To send my SEN child to boarding school abroad?

Strange im 30s and have friends who were boarders in bower. Thats very odd. Yes lesson street as in Institute of education has international students that board. Galbally is a boys school like glenstall abbey.

One attraction is the lack of GCSEs - the exam load is lighter with Junior cert.

Transition Year also suits many young people.

The question is whether DD can cope with the local state school at all. OP seems to think not otherwise she wouldn’t be considering Ireland boarding schools

Go to tribunal and appeal- I’ve never known an Sen case to be knocked back

Well that makes even less sense. Leeson St has boarders? Our Lady’s bower hasn’t had boarders since probably the seventies. What is Galbally? There are still a couple of girls boarding schools - Alexandra, Pres Thurles

There shouldn’t be any taxation on education, however in your position I’d probably suck up the vat. You could probably get a scholarship if DD is bright/sporty/musical etc.

If she’s intelligent, have you looked to see if you have a selective nearby? Our two grammars give first choice to a child with an ehcp if they have the pass mark

I've worked in private school and also private schools that are boarding schools (in addition to working in UK state schools).

Just so you're aware. MOST private schools offer less SEN provision than state schools. SEN provision is expensive and private schools are all about profit.

In addition, I've worked in European boarding schools. Many, many SEN children are sent away from families to private school because their families can't cope with them. These schools become in effect sink schools for dumped children. It's very, very sad. The children end up being very damaged due to what they inevitably come to regard as rejection by their parents.

I've made this sound as if I am very anti boarding school. I'm not. BUT I am for SEN children. They will be in a foreign country to you and you will have no real idea of the amount of support and help they are being given. It just isn't possible if they aren't with you and if their education is taking place at a huge distance to you. And to be clear, your child due to their SEN is more vulnerable than the average child. They need a lot more of your focus on them. Which you just won't have if you don't see them daily.

As a teacher, I can say in all honesty, SEN provision almost everywhere is not great. It costs A LOT to educate an SEN child really well. Consequently, most places just paper over the surface.

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In your position, I would send them to a UK state school and then buy in private tuition specific to their SEN. It can take place in your home. Your child will have 121 support and you can chat to the teacher/tutor regularly to track how your child is doing.

Totally sympthise, and I admire your resourcefulness, but agree that boarding school is tough, especially with SN (HFA?). Loads of sports, long school days, sharing dorm rooms and bathrooms with however many others... obviously I don't know your DD but unless she's actively keen on the idea I think it's a no-go, sadly.

@Aislyn i did exactly this for exactly the same reason. I am happy to share my experience with you, if you would like to dm me.

Private schools in Ireland are not set up for sen kids , state schools have far better resources in that regard. There are also g v few girls boarding schools Alex in Dublin would be one and it’s a v good school but it’s a high achieving school and not one I imagine a child with significant needs would thrive in ..

Not here to say either way but just that I know how you feel. My daughter is the same and really struggled with school refusal etc in year 5/6, the local secondary schools are all really good in general but none felt right for our child, we are very fortunate to get financial help from family and our daughter attends the local private school. She is thriving in the smaller class and the support is great. I honestly would not know how she would have coped if she boarded. It would have to be a big discussion with the child, visits to the school etc all sounded more difficult if it is abroad.
on a side note there is a school for ASD girls in Surrey that I think does boarding, no idea of the costs but you need an EHCP.
good luck to you and your daughter whatever path you take.

Yes, entering the system at second level means they would be exempt on the basis of age.
However, my son has asd and doesn’t not have an exemption (he would love one though). It’s not automatic.

Puberty is hard enough as it is. Add ADHD / autism to the mix and being away from your loving supportive family and home and suddenly all your guardrails have been removed and you are in free fall through the difficult teenage years. Even when the school is good, it can end up feeling like being handed over to a system. I am shuddering at this. You must be very trusting in others OP.

You can't honestly think it'll be easier for her to adjust to boarding school in another country than it would be to have a school with larger class sizes than is ideal. There are tons of schools with excellent pastoral care.

It could be learnt of course if the wish were there, but it’s another added difficulty.

We have Irish medium schools too as well as the usual mostly English language ones. But even in the English medium schools Irish will be studied from age 5. I think it’s the same sort of thing in Wales? This child will most probably have no Irish at all. She could catch up with significant effort, but it would be hard on her. I haven’t heard of immersion centres per se, but there are lots of places offering Irish language classes during the holidays, though they’re mostly aimed at Irish students.

Please don’t…..

From my experience of boarding schools, there is a large push to conform and fit in. Understandable really as they have to care/control(!) children day and night. Whilst some kids (especially those with unstable home lives) thrive from the routine and rigidity, others push back at every boundary for 5 years. It’s not their fault, they just don’t necessarily fit into the model that many boarding schools rely on. They’re labelled naughty and constantly sanctioned or disappear into themselves because every moment of their lives encourages masking and that’s exhausting.

Now, I’m sure there are parents who have found boarding school to be a positive experience for their SEN child(ren) and ultimately only you know how your child would cope with being away from their main support system and ‘fit in’ to a pretty rigid system. It’s also important to note that smaller class sizes don’t ensure better outcomes for SEN kids. Some teachers with huge classes in the state sector would win hands down experience wise because they see it all the time. Of course there are excellent teachers on the private side too but you need to do a lot of research into private schools and ensure they’re right for your kids needs. Ultimately, they’re selling a product to you so you need to see past the sales pitch and figure out how well they actually support SEN kids in class but also all the other hours of the day when things can spill over for them and make life harder.

Personally, I wouldn't send my child to boarding school, irrespective of whether they have SEN. Other kids (and some staff) are shitty enough in day schools; it would be unbearable being stuck with bullies 24/7.

Is there a local private school that fits your child's needs, OP? If no local state schools meet your DC's needs and a private school says they do, the LA will pay the school fees (in theory -I'm sure it would be a fight, but it can be a done).

Sorry - re-read and saw they are year 6. Apologies. I still think you’re not sending her for the right reasons…

As an ex-boarding schooler who is also ND, I would say no. Absolutely not. Just don’t.

i moved over from the UK to ireland when i was 10, had to learn irish ( really wish i was exempt ), its a very very hard language to learn, and i actually hated it, barley passed it in my leaving cert never spoken a word of it since i left and am in my mid 40's now. Even now when i hear irish spoken on the radio or telly have to switch it off, cant bear to hear it. You dont need to learn irish to get an irish passport
Population of aprox 5.5 million people and its spoken full time by about aprox 300,000 people, mainly in the west gaeltaect areas

Depends where you live really doesn't it? If you are near Stansted then a flight to dublin is an hour away. Far closer than driving to Newcastle for example. Main thing is whether it's a specialist school that the advantages a outweigh the fact it's in Ireland

I’m Irish, live in the uk and went to weekly boarding school. My daughters are ND (eldest is autistic and youngest has adhd). I may have adhd.

I cannot say strongly enough how much I would avoid boarding school in these circumstances. No matter how great the school (and my school was brilliant).

And if the parents have to work to pay to house and feed the child ( and any others they may have)