Special nursery vs mainstream nursery

[Millymollymandybestie]

My daughter is currently in a nursery attached to a primary school. She has a gdd, social communication difficulties and potential ads.

Nursery are really struggling with her. We gave just reduced down from 3hr to 1hr.

She has an assessment for a special nursery which I think will be good for her. However just going this nursery for an hour seems to be more manageable for her and the staff.

THe teacher said all the other children love her and try to plays with her even if she doesn’t reciprocate and that doesn’t bother the other kids. I think it would Beneficial for her to attend the special nursery but also her current one for just an hour.

My reasons for this

1. I don’t want to completely cut main stream off.
2. I think it would be good for her to be around. Your typical preschooler
3. The kids at the nursery clearly do like her. It would be nice if she had a friend or two from a young age who may potentially be there for he in the future.

Does anyone know know if it is possible to do both ?

Thanks

You can attend different settings, yes, but it usually comes down to funding. If the Specialist provision is claiming her 'hours' of funding, then you would have to pay for the additional hour at the current Nursery.
It might be, however, that she gets tired going to a new Nursery and back up to 3 hours, so she might be a bit overwhelmed by you then taking her back to her current Nursery for another hour.

If it were me, I'd accept the place at specialist provision where they will know what they are doing and have the expertise to support her.

Does she get SEN premium funding to pay for 1-1?

I'd be going with the special school. If not for nursery, then definitely in reception. I work in an ASC (autism spectrum conditions) school and many of the kids who start out in reception (some not verbal with very limited communication) end up back in mainstream school later on. Some remain in ASC schools throughout. It doesn't matter. ALL of them progress by leaps.
It would really benefit your DD to be in a school with teachers and TAs who know how to reach her and meet her needs. This will help her progress. And she will make new friends. Mainstream school can be quite stressful. Perhaps this is why she is not coping with the 3 hours at nursery. You may find she adapts well to the 3 hours in 'special school' because she will be in a smaller class managed by staff specifically trained to help teach children like your DD. And as she gets older, her ability to cope will most likely improve. At this age, 3-4, she is still very small and learning to cope and adapt. This is hard enough if you are a neurotypical kid. So I would do what I can to put her in an environment where she can truly thrive and maximise on her potential. This will give her confidence.

The thing you have to realise, and it's difficult, is that the friends she has in nursery now may move away, may not even continue with reception at the school she's at, may gravitate towards friends other than your DD.

This stage is so precious. Nursery is so perfectly beautiful and as a parent, I have always been heart-broken when the year has ended and my kids have 'moved up' to reception. So maybe, instead of moving nursery now (especially as the year is drawing to a close), you can enrol her in September at the special school. That might be gentler on you both and not such an abrupt change.

This is only a suggestion. Have you spoken with your DD's paediatrician for guidance?

THanks for everyone’s opinions. She doesn’t At the moment- but u think the nursery are in the is process of sorting funding for 1-1.

The pediatricion has been rubbish.

I think I might perhaps be being emotional tbh. I didn’t realise the other kids like her. He teacher told my dh yesterday in a meeting that the other kids love her and I think it just made a big difference to me as I thought they didn’t really bother with her. And then I saw it abit myself today when I dropped her off as we a few run up to her and started drawing with her.the teacher said the kids had been asking where my daughter was as the hour we are doing is the last hour

Has she got an EHCP? I presume not if she hasn't been diagnosed.

What is she doing to show she's not coping with the mainstream nursery?

Special needs nursery in a heartbeat.
If she makes great progress she can always head back into mainstream later ..as trust me the local authority don't fund special ed places unless there is a need.
She may be very loved now, but as the other children develop faster she will be left behind;their friendships develop rapidly..that's just the nature of children,
MY DS2 started in a mainstream nursery (with a 1:1) and then we were offered a place in a special school one, and I have never regretted it. He has ASD and had a global delay. In mainstream he was sort of a class pet..but in Special School he had peers and developed real friendships.
He also developed plenty of academic skills at his own level , and is now a semi independent young man :)

I can't see doing both being a bad thing if you can fund it, but I wouldn't turn down a Special Needs place... they are getting harder and harder to get (( work in Special Ed) if it's being offered!

OH and get the EHCP process started if you haven't!

Special needs nursery without a doubt, DS attended one and had so much more access to therapists and specialist services. Speech therapist, specialist paediatrician and OT therapist were all on site. The nursery leader was also fantastic at giving advice and helping with the dreaded DLA forms.
Places in SN nurseries are in demand and if you’ve been offered one your very lucky, snap it up!

Specialist provision definitely.

100% take the specialist place! The earlier a child receives intensive specialist input the better the outcome for the child. Don't let your emotions about the children in mainstream take over! I have a child with severe learning disabilities and ASD who started special school when he was 4. It is hard to accept that your child needs special provision, when I first visited his school I sobbed all the way home......the school was amazing and exactly what my child needed but I didn't want my child to need it!!!! The progress has been amazing and some pupils have gone back to mainstream.

Ahh just wrote a really long reply and it’s disappeared will rewrite later when less busy

Mainstream schools are having their funding cut more and more each year and it's harder and harder for them to meet the needs of all the kids. If your child has been offered a place in a specialist setting then they need it and will benefit from it. There are probably several kids at the school who would benefit from it but haven't been offered a place and they may be struggling.

In my county (not sure if applies everywhere) we have something called a section 23 - this is a legal notice the Pediatrician sends to the LEA to say that your child will need extra support in nursery/school, this makes the LEA supervise the nursery to ensure your child is making progress and its easier to get the funding for 1-1 support if it is in place.

Specialist nursery would be my choice. My ds did a term at mainstream nursery and when I was offered a pre-school place at a SN school just after his 4th birthday I went for it. However, one of the nursery staff cried as though I was throwing him in the bloody bin!!

It was fab and he is now year 4 at the same school and it is absolutely the right place for him. I am really pleased that ds has never had the stress of having to be in a MS learning environment.

Not to repeat myself, but can she not just finish out the year at her current nursery, then move to 'special school' in September? It's a couple of more months.
I think a change right now would be very hard on her. She's in a routine and althoug it's only an hour a day, it's what she knows.
I think you ought to finish out the year at her current nursery, then, after summer hols start the new special school.
She'll need closure and a proper goodbye in July. Then she'll have a few weeks before September to 'let go' of nursery. She'll be fine! I think changing her now would be a bit tough on you both, emotionally.

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, I find that my emotions are a little bit more on edge. I worry that much more about him. I worry about all of my kids, but my SEN child is a bit more vulnerable for now, hence my worries. So with that in mind, OP, I would tread slowly but surely into new waters. I would absolutely enrol in the special school in September. I think the timing will be more 'gentle' if you do it this way.

Just thought I would update - we have been offered 9 hours in the special nursery from September and the remaining 6hrs in her current nursery. I’m really pleased with this