Our school journey started in 2016 and ended in 2022.
From the beginning we were regularly ‘called in’ to see the teacher due to our son being unable to sit still, we also repeatedly reminded them that he started school when he had only just turned four.
The first two years were similar, being ‘called in’ and being told our son was immature and needed to know he was in school to learn and not socialise! Year 3 teacher was SEN and we had some enlightening talks about ADHD, Dyspraxia and Sensory processing and this sparked an assessment for a referral to a specialist for diagnosis. There were many delays in this process and then covid school closures put the brakes on.
Year 4 and 5 were pretty good as the teachers listened to my concerns and provided just enough help and support to get my son through each day. Unfortunately all support was pulled in year 6 which caused my son to spiral and even masking in school was not working for him anymore. I engaged an external SEN as begging the school to keep supporting my son did not work.
Eventually my son was so unhappy we felt there was no other choice but to de-register. The relief for us all was incredible, immediate stress reduction. My son really enjoyed the social side of school even though he was bullied through all the years, the school did not deal with the long term bullying, which has led to my son thinking there is something wrong with him. However they tried to teach him resilience! We were told he would never cope with real life if he didnt toughen up!
Upon leaving I requested all the info the school had on us and one document started that I was ‘an overprotective Mum’. Surely it is my role to support and protect and advocate. We as a family feel very let down by the current school system, we firmly believe, with the right support, this could have been an amazing environment for our son.
Unfortunately, a year later, my son is still very low on self confidence and self esteem and often refers back to incidents from school. We just wish we had removed him sooner before events were so traumatic they have changed our son. But we are working on this, he is now learning in a safe environment and he is so much happier.
