Having heard nothing now for 10 days, chomping at the bit for the report, my hubbie gave her a call. She is going into the school to test another child tomorrow and is going to discuss Matthew and then give us a ring. She reiterated what she said to me a week last Monday, but added that the SENCo had said to her in the conversation" we have been discriminating against Matthew then?" to which she answered "Yes you have". My husband and I had been discussing this after I had stumbled across this pdf
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part 4 Code Of Practice for Schools especially liked chapters 5 & 6.
Matthew had Sats Level 4 and his cats average was 108 end of Yr 6. Any child who had these score without a label would have made at least B stream, the justification for putting him in the C stream was that he was heavily supported at primary, in other words he's in the C stream because of his disabilty in spite of his ability.
Showing posts with label senco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label senco. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
Phonecall from Educational Psychologist
Just had a phonecall from the Ed psych, she has spoken to the SENCo telling him that Matthew should be in Set 2 for Humanity subjects..... and he agreed! She was expecting a "discussion" as the school don't like to be told where to set pupils, but Matthew seems to have made his mark as a conscientious pupil. The SENCo taught Matthew for Learnsmart last year and agrees that Matthew is the sort of boy who could cope (with the right help). He says that he'd like him to move straight up, but he has to consult with the Head of Lower School (the 1 who said Matthew didn't have dyslexia as he can read), he says there might have to be a stepped approach through Set 3. Personally I think that this could prove to be more disruptive for Matthew.
The Psychologist has volunteered her help to any of Matthew's new teachers who need help with strategies/accomodations to help him.
I'm so happy!
The Psychologist has volunteered her help to any of Matthew's new teachers who need help with strategies/accomodations to help him.
I'm so happy!
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Letter Sent to Senco
RE: MATTHEW JOHNSON
Thank you for sending out the form for reassessment of Matthew with the Educational Psychologist. We are returning it promptly in order that the process can be undertaken as quickly as possible.
Following our conversation on the 14/2/11, we must admit we are greatly disappointed and frustrated that the school has only now recognised Matthew’s diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). We did have a meeting with the then temporary SENCO Miss XXXXXX in Nov 2009 when we discussed these facts and we were asked to forward the Nov 2006 Educational Psychologist report to the school, which we did early in Dec 2009 to ensure that the information was in your hands. I’m sure you’ll find this in the minutes of the meeting.
However, we feel we should move forward from this in a positive manner.
We have a number of questions:-
• Are all his current Set 4 subject teachers and new teachers in Set 2 now being informed of his diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties via a new Pen Portrait?
• Will Matthew be issued with a new IEP? Will Matthew be consulted on what he thinks will help him to achieve his best work?
• The IEP given to us in Nov ’09 doesn’t appear to have been reviewed in June ’10 with outcomes/target achievements, with particular reference to spelling. If it has been done shouldn’t we have a copy?
• Will the school be able to check his spelling age quickly as we are concerned that waiting for the Ed. Psych. to attend will hold up any help in this area?
• Where is this school year’s IEP?
Our feelings are that it is important to update his assessment, but emphasis on accommodations available to him within the classroom setting are more important. He has proved that with such things as booklets e.g. sciences and languages, where there is less emphasis on writing tasks he can cope well independently. We find that he still brings unfinished parts home but is enthusiastic to complete them on the same night and this actually helps with his learning. Further concerns are that although he has an excellent vocabulary and can speak confidently, his work suffers as he tries to shorten things down due to writing problems and also omits his first choice word because he can’t spell it.
Please can you keep us informed of any accommodations you’re putting in place for Matthew in light of the new information that has come to your attention with reference to his earlier diagnosis of SpLD?
Yours sincerely,
Enclosures:
• Annex – Points of Concern (and Letter to Miss XXXXXXX dated Dec 09)
• IEP – September 2009 to June 2010
Annex
I am unsure whose attention this should have, so please could you pass it on to the correct person.
