problems at school, again

[jetcat]

hi, i posted this in secondary, in the hope that maybe teachers could give me their opinions, but i guess they are all, well, teaching

Am simply copying and pasting from there, so apologies for repeating info i have already previously posted here But, i am desparate

My 13 year old DD has been having a lot of problems at school - she is dyspraxic, has a sensory processing disorder and possible aspergers.

After a period of home schooling (she basically couldnt cope with school anymore), she went back part time a couple of months ago, with the aim to going full time in September.

SHe has a variety of time out passes etc, which she uses, ear plugs to block background noise, but still really struggles with her communication skills (eg. teachers asking her why she wont partake in group work etc - she simply shuts down and wont answer them).

When she first went back, she was using her time out pass every lesson, as they were too loud for her and she couldnt do her work, and i was then getting concerned about the amount of time she spent away from the classroom. So, after a meeting with her head of year, she was moved up into the bottom set of a higher pathway, which meant that the other students werent messing around so much. This helped a little, although she has really struggled with the academic side of things, and because of her communication problems, she wont ask for help - or it takes a long time to ask. Resulting in her falling further behind.

Yesterday (after me sending yet another letter into school requesting another meeting to plan y9 and maybe discuss an IEP - there is nothing in writing re her needs at the moment, i havent even met the senco!) DD tells me that she is being moved back down to her old pathway This is where she had the majority of her problems, too many distractions etc. I cant see how it will work, without a lot of support - which as far as i can see, school arent really offering, apart from her time out pass. Her old pathway is where i think she belongs academically (i was really surprised when they moved her up), but she is already panicking about the levels of class disruption from the noisier kids IYSWIM.

Are there any teachers on here who can maybe advise me on how best to handle this, or parents who have been through something similar?

I have actually since spoken with IPSEA (who coincidently say they get a lot of mumsnetters ringing) who say to write to the senco, cc the headteacher in, and request a meeting before the end of term, basically going over the head of the head of year - who i have been dealing with so far

Follow IPSEAs advice.

tribunalgoer - they asked where i had heard of them from. I natch said here, and she had a little giggle and said, umm yes - we do get quite a few from there

THanks, i will do. She has came home from school today saying that her head of year gave her the choice today whether to move classes now, or wait until september. So that tells me they arent thinking of offering support. The IPSEA woman was amazed that they are moving her about like this without informing me!

Please can i ask for a little help in wording the letter then? And if i am cc'ing the head teacher, that means i dont actually address her on the letter, right?

well I will rough out something as a starting point, and am sure others will cast their expert eye and change it as appropriate....

dear ms senco

I am writing about jetdd. as you are aware, she has returned to school part time following x amount of time home educated, as she was unable to cope with school on health grounds due to her SEN. She is still not fully integrated into full time mainstream, as sensory/social issues are still causing her difficulty in accessing the curriculum and cause her to experience great levels of anxiety both in and out of the classrom. She has particular difficulties with (x/y/z), and is currently awaiting assessment for ?Aspergers/?ASD with (whatever org - is it CAMHS?). Due to the difficulties and anxiety she is experiencing, I am concerned about arrangements for her transition into year [whatever] and want to meet with you to discuss how best we can work to support her, what help outside agencies might be able to provide while jetdd is waiting for a diagnosis and to discuss appropriate targets for her for next year and how to achieve them.

You can contact me on (phone number) if you want to discuss further, I am available any date till the end of term to meet with you.

Regards
Jetcat

thanks TC Will send it in tomorrow

Hi. I have a ds who has dyspraxia and HFA. He is just about to start Secondary school and I know things will be difficult for him from a social point of view. He finds friedship difficult, and doesnt like crowded noisy places. We will have to see how it goes.
Why did your dd go back to school? Did you/she want to, or did you feel pressured by the school/LA?
Unless you get in writing, that the school are going to accomodate your dd needs appropriately, I would not send her back there. She sounds very stressed. Moving her to her appropriate academic level, seems right, or otherwise she gets added stress from trying to keep up. But, her sensory needs are not being addressed. Is there a communication base she could attend-one that is attached to a secondary school?
Is your dd receiving any OT input for her sensory difficulties?
If she does go back to school,(if homeschool not an option),insist on an IEP. She may not need one academically, but she needs small, set targets for her communication difficul.ie-to ask for help if she needs it.
I would do what IPSEA say, and get tough with the school. You dont want your dd to go through the whole of school miserable, damaging her self-esteem in the process. HTH.

thanks bigpants
DD went back to school partly due to missing the proper structure of her timetables etc (despite trying to do the same at home). She also had a few messages from class mates and therefore realised she did have a few friends. No pressure from the LA - they werent that interested tbh

You have hit the nail on the head re getting more stressed trying to keep up with the academic level, its just awful to watch her.

Re the communication base, she does occasionally go to the school's learning support base, but that is only when there isnt other groups of kids in there (which she only finds out when she gets there). IF that happens, she wanders around school looking for her head of year.

No OT input, as once she had done her assessment, she kindly informed us that they dont work with secondary school kids with SPD - just primary

I didnt realise i could ask for an IEP even if she didnt need one academically. She is doing well in some lessons, but her general literacy skills are really poor - she will often mix words up in sentences etc, or write something that doesnt make sense. I got told off by the school when they realised i was going through her homework with her (her request) to correct mistakes - despite always including the original. But, teachers never correct anything -so how is she going to learn Sorry, mini rant there!

And your very lovely post and helped a lot, many thanks I hope things go ok for your DS