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Original poster

SEN unit mainstream

30 replies

Lifelife · 19/06/2025 13:38

Is anyone’s child in a unit attached to a mainstream like a Sen unit? If so can you tell me how they work? My sons in a mainstream but he has just been issued a ehcp after I made a parental request, I would like him to go to a Sen unit his school has one but it’s girls only so he will need to move schools can someone tell me how this will work as I was told they are expected to be in mainstream class 80% of the time? Which seems odd to me I thought they spend the majority of the time in the Sen unit?

OP posts:
perpetualplatespinning · 19/06/2025 14:36

Not all work the same. How they operate varies. Some expect 80% of the time to be spent in mainstream lessons (and for some there isn’t flexibility in that). Others don’t. They work for some, they don’t work for others.

For most units, the mainstream school is named in section I and the unit provision included in F.

PeachPumpkin · 19/06/2025 14:16

My child is in an ASD unit attached to a mainstream school. She’s in Reception. She spends nearly all her time in the unit and just joins mainstream for PE, but is supported to do so.

Ive been told that by year 6, children decide what they want to do. Some spent just about all their time in mainstream. Others split their time between the two.

indoorplantqueen · 19/06/2025 14:15

Does the unit in his school only take girls or is it that there are only girls there?

Original poster
Lifelife · 19/06/2025 14:12

Sorry I should have said I am waiting for the draft but I want to know whether it’s worth fighting for or not as it will mean a change of school which he is reluctant to do so I want to know if it will be worth fighting for or not before I do that but I am still waiting on the draft.

OP posts:
ItReallyDoesntMatterAnymore · 19/06/2025 13:51

In our county we have SRP (specialist resource provision) units attached to mainstream schools, unfortunately there are 80 places in total across a county with several hundreds of kids needing a placement. My DD is on a long waiting list for one but I doubt we'll get a place.

What kind of provision does his EHCP state? You'd need evidence that mainstream can't meet his needs then you'd need to get the EHCP caseworker to send your DS's EHCP to the provision panel (or whatever they call them where you live) and hope they agree.

ThonSRP I visited did say that the aim is for the students to spend 80% time in the mainstream classroom, but the reality was that most did the opposite and spent 80% in the base. The base itself was absolutely lovely but it was already full and no chance of getting in sadly.

They need to build a load more of these but unfortunately there isn't enough funding.