Had DS2's annual review today...

[EllenJaneisstillnotmyname]

It was OK. Not as good as last year. The school have changed their TA support to become subject based rather than child based. (Secondary school) The idea is to have them become more subject knowledgeable. Which I can understand for further up the school and for higher achieving DC, but the downside is that they are less DS2 knowledgeable.

He and they spent the first term getting to know each other, during which time DS2 persuaded many of them that he couldn't write so they scribed for him. Once they realised he was more than capable of writing, he'd got used to it and now makes a big fuss with tears etc when they try to get him to do any work.

Also, they had a report from each TA in a traffic light system for each week of the year on various subjects, like organisation, working in groups, attitude to learning etc. It was really noticeable that one TA, one of his English TAs, had a whole raft of reds for him. His other English TA (yes, 2 TAs for the same subject on different days!) has very few problems with him. So... seems to be down to this particular TA. This is the TA that has complained the most about his attitude to writing. She made a comment in her report that he made a fuss about not being able to think of words to describe the seaside. Duh, he has ASD, thinking up ideas is one of his main difficulties! She is there to help him find ways to do that.

So, I've come away from the meeting making my feeling known, but I don't think much is going to change. The SENCo made no promises and I'm feeling a bit fobbed off. Shall I do one of those emails, 'confirming' our conversation and asking that this TA's timetable is adjusted to avoid DS2? Or will a bit of retraining in ASD be enough? English is such an important subject and this is the English TA.

I also have laptop issues, but maybe for another day...

I agree, you definitely need to create a paper trail and I would remind them how difficult creative writing is for children with Asd. Maybe you could ask for some more specialised support in this area if the TA is having difficulty getting the best out of him.

I would complain by email. firstly about the discrepancy in how well he does in the same subject for the different TAs. I would ask them to address that difference in his performance but I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to ask them not to give him that TA- your call there!.

Secondly I'd flag your concern about their lack of sharing info on DS ahead of time. As you say not much point in having a subject knowledgeable TA if they know nothing about your ds - knowing whether he can write or not is pretty basic stuff.

Also I always thought it was the job of the teacher to differentiate the work to the level of the child - so shouldn't they have picked this up? I'd be worried this further reduces the involvement of the qualified teacher in the education of ds2 - they could start to rely on the TA to do more as "they know" the topic area.

The meeting should have been minuted, so yes, ask for the minutes - this means that you can also double check that what was actually said agrees with what goes on record.

With those minutes to hand, I would also make a big fuss if you don't think the new arrangements will meet his needs.

Yes, the meeting was minuted by the SENCo. TBH, they are generally a lovely school, very inclusive and seem really caring. I just don't like this subject based TA policy much, but I won't be able to get them to change it.

He can write! He's just very good at being all helpless and getting them to 'help' him by doing 3/4 of the writing.

I think the point about sharing info about DS2 ahead of time is a good one. They have a good system of pupil profiles which each teacher gets on their laptop at lesson registration, but it's just a one page summary of strengths and weaknesses. The TAs get their extra info from the learning skills dept. hmm. Next year won't be such a steep learning curve as he's worked with most of the subject TAs now. I'm hoping he won't get this English TA again...

I need a kick up the backside to fight his battles, I think. I've got too complacent as everything had been going well.

Perhaps wait for the minutes, see what they say, then an email to school and advisory teachers asking for some English writing support/training for those with ASD?