Points of Concern
I have grave concerns about the Set 4 class Matthew is in. My concerns are exacerbated by the fact that the school was unaware that Matthew has a diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties; even though I sent a copy of the Nov. 2006 Ed. Psych report directly to Miss xxxxxx in December 2009 with a covering letter. This was following the meeting in November 2009 where we discussed the probable misdiagnosis of ADD and Matthew’s earlier diagnoses.
Dyslexia and dyspraxia does not disappear over time but can be remediated with the correct input, so the diagnosis of Dyslexia still stands with the other updated reports which should be in his file.
I feel Matthew is in Set 4 not due to a lack of ability but due to his Learning Disability, the only Year 7 exam mark that let him down was English at 30%. His English teacher even concluded in her report that “the exam result was disappointing and does not reflect his ability in the subject”.
In the Set 4 class there are several children who seem to lack any enthusiasm to learn (and I fully understand that this is probably not their fault), but it does not help the class work moving along.
Examples: -
• October half term Mr XXXXX (a learning support teacher? - who teaches 1 geography class every other week) asked the class to learn for an EU test in Geography for the following week. Only 2 pupils revised so the test was postponed another 2 weeks, then a pre test was given (with maps), then in another 2 weeks the actual test was given. Matthew learned the information for the first weeks test and was left hanging around for most of the class to catch up, and was totally bored and fed up by the time the test came around. He still received 100% for this test.
• The Spanish class is disrupted every week by the same group of boys. Matthew and other children are exposed to bad language and poor behaviour in every class, every week. Matthew enjoys Spanish and has a good relationship with Miss XXXXX, but can he give his best work and can the teacher do her best teaching with this continual disruption?
We only wish to fully understand the reasoning behind placing an enthusiastic learner who has an understanding of these humanity subjects and has a real thirst for learning in the lower set when his only “crime” is having poor basic skills, through no fault of his own. Obviously we do not expect Matthew to ever be in Set 1 and probably not 2 for Humanities (or are we selling him short?), but we do have expectations that he would give his best work in Set 3 and this is his aim. I feel with the help of appropriate accommodations and teacher knowledge of his difficulties he could manage this. Surely our education system today has the knowledge and capabilities to circumvent these problems? Please could you outline exactly what Matthew has to prove before he can expect a review of this setting?
Yours faithfully
Enclosed: - Covering Letter that was sent to Miss XXXXXX dated Dec 2009
Miss XXXXXXX
X xxxxx Comprehensive School
XXXXXX Road
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXX XXXXX XXX
XXXX XXX
2nd December 2009
Dear Miss XXXXXXX,
RE: MATTHEW XXXXXXX YR7
Many thanks to you and your colleagues for the “Brief Progress Summary” report dated Nov 09, which was sent home with Matthew last week. We are extremely pleased with his progress since beginning at X XXXX, and he is thoroughly enjoying all his lessons at present.
We attended an appointment with the Paediatrician on Tuesday 1 December 2009. The doctor seems to think that in some cases, ADD subsides with age and there would be “no point in re-assessing Matthew” as the Connors Test was representative of his condition at that time, and there is no harm in letting it stand. His condition appears to have totally altered since this assessment, but if you think it is beneficial to get the diagnosis removed we have another appointment in a years time when we can revisit it with the Doctor again.
In our opinion, Matthew's lack of attention was due to Sensory Processing Disorder (which was diagnosed by the Occupational Therapist), causing Matthew auditory and fine motor problems at a crucial window of learning, i.e. up until 8 yrs old. These symptoms caused a lack of language acquisition in English and Welsh, which was more apparent in his second language in which he was taught. It appears that there will always be underlying problems due to the way Matthew's development has compensated for these difficulties, which gave rise to his Specific Learning Differences, and also the unique way that he interprets information.
We have included the Educational Psychology report dated 15 November 2006 in which Matthew was given a diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties. Mr Richard Edwards also hoped to refer Matthew to the Dyslexia panel for extra support but he did not meet the criteria at this point. When retested in February 2007 Matthew did meet the criteria for the panel but was denied this support due to his scores not falling below the cut off line for numbers to receive support within RCT. Consequently we undertook the Stairway to Spelling technique to teach Matthew to spell at least the first 300 most used words which was and still is a highly effective way for Matthew to learn his spellings.
