Getting mixed messages from school, senco is offering to give ds an iep but teacher is saying he doesn't need one

[NervousNutty]

Will try and be brief. Ds is 6 and in yr 1.

He did ok for the first half of reception and then his learning just came to a complete standstill, and he ended reception behind in every area.

He has found yr1 tough going and everytime I thought he was getting better i'd be told he was now behind in something else and he had big attention span problems.

After his teacher raised her concerns I decided I wanted to see the senco. Teacher then seemed to change tack and say he definatly didn't need any senco input as they had done an audit on him and he was fine.

I asked in writing for a copy of audit and addressed it to the senco. She replied very quickly offering me an appointment.
I raised my concerns with her and she mentioned that if I liked Ds could have an iep, even if just for a short while, but first she'd like a hearing test.

Hearing test was done and passed and senco said she was then waiting for school nurse input. School nurse rung me and asked me lots of questions about ds and why i'd asked to see senco, and offered me an appointment with an ed psych i think, for june.

On wednesday, I get a letter from the senco saying that the school nurse tells her i'd like ds to have an iep, and giving me an appointment to get this implemented.

So, fast forward to today. I collect ds and am waiting for the girls and ds's teacher comes over with his pe bag and says how well he is doing now, how his reading has improved and his attention span alot better.
I told her about the letter from the senco and the iep and she just said 'well i don't think he needs one'.
I explained that i think it would benefit him to have one in place for the transition to yr2, and she said 'well if it is set up now then it would be reviewed in Oct, so it would only help him for the first month'.

She said that at the start of yr1, ds was definatly at the bottom of the class in everything, but that now he is in the middle.

I am confused as it was only 2 mths ago that she was saying he had attention problems and was behind in more or less everything.

She said alot of it is just being , and I totally agree with that but thats not going to wash with teachers the further up the school he goes, and I think it is a bit of a cop out.

I am not sure what to think now. Do i still say I want the iep and just see how it goes or what ??

yes, still say you want the iep - I really cannot see any harm in focussing his yr1 teacher attention on making sure he progresses .

Yes thats what I think.

If he has the iep reviewed in Oct when he has been in yr2 for a month, and his new teacher also thinks he doesn't need it, then thats fine. I just think that it will at least for now, show everyone who needs to know (me included) which areas ds is sturgling in still.

struggling

I think it's a very good idea to have the IEP in place to support his transition to Y2. The new teacher will then be aware of the areas where he needs support from the very beginning of the new school year. If he doesn't go up with one, you can guarantee that it will take the new class teacher until nearly half term before he gets an IEP!

I would also ask her for evidence of the progress that he's made (possibly in a threeway meeting with the SENCO).

It would be useful to see some hard data of how behind he is behind age related expectations. It would also help to know what extra at 'wave 2' or booster level work they've done and whether that's helped him to close the gap.

I'm wondering why they're offering ed psych appointment (wow!) if they are not worried about anything - we have to fight tooth and nail in our authority for that.

And I do think an iep would be helpful to focus them as given the confusion and lack of proper communication between parties involved in school I'd be worried that he'd be 'lost' in Y2.

Thanks all, you have reassured me that I am doing the right thing in asking for the iep.

I am confused at the apparent lack of comunication between the senco and ds's teacher aswell, and I am not sure if she is planning to be at the next meeting or not, as she wasn't at the first.

The school does apprently have a bad rep for dealing with this type of thing apparently.

Wrt to the ed psych, I am only assuming that is what it is, as the school nurse said it was not a 'body' doctor, so I assume she meant it was a psych.