Questions to ask at mainstream secondary open days for a child without an EHCP

[Thisismynewname123]

How do you approach open days for mainstream secondary schools if your child doesn't have an EHCP? My dd has ASD, ADHD, and sensory processing disorder. She is academically about 18 months behind ARE and has extreme anxieties. I'm terrified about how she's going to cope at secondary.What questions do you ask at the schools to help give you an impression of how they will support your child?

(NB - she's in Y5 now so we're only just starting thinking about secondary school. We are planning to apply for an EHCP assessment this year, but I'm not holding my breath at it being successful, so for now, I'm assuming we're going into this without one.)

[openupmyeagereyes]

Have you looked on their website to see their SEN policy? This should give you a starting point to see what they offer. I believe they are required to spend up to £6k on an individual child’s needs though I don’t know if this always happens in practice.

Does she have any accommodations or interventions in her current school that you would want to be continued at secondary school? Personally I’d be very upfront about her needs and requirements.

In my LA SENDIASS (formerly parent partnership) do talks on what local schools should do for SN children without an EHCP. They are also happy to discuss things with you via telephone. It’s worth looking into them in your area.

[Tinythenewt]

We are in exactly the same position as you. DS's junior school has quite strong links with the secondary school. I intend to ask at the first PE about how quickly we can start preparing for the move.

Secondary school is so different to primary school that I am unsure about how many of his current accommodations will be possible.

I hope it all goes well for you and I will follow your thread with interest.

[WeaselsRising]

we also asked to speak to the SENCO, desribed DD's difficulties and asked how they would cater for her. The school where the LSA asked aggressively who had dx her got crossed off our list.

[cakesandtea]

I would think generally you need to start with defining the priorities, what works, what is to be avoided for your DC needs, so you would have a criteria for comparison and the targeted questions to ask. You also need to know the SEN system and the local landscape reasonably well to navigate.

As Open said, I would look into all documents you could find on the LA "Local offer" website and the school's website concerning SEN, pastoral support, policies. The provisions, the organisation and the ethos could vary quite a lot.

When visiting, take you DC to see how they cope with physical environment, how the pupils and the teachers engage with your DC.

Listen to the Headteacher talk, what do they emphasise? How do they speak about SEN, if at all, how do they talk about helping all children to do the best.

Talk to as many subject teachers as you can, ask how they would support you DC SEN. Do they look blank and tell you to talk to the Senco or do they give multiple examples of children with your DC SEN doing well in their class? How do they respond to you? Are they open, do they engage and want to help, or do they basically believe it is too bad for your DC. Can they talk competently about SEN or are they expecting to never have to deal with them? Ask what the outcomes for SEN children, what systems are in place for extra tuition and progress etc

Do the same with the Senco but in more details. Try to gauge her understanding and awareness of your DC SEN. I came across a Senco that didn't understand anything about ASD and just considered it to be a particularly awkward form of being thick. See how open and responsive she is, how knowledgeable and responsive are other SEN staff.

When you put it all together you would have a picture emerging.

[Thisismynewname123]

Tinythenewt - yes that is my worry. The interventions would be different. I don't know how many of the primary interventions would apply. My worries would be different ... much bigger school and the anxieties that causes, how she would find her way around, remember where classrooms and her locker is. I can't imagine how she will cope with that, let along how to make all of the different teachers understand her needs.
Cakesandtea - thank you for all of your suggestions. I don't know in reality how many of the subject teachers we have the opportunity to meet before they are accepted at a school. From going through school visits with NT my older child, the open mornings/evenings are usually a headteacher talk, a tour of the school by current students, and the opportunity to meet the teacher and some others on the SLT. I will definitely take note of your suggestions for when listening to the head and meeting the SENCO.

[cakesandtea]

From my DS experience in mainstream, the critical thing for academic progress it that each teacher is willing and able to understand and make all the adjustments for your DD. The teachers need to change how they teach the whole class. So the Senco should have expertise and also the clout and systems to make help the teachers to differentiate. Many good schools would have those systems. You just want to steer away from those that don't.

It might be different in your area, but, when we were going to open evenings, each department was open with a display of experiments and fun tasks, with several teachers present to talk to prospective students and parents.

[Storminateacup74]

I would like to know the same. My autistic son is in year 6 and he adores school he loves everything about his primary and wakes up at 6am full of energy for the new day ahead. However he hated reception and was constantly in trouble. He couldn't cope with the change from pre school and also the lack of structure. He only has 2 friends but he works very hard and is naturally academic. He is a school councilor, head librarian and prefect. He spends his lunchtimes doing jobs around the school and this week is helping the new reception children settle in. My worry is he feels safe and loved at his primary and secondary will be a whole new ball game. Because he copes so well at school there has never been a need for an EHCP. Socially he can't cope with school even at primary but having these roles and respoonsibilities within school helps this and I don't think he can just walk in to senior school and start doing the roles he has done at primary. He has this idea that he will be running the library and he will the head of letter distribution for the teachers but it is going to be so different. I feel very lucky to have an autistic child who adores school so much as I now how some children struggle but now I worry that the change is going to be so huge his behaviour is going to go back to like it was when he was in reception. Such a massive change. The only problem I have is that as he is so perfect at school they sometimes forget he is autistic. I then tell them to speak to his old reception teacher and she almost gave up teaching because of his challenging behaviour. She is now a teacher in year 4 and she said he was llike a different child within a structured learning environment.

[cakesandtea]

The Librarian strikes a cord . My DD2 was desperate to get elected into school council but didn't get nearly enough votes... I spoke to the teacher and the Senco to appoint her to non elected jobs. It lifted her confidence and gave her some activity to focus on during break times - they had meetings. So if your DS 'expects' to be a librarian, the change could be quite upsetting. Maybe you could talk to the Senco and explain this, how appointing your DS as librarian could help him with the transition, give him some structured activity and purposeful routine.

[Ellie56]

I would visit the school and talk to the SENCO first.

Ask:
How much experience the school/staff have of children with ASD/ADHD and SPD

How much training they have had around ASD/ADHD

What links if any, they have with outside professionals (eg outreach services, special school for children with autism)

What measures they will put in place to support her, especially with the unstructured times during the day.

Ask if there are any quiet areas she can go to if she feels overwhelmed

Ask to walk round the school and gauge how noisy/busy it is . Are classroom walls covered with artwork and coloured posters or are they fairly neutral in colour?

Ask how they liaise with parents

How strict the school uniform rules are

In my experience, you will know fairly quickly if the school is right for DD or not, within minutes of stepping over the threshold.

[Thisismynewname123]

Thsnk you for such specific questions. That's really useful