Homeschooling Year 1 SEN

[DaveDave]

My DD who is 6 is in year 1, and under SEN support at school. We have never been given a diagnosis, just that she struggles.
I'm now home schooling her, and I've realised just how far behind she is. I'm really worried for her! But of course I have absolutely no experience in education, let alone a child with SEN. I'm spending as much time with her as I can, but we're not getting very far. I guess I'm just worried I'm teaching her the wrong techniques etc if she does have a specific issue such as dyslexia. Before lockdown I never really worried too much about it, I just thought she was young and would catch up. Both her Dad and I are avid readers etc, so she gets plenty of stimulation (I think).
Suddenly I feel out on a limb and anxious about her though. Is it normal to be 'diagnosed' by the school as having SEN but no specifics about it? Could it be she is just a slow developer and will catch up at some stage? She is a winter born, so not young for her year group.

I would ring the school and ask to speak to the class teacher about the school work - they should be able to give you tips on how best to support her at home.

You could also ask the teacher or the SENCO for more detailed information about why she has difficulties.

How long has she been on SEN support ? You should be having termly meetings to discuss her progress. How has that gone ? The school have up to £6000 funding to spend on children on SEN support so I would suggest you ask their views on getting them to pay for an educational psychologist to see her. If they can't/wont/dont think its needed then you could pay for an EP report yourself if want.

As far as teaching ; work other wealth spots , maybe look for the same topic but the year below and work on that, break tasks down into chunks , lots of repetition.

I meant weak spots.

Hello

"under SEN support at school"

Is this something that the school have put in place?

What exactly have they / did they put in place?

What reasons did they give? What difficulties did they say your child encountered?

Did the school commission any assessments? (They can do this, without waiting for the LA, it depends on how good and proactive the school is, imo)

Almost everyone is in the same boat, at the moment, so try not to panic, do what you can.

This is what I would do, YMMW:

In terms of learning, I would suggest that you take a look at :

www.century.tech/explore-century/parents/

It is free at the moment until August 2020 (I expect that they might extend that but I do not know, I am not associated with them). It was a platform aimed at schools really and opened to parents during March I think.

The difference between the free and paid is (I asked them) that the free contains elements of the national curriculum whereas the paid one contains the whole of the national curriculum.

For you, at this time, the free platform is fine. May be work on maths and English only at this stage.

Progress can take time, even with non-SEN children it takes time, so try not to stress.

As a very rough and ready online screening tool:

dyslexiaida.org/screening-for-dyslexia/dyslexia-screener-for-school-age-children/

Take a look at:

www.patoss-dyslexia.org/

You may be able to find a SENCO teacher who can provide you with support as to what to do (which may work out less costly than say hiring him/her for one on one tuition).

You did not say what your child's difficulties/struggles are.

Is it a reading issue (that is the impression I got)?

All the best.