Global Developmental Delay - Mainstream vs SN school

[frec]

My dd (aged 5) is currently attending mainstream reception class with 26 hours one to one support (she has a statement - no diagnosis - Global Developmental Delay). I have just been to the Parents evening and they have advised me that they think a special Needs school is more appropriate and mentioned the local one Maes Ebbw.

At the beginning of the meeting she said that ahe has made tremendous progress (we have noticed this at home especially with her speech) but went onto say that she has problems interacting with the other children (even thoough she comes home talking about 3 children individually, and mums are often saying to me that their kid has said that they played with dd)

She also hits out daily, although when pushed because I hadn't been told this they kind of backed down and said it's not really an issue and we deal with it at the time. The teacher thinks this is her way of interacting.

The teacher felt that the gap between my dd and the other children is going to widen and become more noticable so she felt that mainstream was not the place for her.

We agreed for a education psychologist to assess dd ( teacher says that they will agree with her) and after that we will look at the options.

I know that dd needs more input but she is happy where she is and is making good progress. I think at this stage she needs th interraction with her peers.

Really not sure what to do now and what is right. Any advice would be appreciated, especially if anyone has experience of Maes Ebbw.

Thanks

[flooplowder]

I have no knowledge of Maes Ebbw, but, I would be absoloutely sure before moving my child, the school sounds as if they are wimping out. I would ask education for a list of all the primary achools in your area then I would go and visit all the 'special' schools and the schools in your area. Then and only then would I make a descion, you might decide that the school for your dd might be the one she is still at.

[frec]

Thanks flooplowder, good advice. I am starting to think the same about the school....I am tempted to try to find another mainstream school with more experience of dd's needs (seems the current school only deals with dyslexia) Have sent a message to the LEA's parent partnership officer so will hopefully get some advice from there too. It's just really difficult to know what to do for the best.

[Buda]

A friend has a DS with GDD. He is now 7 and although he started in a mainstream school they took the decision to move him to a specialised school this year as the gap was widening between him and his peers and he was really starting to struggle.

I haven't been in touch with my friend for a while but will give her a call and see how it's going and let you know.

[coppertop]

My two have ASD rather than GDD but I agree that this sounds like a cop-out on the school's part. If dd has only just started school then it seems very early to decide that she's not suited to mainstream.

Surely if dd reaches the point when the gap between her and the other children is getting too wide then that would be the time to think about moving, not right now when she is doing so well.

Hitting out isn't all that uncommon in Reception. NT children do it too, not just those with SN.

I would wait to see what the Ed.Psych says, and make sure that you get the opportunity to give your own opinion too. If you feel that dd will benefit more from mainstream for now then say so.

[coppertop]

Just re-read my post and it sounds as though I'm against SN schools when I'm not.

[yurt1]

hitting out daily may well be the problem. IME mainstream schools do NOT cope with challenging behaviours in children with SN, and often they 'deal with it' in a way that makes it worse (just talking from experience). DS1 was seen as extremely challenging in ms, he's seen as reasonably well behaved in special (and he is better behaved in special tbh).

Go and have a look at all the available schools locally, mainstream and special, and units, you'll know the right one when you see it. Special school has been the making of ds1, They can be wonderful places. Most special schools have some sort of inclusion thing going on with other local schools (when appropriate) so that's worth asking about.

Talk to other parents locally. For example its well known here that one MLD school is a nightmare to get children into. Many parents want their children in ms for primary but then special for secondary- they then struggle because they cannot get a place at the MLD school. Having that sort of local information can make decisions a bit easier (or more complicated!)

[frec]

Thanks yurt1. The teacher did say that the school (Maes Ebbw) is very difficult to get into and that we would have little chance - very useful! She didn't seem to think that a unit would be suitable. I don't think that there is much choice in this area to be honest. It seems that this is not going to be something that is changed overnight so I have got time to look around.

With regards the hitting out...I was hoping there would be strategies for dealing with this if this is an issue....she doesn't do it at home so it's difficult to assess....

I am concerned that the school are not doing enough...am also looking into independant Ed psyc' and private Speech and Language as we don't seem to get much help.

[Bumblelion]

My DD has global development delay, but caused by a genetic condition. She goes to mainstream (is now in year 1). When she first started reception (after attending nursery) I did not know whether mainstream or special school would be best. She has 1-2-1 help (different helper each year, but this has worked out well as it stops her becoming too dependent on one person). They did say that she may fall behind in Year 1 as it more learning structured but at her last PAR day we had a very positive feed back. Although she is 'delayed' it seems that she is holding her own and is very independent in class, so much so that sometimes her 1-2-1 helps other children who are struggling when they can see that my DD is able to manage the task on her own.

If ever it was recommended that special school would be more appropriate then, of course, this would be something that I would consider but it would have to be the right environment for my DD.

[yurt1]

We had a lot of behaviours going on at school that didn't happen at home as well. I had a spy (a private SALT) who came and told me what was going on (the school hadn't thought to tell me so I had no idea, although it did eventually come out in the annual review). Basically the school were mismanaging behaviours, which led to escalations. The SALT told me I had to sort it or we were going to end up with a whole repertoire of totally unecessary behaviours. The ms just didn;t have the skills to deal with it. Since swapping schools they've mostly gone & when they surface are dealt with appropriately.

This may well not be happening in your case, but it might be worth asking more about the hitting out etc. It's hard when you don't see it.

[frec]

Thanks all for your advice. I did actually ask the school yesterday when I picked dd up from school if she hit out today and they all looked at each other and said oh no she hasn't....daily occurance, my axxx! They did however go on to say she fell asleep at story time (she has a terrible cold so I'm not surprised!)

Another nice surprise yesterday was one of the mums asked me how dd was getting on and I explained the situation and also that the school said her interraction wasn't good to which the mum said 'well, that's rubbish 'cos my dd talks about your dd every day, they play together'

Have decided not to panic at the moment and wait for the Ed Psyc assessment. She seems happy where she is and until she isn't I see no reason to change anything. Will then look around other schools and make a decision.

If anyone knows any Special Ed schools/units in the Newport area would appreciate opinions.

[flooplowder]

I would ring education and I really go and look at EVERY school in your area. It has got to be better than wondering what else is out there.

[B262]

@frec I know this is a very old post but just wondered how is your daughter getting now? Just reading posts relating to developmental delay and came across yours.

Thanks