To send my SEN child to boarding school abroad?

I haven't read the full thread but if she is very bright woudl a bursary at a good London day school be possible or are her special needs likely to mean a special school or provision within another school is necessary?

If considering boarding abroad Dublin is a short flight from London so I do not see why that would be a problem. Lots of people from London send children to board all over the place, never mind the other way round - some English boarding schools are packed with children from as far abroad as China is.

Somethings not right here, a school can’t say that. The school have to give a reason .. such as they can’t meet the child’s needs, if that is th school you want, the local authority almost always side with the parent,

@Aislyn

Was this school a possibility, OP?

limpsfieldgrange.co.uk/

If you get an indepedent Educational Psychology Report completed you can request that they speak to your preferred school and the LA suggested school. In our case the Ed Psych definitely must have said something to the mainstream ARP that put them off as after they spoke the LA rolled over on placement.

Also remember a MS school won't want a child whose needs they can't meet, "sink" school as you put it or not. Another way this can play out is you visit the MS school named, talk to them about her needs, convince them that she doesn't have a hope of coping and they then go back to county and say actually they can't meet need. And as I said before, you also need to find out why they think they can meet her needs in the first place.

Lots of steps still to go with this, especially if her EHCP is decent. Presumably if funds allow boarding school abroad you can also get whatever private professional reports you need to strengthen her case - SaLT, OT perhaps? You don't even have a named school yet, it's far too early to panic.

I’m guessing by some of the language you’re using you’re in London @Aislyn- there’s rapidly declining roles and so much movement between offer day and September I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll miss out on all your six. And when this did happen for my neighbour a few years ago (bigger roles) she hit the phones and found another place at a school out of borough that wasn’t in thee six as she really didn’t want the LA allocation. This child wasn’t SEN; SEN makes it more likely not less that you’ll get a place you are happy with.

"They have said they will not name any of our preferences".

Who has said this?

They are not supposed to say this.

Have you named a school and been turned down?

I suggest you get advice from SOS!SEN.

Why is it ‘disgusting’ for grandparents to pay?!

Visit them. Talk to them. Keep going with the appeal. There is so much that can change before Sept let alone afterwards.

Our LA holds a panel right at the end of the summer term. All the parents I spoke to at DS's autism unit had places awarded on the penultimate day of the summer term. It's horrible for the children & parents to have all that uncertainty and no transition but these places have to go to someone. In our LA they seem to go to families who still have their hat in the ring on July 23rd.

Omg that’s disgraceful, I’m so sorry 😞 it’s so much harder when you have a Sen betweener child-if they need specialist but are more academic. I hope tribunal is more fruitful for you.

It may depend on the child. Also - it really helps in future life to have a good education. It's very hard to catch up later on.

I probably wouldn't do this. But people need to remember it's difficult and very costly to move house, the family has Irish connections, schools within an hour of Dublin are not actually that far away if you're close to an airport. It might be as close as the nearest British state boarding school.

Boarding in Ireland was very common until quite recently - people of very modest backgrounds boarded because they often didn't live close enough to secondary schools to be a day pupil.

GCSEs add a lot of stress and the Junior Cert might suit highly-anxious children better.

It isn't always best for a family for one parent to drop out of the labour market to do home-schooling.

If the assigned school is a bad match, then I can see why parents would think about other options.

OP: could you give the local school a go, topped up with after-school tuition/lots of enrichment so your daughter has a social network outside of school? And if that isn't working, look at beginning secondary school in Ireland once she is 12/13?

I think this is a bad idea Im afraid .Most SEN children are sensitive and appreciate their home comforts . Being sent away is traumatic for NT children as it is without putting extra needs in the mix!

All your salary goes to you duh!

And it really depends on the degree of SEN. If DD’s at the milder end she may cope ok in a mainstream school with smaller classes. If at the more severe she may be better off in a private SEN school.

It really depends on the school. Not all private schools are highly academic. Some specialise in less able kids, some have high numbers of SEN.

So sorry you and your family are going through this. Aren't there any private school places near you?

We sent our son to boarding school in September, the teachers there picked up something isn't right. Now he has suspected adhd and autism, he is not coping there and we are trying to bring him back but there are no spaces in the better schools around us. We sent him there for the same reasons thinking it would be smaller classes because he is shy but it has bought on more problems for him being away. Maybe wait for the decision on her school to come through or you can home educate using online classes so you don't have to do yourself.

Haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if repeating but SEN provision in private schools is minimal as thry are usually only interested in high achievers and only want to take on a child like that with some pretty expensive caveats like you paying extra for a TA to be with them so not sure it would work out any cheaper when you add on travel costs etc to going back & forth etc.

No it’s not.

both my kids have asd diagnosis and are required to take Irish.

This might be one of the most selfish things I’ve ever read.

No, it is not reasonable to send your SENd child to a different country so you can still work.

Either find the money to put her in a closer school, I’m assuming the job you’re committed to is well paid, or go with her and get a job.

I’m a “career woman” SENd parent, and absolutely value continuing my career too. But there is certifiably no way I would send my disabled child to Ireland so I could carry on with my (admittedly important to me) job. I would resign, in an instant, and we’d all be moving.