Education psychologist been...feel like i've hit a brick wall. What now? :o(

teabag29

Feeling really let down at the minute and like I’ve hit yet another brick wall. The education psychologist has been to see my dd today and done a few tasks with her. She got her to fill in a tick questionnaire with always/sometimes/never answers (questions like do you feel trying hard makes a difference) and then got her to draw a person she wouldn’t like to be (dd drew a person with the word bully underneath) and a person she would like to be (she drew a happy person). She then asked her questions like why do you think the bully is like that, has something happened to them to make them like that or were they born that way and things like what would they like for xmas etc. Then she asked the same questions for the happy person. She then asked about school and all her difficulties.

In short she agrees dd was much happier at primary school where she got a lot more 1 to 1 support and enjoyed school much more than she does now. She agreed dd is very frustrated at not being able to keep up with the work and would benefit from more help. HOWEVER she has spoken to the senco who has basically reiterated what I said and that is that there are so many children with education needs and behaviour problems at that school (particularly in year 7) that they don’t have the funds to give them all help and therefore they doubt she will be moved up to school action plus. Although she’s in bottom groups for all her lessons there are others that need more help.

I feel like screaming, my concern is my child and what she needs. So basically unless she’s setting the school on fire she’s not priority and not going to get help. The education psychologist said dd is clearly a bright girl and I then explained that this is not the case educationally. My dd is very witty and on the ball but educationally she is not. I explained to her that she is 13 this year and doesn’t know her alphabet, her months, date of birth, how to tell the time, her left and right, and so on. She tested her on a few of these and saw I was right. She is coming again in 2 weeks to do some cognitive tests with her that tests her memory and how quick she processes information etc and also dyslexia.

I asked her where do I go from here and she is going to try and prepare a case to see if dd can be statemented as obviously school will get funds for her then and be able to help her more. She said this is likely to take a few months though and may not be granted. She is going to use the cognitive test results as an argument as well as all the info she gathered today. She said she feels as though daughter would be better off in a school where more help would be available to her. I mentioned the school in the next town (special needs) which deals with children with learning difficulties (only 250 pupils so more 1 to 1). However the education psychologist says she doesn’t think shes at the level where she needs to be in a special school, she’s not that much in need. However this school also deals with behaviour problems which is as much my concern (actually more so) than her learning problems so I think this school would be perfect for her, especially as it has specialist there who work with children with autism, adhd and aspergers which is the route that camhs seem to be looking at with dd. (After doing research into it myself I strongly feel that dd may have aspergers).

So the situation as it stands is that dd is very unhappy at school. 50% due to being bullied and nobody doing anything about it and the other 50% due to her not being able to keep up in lessons as she doesn’t understand the work. School have no funds for extra help for her and the ed.psychologist doesn’t believe she fits the criteria for a special needs school. I have no way of getting her to another school as the nearest is miles away. (She has no sense of danger and I’m struggling to even get her to the school she’s at now which is 0.6 miles away).

So where do I go from here? I have a meeting with the head of year on Friday to sign the papers for a caf meeting (I shall ring parent partnership to attend with me) and I have dd's triage assessment with camhs on 22nd June. I truly believe this other school would help dd immensely particularly the low number of students as dd doesn't get on with other kids and she is very frustrated at present. Thing is, with no backing how can I get her there?I feel like i've hit a dead end.

puddy

you havent hit a dead end, the ed psych sounds like she is going to be supportive of your child's needs, rather than looking at the schools funds.

she is probably correct that your daughter doesnt meet the criteria for a SEN school but that doesnt mean that further down the line, she wont get extra help at her own school, that must be your priority at the moment, to ensure that she stays in her own school, the problems with bullying and education are sorted out and she is enabled to learn and develop.

the report and assessments she does will hopefully support that. what a senco says off the record to a vulnerable parent about funding is certainly not going to stand up to scrutiny at an appeal or complaint, every one in public services knows that although you havent got the funding, one of the things you dont do, is say that this is a reason for denying services. services are supposed to be given on the basis of need, not comparisons with other service users.

you still have your caf meeting and the camhs assessment to come, when all these sorts of interventions and assessments start it will feel stressful, but the process has now begun to demonstrate that your daughter needs more support.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I've replied on your duplicate thread.

grey_lady

Would it be possible for you to pay for some private tuition from someone experienced with working with kids like your daughter for a few months because it sounds like it will be a while before the authorities can provide anything?