Matthew’s biggest problem seems to be written work and the speed at which he writes. The Educational Psychologist answer to this was to suggest typing on a computer, which he has been working on, but he still has not got the speed up above 13 words per minute. I wonder what the schools opinion would be of him working on a computer in lessons and at home, maybe sometime in the future?
Once again, thank you for your detailed appraisal of Matthew's progress, and we look forward to reviewing his progress in the future with the school.
Yours sincerely,
Thank you for sending out the form for reassessment of Matthew with the Educational Psychologist. We are returning it promptly in order that the process can be undertaken as quickly as possible.
Following our conversation on the 14/2/11, we must admit we are greatly disappointed and frustrated that the school has only now recognised Matthew’s diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD). We did have a meeting with the then temporary SENCO Miss XXXXXX in Nov 2009 when we discussed these facts and we were asked to forward the Nov 2006 Educational Psychologist report to the school, which we did early in Dec 2009 to ensure that the information was in your hands. I’m sure you’ll find this in the minutes of the meeting.
However, we feel we should move forward from this in a positive manner.
We have a number of questions:-
• Are all his current Set 4 subject teachers and new teachers in Set 2 now being informed of his diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties via a new Pen Portrait?
• Will Matthew be issued with a new IEP? Will Matthew be consulted on what he thinks will help him to achieve his best work?
• The IEP given to us in Nov ’09 doesn’t appear to have been reviewed in June ’10 with outcomes/target achievements, with particular reference to spelling. If it has been done shouldn’t we have a copy?
• Will the school be able to check his spelling age quickly as we are concerned that waiting for the Ed. Psych. to attend will hold up any help in this area?
• Where is this school year’s IEP?
Our feelings are that it is important to update his assessment, but emphasis on accommodations available to him within the classroom setting are more important. He has proved that with such things as booklets e.g. sciences and languages, where there is less emphasis on writing tasks he can cope well independently. We find that he still brings unfinished parts home but is enthusiastic to complete them on the same night and this actually helps with his learning. Further concerns are that although he has an excellent vocabulary and can speak confidently, his work suffers as he tries to shorten things down due to writing problems and also omits his first choice word because he can’t spell it.
Please can you keep us informed of any accommodations you’re putting in place for Matthew in light of the new information that has come to your attention with reference to his earlier diagnosis of SpLD?
Yours sincerely,
Enclosures:
• Annex – Points of Concern (and Letter to Miss XXXXXXX dated Dec 09)
• IEP – September 2009 to June 2010
Annex
I am unsure whose attention this should have, so please could you pass it on to the correct person.
Points of Concern
I have grave concerns about the Set 4 class Matthew is in. My concerns are exacerbated by the fact that the school was unaware that Matthew has a diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties; even though I sent a copy of the Nov. 2006 Ed. Psych report directly to Miss xxxxxx in December 2009 with a covering letter. This was following the meeting in November 2009 where we discussed the probable misdiagnosis of ADD and Matthew’s earlier diagnoses.
Dyslexia and dyspraxia does not disappear over time but can be remediated with the correct input, so the diagnosis of Dyslexia still stands with the other updated reports which should be in his file.
I feel Matthew is in Set 4 not due to a lack of ability but due to his Learning Disability, the only Year 7 exam mark that let him down was English at 30%. His English teacher even concluded in her report that “the exam result was disappointing and does not reflect his ability in the subject”.
In the Set 4 class there are several children who seem to lack any enthusiasm to learn (and I fully understand that this is probably not their fault), but it does not help the class work moving along.
