School SENCO ignoring requests for SEN support – advice needed
I am an AuDHD parent and my child shows many autistic traits (social communication, sensory, emotional regulation difficulties, and high anxiety around school).
I first raised concerns with teachers at Reception and formally requested SEN support and support for an autism assessment in September.
Since then, the school has said she is being “monitored”. I have had several SENCO meetings, but there is still no clear SEN support plan in place.
I emailed and officially asked:
what specific support she is currently receiving
what interventions are in place
and what the next steps/timeline are
I was shown a diagram/triangle explaining "stages. She is somewhere between “monitoring” and “SEN support”, but I still don’t understand what support she is actually getting in practice and it was so unclear I still don't know nothing.
I feel stuck and frustrated because nothing feels clear or consistent, and I don’t know how long this “monitoring” stage is meant to last.
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Hi @Mag1987
I'm sorry to hear you are having a difficult time with your child's school. It's so frustrating when all we want is the best for them.
In your meetings with the SENCO have you requested that the school apply for an EHCP? If not, you can do this independently.
The organisation, IPSEA Bluebell21 has included in their post can support you with this. SENDIASS (A Special Educational Needs Disability Information Advice Support Service) can also help you.
Best wishes
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Hi @Mag1987 and a warm welcome to the community from me!
There should be an end date for "monitoring" because usually it is a time where teachers assess and observe your child to see if there is any additional needs or concerns. It does sounds like this phase has gone on quite a long time already.
How long ago did you ask what support was in place? Were they able to tell you how much longer they're going to be in the monitoring phase?
As Sara linked above, it may be worth considering contacting your local SENDIASS as these are the education experts who can give you free and impartial information and advice on everything to do with education.
They are especially good to contact if you feel like the school aren't really listening to you or are being quite stagnant as they can sometimes allocate you a caseworker who will work with you and the school, call and attend meetings etc😊0
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