Letter from SENCO

[dragonstitcher]

I received this letter from the SENCO at DD#2's school this morning.

"Year 7 Booster Group 2007.

Following detailed and individual assessments this term, your son/daughter has been chosen to take part in an individualised programme of literacy and numeracy booster lessons.

These will take place during their normal English and Maths lessons, with the added bonus of small group and individual teaching.

It is felt that by July 08, you son/daughter will have made sufficiaent progress to help them succeed bck into their mainstream English and Maths lessons in Year 8.

They will be taught their Modern Foreign Language (lesson) as part of the discreet group and will also access sound discovery phonic teaching to help boost their reading and spelling levels.

We hope you will support this initiative and would llike to invite you to a meeting to discuss this further on Tuesday October 2nd at 6.00pm. Please could you confirm...blah blah..."

I don't know whether to be over the moon, because I have been trying to get my concerns over to her primary school for years, or accept that this is just a contination of the bit of extra help she got in years 5 and 6. This is the first time I have ever had it in writing that she has been chosen for extra help, so it feels more official. Also, I've never been invited to a meeting about it before. Any extra help she gets is funded by the school with no government help because she is not statemented or registered with a SEN. I don't know how to feel about it. I'm not sure what to make of 'will have made sufficient progress to help them succeed back into mainstream lessons' bit either. Does that mean that she doesn't need much help to get her up to scratch despite the fact that the primary school couldn't get her there, or that they are only prepared to fund her until the end of year 7? Hmmm....

[flyingmum]

Your child is one of the lucky ones and has fortunatly done badly enough in a test to get some help. In my experience (10 years teaching English) this type of 'catch-up' usually works especially with a conciencious student. Several children I have taught who came in with KS2 level 3 and with low grades have scored KS3 level 5 and even 6 after having this type of input. The ones who really suffer are those who fall into the grey area and have just done 'well enough' sometimes by only one mark not to qualify for any extra help - they usually land up struggling througout their whole time at school.

The support your daughter is getting sounds pretty good although I can understand your concern of 'is that it after year 7' - it is a government thing that they are assumed to have caught up after only one year. The one thing I would say is that there are many kids who just haven't done well at primary for whatever reason who do do much better at secondary. Having had my son go through year 6 it explained a lot. They get taught stuff in year 6 that we do repeatedly year after year. My year 9s couldn't do my son's year 6 homework! I likened year 6 to a fast moving train - It's great for the bright ones - they get on and do the driving. The bog standard kids are on board - some cling on by their finger tips but they are generally OK. Those with dificulties land up on the tracks being mowed down. I get so many Year 7 children saying they are rubbish at literacy when in actuality they are not - they are age appropriate just not operating at 2 or 3 years above their age like the level 5 to 6 performers.

I'm ranting so will go.

All the best