So, I have tried to keep things focused on Hector’s achievements. But as he finally got his EHCP I wanted to reflect on this process.
I should probably say that I hope what we experienced is not best practice. I know of many other similar stories but I’m sure it is possible for things to go down a lot better than they did. Special teachers are not exclusive to special schools but unfortunately in mainstream you seem to be at the mercy of the class teacher caring enough to help. In our case this did not happen.
A little background. An Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) is a document required for a school to access funding to support SEN children. It takes 20 weeks to get this document. If things are spotted in nursery this can already be in place by the time a child starts school. Schools should provide an education regardless of if they have this document.
When Hector started school we had no documentation from outside China. The reports we did have were not treated seriously because they came from China. As an example, the term ‘developmental delay’ was looked down on in spite of being nearly identical to the lazy Global Developmental Delay used here when there is no clear cause. This meant nothing was in place. It took Hector’s school two days to decide they couldn’t cope with him full time. The excuse given was he wasn’t safe, code for we don’t know what to do with him. So, in spite of having an equal right to education, this was casually denied. The fact that the impact on the other 29 children was mentioned revealing the real reason Hector couldn’t attend. We were lied to, not for the first time, and told it was a phased return for his own good. I spent the next term fighting to increase his hours when it became clear the reduction in hours was for their benefit not Hector’s.
At Hector’s new school they will communicate with us every day if we want them to. In spite of repeatedly asking for more communication at his old school we received no regular information on Hector’s progress until January when the school started to send pictures of what he had done that day. The excuse given was that they wanted to keep it positive. I cannot imagine ever saying this as a teacher. We quite frequently were only told he had been ‘full of beans’ and achievements like engaging in the classroom for the first time were never acknowledged. Hector has never once received a certificate from school, who only celebrate neurotypical achievements like reading or representing the school completely inaccessible to a neurodiverse child. They seemed bafflingly confused every time I pointed out that using a reward system like Class Dojo is disheartening at the least for parents of non verbal children. Not to mention that these systems are designed to allow parents to reinforce good behaviour which becomes impossible if the number of points are NEVER communicated!
The most common excuse used by the school for him making far less progress in school than at home was the environment. When I questioned them saying they could not provide an environment where he could learn their reaction was to shrug and say ‘What do you want us to do?’. There seems to be a perception that children with concentration difficulties need a white room! I have to wonder at what is going on if they cannot provide a quiet corner for him to learn in. I also find it sad that the solution for concentration problems is a white room. We have found simple tactics such as only allowing a limited number of toys at once have been pretty effective. I should say they also think Hector is hypersensitive based purely on him being scared of hand dryers, a common issue for neurotypical as well as diverse. You don’t have to spend long with Hector to know that he is sensory seeking.
I suppose I am writing this mainly to raise awareness of what SEN children and their parents go through. I would say our experience is not particularly unusual and it could have been even worse. We were often made to feel lucky that our child was allowed to attend even part time. Although there are examples of great practice unfortunately inclusion is a lottery that relies on the class teacher taking extra time for that one student. For now, we will make the most of a setting which has already made us feel more welcome in one day than six months.
The Hopkins of Hangzhou 