Examples: -
• October half term Mr XXXXX (a learning support teacher? - who teaches 1 geography class every other week) asked the class to learn for an EU test in Geography for the following week. Only 2 pupils revised so the test was postponed another 2 weeks, then a pre test was given (with maps), then in another 2 weeks the actual test was given. Matthew learned the information for the first weeks test and was left hanging around for most of the class to catch up, and was totally bored and fed up by the time the test came around. He still received 100% for this test.
• The Spanish class is disrupted every week by the same group of boys. Matthew and other children are exposed to bad language and poor behaviour in every class, every week. Matthew enjoys Spanish and has a good relationship with Miss XXXXX, but can he give his best work and can the teacher do her best teaching with this continual disruption?
We only wish to fully understand the reasoning behind placing an enthusiastic learner who has an understanding of these humanity subjects and has a real thirst for learning in the lower set when his only “crime” is having poor basic skills, through no fault of his own. Obviously we do not expect Matthew to ever be in Set 1 and probably not 2 for Humanities (or are we selling him short?), but we do have expectations that he would give his best work in Set 3 and this is his aim. I feel with the help of appropriate accommodations and teacher knowledge of his difficulties he could manage this. Surely our education system today has the knowledge and capabilities to circumvent these problems? Please could you outline exactly what Matthew has to prove before he can expect a review of this setting?
Yours faithfully
Enclosed: - Covering Letter that was sent to Miss XXXXXX dated Dec 2009
Miss XXXXXXX
X xxxxx Comprehensive School
XXXXXX Road
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXX XXXXX XXX
XXXX XXX
2nd December 2009
Dear Miss XXXXXXX,
RE: MATTHEW XXXXXXX YR7
Many thanks to you and your colleagues for the “Brief Progress Summary” report dated Nov 09, which was sent home with Matthew last week. We are extremely pleased with his progress since beginning at X XXXX, and he is thoroughly enjoying all his lessons at present.
We attended an appointment with the Paediatrician on Tuesday 1 December 2009. The doctor seems to think that in some cases, ADD subsides with age and there would be “no point in re-assessing Matthew” as the Connors Test was representative of his condition at that time, and there is no harm in letting it stand. His condition appears to have totally altered since this assessment, but if you think it is beneficial to get the diagnosis removed we have another appointment in a years time when we can revisit it with the Doctor again.
In our opinion, Matthew's lack of attention was due to Sensory Processing Disorder (which was diagnosed by the Occupational Therapist), causing Matthew auditory and fine motor problems at a crucial window of learning, i.e. up until 8 yrs old. These symptoms caused a lack of language acquisition in English and Welsh, which was more apparent in his second language in which he was taught. It appears that there will always be underlying problems due to the way Matthew's development has compensated for these difficulties, which gave rise to his Specific Learning Differences, and also the unique way that he interprets information.
We have included the Educational Psychology report dated 15 November 2006 in which Matthew was given a diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties. Mr Richard Edwards also hoped to refer Matthew to the Dyslexia panel for extra support but he did not meet the criteria at this point. When retested in February 2007 Matthew did meet the criteria for the panel but was denied this support due to his scores not falling below the cut off line for numbers to receive support within RCT. Consequently we undertook the Stairway to Spelling technique to teach Matthew to spell at least the first 300 most used words which was and still is a highly effective way for Matthew to learn his spellings.
Matthew’s biggest problem seems to be written work and the speed at which he writes. The Educational Psychologist answer to this was to suggest typing on a computer, which he has been working on, but he still has not got the speed up above 13 words per minute. I wonder what the schools opinion would be of him working on a computer in lessons and at home, maybe sometime in the future?
Once again, thank you for your detailed appraisal of Matthew's progress, and we look forward to reviewing his progress in the future with the school.
