[senco-forum] Literacy Support

we tend to take them out of MFL... Our argument is that a pupil struggling

Hi Sue

There has to be a balance here between ensuring the child recieves their
curriculum entitlement, and making progress.

In my secondary school we do a lot of withdrawal - small group intensive
literacy, reading groups, speech and language groups, handwriting groups,
social skills groups, lexia and Cami maths groups.  As far as we can this is
done outside of core curriculum time, but whilst this is minimalised it is
unavoideable given the number of groups we run.

OfSTD will want to see evidence that the SEN pupils are making adequate
progress - what percentage achieve 1 A*-G, do your PANDA figures so value
added for SEN?  What parental feed back do you have, are your parents
satisfied with the progress their child is making?  if the answer is 'no' to
the above then you will have a strong argument that more needs to be done
beyond what you can do in the classroom.

> we tend to take them out of MFL... Our argument is that a pupil struggling
with English should not be required to take on another language as well
until they have acquired the skillls necessary to cope with the  rest of the
curriculum.

Sorry Chris I havre to disagree with you.

Learning a MFL is really important.  1. The SEN pupils are on a leveler
playing field in that most of their peers will be at the same level as
them - little or no experience of the language.  2.  MFL lessons have a
large oral content.  3. Where else is grammar now taught?  Pupils are
exposed to the novelty of nouns, verbs and adjectives!  4. If a pupils
misses the first year (all they are allowed under dissaplication) when they
do pick up the MFL they are well behind their peers and unable to catch up.

I prefer to take them out of Humanities - 1. Becuase it is heavily literacy
based and relient on high level vocabulary that my SEN pupils cannot access.
2. whent hey come back into History they do at least have some subject
knowledge and have a chance of catching up.

I've had this diebate with many parents and ghet the strong impression that
they would prefer their child not to do MFL because as parents they feel
inadequate and unable to help their child with the MFL homework.  It is
relief to them that they don't have to do the homework - where is the
child's needs in that!

Richard