Annual review woes

[TigerLightBurning]

DS just started mainstream reception. ASD, statemented 30 hours LSA lots of provisions put in place but the head wants him out already. We think he has done ok so far andw with some issues but nothing major. They painted a very bleak picture and seem to be writing off any chance he will progress there. Wondering if anyone had been through this? It is all a bit shocking really from a supposedly inclusive school.

Has the head told you this specifically? In person? In writing?

Tell them to put it in writing, specifically what they are saying and if they don't want him there, specifically WHY. Refuse to go into a verbal discussion over this. You need this in WRITING. Then you can take it from there.

Start documenting everything, if you're not already.

Thanks for the advice regarding verbal discussions, it felt like every positive we said was turned into a negative by the head. At the moment they are being very vague. I get the impression they try this to make parents question their decision to go there, after all it is easier to make people feel unwelcome and choose to leave than it is to go through the process. Feels like they are using his diagnosis against him.

It was sprung on us in the annual review meeting after going through all the many positives and general patting on the back of the staff for bending over backwards and it not working! Give it a bloody chance.

after all it is easier to make people feel unwelcome and choose to leave than it is to go through the process.

And no paper trails that way, so that can't be held accountable. Keep copies of everything. Follow up any and every meeting/discussion with a letter outlining what was discussed. Try to bring someone into any meetings with you - to take notes or simply witness. You can check with Parent Partnership for that, some are good, some are not. Any exclusions or sending him home early, any changes in schedule, any indication that they are trying to tell you something without actually TELLING you - get it in writing. And if they are reluctant to put it in writing when you verbally ask them for it, then ask them for it in writing IN WRITING. As in "Please respond in writing to this request... blah blah blah, whatever..." so they have to respond in writing - they'll do one of the following (or possibly a couple):

• ignore, in which case you can then take it further
• put it in writing in flowery terms - if it's not clear, ask for clarification in writing
• put it bluntly and get themselves in serious hot water. Then you can take it further.

Thanks. I need to get a lot better at recording everything and writing it up. When you say take it further what exactly do you mean?

Well, it depends on what they do.

Formal complaint to governors and/or LA. There's a definite chain there, but thankfully, I've not had to utilise it myself. The furthest we've had to go was taking the LA to tribunal regarding getting DS1 into SS, and they backed down at the last minute.

But there are loads of people on these boards, and if you give basic information as to what they are doing and what they put in writing, they can most likely advise you what the best route to follow would be.

Thanks Trigglesx. Much appreciated.

What, specifically, are they saying isn't working? It's easy to assume a HT is being malicious, but the fact is that MS isn't the best place for some children, which is why there are special schools. If you have a clear idea of what 'isn't working'then you can see if there is a suitable way around it that would keep MS a viable option.

I think they are concerned about him being taught parallel to the rest of the class. They think school is making him too anxious, and haven't figured out how to engage him in stuff he is not interested in.
To be honest a lot of what was said is fair enough, but a lot of it seemed to be based on very little evidence and it seems to soon to make such a big decision.

Do you think it's possible that the HT thinks your DS deserves better than that? I'm biased because I know what good specialist provision looks like, but I don't think (all) HTs just want rid of children with SN.

I have to say this exact same scenario happened to me. i'm now in the process of moving my dc.

But what i would say is that funding has dramatically changed in the last few years and i actually do think that HT's actively encourage children with sen to leave. Not all, i agree , but i've seen far too many cases of schools doing exactly that - or discouraging parents to not apply or put their schools down as a choice.

Whilst i agree some ss do have excellent provisions, i think at 5 its quite early to say ms isn't the right fit for a child when cognitively its very difficult to ascertain, especially when a child has asd as there are so many barriers before even getting to assess.

In the last government there was a scheme called loufapp which kept the funding and ta out of the schools control. It was such a success with a lot of children going through ms successfully.

Its important to remember that a HT needs to take care of the "needs" of the entire school, and here in (in my humble opinion) lies the problem. The issue of funding and sen children i feel is unfortunately linked. Well, in my case it almost certainly was.