With the bullying I think the only thing you can do is keep at the school ask them what they plan to do about it and then follow up with them regularly, if they see that you are going to keep on at them and not go away then they might be more inclined to actually do something.

teabag29

Thankyou ladies. What can I do in the meantime whilst all this is happening though? the ed.psychologist says she thinks dd would be better off at a different school and if it were her daughter she'd remove her. She also apologised that she cant do much. She doesn't seem hopeful that she will be successful in getting dd statemented or put on action plus. I dont have the option of removing dd from that school and every day she is coming home in tears and doesnt want to go to school, sometimes due to the bullying but other times due to her being frustrated at not being able to do the work and keep up. I dont know what to do about it, i'm helping her as much as I can at home but other than that I dont know what else to do.

Darlyd

I would move her to another school. But you need to make sure they have the funds to help her. I am going through exact same thing with my DD. Her school are an independent school and they are brilliant (so far). They pay for a councillor to speak to her every week aswel as other children. And they provide more 1 on 1 support if needed.

delain

I would say that you saw a good ed psych! We had one here who asessed my twins (we all thought with a view to statementing for extra funds for more help) and she just said they didn't need one because they didn't have a speech and language problem (which their school specialises in) and all the teachers were scratching their heads wondering where she got that from when we wanted an autism asessment!

One of the twins has just seen the new ed psych who actually paid attention to what we asked for.

I'd say bide your time, I was told one of the twins was likely to need a special school when they were in pre school and she is now doing very well in mainstream in year 2, a couple of times the school has had 'outreach' people in from a special school who show the teachers etc valuable techniques to help her in her own school.

I would be slightly concerned about how she got so far through school without being sent to Child Development and/or being asessed for Dyslexia/Dyspraxia as from what you said she may have both, and these really should be picked up in early primary.

My DD1 has a CAF, and it is opening doors for her. Also if you are eligible apply for free school dinners, because this makes her eligible for 'step up' funding which the school can use to find positive things for her to do which may help her enjoy school more. I believe the days of the funding are numbered though so ask at the school about it tomorrow.

I have experience of Dyspraxia (I was assessed for it as a child and was borderline, my brother had it and I strongly suspect that DD1 has it and so do her school) Is your DD Hypermobile (extremely flexible, double jointed)? If she gets a Dyspraxia diagnosis she will get extra time in her exams as it makes writing difficult.

pelirocco

Have you considered ( if you dont work ) of home schooling?

delain

pelirocco wrote: »

Have you considered ( if you dont work ) of home schooling?

Please don't shoot me, but I'm not sure that's the best thing. a child of 13 who doesn't know the alphabet or left and right has needs (IMO) too complex to be dealt with at home.

Also it won't help the social aspect of her life, she needs to learn how to interact with people, which, again pulling her out of school only teaches her that it's OK to hide from your problems.

travelgran

You could try the local branch of the Dyslexia Association who may be able to guide you to appropriate teaching. I'm pleased you've got parent partnership on board. To be honest, without School Action Plus in place you're unlikely to get a statement as they insist that school must have done all they can first so I'd push for that. The school must be giving her some priority or she would never have seen the EP!

teabag29

Unfortunately not. the doctor requested a education psychologist report and they refused and wrote back saying they have other children with higher educational need than my dd. I contacted the education psychologist myself and explained all about dds behaviour and learning issues and he said he has a trainee who is a qualified teacher and has 2 degree's and a pgce who is training to be a education psychologist and looking to work with someone like my daughter and so they accepted my referral. She is only a trainee though