Spoke to Matthew's teacher this afternoon, to discuss the fact he is sitting next to a boy who is being "mean" to him, he has ADHD and his mum's the TA helping Matthew. Understandably he is feeling some jealousy towards Matthew. However should a child who is extremly hyper be sat next to one who has extreme problems with attention himself? The teacher says she is going to move Matthew, but also said normally when children get above 90 on their end of year tests, they are released from SEN. She has decided as she is the Senco that his support will however remain and I think this is right.
My only concern about this is that there should be more than hitting a number in a test to determine whether a child needs extra support (an obviously in our school they are using they experience of this).
Matthew did extremley well on his English and Welsh classwork today as he was excited to tell me and so was his teacher. Strangely enough the distracting influence (the boy)was absence today!
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Private Tutor Problems
We had to stop Matthew's private tutoring last night. The lady who had been teaching him had been absent for a few weeks and I thought she just had a break, but we found out yesterday that she had left abruptly. She was a SENCo and knew exactly how to procede with Matthew and we could see a structured programe was being used with him. However the lady who took over- the person who is running the Kip McGrath franchise, had no idea Matthew even had SEN problems.
My husband dropped him off and went in to let them her know that he hadn't completed the homework because it was too much to ask of him (write a fictional story about anything!), I spent 3 X 20 mins trying to help him, but he just didn't know where to start, and wrote a few unorganized sentences. She said "No! Matthew that should have taken you 10 mins.", my husband went on to explain that this is the very thing he needs help with and he just doesn't get it, with his SEN problems. She replied that he didn't have SEN problems, he is bright and articulate he just couldn't be bothered!! (AKA lazy) .
Needless to say I went to pick him up, put her straight and cancelled his lessons, she had changed her tune after I told her all the support he gets at school and that is why he is there. Her resposne was he will not always get 1:1 and Kip McGrath is a happy medium with 1:5 teaching, my respnose is if he is never taught how to do things he is never going to do it by himself??!!
I know a lady on our estate who is a Dyslexia teacher, so I'm going to try her.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He has obviuosly picked up so much that he appears to have the ability and this is fooling the teachers into thinking that he can but won't. This is the very problem that worries me the most, future teachers in comprehensive schools thinking him able and lazy. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!
My husband dropped him off and went in to let them her know that he hadn't completed the homework because it was too much to ask of him (write a fictional story about anything!), I spent 3 X 20 mins trying to help him, but he just didn't know where to start, and wrote a few unorganized sentences. She said "No! Matthew that should have taken you 10 mins.", my husband went on to explain that this is the very thing he needs help with and he just doesn't get it, with his SEN problems. She replied that he didn't have SEN problems, he is bright and articulate he just couldn't be bothered!! (AKA lazy) .
Needless to say I went to pick him up, put her straight and cancelled his lessons, she had changed her tune after I told her all the support he gets at school and that is why he is there. Her resposne was he will not always get 1:1 and Kip McGrath is a happy medium with 1:5 teaching, my respnose is if he is never taught how to do things he is never going to do it by himself??!!
I know a lady on our estate who is a Dyslexia teacher, so I'm going to try her.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He has obviuosly picked up so much that he appears to have the ability and this is fooling the teachers into thinking that he can but won't. This is the very problem that worries me the most, future teachers in comprehensive schools thinking him able and lazy. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!
Monday, 16 June 2008
Independent Reading
Matthew has moved on to his next book, another Michael Morpurgo- Waiting for Anya, harder than the last book as it has slightly smaller print and NO pictures (gulp), We chose it as it is about the 2nd World War and that's what they have covered this term in school.
We had a hesitant start, where I had to go back and hear him read as he was resistant (?confidence issue) and needed to get "into" the characters, but once he got into it he is again reading 4 pages a night.
Dad went to tuck him in last night and he retold what he had read (as I ask him to do this to check comprehension). Dad asked if it was a good story and he says he's enjoying it!!
We had a hesitant start, where I had to go back and hear him read as he was resistant (?confidence issue) and needed to get "into" the characters, but once he got into it he is again reading 4 pages a night.
Dad went to tuck him in last night and he retold what he had read (as I ask him to do this to check comprehension). Dad asked if it was a good story and he says he's enjoying it!!
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