Filing Cabinets Arrive for Duty!

Yesterday, much to everyone's amazement the filing cabinets arrived (less than 24 hours signed, sealed, delivered!)  Our wonderful caretaker had put them into position in the room I am trying to turn into the S.E.N. Centre, so all that is left is for me to now transfer the S.E.N. files into them (I had hoped to do this yesterday during my SENCO morning but my time was taken up with other, more pressing issues) and await the delivery of a batch of suspension files to create my new filing system which hopefully will allow information on each child or targeted teaching group to be easily accessible.

I also had a meeting with a member of the behavioural team (privately we're renaming it "The Support Team") who brought and explained details of the various things they do.  As a class teacher I have had contact with certain people regarding children displaying really bad behaviour in class, as the SENCO I realised how much support is actually out there so why can't class teachers tap into it more?

Chasing up an urgent case via phone calls regarding panel occupied some of the morning as well as trying to contact people for the IPM - school e-mail system went down, so not much doing!  Reading the proposed statements for a couple of children that arrived in the post also took up more of my time.

I have begun to realise just how much work is involved and possibly why the filing is in the way it is! 

As class teachers have not yet had their review meetings about children who are falling behind, T.A. managed groups have not yet been set up nor one-to-one sessions & targeted teaching for me either, so I hope to make the SEN Centre ready this morning as I hope some groups will be able to start next week and I want somewhere for them. 

First Annual Review

First annual review done today as Senco, and I have to admit a steep learning curve - luckily our LA representative volunteered to chair as I said it would be my first - also I could not find the relevant blank forms so took copious notes to fill forms in for later.  Have also been told to schedule at least an hour per child for the review - as it was we speeded through to deal with two children who should have had reviews last school year but due to two cancellations by various important parties had failed to happen.  Therefore these have been done as late reviews and I should schedule this year's review for late in the school year 2012-2013.  At least I felt it had gone well with additional hours sought and two staff members not one to do the hours all agreed in principle by everyone.  Tomorrow I will write most of it up and get outreach support added when they come next week to assess ICT arrangements.

New filing cabinets arrived and are now installed in the room that I am to turn into the special needs and SENCO room.  No actual suspension files in them though so will have to order some of those before can actually sort and file vast quantitites of paperwork!!

Things are progressing, but slowly.