posts:

cat64 · 20/01/2007 18:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

filthymindedvixen · 20/01/2007 18:24

ds gets school action, which means they do 5 mins 'special excercises' two days a week, in a group with a TA and some word shark stuff in a group for 5 mins.

our LEA also appear to be acting illegally as they have to be 5 years behind before they are statemented. And I am angry that extra tuition that I have decided to pay for outside of school has been included as part of his IEP (i found out this week)
Surely that's not right?

Original poster

isgrassgreener · 20/01/2007 18:30

Thanks Cat64, does it actually say that in the code of practice?
If so I will get a copy and take it to school.
In our school it is a bit tricky to try and work out how much time the TA is available to the whole class, as every class has a full time TA, who has to firstly provide the statement hours to any statemented children in the class, any time left is then given to the whole class (well thats the theory). So unless you know who has a statement and how many hours the statement is for, you do not know how much time the TA has in any particular class.

OP posts:

Original poster

isgrassgreener · 20/01/2007 18:36

FMD thats very interesting. I also take DS1 out for a lesson (which costs a bloody fortune) as yet it has not been added to his IEP but I haven't been doing it for long.
I would not be a happy bunny if they tried that one

OP posts:

Blandmum · 20/01/2007 18:39

You can do toe to toe with any adult who has read the book. you can do it at home if you like. It is quite and expensive book though.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 20/01/2007 18:41

Hi filthymindedvixen,

Re your comment:-

"our LEA also appear to be acting illegally as they have to be 5 years behind before they are statemented"

They are acting illegally no question about it at all and they are breaking the law. Blanket policies like this are simply not allowed in law. Would suggest you contact IPSEA and seek their guidance if you are having problems with the LEA. This group do have clout -www.ipsea.org.uk.

fizzbuzz · 20/01/2007 18:48

Humphrey cushion.

Cannot believe that post about having to stay in at break to read.

Bad bad bad practice, will just turn off dc as they will want break time.

My ds was kept in at break to "finish" things. He was a very very slow writer, but very very bright student. When I told SENCO at school where I work, she was horrified along the lines of

"They may be struggling as it is, do not take their free time away from them because of it"

Feel v angry on your behalf

cat64 · 21/01/2007 00:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

misdee · 21/01/2007 00:21

i know, i am actually very happy with the support dd1 gets at school. she works in a group of about 4 children with one teacher. the school is very good. am v happy that dd2 is also going there as she may also have some SN.

Original poster

isgrassgreener · 22/01/2007 18:22

Thank you for all of your replies everyone, it is very useful to see what variety of support there seems to be.
I am also glad to see that some children do seem to get good support.
I will now decide if I take up the challange to push my school to do more for all, or give up and just keep on paying to get the help for my child elsewhere. I'll keep you posted on that one

OP posts:

Loshad · 24/01/2007 19:00

my DS3 gets 15 mins per day 1 to 1 with LSA, and 30 mins/week with specialist dyslexia teacher, plus 30 mins 2x daily for small group work (3-4 students). We do toe by toe daily at home as well. He's at a private school as well, our LEA also basically does the 5 years behind bit, and he would get little help in the stae syste as he is not considered behind enough.

Flip