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SEN

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

What to expect and ask at initial SENCO meeting?

1 reply

mondaycando1 · 05/02/2018 13:47

DS1 is in Yr 3 and at the end of infants was working to greater depth in everyone of the 18 areas they assessed so clearly a bright child.

Since starting junior school in September, he's been apparently consistently causing low level disruption (calling out without hand up mainly but also refusing to do activities if he doesn't want to) in class that obviously isn't being managed by his class teacher nor being responded to by using the standard behaviour policy of the school. We had a meeting in October about this but no other feedback at all since until him brining a report home last week. After a meeting with the head and his class teacher, it's clear there have been significant lapses in their communication with us as they referred to his behaviour over a period of time when we've only had that one meeting in October. It's also very clear that DS1's perceptions and understanding of behavioural boundaries are not in line with what I am hearing from his teacher and she was very quick to voice some very strong negative opinions of DS1 and came across as being very defensive. The Head, without me asking, has said the school SENCo will have a meeting with all of us - what should I be asking them to do? What should I expect from this meeting? I was so riled from this initial 15 minute meeting that I am worried I will get upset in future meetings and not ask the right questions.

I am also cynical that getting the SENCO involved will actually help at all as his class teacher doesn't seem to think anything is wrong and he's just naughty and is just them going through the motions. Given that the behaviour policy I was using a reference point on their website I was told today is out of date and has been since September how am I supposed to believe they will follow their other inclusion / pastoral care type policies, especially with the non-communication in the last 3 months?!

OP posts:
Tainbri · 06/02/2018 09:11

Have a chat with your DS about how school is going and be clear to Senco what you feel he understands and where he thinks things go wrong if you can. If the Senco is any good hopefully she will discuss some strategies that can be used in class that will work for your son. A Senco tends to have more influence in the hierarchy of the school so the teacher does need to implement what is suggested! The Senco isn't there to judge your child but it can and does feel like that when all the feed back seems to be negative. You need to start the meeting with what is going to be done to get the outcome we all want?

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