son with s.e.n advice needed asap

[syandles]

hi we looked at the school yesterday and were plesently surprised ....it a school that is very small only around 20 pupils per class and only 100 (ish) pupils in the school , the ofsted report on it recognises it is very good with s.e.n. children and the head has actually had very similar problems at his own childs school (he is autistic) he said the TAs are trained to a very high level , and that they will offer a child support and wouldn't withdraw it if the child shows signs of improvement ( which the other school does do ) .......I even attended the new parents evening yesterday evening as our second youngest is starting in september .....I collected the children from school today and told the 2 younger childrens class teachers that they would be leaving .the teacher who teachs our youngest asked why , I explained that his needs would be met in a better surrounding and we had found a school with better s.e.n provisions plus smaller class sizes and it made our decission very easy and a bit of a no brainer ! she then replied " you do realise that everytime your child moves school they regress 6 months " I said that Im sure that the school he is going to would have considered this and that this is a long term solution and one we have considered for around a year and that we feel now he is enterng the junior years there ll be no better oppertunity ......I also explained that the new school and ourselves have discussed a settling in period .....so I shall be speaking to the head of the new school tomorrow and then penning the letter to the old head explaining they are leaving and give them dates they will be going plus the reason why .....many thanks again for all your help and I will keep u updated

[Maggie_moo]

That's very good news Lesley, you just have a feeling when you do a visit and everything seems to fit into place, so will you have two children at the same school?

 

As for the churlish comment that he might regress, hmm, as you say, even if that was the case the school should be prepared. It's even better that the class sizes are reasonably small and although he will need a little time to settle in as most children do, I'm sure he will be fine!

 

Make sure you tell the school ALL the reasons your son is moving, they had a duty of care and the head failed to implement his responsibilities.

 

Out of curiousity did you have a look to see if you recognised any aspects of ASD in your son?

[syandles]

we have looked at asd on the internet and we do recognise several signs in our son , there will be 3 of his siblings moving to the school with him one older and 2 younger ( one starting in september) so he will not be lone as such . we will tell the school ALL the reasons why he is leaving , his new head teacher has a son with autism so again he is very empathic where s.e.n is required also he has a review for his bowel medication coming up at the gp I will mention asd to her and see what she thinks .....once again thanks for all your advice

[Maggie_moo]

When you go to your gp ask to be referred as you believe he may be autistic/aspergers as your gp wont be qualified to make the decision, I don't know how sympathetic your gp is but if you are confident that he is showing signs then they should just refer you to your local pct.

 

It's quite a long process and if you need any support or any questions just ask, there are a few others including myself who have been through it and will try to help

[syandles]

hiya ...last day at school tomorrow ..... one brief question our son has a home school diary and yesterday hubby was asked to take it in today ....which he did ...only its no longer in the bag !!!! I was wondering if its not in the bag tomorrow can I demand to have it or how do I get it ?? can only assume that they dont want it to be read by any one else ....this is probably due to the message i wrote in it bout the senco not phoning etc ......this was never actually responded to or aknowledged ..... this was indeed the final straw in moving our son .....lesley

[Maggie_moo]

To be honest Lesley I'm not sure who it would actually belong to, you or the school, having said that if you needed it for evidence for a complaint for example I would demand it back assuming they don't give you it tomorrow.

 

As you say they may just be playing silly buggers and realise there's stuff in there they don't want anyone to see, and if he's leaving why keep it anyway?

 

If you're planning to still continue with your complaint kick up a fuss - after all it's information about your son that they really don't have a right to or need for if he no longer attends, and if they say it needs to be sent to his new school you can pass it on!

 

Just my opinion of course, bet you're glad it's nearly over!

[syandles]

definately glad it is nearly over ....... as a parent you have to decide what is best for your child and sometimes make decissions that are not going to make you popular .....but fingers crossed it should all work out for the best .....

[Maggie_moo]

If it's the school that you're not popular with, from what you've said you're well out of it . I'm sure your son will thrive in the right environment, and I definately think you've made the best choice.

 

Good luck keep us updated!