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SN children

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Original poster

education ? ???i feel like screaming!

13 replies

drlove8 · 13/11/2009 19:16

DD4 is 4 , she will be school age next summer. She and her twin brother are attending the local school nursery ,she has her own "teacher" (teaching assistant), and is settled ok . She still has bad meltdowns there but theyre becoming less frequent and shorter.
The EDUCATION key worker has visited us and has suggested that dd4 stay another year in nursery instead of school.
This was a visit to discuss dd4`s "options".
no options were discussed , it was another year at nursery ,or nothing.
Am i wrong , but do all children ,regardless of ability/disability entitled to full time education?
Would another year of 2hours 30 mins a day at nursery be enough? i want to go with the best option for dd4 but i dont know where to start .
Would i be better trying to get her into a specialist unit/school? .
DD4 still doesnt have a formal dx....would it make a difference?
Help me please.

OP posts:

lou031205 · 13/11/2009 19:22

drlove8, are you in Scotland?

nulgirl · 13/11/2009 19:31

When is her birthday? Assuming you're in Scotland, I thought it was quite common for children with birthdays in Jan & Feb to defer a year. Think you can also do it for Nov and Dec birthdays too. I would have thought it would be to her advantage to spend an extra year at nursery especially if she has difficulties. That surely wouldn't prevent her going to a specialist unit the following year?

Original poster

drlove8 · 13/11/2009 19:44

yes im in scotland! ... think it kids that have birthdays in october -first week in march that have the option of going to school a year early , at 4 instead of five.

OP posts:

nulgirl · 13/11/2009 19:52

No - its kids with birthdays from Nov to Feb who have the option to defer and go at 5 3/4. Children in scotland start school between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2

RaggedRobin · 13/11/2009 21:07

they are pretty flexible about it, especially if your dc has additional support needs. my ds has language delay/disorder etc, and we are deferring. he will go to school aged 5.8. i think it is in his best interests as he has a lot of catching up to do. i want him to be happy and confident when he goes to school and worry that he will flounder if he goes too soon.

having said that, if your dd is school age next year, then you have every right to send her. perhaps you could ask for a further meeting, as this suggestion took you by surprise. has anyone suggested a specialist unit/school before now? it may be worth investigating. with the right support/placement your dd may benefit from the full week of school.

Original poster

drlove8 · 14/11/2009 00:16

nulgirl - i have never heard of a child going to school at 5 3/4 up here.(east scotland , might be different in other areas)
I only know of one wee girl who did the first year in primary twice...but thats a bit diffent i suppose .
ds2 went to school at 4 , db went at 4 - his b`day is 3 march.
Good idea Ragged about asking for another meeting...think we need to find out as much as we can before it though.

OP posts:

wigglybeezer · 14/11/2009 11:34

I agree with nugirl, I personally know of two kids who started school at rising six due to speech/language disorder (and don't know any who went early).
At my kids' school there is usually one kid per year who does an extra year at nursery and I have not heard any parent say they regret it (I regret not doing it for DS2 who has a December birthday and am now considering home-eding him for a year in-between primary and high school).

There doesn't seem to be any stigma attached to it here (central Scotland) and even parents of NT kids (usually boys, including my nephew who has a Jan b/day) do it if they think their kids are not confident enough for a full school day.

IMO, you have to think ahead to wether they will cope with the move out of infants or up to high school when they are older.

borderslass · 14/11/2009 11:48

we had this problem when my son started school years ago his teacher said he could of done with an extra year at nursery, yet his birthday is July realistically he wasn't ready for school until about 8. were do you draw the line were in Scotland to and the cut off date is 28th February but you can send them earlier if you push for it. although in recent years their trying to stop parents whose children are born after the Christmas from sending them to school. every child is different if you think your child is ready send her it is your decision. My son still doesn't have a formal DX of autism but attends a specialist school for asd kids and according to his teachers is definitely autistic.

RaggedRobin · 14/11/2009 13:14

borderslass: i agree that it is not a good idea to keep on deferring so that your dc is a completely different age to the rest of the class. school should ensure that the right support is in place so that children can attend school with others of a similar age. however, my ds will only be a couple of months older than the other children in his class, but the extra year will hopefully make a very big differnce to his readiness to be there.

nulgirl · 14/11/2009 13:59

My ds is a November birthday and altho it is still far too early to be making plans (he is 1 next wk). I am open to the idea of him deferring for a year and starting when he is 5.10. My dd on the otherhand is pretty much ready for school and she is 3.2.

There doesn't seem to be any stigma here (glasgow) and in fact my friends seem keen to defer as they see it giving their child an advantage.

Saying that this may be different if she is going to a specialist unit as she may benefit from the extra input. I suppose another factor is whether you are at work. Wrapwround childcare is almost impossible to sort out when they are only in for 3 hrs a day

Original poster

drlove8 · 14/11/2009 14:26

well childcare isnt an issue as i gave up work to look after dd4 full time .... i would have loved to go back to work next year , but life never works out to plan does it .
i know glasgow , lived there myself for 10 years .... they do have some great SN schools available - Kennyhill in deniston was one i remember , a friends brother went there and he loved it ! - (was a while back).
So extra nursery year could be a good thing, but would they give dd4 either morning or afternoon sessions or both ? or would it depend on what she'd cope with?

OP posts:

RaggedRobin · 14/11/2009 23:14

as far as i know, ds will continue to go in the mornings as usual, but i think that full time placements can be offered if your dc have additional support needs which are best met in this way. i suppose a lot depends on your education authority and what they are willing to fund.

magso · 15/11/2009 16:37

Hi!This is a benefit of hindsight post!
I would have liked my son to stay in nursery an extra year but (in england with no flexibility) were not permitted as he is old in his year group. He was making progress ( albeit slow due to GDD) in nursery but really could not cope in school even with reduced hours. His progress actually stopped and he started to loose skills - although this did reduce somewhat by reducing his ( at sea) hours in school. Here the law only requires an education - not a full time one. Now at sn school he is making progress again.
So my point is that for my son the mix of intensive 1:1 at home and good support in nursery was better for him than abandoning to the confusion of poorly supported school that was beyond him.

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