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Funding being used elsewhere? big post!

Nickyboynoo

Hi all, I'm an occasional lurker and love the forum.

just some quick details of my background.

I have a 7 year old son with ASD and ADHD and he got a statement september 2015. He was given a 1 to 1 and has worked brilliantly. A few months into having a 1 to 1 the school informed me that they wanted him to go in a nuture group every afternoon to help him sociably. i thought this to be a good idea, he does struggle in a normal class day and in this nuture group gets plenty of time to move around. This would be done WITHOUT his 1 to 1. At first this felt wrong as i found out his 1 to 1 was working in another class while he was away and they were given funding for her to be with him. But as he was coming out of school fine and seemed to enjoy it we left it be. 

This continued for the rest of the school year and as things were going seeming fine I didnt question it too much.

Come this school year.

The school decided to not renew his 1 to 1's contract and went with someone 'more qualified' for position that was already in the school. This has got alarm bells ringing. Now my son loved his last 1 to 1 and she seemed very devoted to him so what more qualifications would she need? Bringing in someone who was 'already employed in school makes me wonder if my original fears were true about using his funding for other things.

Now we have let this bed down since start of new school year, in the end his happiness and safety is paramount over our conspiracy theories.

Then something happened yesterday.

I stood just a few metres from gates ready to pick him up (very small very busy area, which the view is usually blocked due to crowds) teachers bring children out and spot parents to then hand them over.

I saw the two nuture group supervisors coming down school pathway with the class they bring out, (usually,with my son included) this time i couldnt spot him. So as a minute or two went by i saw them start to frantically look around as if searching for someone. Yeah you guessed it.

 Ahuge thud hit my chest when i realised that it must be him, and with  the realisation i searched through parents and kids and low and behold my son was out of the school grounds among them!!!!

Now this is a boy who has had numerous issues with fleeing as part of his issues and one of the reasons he got the 1 to 1 in the first place. He was anxious and confused when i got to him and he said "i couldn't find you daddy".

As you can understand this has knocked my confidence hugely, if he had had his 1 to 1 with him all day and not just the morning this wouldn't have happened. In fact he was given a 1 to 1 partly because of his fleeing! And i dont want to think what would have happened if i was a minute late to pick him up.

Now he must have not only walked away from the 2 supervisors but at least one class teacher at a small gateway too.

We have had words with headteacher but i need some advise.

Do i push for his 1 to 1 to be diverted back to full time with my son? will this cause friction between us and school?

sorry for long post and thanks for reading. x

  • Hi,

    If today went well at home, ie. now and bedtime etc, why don't you feed that back to the school to get more 1 to 1 time.  Just a comment when going in in the morning may surfice.

    It is important that your child gets the 1 to 1 time that should be offered.  I know you want to keep on good terms with the school, I understand, but they should also get feedback from their interventions etc. :)

    M.

  • Hi Margaret.

    Thank you so much for your kind reply.

    I have to be honest, a lot of what you have said rings true to me. I have read about nututre groups and how they are designed to 'cure' these problem behaviours, but the fact is his issues are not cureable. Like I said in post, he has enjoyed the nuture group so I haven't questioned them too much.

    I had a feeling that his teacher last year had seen him as disruptive when he displayed his vocal ticks or he tapped his hands as he stimmed. I know this much, as the teacher said so herself in a parent teacher meeting, All be it in a jokey manner.

    I am torn between getting him the very best and trying to keep a good relationship with the school, which i believe is very important.

    As for today, he stayed in his year 3 class all day and didn't join the nuture group. He had his 1 to 1 in the morning but a different supervisor in the afternoon. For what reason I can only guess at this point.

    Thanks again.

    Nick

  • Hi,

    I am autistic and used to be a teacher of children with emotional and baehavioural difficulties.  I know about nurture groups, and they were set up to help children with emotional and behavioural difficulties access full-time education.  I'm not sure that autistic children really come under their remit, but I stand to be corrected.

    I would personally find out as much as you can about Nurture groups, I can't remember off hand the name of the woman who set them up.  But I would also fight to get back your one to one provision.  An autistic child should be taught in their cohort as much as is possible.  It is not their fault that they have difficulties, whereas the other children will be expected to change their bahaviours.  That sounds completely wrong.  Try not to antagonise the staff, they probably think they're doing their best.

    Why not have a word with the local educational psychologist to see what their thoughts are.  

    Your child should be handed over to you, and not brought out as a group anyway, especially if there is an issue over running.  Marjorie Boxall - that's the person who first set up nurture groups.  They are really intended for 4 to 5 year olds in their first year of schooling, but schools have latched onto them for other children who need that extra help too.

    Hope that today's pick up time goes better.

    Margaret