Meeting at school next week, how do I get more support for my 4 year old?

[elliejjtiny]

I'm going to try and make this post short as I typed a really long one earlier and then deleted it by mistake. So apologies for any unintentional drip feeding.

Ds4 is 4 and in reception. He has gdd (development age 2) and some health issues. He gets level 2 funding at the moment. He enjoys school (especially lunch) but he is so far behind the other children, still in nappies, can't walk in a straight line or talk very well.

I want more funding for him so he can have a 1-1. I also want more feedback about what he has been doing. I love it when my boys come home from school and tell me about their day but ds4 can't do that, he just says yes if I ask if he had a good day. He can't tell me if he has friends or what he played with. I know it's going to be a fight to get anything so does anyone have any advice?

For starters can you ask for a home-school diary so they can write a couple of sentences about his day? At least then you have something to talk about with him.
As for more funding I don't know, does he have a child support plan in place? Is it up to date and are all his needs being met?

Thankyou. A home school diary is a good idea, I'll definitely ask for that. Is a child support plan like an IEP? I think he had one at preschool but I don't know if he has now. We haven't seen one or been asked to sign one or anything. I know it sounds awful but I don't know if his needs are being met or not. He is having his nappies changed and he seems happy. It worries me that we've had so little feedback. I've tried phoning the senco but she seems to permanently be in meetings. I'm kind of pinning all my hopes onto this meeting to get everything more organised.

If school won’t apply for an EHCP assessment after your meeting I’d look into making a parental request for one fairly quickly

IPSEA website gives superb advice on how to do this

IME schools can be very reluctant to apply for EHCPs now because of funding cuts and the implications of EHCPs on budgets. IME they try and muddle through without which means in reality children don’t get the support they need and teachers/TAs struggle to provide the education and care they’d like to especially to their most vulnerable children

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/ehc-needs-assessments/asking-for-an-ehc-needs-assessment

Thanks for the link, that's really helpful. Am I right in thinking that we either need evidence that the school is failing him or proof that he has a permanent disability to pursue an ehcp? He had a MRI scan when he was born that showed that his brain was immature for his gestation but I don't know if that would be considered evidence that his disability is permanent.

I would've thought the difficulties that you cite (still in nappies, can't walk in a straight line or talk very well) would be enough. You should just lean on the Senco. Don't be put off if they look at you like you asked for a ticket to the moon. That said it took us 2 years to get one but then that might depend on the level of need. I think they have to show that they've tried all they can out of existing school resources, financial and otherwise. Don't know if it might be quicker if you apply yourself?

You don't need evidence that the school are failing him.

You need evidence that he 'may' have a disability, and evidence that this disability 'may' require an EHCP at some point in the future, - to secure an assessment for an EHCP.

You clearly meet this legal test. Apply yourself that way you keep in control of timelines and reports and quite frankly gain the lifetime skills you are going to need to advocate for him.