School related: Where do you draw the line between 'he needs pushing to get to target' and 'he's not got going to get to target so stop pushing him'?

[boredandrestless]

Just that really.

DS has ASD and is in year 2, mainstream with a petty much full time TA.

Just had parents evening and he 'needs really pushing' to get his work done, if no one with him it's not done to same standard of at all, and apparently the whole class including ds will be being pushed hard especially on their writing between now and end of year. DS comes home from school knackered already and teacher admitted it will be a slog.

He does need pushing to do things at times, but won't I don't want is him to be constantly pushed to achieve something that's out of reach (?) and make him hate school. School has gradually grown on him a little in year 2.

How do you know when you should push and when it's too much to expect??

Are you suggesting that schools have to hit these politically imposed literacy targets, but you don't feel the targets are relevant to where your ds is at right now?

Exactly oodles. I asked how they worked out what level was expected and was told each child is expected to go up 2 levels from what they were in at the end of year one, by the end of year two.

My worry is whilst that is maybe a good benchmark for most children as a progress aim, for children with SN they might either never get to that level, or they might get to it, or even exceed it, but it might take much (much) longer.

zzzzzz I know what needs to be done to get to the level he's meant to hit by end of school year, things like writing more, writing longer sentences, adding joining words, etc etc.

I felt under pressure after a 5 min parent's evening appointment, DS is feeling this push every day at school.

Bored what's in his IEP? What do you think he needs to work on? Maybe you need to refine the IEP and stand up to the school.

Zzzzz is also right about breaking things down, perhaps into smaller chunks than for other children.

Do you know what, I'm not sure! His headteacher (also the senco) did say last month that they were going to update his IEP as the things on it he was managing (they were mostly behavioural/social targets last term) - but I haven't seen the update!

I will ask her tomorrow and see what she says.

How did you get on today bored ?

I got his IEP today, some is taken across from the last one, some is new.

It helps to see his IEP as that shows the little steps he needs to do, rather than thinking he has 2 levels to move up by, by the end of the year (which I know he won't manage).

It's normally 2 sub-levels a year that schools are supposed to move children forward, not two levels.

Unfortunately many children don't move these two levels in a nice linear way (that the government expects), but ideally, as there is only one term left until the end of the school year, you would presume he would already be on the way to making those two sub levels of progress.

I'd be a little concerned that 'he needs really pushing', he's 6 or 7 ffs.
Also he is yr2 and will presumably be undergoing some form of KS1 testing during May, it does make you consider if there is any correlation between the two.

I agree with what zzzzz has said, but how much pushing is too much - listen to your DS and only do what he is willing to do - life's supposed to be fun at his age. It's also very easy to turn children off learning by piling on the academic pressure.

I know they are all being pushed ready for testing Minx, his TA told me. Teacher didn't mention it at all though (the tests).

It was SUB levels yes, sorry I'd forgotten the sub part.

They are all "being pushed" I've been told this by the teacher at parents evening and the TA several times. I really don't want him to see learning as an arduous slog 5 days a week that's not going to end well is it!?!

(Away for the weekend, back monday).