DS says he feels scared and lonely all day long at school :(

[aSilverLining]

I am starting to feel awful sending him.

He has always said this, since starting there in F1 in Jan 08. He now does full days in F2 and is obviously more verbal now, still cries some mornings going in, and tells me he feels "so scared and lonely all day long".

Just wanted to talk to someone about it, don't know what I am hoping to acheive from this thread apart from getting it off my chest.

That's not very clear, he doesn't cry every day but does verbally tell me several times every day that he is sad and doesn't want to go.

Oh that is so sad. F2 - does that mean he's 6? or 5? Is he at a MS school or SEN? Maybe worth talking to the school about it. I can't really offer much advice but i do worry about that situation with my DS. He's completely non verbal, although he signs a bit, so i do sometimes worry about him being isolated at school. Luckily he seems to be doing ok. He's at SEN school, with smaller classes (only 4 in his class) and i think the children seem to be more accepting IYSWIM as they all have problems.
Just noticed you wrote this an hour ago so you might not still be around but i'm about if you just want to chat?

Perhaps you should keep a diary for a month. Note down these comments. Then make an appointment to see the headteacher, show him/her the diary and say that you have a very distresed child.

Yes sorry it seemed really quiet when I posted so I stepped away from laptop to do some housework.

He turned 5 in October and is the oldest in his class, mainstream school. School are aware, the statementing process has begun as HT wants him to have a classroom assistant when he starts year one in september to support his learning.

Keeping a log of his school comments is maybe a good idea, it would show how often he expresses his feelings about school, and how often (or NOT often) he discusses school apart from to say he doesn't like going.

I just feel so sad for him.
Most of the dcs are nice kids, and accepting of him, the school have that kind of caring atmosphere IYKWIM?

A child will bound up to him to say hello and he will scream in terror, he hides under tables indoors and outdoors, etc, I just wish it were easier for him.

Will focussing on good bits help?

Maybe get school to tell you each day about an activity at which he appeared to be enjoying himself? Then you can use that to remind him later on when you are talking, about what he enjoyed from the day - its easy for dc's to forget the good bits if it has been overshadowed by a less easy part later on.

That may help meltedmarsbars yes, whether I will get daily feedback every day though is another matter. It is quite a demanding group/class and IMO the staff are spread too thin (probably why HT realises and is pushing for extra help).

I need to go in anyway about something else so I will ask if they could do that.

Our DS are the same age then Silver. My ds was 5 in oct too.

If you've starting the process of statementing then its definately a good idea to keep a record of this as it will help your application.

Also agree with meltedmarsbar - there are probably bits he does enjoy but the negative feelings are outweighing the positives at the moment.