[senco-forum] In with both feet: thanks for replies

As I briefly mentioned, my son was placed on his school's Register

Hi June,

Thanks for replying to this list. You'll find there are a great many
very supportive people here, not just SENCOs and teachers but also
specialists, teaching assistants and parents like myself all who have
a strong commitment to doing what's best for children with special
needs and supporting each other in achieving this.

> As I briefly mentioned, my son was placed on his school's Register
> of Special Needs in January 2005. I discovered in September 2005,
> having been invited to an evening held by the local Parent
> Partnership at the school. My first action was to contact the SENCO
> who informed me I DID know and she would prove it with paperwork.

Now my first reaction is this is was an entirely positive move on the
part of your school, as they are obviously taking seriously the needs
of their children with special needs and keeping the appropriate
records that help keep all staff informed of what's best for such
children.

The fact that you weren't aware of this until some time later is
unfortunate but not unusual, especially given a school's SEN register
is an internal document that can be used to highlight any concerns
related a special need, one that's proven or simply suspected and
merits further investigation of feedback from other staff.

Up until a few years ago schools were required to keep a register of
children with special needs. However I believe this rigid requirement
was dropped when the latest 'Code of Practice' was revised. Never the
less many schools have chose to maintain their register of special
needs as a means of recording their concerns, in much the same way
they would record academic progress or even attendance. After all
teachers are used to being able to refer to a SEN register and if this
system works well then there is no reason to change it.

Now I know some parents get unnecessarily concerned when their
children are placed on the SEN register of even if the school simply
approaches the parents with some SEN related concerns. But it would be
irresponsible for the school to do otherwise and in no way should this
reflect badly upon you or your child. Rather this is a sign your
school is pro-actively addressing childrens' needs if and when they
arise for the purpose of ensuring they make the best of their school
education.

> We saw the head teacher a few weeks later and were
> supplied with a few IEPs (the first being from April
> 2005 - we had no idea what they were until September,
> believing in April that we were agreeing to a little
> extra assistance with "penmanship")...

> <snip>

> As for an apology. Well, he told us with a little
> laugh and shake of his head "you won't get one". He
> went on to explain what would happen should we attempt
> to complain. He has informal meetings about twice a
> month with the Chair of Governors. Apparently, the
> Chair would simply discuss the matter with him and
> that would be pretty much the end of it. We'd be
> completely wasting our time.

It seems to me that here you have got off on the wrong foot regarding
your communications with your child's school. Unfortunately the
situation seems to have polarised and the school has (understandably)
gone on the defensive. It's now down to you to try and 'depolarise'
this situation, for it's likely very little can be gained if the
current situation is allowed to continue.

> My son had delayed speech on starting school and was
> already seeing a speech therapist.

Now as far as I tell see this is very good reason for placing your son
on the school's internal SEN register. I really don't see what the
problem is here other than you are upset at apparently not learning
about this until later.

Special needs is a generic term that refers to any student that likely
requires some form of support or accommodations over and above what is
'standard' for most other students. Do be aware that approximately one
third of all students (often more) have some form of special need
during the course of their school life. Quite often this need is only
temporary, a direct consequence of the additional support they receive
in response to its identification.

> My ex-husband has had a lifelong speech problem so we were
> particularly keen to ensure our child did not suffer any prejudice
> or difficulty (although my ex now works at a senior level in the
> civil service, his speech has been a major hurdle and still creates
> problems, usually in how he is treated by others). One of the most
> important things in dealing with our son's speech has been NOT
> worrying and trying to avoid making him anxious and/or
> self-conscious. In particular, we know the importance of not
> attaching other issues to a lack of fluency.

Please be assured a SEN register is not a public document and your son
shouldn't be subject to any prejudice or other detriment because his
teachers concerns have been noted. I say this not as a teacher or
SENCO (I am neither) but as a parent and a volunteer teaching
assistant who has spent some considerable time working with schools
and finding out how their internal systems work. Schools may not be
perfect but I'd far rather my child was flagged up as a cause for
concern than for most staff to remain oblivious of any potential
difficulties he or she might have -- the latter scenario would be far
more detrimental to their welfare, indeed it would probably be
irresponsible of a school not to record these.

Now of course I don't know the details of your situation, but I can
assure you this lack of communication regarding being placed on the
SEN register is trivial in comparison with many of the issues I as a
parent and school teachers on this list have to deal with regarding
SEN issues. For the benefit of your child I strongly recommend you now
engage in some 'bridge building' else relations with your school are
liable to deteriorate to the point where your child's education will
suffer ...and unnecessarily at that.

Please excuse me for being blunt about this matter but there are more
important things that parents of children who have far more serious
special needs have to worry about other than whether or not a child is
placed on a SEN register with or without a parent's knowledge.

I notice no one else has responded to the list as a whole following
your second post, but I'm sure other parents, SENCOs and teachers on
this and other lists would concur with me that you are indeed
fortunate to have your son in a school that's obviously trying to do
the best for your child. Incidentally you wouldn't find this situation
would be any different with almost any other schools. This is the way
the system works and you are only going to alienate yourself and
possibly compromise your child's education if you continue to peruse
this in the same unnecessarily vehement manner. Do try to work
constructively with your school from now on and please please please
don't blow this for your child.

David Bowles
Parent and not a SENCO nor a teacher.