Your thoughts please.

System

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Pitch forks at the ready... no need to wait for the whole story...

p.s. The notes could have said:

'xxx is doing very well despite the absences for surgery'

'xxx has xxx condition for which I suggest we initiate some of the dyslexia protocols to support her in class'.

Yes it might have but at least I'd know.

Deanied

Some schools have a quota for gifted and talented pupils, where by a certain percentage of the class have to be classed as gifted and talented, so any children working above the average are put on the list. It doesn't mean the child is a genius.

Also a teacher unless qualified to do so can't diagnose dyslexia, you need an Educational Psychologist to do that. A teacher can notice that a child has dyslexic tenancies or think that a child is dyslexic and let the new teacher know so that they can set work appropriately for them, this would obviously benefit the child. Teachers don't tend to tell parents their hunches, just in case the child is not dyslexia and it causes undue stress on the child/parent without a proper diagnosis.

I'm a teacher and would not be impressed if 9 year olds in my class could not be trusted to be in class without going through my paper work. It's not a confidentiality issue as the paper work was in the place of work not discarded somewhere random.

I think the little darlings need to learn to concentrate on their learning and stop snooping on things that will not improve their learning.

By all means talking to the headteacher. If there were concerns about your child, I'm sure teachers would have made you aware already that your child is working below the expected level, without having to diagnose your child with dyslexia without the expertise of an Educational Psychologist.

mrcow

I don't understand why you are getting yourself so worked up?

Your daughter read something that wasn't meant for her. she read it out of context. And you are taking the comments out of the original context in that they were written.

I often write notes to other teachers about pupils in my care. And that may include comments like "too many missed lessons" or "too much time off sick" or indeed "too many operations" - it doesn't mean that the operations are unneccessary, it could mean that there has been too much time off in terms of the consistency of the child's education.

Also - plenty of kids have questions of dyslexia raised about them. Teachers monitor this sort of thing and if we're not passing on slight concerns to a new teacher, then we're not doing our jobs properly. No one is saying that your daughter has dyslexia. The teacher is just keeping an eye on her with the idea that it's a possibility in mind.

Your daughter should not be reading stuff that clearly is not meant for her. But really, I don't see what you intend to go into the school to complain about? That a teacher is worried about your child's progress? Well, just shoot them now!

As for another child being called G&T, that's really none of your business (or your daughter's).

itsanne

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

b - DD has Meares Irlen, which is a visual disturbance condition but dyslexia hasn't been mentioned.

There's a strong correlation between the two. The teacher considering dyslexia would be a good thing, but it should be discussed with you.

con1888

A talk with the teacher will do no harm. Both for you and for her, your mind will be put at rest and she will learn to lock her notes away in future.

As for the content it could be something or nothing but I would be requesting a meeting regardless to clear things up.

jellyhead

Perhaps the teacher has only just started to wonder about possible dyslexia and was going to bring it up at the parents evening - or she may be wondering whether to use dyslexia strategies such as changing the colour of paper used when photocopying worksheets for your daughter, that sort of thing?

My son's friend might possibly be dyslexic, but her mum was told back in reception that they were going to 'keep an eye'. If the teacher has suspected dyslexia for a couple of years then I'm sure she would have mentioned it. It doesn't always mean a referral, sometimes it means they will simply consider the possibility for a while.

My son's teacher (year 4) probably made similar notes before parents evening last week, but I agree that I wouldn't want my child to read them. She says positive things to him because anxiety adds to his 'eccentricity' but I suspect that any notes made might dent his confidence were he to read them!

coolcait

gunsandbanjos wrote: »

.... it seems one of her friends in the class had found her teacher from last years notes on their class lying around.

So these notes were made by the teacher they had last year. They're old notes. I agree with the others who have suggested that you should find out how and where your 'daughter's friend' found them, and take that into account when you speak to teachers and headteacher. 'Lying around' is a phrase which really needs to be challenged, so that you know exactly how the children came to have these notes.

Now being typical nosy children they had a read. Yes they shouldn't have read them ...!

No, they shouldn't have. That's a point for you to reinforce with your daughter. Boundaries are important.

Everything else in your post is pretty much the reading equivalent of eavesdropping.

...

Once you know how the children got their hands on the notes, approach the school to, politely, ask for a copy of the notes about your daughter, and clarification on any points which aren't clear after you have seen the full notes, in context.

duchy

coolcait wrote: »

Once you know how the children got their hands on the notes, approach the school to, politely, ask for a copy of the notes about your daughter, and clarification on any points which aren't clear after you have seen the full notes, in context.

What really concerns me is the confidentiality issues.
Suppose the instead of saying what they did had said ...... Johnny is a vulnerable child after been taken into care after being sexually abused by his father........

Frankly it is an absolute disgrace the notes where the kids could read them and certainly in the schools I've worked in it would be entirely unacceptable.....as well as a serious DPA breech which could result in the school getting a heavy fine.

Most likely scenario is the teacher had dug out last year,s notes in preparation for parents evening but that doesn't excuse leaving them where students could read them.

coolcait

duchy wrote: »

....
Most likely scenario is the teacher had dug out last year,s notes in preparation for parents evening but that doesn't excuse leaving them where students could read them.

The trouble is that no one yet knows who dug out the notes made by last year's teacher. Or where the notes were dug out from.

If it turns out that the notes were literally left lying around, then I have some sympathy with your comments.

If it turns out that the notes were in a briefcase, or a desk drawer, or a cabinet, and the OP's daughter's friend dug them out, then I'd be looking at the child's understanding of boundaries and acceptable behaviour as well as security.

RainbowChild_2

OP, it seems to me that you are a responsible, loving and caring parent. Kids will do what they do. I agree that if they at any time suspected dyslexia and didn't tell you it's a funding issue (pm me for more details) it usually is. Demand answers from the head in a calm way and if you are not satisfied take it to the head of education at the council and tell them that you will take it to Parliament if you are still not satisfied.