Pupil Referral Units...any experience of?

[bananalover]

Ds's school have informed me this morning that, as from September, DS will be attending.
Does anyone have any experience of PPU, what can we expect?

[EightiesChick]

I don't have any experience of them as a parent but I temped at one as a secretary once and was very impressed. The kids got much better ratios of pupil-teacher attention which seemed to be helping lots. The equipment in terms of PCs etc was pretty old though, but that would be a lesser issue for me. I'm sure others will have more informed comments to make.

[mummytime]

Which year is DS in? They are normally called "Short stay schools" now. Have you had lots of contact with the school about your DS up until now?
I would contact parent parnership and find out more.

They can be fab, but they are a short term and expensive measure.

I haven't heard of them being used with primary students though.

[tethersend]

I teach at a PRU- secondary though.

Was there anything in particular you're worried about? can I ask why your DS has been placed there?

[tethersend]

Every LEA should have a primary PRU/Short stay provision.

[bananalover]

DS is 8 and his behaviour has got to point where school say he is just too much...disruptive, aggressive, etc.
Sounds like these places aren't as bad as I was expecting, though.

[tethersend]

Have they permanently excluded him, banana?

[bananalover]

No, they say he will spend some days at school and some at PR unit

[mummytime]

It could be for the best, as the PRU staff may well be able to get to the bottom of his bad behaviour, and help him with it. Good luck!

[tethersend]

Sorry to keep asking so many questions...

Is that a permanent set up, or are they looking to move him to the PRU full time eventually? They need to be very clear with you about this.

Which days/how much time will he spend there? Are they the same days each week?

It sounds like it could be a really good idea if the PRU placement is to work on his behaviour and support him to be reintegrated into mainstream- if this is the case, then they need to agree a timescale (one term perhaps) to review the status quo. Force the issue on this; an ad hoc arrangement does nobody any favours, least of all your DS.

It may help if you contact the school and ask them to arrange for you to visit the PRU.

[cornsilk5793]

which LEA do you work in Tethersend? First initial.

[tethersend]

H.

[tethersend]

and F.

[bananalover]

This is a temp measure in order to see if he improves

[tethersend]

Have they given you a date for review?

Criteria for improvement?

I am slightly worried, because if they haven't let you know these things, then it means they have not let your DS know these things- which will seriously impede his progress.

[bananalover]

Ds knows about PRU and school say it could be for as little as 3 months.

[tethersend]

When will they review his progress?

Should be having a meeting after half a term max.

[Litchick]

My expereince of PRUs is that the teachers are highly motivated and committed. The resources are great.
Many pupils fair better than in main stream.
However the pupils are there for a reason and of course things can get hairy.

[OrmRenewed]

DS#1's school has one of it;s own. It seems pretty good actually. Pupils get lots of attention and it's a calm environment.

[bananalover]

What does HIARY mean exactly...please not all out fighting?

[Debs75]

My friends son has spent a fair amount of time in PRU's and off school. dfrom her experience the PRU was great, less pupils more supervision. Her DS settled really well and did so good he was sent back to mainstream. Unfortunately that is where the big problems started.
At the PRU he was treated fairly, he didn't backchat as much and they really sttrived to understand him as a person and to help him work through his anger issues.
As for hairy we noticed that at mainstream ds was one of the worst behaved but at the PRU he was not. Some of the kids could be prone to violent outbursts but they were much bettrer equipped to deal with it. You may find that when he is confronted with a level of beahviour worse then his it shocks him.

[Litchick]

I have witnessed some difficult stuff, including fighting.
However, it is not like that all the time. In fact it is incredibly calm because the teachers are appropriately trained.

I used to rep children in the care system and many were in PRUs. Given the huge issues these children faced, I think the PRUs dealt with them extemely effectively - not just containmnet, an actual education.

[tethersend]

I would echo everything Litchick says- staff are better trained to deal with challenging behaviour, have the space to listen to children more and are able to circumnavigate confrontation.

However, you need to remember that there are some very damaged children in PRUs along with ones who have challenging behaviour alone.

I think the best way to put your mind at rest is to visit the PRU- the school should be able to arrange this for you; I am surprised they have not done this already TBH.

[tethersend]

Oh, and cornsilk- why?

[retiredgoth2]

Yes.

I will admit to having experience of a PRU. My feral urchin has ever been feisty, but this became uncontrollable after his mum, the lovely (if fearsome) Mrs Goth dropped dead. After a period of exclusions from mulitiple schools on his part, and denial, self-flagellation, and avoidance on my part, I finally allowed him to attend a PRU.

It was the right move. The PRU had small classes, motivated teachers with near one to one attention. He began to learn again. Yes many of the other kids were from horrifically deprived, neglectful and/or abusive families.

But many were actually quite nice. And several seemed to love to spend time, a lot of time, at Goth Towers. I wondered what awaited them at home.

But be warned. When I moved (at Xmas) into a different authority I went to see their equivalent provision. It was astonishingly poor, effectively an extension of the criminal justice system. I refused. He has since attended a fantastic village school, with his own TA (he has a fully funded statement, the PRU sorted that for us), and is moving on to a highly academic and high perfoming state secondary in September.

I am proud of him, and grateful to the PRU and the rural primary.

So be aware of the following points.

1. The PRU is a staging post. He will either return to mainstream education from there, or be channelled into EBD provision with a statement. You must decide which is best. I shudder at long term EBD provision (0.5% of kids there achieve 5 GCSEs. Oh yes) but it is better than repeatedly failing in mainstream.

1. Fight for a statement unless your DS's problems improve rapidly. Use it to get one to one help to facilitate mainstream return. REMEMBER mainstrean education is your child's right, unless he is posing a danger to others.

1. PRU and EBD provisions vary. Like all schools do. You are his parent, you still have a choice. Yes, be guided by the advice education professionals give, but look at the provision first. Talk to the people. Decide.

1. What has the Ed Psych said? Have ASD/ADHD/ODD or similar been ruled out?

Good luck! I am happy to be of any further aid, just ask.

[Littlefish]

Very informative post RetiredGoth.

From a teacher's point of view, I have taught a child who spent part of the year at our PRU.

I work in a fully inclusive school, which is well known (and appreciated by our LEA Behaviour Support Team) for its positive behaviour management strategies.

We have close links with our local PRU and always have at least one pupil there. The child I worked with spent about 3 months at the PRU and then returned to school full time. He definitely benefitted from the provision there and is doing well back at school.