advice needed please, dd and school

[armani]

dd is in yr3 ms school. she has to have buckled shoes as recomended by physio. dd has delayed fine and gross motor skills and despite lots of practice cant buckle up her shoes. every time she comes out of school her shoes have been unbuckled. dd has significant delays with balance / coordination and needs her feet to be well supported to improve her gait etc. obviously her feet arent being supported well if her shoes arent done up.
I have approached dds teacher about this twice now and first time she said she will do them up for her, the second time she basically said its parents responsibility to ensure she can do her shoes up and she teaches 30 children so hasn't got the time.

I don't know what to do now regarding this. any advice?
so not to drip feed we are awaiting panel result to deccide if dd needs a statement and have OT reports stating dd needs full time 1:1, whivh school disagree with and say she doesnt need 1:1 nor a statement.

[Ineedmorepatience]

You can apply for a statement yourself, my LA are actively discouraging schools from applying for statements as a cost cutting exercise

Have a look at the IPSEA website there is info on there about applying for statements including a sample letter.

In the meantime would she be better with velcro, I realise it may not be as tight as buckles but at the moment the buckles arent doing anything if they are undone.

We have the same with Dd3 after PE with her laces, if we tie them in the morning they stay tied but if she undoes them for PE they are never tied tight enough afterwards.

Really though, how long would it take for the teacher to fasten her shoes for her. Is she on the SN register at school?

[armani]

yes she is on SA+ atm. I have applied for SA already against wishes of school. LEA accepted it and have carried out SA, we are just waiting for a decision whether to issue a statement or not.

I was thinking of getting dd a velcro pair but ive just paid £70 to buy the shoes physio recomended and dont really have the cash to replace them yet
thanks for the advice.

[Ineedmorepatience]

Glad she has been assessed and hope she gets her statement.

If she is at SA+ then the teacher should be expecting to provide her with support as and when it is needed, fastening her shoes surely falls into this category

Sorry wasnt able to be more help.

[armani]

thanks for replying. im sick of being made to feel like a crap parent, if it was as easy as dd practising more then she would be able to do it! I dont think the teacher has any idea about dds sen

[Ineedmorepatience]

I know what you mean, my Dd3 is at a really good school but even so lots of the staff dont really understand how her issues effect her. She has Asd but alongside this she has hypermobility, borderline dyspraxia and sensory issues. The staff always seem surprised when she cant do something and I say "Well thats because of x,y,z" I find it frustrating and am in the process of gathering some more reports to back up what I am saying.

Hey ho, the battle continues. You are good parent because if you werent you wouldnt care!

[AgnesDiPesto]

DS3 has autism and we have had numerous frustrations with school not taking on their responsibilities. We have had an interesting insight into how children with sen are treated differently than those with medical needs as DS2 was recently diagnosed with diabetes and needs to test his blood three times during school hours and take an injection at school. There has never been any care plan etc from school with ds3 although if he became ill it would be dangerous as he can't communicate. Ds2 was not allowed back in school without a care plan. He goes to the office and a member of staff there who covers the medical room has been trained in diabetes care and supervises his test results / injections etc. I can understand the teacher may not have time but it doesn't have to be a teacher who sorts out the shoes! I would be tempted to find a health care plan online and fill it in and send it into school for school to agree stating that an adult will supervise the shoes are correctly buckled etc including after PE. If you present it as a medical need not sen need you may get a different reaction or at least give the school a wake up call. Your LA may even have a model care plan for physical / medical needs on its website. Your DD c

[AgnesDiPesto]

DS3 has autism and we have had numerous frustrations with school not taking on their responsibilities. We have had an interesting insight into how children with sen are treated differently than those with medical needs as DS2 was recently diagnosed with diabetes and needs to test his blood three times during school hours and take an injection at school. There has never been any care plan etc from school with ds3 although if he became ill it would be dangerous as he can't communicate. Ds2 was not allowed back in school without a care plan. He goes to the office and a member of staff there who covers the medical room has been trained in diabetes care and supervises his test results / injections etc. I can understand the teacher may not have time but it doesn't have to be a teacher who sorts out the shoes! I would be tempted to find a health care plan online and fill it in and send it into school for school to agree stating that an adult will supervise the shoes are correctly buckled etc including after PE. If you present it as a medical need not sen need you may get a different reaction or at least give the school a wake up call. Your LA may even have a model care plan for physical / medical needs on its website.

[okthatsweird]

It really grinds my gears when a teacher uses the I have 30 other pupils or parents should teach their child to blah blah blah. it takes 5 seconds to buckle a shoe . My Dd is NT and she always came out of nursery class with her shoes on the wrong feet, all it would of taken was the teacher or one of the other 3 helpers to ask her to swap her shoes around and she would of done it herself... come to mention it she seems so much happier now she has left that class....anyway I think the only teachers who don't have a clue are the ones who chose not to listen to what they are told TBH.

Good luck with the SA, I'm guessing the school don't want to provide the extra help. Why don't you have a look on ebay for shoes?, if you go on late at night you can sometimes drop on a bargain. Then sell the others.

[armani]

thanks for all of the advice. im quite reluctant to buy new shoes as physio has specifically recomended the ones dd has and dd also has increased tone in her leg muscles which effects her gait, feet etc. physio have warned that id dd doesnt wear the correct footwear her gait will get worse
obviously though velcro would be better than unfastened shoes. I think I will give senco a ring tomorrow.

school havent been supportive of my req for SA even though dd struggles to write her own name. she is currently 3 years behind her peers and not achieving a national curriculm level, she is still on p levels.

[McFarts]

Are there any other school in your area you could look at? personally i would be tempted to name a different school in her statement when you get it.

[Ifcatshadthumbs]

If the school isn't willing to support your dd with something as simple buckles despite it being imperative to yours dd's physical well being then I would have little confidence in them being able support any of her needs statement or not.

[armani]

thats my concern that school wont adhere to the statement if/ when one is issued.
ive been researching other schools in our area but my concern would be that dd would not cope well with moving, she would find it hard to make new friends etc.

[vjg13]

I would involve the head of key stage or the deputy head, whoever is next in the hierarchy, write a letter including the physio report with appropriate parts high lighted.

I would also look at other schools as I would doubt her needs are being close to being met at the current school.

[armani]

Thanks for your reply V. I phoned and asked for senco to call me today but as of yet ive not had a reply.
school had to ring me today as dd tripped when getting up from her chair and smacked her head
Also dd was distressed tonight, crying saying she is scared to use the new toilets at school as she cant turn the taps on
I am really upset about all of this, there hss been a huge jump from how she was able to cope last year but is now finding school so tough