We are currently carrying our a survey to find out how inclusive parents in Warwickshire feel our schools are – please complete it here https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WarwickshireInclusion/ (closing date Sunday 19th February).
inclusive schools
We are currently carrying our a survey to find out how inclusive parents in Warwickshire feel our schools are – please complete it here https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WarwickshireInclusion/ (closing date Sunday 19th February).
School try to understand but appear to have a very blinkered view of SEND needs. They have limited processes and strategies that are used to get the child in to class so that they can tick a box. My son has an autism diagnosis and has struggled in the school environment for over 2 years. From a school perspective his attendance is a concern and needs to be addressed. From a parents perspective, my son is struggling with his mental health and physically cant cope coming in to an environment that raises his anxiety levels to the point of melt down,
Schools response – Attendance meeting, we can offer 6 weeks reduced timetable and then he needs to be back in school full time. You must make him come to school.
My Response – Ill happily give it a try but 2 years of trying isnt going to be resolved with a 6 week timetable. He hasnt broken his hand, he has Autism its not going to go away. If it doesnt work can we look at flexible schooling or online tuition so he continues to get an education,
Schools response- No its not sustainable he needs to come to school its parents responsibility. Or you will have to look for another school or alternative provision.
Parent- Ok, What alternative provisions are an option?
School- You will have to arrange for something else. perhaps home school.
Parent – I cant afford that I have looked at getting tutors but they are £35 an hour. Can you not put reasonable adjustments in place and allow him to do lessons in a quiet space, perhaps the SSC or library instead of the classroom,
School – Thats not sustainable and we don’t have the resources. If you can sign to say you agree with the reduced timetable before you go, Thank you.
It has taken a long time for the education system, in general (both junior and secondary school) to take our concerns about our children seriously. No one person is to blame, but the education system as a whole is not set up to understand, reconise and deal with SEND.
It has taken years of emails, phonecalls and meetings with school, where I am always told what a nice and well behaved child I have. Basically, they see polite, well behaved and trying hard, and they don’t recognise that a child like that is struggling. It took my daughter getting to the stage of cutting herself and feeling suicidal before they began to even begin to listen and take it seriously. Not one staff member had picked up on her neurodiversity. It wasn’t until someone outside of school pointed it out and I began learning about it, that the pieces finally came together. Even then, I have had to chase the school constantly, point things out and basically tell them what they need to be doing for my child. They cannot provide anywhere near what her EP report says that she needs. Despite having a staff of over 150, only a handful of these are welfare specialitsts, and very few, if any, have a real understanding of neurodiversity and how to help children. However, the school has a high percentage of children with neurodiversity – both diagnosed and undiagnosed. The school focuses a lot of energy on ‘behavioural issues’ but nowhere near that ammount on recognising and helping those with additional needs.
I get frustrated at the school, and I wish that more staff members were passionate enough about those young people to bring about change in that school, but I believe that the blame lies largely with Government and Universities that train teachers. There needs to be a focus on SEND woven into every aspect of teacher training, so that spotting it and dealing with it becomes the norm for every teacher. Every teacher should be a specialist in SEND. If teachers teach the class using methods geared towards those with learning difficulties, it will not only help those particular students, but also others in the class whose problems have not been recognised. Our education system needs a complete culture shift.