5 year old mainstream

[Sunshinejoll]

My 5 year old is just coming towards the end of reception. Annual review wasn’t great I felt it focussed on negatives and I felt his teacher was hinting my son was too high needs for the school. My question is has anyone been in this situation and perservered with mainstream and it was the right choice? My issue is that my son is otherwise bright but does not show this at school. They say all he does is stim all day. He can read and count and he can speak but is behind. The SEND school here said they would only teach life skills in a small group hence why I chose mainstream and he has made progress but am annoyed with what his teacher said in that he doesn’t have a deeper understanding of the composition of numbers or the world ie different countries. Am I wrong to think this may come in future? He is only 5. Please help.

How much support is in his ehcp, does he require 1-1 or got that already??
If so school probably being under funded, or the usual we don't want special needs kids in our school.
We preserved until ks3, then put dd in special needs school.
Dd was working at p level for many years, the biggest step your son will have is reception was, not sure if is more learning through play.
They are probably worried how he will cope with the structure of a classroom, though I think year 1 did still have a small play area. Though that was a long time ago, youngest is 20..
What diagnosis does he have, ie ASD etc??
Dd ended up at special school and got entry level in maths and literacy etc
It's not an easy choice to make.
I think year 1 he will either thrive or the gap between his peers will get bigger.
Did they put it done on paper that all he does is still all day, you need to start a paper trail.

He has full time 1:1 already in school and I think he has made progress in that year. The school also agree there is progress but they said nothing positive at his annual review in that he has learned to read, write, spell etc. I feel like putting him in a special setting will close him off to the realities of the world and he is a very capable boy but I feel his teacher is not in his corner

That is what we now realise as dd socially won't go out by herself.
Dd main problem was retaining information etc.
If your ds can retain information he will progress.
Also if they say he's made a lot of progress, they might reduce his need of a 1-1. That could be a reason for the negativity.

On the other hand, some find by going to SS their child becomes more independent.

The SEND school here said they would only teach life skills in a small group…

Have you looked at other SS within travelling distance, including independent and out of area ones?

Yes I have looked but I also have two other children to consider and I can’t be on time for school runs if two schools are too far away. He is mostly independent at home he just doesn’t show it at school.

You would be eligible for transport. Usually for primary school 45 mins is considered reasonable travel time, but many do travel further,

Go with your instinct. We had a pre annual review meeting with a Ed Psych and she had only met him twice ever and we had the whole negative story and how he would need a special setting despite progress. We felt we were being pushed out 2 months later at DS4.5 annual review the whole story had changed he had made massive progress with writing, social, receptive and improvements with phonics and we agreed that whatever we were doing was working. He was also settled and happy but finds things like sports day overwhelming. It’s always about the personal journey. We are over the moon with DS progress and suspect you are happy too. My advice is if that changes then look elsewhere otherwise stick with what you’ve got.

It sounds like your instinct is for him to have a proper shot at trying mainstream- it the school doesn't want him there (for whatever reasons) and is trying to discourage you.

I would say - fight for him to get the proper chance you want him to have at his current school. Then if it doesn't work out after that, look at a move to specialist. As Lego said, you would be eligible for transport to take him to and from school so you could collect your other children.

I would suggest emailing the SenCo and the teacher and putting down all the areas you can see his progress in over past year. Be as specific as possible, and "measure" the progress if possible.