school swimming lessons

[nuttyredhead]

Hey,
i have loved the school hols and am having sleepless nights about ds going back into yr5.Its jus the constant battle to get his needs met and school constantly not doing it!

They start swimming lessons this yr and i have my reservations.Ds can already swim so that aint a issue.My problem is ds does'nt like the instructors they do alot of shouting unnecessarily and ds has hyperacousis and can't stand shouting.Ds also has dyspraxia and is quite uncoordinated,so its the whole undressing,dressing,feeling rushed and under pressure then doing in the pool whats expected.

I guess my question or issue is do i encourage ds to go to help him deal with those sort of situations, or is it putting him in a uncomfortable situation he will stressful,unnecessarily?

Would appreciate any thoughts for or against.

Luckily dd1 only swims in the summer. She hates being shouted at and told what to do, often the teacher/instructor just lets dd1 have her own bit of the pool just do what she likes in (just swim up and down). Dd1 struggles with getting dress, sometimes the TA will help her, if not her friends help her (dd1 is a lot younger though).

I would let him go, see how he gets on (he might suprise you), if he struggles then maybe consider not making him go (let him skip the class).

You might also want to ask the school to make some changes to make it easier for him. The instructor could be informed about your child's problem with shouted instructions etc and he could perhaps be given more time to change etc. I think if you approach the school formally with this (ie a letter to the head with your concerns) and underline that you don't want your ds to miss out because of his SN, they will be obliged to make some efforts. Or they should be!

If its Ribblesdale pool the male instructor there is very shouty and I don't think theres much you can do accept pull him out of lessons. Write and say that you refuse to give the school permission to take him swimming. The Head will moan and won't like it but thats tough on him.

Also any chance that you could move schools and ask your GP to refer him to CAMHS for a 2nd opinion, they are a 1000 times better than DR P.

Do get in touch with parent partnership Mel dot adams at lancashire.gov.uk if you are having probs with the school Red, she is good with that sort of thing.

My DS is also going into Y5, and I am going to ask for him to not do swimming. Why bother put him through all that stress?

DS didn't get on with his school swimming lessons, although he's a strong swimmer and did very well with private lessons. We also had problems with shouty instructors, always being the last one to get changed, walking to the pool etc.

When he got a 1:1 LSA it did improve - he was able to support him getting dressed and following the tutor's instructions.

Before he got his LSA we did manage to get out of lessons, but only because he was being taken out of school anyway for therapy at those times. Not sure how the school would have reacted if I'd asked to take him out.

Of course, if your child didn't turn up with their kit, there's not much the school can do to force them to do it .

Hey,
thanks for the brill advice.I always feel so much better after i post and listen to all the advice,your all great.

Wasuup you know the instructor i mean! We had bad experience with him and its put ds off so much.He does well in a 1-1.Thanks for the advice re, Mel Adams and CAHMS going to get on it.
I did a self referral for OT at Acorn and the wait is 25 weeks

Good luck,take care and thanks

No probs Red. I think I may also know of the Head that you refer too. He seems to make up his own rules in regard to SEN matters and can't be trusted. His fav phrase is that its the parents anxiety causing the childs SEN and that you should just relax and have fun. I know one parent had to have counseling after he convinced her that she was to blame. And the said Head has a reputation for being rubbish with SEN matters(even though he may work for ofsted if its the same one) with the LEA. However he has the school govs wrapped round his fingers so complaints about him don't get dealt with as the LEA has very little say in the running of a school, (well according to the LEA).
Good Luck with CAMHS you are entitled to a 2nd opinion re the Aspergers and Mel is absolutely fab with all matters to do with talking to arsey Heads.