Y6 to Y7 transition and documents

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I've just gone through the pile of stuff that was pulled out of DS's school bag from the end of year 6. Amongst the pile of various school books was a load of poly wallets that contain his SEN documentation regarding his ASD, Dyspraxia and Dyslexia.

The outcome of our EHCP application was that he needed an enhanced transition. He did not recieve any additional visits. The only thing I've heard from the SN department was a phone call querying his hypermobility. Nothing seems to be in place and I'm now wondering if the primary school have even sent essential information on to the secondary!

Surely this isn't normal practice?
When I taught, there was normally briefing information regarding new starters with needs like DS's. This seems very wrong to me.

The secondary has a good reputation on SENs and did a "good" transition generally, but there was nothing extra for DS. He's come from a small school with only two other students who weren't particularly close to him (his two good friends separating off to two other schools) so he hasn't transitioned with a secure social network.

It is normal practice to pass information on, but did you not speak to the secondary SENCO prior to transition? If the enhanced transition was in the the EHCP it should have happened.

Other than one call querying the impact of hypermobility in his knees I hadn't heard anything from the SEN department.

There was one letter with his name penned on for a session at the local catchment school which is not the one he's gone to. He carried that out of school and we took it straight in to query- it looks like they assumed that he was one of the ⅔s of the cohort going there.

I was somewhat distracted in the summer term by DS2 having health issues (which lead to me catching Covid from A&E around the y7 transition days) and DS2 has segued into other health issues too. We then ended up with a close and logistically difficult bereavement around the summer school. It's not been an easy time to focus on wider issues beyond anything that needs doing now.

DS also had a change of teacher during y6. There's been issues like only realising that they'd ignored the guidence on writing in pen/ pencil/ pen licences half-way through y6 when parents were finally allowed into school. They also resisted and did not give additional time for SATs as it allegedly wasn't needed (then commented in his report in the last two days of the school year that he was anxious in timed conditions when he didn't achieve the Greater Depth they'd hoped for in one paper- precisely why an autistic, dyspraxic, dyslexic child is eligible!)

He got his diagnoses just before the first lockdown, and it's been difficult trying to have dialogue with the primary school since then when they've just brushed everything off from a distance.
DS2 is still there (and they're being unhelpful about addressing my dyslexia concerns too...)

I am just at the point of wondering if they've been sitting there ignoring DS's SNs (he's the "coping", "high functioning" masking type) and haven't been communicating essential information to the secondary school.

I will contact the secondary SENCO, but I just wanted to check if this was a normal way of handling information because I'm stunned that sensitive information was sent home in clear wallets like that.

I know other than the one call from the school they haven’t contacted you, but did you not proactively contact them? That would be usual, starting from when parents consider the school prior then making more solid contact once places are confirmed.

I thought it would come from the school based on information they'd recieve from the primary school. Primary definitely had a copy of the letter from the LA regarding the EHCP application outcome/ enhanced transition; it's now sitting in my kitchen!

When accepting the place, I detailed his needs on the documents the secondary sent and returned to them so the secondary have been aware of the nature of his needs from that angle.

I thought the documents would have been sent to the secondary school not the school bag amongst a heap of books.

The primary school should have passed information on, but just because a copy of it was sent home with DS doesn’t mean the information wasn’t passed on, it may have been sent electronically or another copy sent or a summary. Sending documents home with pupils is relatively normal practice. If the secondary school received the information they should have acted on it. However, you should have also made contact.

You can’t change any of that now, so I would focus on contacting the SENCO and discussing support for DS now.

Does DS actually have an EHCP? If so, was the transition arrangements in there?

That's good to know.

There isn't an EHCP as it was assessed that he was coping without (done remotely in summer 2021) but it did just state that there should be "enhanced transition" a detail I added to the application last autumn and on documents sent to the secondary school to accept the place.

It's been a hard few years to adjust to as the diagnoses were right at the end of 2019 and I was still adjusting to that when lockdowns occured and we were frozen out for 6m, then primary school refused to have him in in Jan 2021 (EHCP application was in progress at the time) and school kept everyone at arms length as much as possible until around spring 2022. Add in mid-year staff changes and it's not been easy circumstances to maintain a dialogue, especially when they don't see the issues at their end. It's a small school and there was no one else in the class with a SN profile to compare process with.

I have spoken to the secondary about him feeling sensory overwhelmed and they do seem much more interested in listening and potential actions to adjust rather than a brick wall approach. DS has done well at primary, but more down to the fact it's a small cosy school, and nice class rather than any focus on individual need. The trouble is the system is only interested when the wheels fall off, and not in preventing that.

Did you appeal the EHCP refusal?

Not having an EHCP makes things harder, as although the letter stated enhanced transition was required it isn’t enforceable.