Supporting Parents

Communication is key

Most schools genuinely want the best for the children they serve. Sometimes they don’t have the best processes in place, sometimes they are not as knowledgeable about SEND as they should be. Similarly, parents will often assume that the school knows things about their child (e.g. that a previous school will have passed on information), and so when the school doesn’t do something the way they would expect, parents get defensive or angry, assuming that they are just ignoring the fact that their child has SEND. But not all paperwork is passed on to the right people at the right time. Information can get lost. Staff may not have had good enough training and might genuinely not understand.

My advice to parents is:

-if your child is struggling with anything, talk to the school.

-if your child has a diagnosis, tell the school, and arrange a meeting to talk about it.

-NEVER ASSUME that a school knows what your child will need. Always communicate.

Equally, if a teacher tells you that they have concerns about your child, LISTEN. Nobody wants to hear the words “Special Educational Needs”, but if you delay, then you might find that your child is suddenly facing secondary school with no evidence of support and no hope of getting an EHCP which they might very badly need to thrive at “big school”.

Getting an EHCP takes time. The longer you leave it, hoping that things will get better, the harder you will find it to get your child what they need.