Undiagnosed SEN starts mainstream school worries

[Ts2506]

I’m really struggling. My son started school a week ago and he is non conversational and cannot tell me anything about his day. He has had one speech and language assessment 4 months ago (not very detailed).

I tried to hand to the teacher second day and she said not right now as she has to get all the children out, so I took it into the office. She has not spoken to me about the report at all. I understand she is busy getting to know the children and she said no news is good news but it breaks my heart hearing all the children come out talking about their day when my son cant tell me a single thing.

He has been read to twice in the reading record were sent home, and one sentence X sang old McDonald and that’s all the communication we have. He sings songs all day long but I’ve never had a conversation with him. They put pictures up of the group activities but he wasn’t in any of them, so where was he? I just want to know the favourite and worst part of his day and if he ate his lunch. I wonder if he’s participating in the class or just wandering round lost.

Hello, you need to speak to the school SENCO and arrange a meeting with the teacher and them present. Set out what you would like to receive and your outcomes you would like for your child. The start of the year is always the best time to set the tone. If your child is non verbal you can request a home communication book where they can write what he did/if he ate etc. I used to recieve photos of his plate before and after eating as I found that more useful. How is your child communicating at the moment? Using makaton or does the teacher show picture cards? It will probably be worth starting the ECHP process and requesting an independent plan from the school now where they can do review and assess cycles. You’re not the only one or the last one to experience those feelings.

Did you meet with the SENCO before DS started? Have you requested a meeting with the SENCO now? Trying to have those type of discussions at pick up/drop off time at the beginning of the year isn’t realistic. You need an organised meeting.

Does DS have an EHCP? The school must make reasonable adjustments and they must make their best endeavours to meet DS’s SEN, but DS is going to need provision in excess of what is typically available at a SEN Support level. The EHCP can secure provision, including therapies in excess of what he would otherwise get, DS won’t otherwise receive.

He has memorised phrases he uses at home to communicate such as ‘do you need the toilet’ or ‘do you want a juice’ but not sure if he’s using them at school. Yes, would like a before and after as he has been coming home very hungry so suspect he’s not been eating lunch. What is an independent plan? Missing the run down if his day I used to get when he was at the childminders

No, at the settling in sessions I expressed my concerns with his teacher about his speech delay and toilet training issues(he’s pretty much dry now) but she dismissed me saying just enjoy him being 3 because they don’t stay little for long (august birthday). No EHCP so don’t know where to go from here.

Request a meeting with the SENCO. They need to look at what support they can put in place. They need to form a document to set out DS’s needs and the support he requires. Different areas/schools call these different things. It could be an Individual Education Plan (IEP), Personal Education Plan (PEP), Personal Learning Plan (PEP), My Plan/My Plan+, One Page Profile or a whole host of other names. This will go through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) cycle. If the school needs more funding to provide support, they can request high needs top up funding.

You can request an EHCNA yourself. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.