Educational psychologist and senco

Jodie86

I have a 10 year old son that has been having problems since he started school he did have bronculitus when he was a baby and also stopped breathing 5 times,he has had a educational psychologist assessment done 2 years ago and was basically told that because my daughter is disabled I'm to blame for they way my son is,we moved him to a new school 1 1/2 years ago and found out that he has mild dyslexia while being assessed by a senco,we have taken him to the doctor recently regarding tics and found out he also has mild torretes,they doctor has asked us to speak the the senco and state to them that he wants a educational psyc and a community pediatrition involved,my son is so far behind at school due the difficulties that he has,he can hardly read word or spell any words even 3-4 letter words that are quite simple to spell,he is also so figity and can not sit still he is always moving around, when ever we say to the senco regarding our worries we keep being fobbed off and they are refusing to do the referal even with the doctors orders plus the school never picked anything up with him at all the previous school had noticed the dyslexia,we are stuck on what to do as we know my son has other problems than just his math and English that he struggles with but like I said they school do not seem bothered regarding our concerns do you have any advice on the next steps that we could take thank you,sorry about how long this is,I find it easier to talk to people than write x

YoungCarerOverHere

Hello there. I know all too well that if a SENCO or a school isn't willing to work with a child (and their parents/careers) then it feels like you're fighting some sort of battle. At least you have the support of other professionals when trying to persuade the school. I'm afraid I can't offer any specific advice or steps but perhaps it would be possible to arrange a meeting with the doctor and SENCO? I wish you all the best x

NikiM

Hi. So sorry to hear you are having such a tough time. What support are the school currently offering your son to improve his learning? Is he on any kind of SEN support? When you request an assessment for the Senco the procedure is that the school spends time (up to 2 terms I think) putting into place support to address his difficulties themselves. If they then feel they need additional support after that (so they need to show whether he has progressed in that time or not) they can apply for an assessment for the local authority which could result in him being offered a Statement/Education,health and care Plan. If you decide to ask for an assessment yourself directly with the Local Authority they would still go back to school and ask them to spend those 2 terms showing them what extra support they have offered before they would assess themselves. In any event every authority should have a Parent Partnership group to support you through this whole complicated process. They are impartial and there for you and your family. Their details should be on the council's website. My advice would be to give them a call asap and they can talk you through all of the above. Hope this helps and good luck.