Yours sincerely,
Monday, 14 February 2011
Spoke to Senco
Managed to speak to Senco who started in September, basically to ask why Matthew hasn't had his spelling scores updated as promised by the temporary Senco last July, asked why Matthew had no accomodations to help him with History e.g copying out swathes of writng which is slow and laborious, taking up the time that he could be answering the questions at the end. Found out that Matthew's diagnosis of SpLD has not been recognised by the school, they have the diagnosis or rather misdiagnosis of ADD but he was unaware of the Ed Psych report (the one I copied, highlighted and sent in to make sure the school had it, with a covering letter about Sensory processing disorder). However he dug out the file and found the report. I also asked about getting writing speed checked. The Senco advisedus to have Matthew's Ed Psych report updated, and writing speed could be measured at the same time. He is also going to speak to the History teacher in light of the "new" information on Math's SpLD. He also taught Matthew last year and remembers him as an enthusiastic learner, and wouldn't say had ADD at all. So a positive outcome- hopefully.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Bilingual Schooling Rant
I do question whether Bilingual Schools are coping well enough with SEN children. As I have mentioned before his last class teacher recommended we transfered Matthew to an English school. Why? Well for a start where his English reading and spelling has improved greatly, it is myself who has been working with him relentlessly for short bursts most nights in ENGLISH, his welsh reading is slipping back all the time which just proves to me that the teaching methods within the school are not appropriate interventions. It is the extra at home help that is the thing that is moving him on, otherwise we would see his Welsh reading and writing advance at the same rate.
He has a lot of help at the moment which we could not transfer to another school as he has not got a statement. With all the help he has surely we will should see advancements here.
The SENCO also being the headmistress really suprises and dismays me, but as she is the key to his support I cannot come out and express my disenchantment with this arrangement. I'm sure she does what she considers is enough but it is a specialist role and she simply hasn't the time to give it her full attention. Matthew's SEN file is very poorly kept, photocopies stuffed into a paper file, I have viewed it and there are no write up as to what she feels about him or any observations on a regular basis it is just a side role she is managing. She even told us that dyslexia was not a disability! this just shows how much she knows about SEN, we had to agree to disagree on that point.
He has a lot of help at the moment which we could not transfer to another school as he has not got a statement. With all the help he has surely we will should see advancements here.
The SENCO also being the headmistress really suprises and dismays me, but as she is the key to his support I cannot come out and express my disenchantment with this arrangement. I'm sure she does what she considers is enough but it is a specialist role and she simply hasn't the time to give it her full attention. Matthew's SEN file is very poorly kept, photocopies stuffed into a paper file, I have viewed it and there are no write up as to what she feels about him or any observations on a regular basis it is just a side role she is managing. She even told us that dyslexia was not a disability! this just shows how much she knows about SEN, we had to agree to disagree on that point.
Tuesday, 27 March 2007
Parents Evening
Firstly we visited the Language Support Teacher, who was very pleased with matthew's progress. She commented that when she first had him in Oct 2006 she had to sit next to him to egg him on, now she has given him work and wandered off, rushing back to find him keeping up and studiously doing it. She does dictation with the group, and sometimes he can't get it all down due to Dysgraphia and poor short term memory, but he is not doing to badly and getting the hang of it. He is getting all his spelling correct within the lesson.
The class teacher however knows there more than is coming out on paper. She is going to concentrate on him within a group of children she is going to target for the next term. Her best pupils cannot improve much more, so the others are to be pushed for their best. I am happy with this arrangement, she still wants us to try for 1:1 again.
Lastly we saw the SENCO. We gave her our concerns she has asked for 1:1 again, and is going to phone the Ed Psych for a within class/playground assessment to detail how Matthew learns within the class environment and how he interacts with the other children on the yard. She said if this fails we will have to apply for a statutory assessment which could lead to a Statement of Special Needs.
The class teacher however knows there more than is coming out on paper. She is going to concentrate on him within a group of children she is going to target for the next term. Her best pupils cannot improve much more, so the others are to be pushed for their best. I am happy with this arrangement, she still wants us to try for 1:1 again.
Lastly we saw the SENCO. We gave her our concerns she has asked for 1:1 again, and is going to phone the Ed Psych for a within class/playground assessment to detail how Matthew learns within the class environment and how he interacts with the other children on the yard. She said if this fails we will have to apply for a statutory assessment which could lead to a Statement of Special Needs.
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