report from school

[Chundle]

Hi all looking for some advice please. School have done a report for DDs paed. It states that she is well abover average in reading/writing and excels at sport. She is average maths. So in all she is fine academically.

Then it goes on to say about her behaviour/social problems. It says "Has to be frequently reminded about her behaviour in social situations. Knows how to listen and respond but still interrupts often, has great difficulty in waiting her turn. During disagreements with other children, X doesnt respond appropriately and will sometimes respond in a physical manner. Is clinging to certain friends and is reluctant to share her friends and can feel sad and alone. Suffers from low self esteem and will always respond negatively when first asked how she feels about school or her work"
Now, I get improession that school feel that as she does well academically the rest of whats going on doesnt matter! But to me and DD it does and its heartbreaking to see her so sad. We are trying to change her schools at the moment but i ned to know if shes entitled to any extra help and if so what help? She has ADHD and maybe aspergers as well

thanks for reading

the other ladies are better than myself at knowing what shes entitled to legally ,but i have to say just because she doesnt have LD dosnt mean your DS isnt AS or ADHD so the ED PSy report will say things about that aspect too im only going on personal exp here, the school probably will be like that my DS school was the same untill it effected them then they were bothered other than that i felt DS was just "another number" and as long as the accademic area was ok they wernt worried , all the social traits youve mentioned are probably the more important stuff the paed will be interested anyway iyswim and obviously as a parent you have to look at the whole picture the difficult bit im sure all the mums will agree is getting all the profeshionals inc the school to see the whole picture and realise their personal happiness/wellbeings the most important thing imo, not that the educational side isnt but im my case my ds wasnt getting any benefit out of school he wasnt accessing the education because of too many traits/ sensory issues , i hope you begin to get the help you need soon for your dd

Thank you. Her SENCO wrote the report along with the other teachers that see her. I feel really let down by the school and everyday that goes by I feel like DD is getting sadder and sadder. Its like they are only interested in the academic side of things. The school shes on waiting list for is an excellent school so im hoping a space opens up there for her quickly so i can have my old child back again

Oh Chundle, I bet that was hard reading. At least the school do recognise that she has problems beyond her academic ability. Do you think they've painted an accurate picture? You could be halfway there if they are agreeing she has these issues and lack of self esteem.

Are they doing anything about them? Probably not if you are considering changing schools. Is she on school action or school action +? Have you considered requesting Statutory Assessment to get a statement?

From how you describe the situation I guess you may find it hard to get a Statement as she's doing so well academically, but she should still be getting some support at school. And it's not impossible to get a Statement if everything except school work is going wrong.

If she is on school action etc you should have an IEP which should list some SMART short term goals (eg improving self esteem and social skills)and how the school intends to achieve them.

'Extra help' is based on need not dx.

Is she at primary school or secondary?

Sounds like she could do with social skills help, and possible other stuff.

You need to now make an appt with the SENCO, take the report in, and ask what help they can give her with these skills.

School will have access to a behaviour support team and an ASD team.

The ASD team may only work with kids with a dx - but may not. School should ring up these agencies and find out what support they can offer.

Parent partnership can tell you more about what's available in your area.

Thanks guys thats really helpful youve given me some bits to think about it. No way would school give me any help!! They had a boy there that was meant to have statement for 1:1 fulltime and school didnt even provide that for him! I think im fighting a losing battle with them tbh. Shes not on school action or anything. School told me that they think ive contributed to her low self esteem by mentioning moving schools - when it was DD that came to me in tears asking to move schools! She was just so happy in year 1 and the teachers really seem to have worn her down this year and broken her spirit by constantly getting onto her, im not sure what to do for the best really. I wish i could yank her out of school and homeschool her but DD2 has SN as well so not easy. Shes almost 7 so at primary. I just need to get some info together so if space comes up at other school i can go in with it all and ask for all help she needs. Paed will confirm DX at appointment in first week of May

Chundle

If your DD is already under the care of a paediatrician she should be on School Action Plus (as there are outside agencies involved).

Extra help is indeed based on need and not diagnosis.

It sounds like this current school have completely failed her here; your best bet now is to move schools asap and to personally apply now for a Statement of Special Needs (she already has an ADHD diagnosis). Do not let school do this. You certainly also need to find your DD a nuturing and caring Junior school.

Statements are not just for academic needs; they are there also for social/communication difficulties. The only criteria for a Statement is need of one.

www.ipsea.org.uk is a good website to use regarding the minefield that can be the statementing process.

Some Parent Partnership organisations work in close proximity with the LEA in question so it may be adviseable anyway to seek independent advice from one of the charities like IPSEA, ACE, SOSSEN etc.

Thank you Attila thats helpful i didnt realise the criteria for School Action Plus was just for having outside agencies involved. I shall raise that point at parents evening tomorrow!! I shall also push education board to get her moved school as the school we want her into is in fact our local catchment school anyway as werecently moved to the area, but its oversubscribed due to outstanding ofsted. Thanks for all advice guys very helpful

Just rang education helpline, shes second on list for new school but they havent been able to offer anyone on list a place at the school for 2 years! As no one has left the school. So i now need to appeal my case, sigh....

If you eventually get a statement of SEN you would be able to jump the queue on waiting lists. It's probably at least 6 months away, unfortunately, so maybe too late. You can name the school that you believe best meets your DC's needs on the statement and the school are then obliged to take her unless they feel it would adversely affect the education of others or not be able to meet her needs or not be cost effective. They may be able to argue that they are full, but after infants the restriction of 30 in a class is lifted.

Hmm that's useful thank you for that as by time appeal has gone through time will be cracking on and it will be almost may time so not much longer left in infants anyway so I can always argue that point that she won't be in infants year for long