Should my ds be on action and have IEP ?

[supermum98]

Had Ed Psych assessment in school. Id'd a SPLD ie. working memory of 11th percentile, whilst verbal reasoning/knowledge in 98th percentile. Senco said he doesn't tick all the boxes to be on 'action' and have IEP, what are these boxes she is referring to? I feel that the gap is widening between him and his peers and I want to be sure that we are getting all the help he needs esp as he is in year 6.

Senco is talking nonsense. any child with an issue seriously affecting his/her learning should have an IEP. What that means in practice though is very variable and not well defined, so I wouldn't hold my breath for much additional support.

My school's take on IEPs is this:

Class teachers have to differentiate the curriculum every day ie deliver it in different ways to different groups. The level of differentiation is dictated by the spread of abilities ie how bright are the brightest kids, how many of them are there and how low is the lowest common denominator. This will be different for each class of kids so there is no 'absolute' level.

My dd1's school believe that dd1's needs can be met with the usual differentiation ie lump her in with the lowest-attainers. Simple as. On this basis my dd1 does not have and will never have an IEP.

I actually disagree with this because it does not address the reasons behind the difficulty in each subject ie the level of work is simpler but they are forever changing subject in maths and not giving my dd1 a chance to do the over-consolidating she needs to do. In short what they do does not actually address my dd1's needs (which is primarily slow processing, poor working memory and ultimately lack of confidence). My dd1 does not have a low IQ but weakness in particular areas, needs extra, multi-sensory methods, excellent teaching, time for processing and repetition, repetition, repetition. Making the work easier is therefore only half the problem, SpLD is by definition NOT the same as having a low IQ. Therefore lumping her in with the less bright kids is not necessarily the way to meet the needs of SpLD kids.

Having said that I do appreciate that teachers are totally up against it trying to meet the differing needs of different children. There is only so much they can do. As the school is unable to meet my dd1's needs properly we employ a specialist tutor and this is where most of my dd1's maths learning happens.

IMO supermum's ds should absolutely be getting suppport from school and therefore should definitely be on School Action (my dd1 is) even if there is no IEP.

Having said all this supermum's ds school may have different criteria for using an IEP. It might be worth finding out.

Handy xxxxx

It was defined to me as a targeted list of educational things children won't acquire through normal, differentiated teaching methods. So in the normal course of teaching, my DS will learn arithmetic - may take a bit of extra effort, but he'll get there. However he won't learn inference, which will have a knock on affect on his literacy - so that has to be taken as a separate target, broken into chunks and then interventions have to be designed (1-2-1, small group work) to tackle it.

I suspect every school works to a slightly different agenda though. And I also suspect what your SENCO means is 'I've been told that only children with this level of difficulty can get on IEP'. Which of course is bolleaux.

This is the time for you to kick ass. He is in Y6 and you need to have an IEP in place and your son on the SEN register when the transition process begins.

If he has a diagnosed SEN/the EP has identified a learning difficulty, then you must not let the SENCo or anyone else convince you that he falls short of the criteria for an IEP - he more than qualifies for one. Schools use IEPs for all sorts of reasons other than a statement or a disability, including poor behaviour and more nebulous social communication difficulties.

Once you get an IEP in place you will be able to request regular meetings with the teacher and the SENCo to assess your son's progress against the targets and ensure that he is working within reasonable expectations for his ability. Having an IEP in place will also enable you to personalise and enhance the transition to secondary school, including meeting with the new form teacher and SENCo to discuss his needs and how they will be addressed as he enters Y7.

Don't take no for an answer. And put everything in writing, copied to the Head and the EP if you encounter resistance from the teacher and SENCo.

Also, if the school have called in an EP, he should be on school action plus. A variation of 87 percentile points like that means that just teaching him with the lower ability DC will not be meeting his needs, IMO.