Moving to Norfolk, advice needed please

[LuckymumofAbi]

Hi, partner has just got a job in Norwich (we currently live in Oxford). We would like to move to a town with around a 30 minute commute to Norwich (partner’s job will be in the forum). We like Aylsham and Reepham but would appreciate recs for other towns. Anything around 20 mins drive from the sea world be great.

Also we are looking at Paston College and Reepham for daughter to do A levels. She has SEN and an EHCP. Does anyone have an recs for colleges/schools with good SEN provision please?

Reepham is a nice town.

Reepham College has a great reputation and gets good results. However, it can be difficult to get into because it requires relatively high grades.

Some kids who went to high school in Reepham tend to not like the college so much as they can feel like they are still at the school, ie same teachers as the high school, still call them Sir and Miss, can't leave the college during free periods.

Paston is very different. It's much less rigid. They can come and go as they want, call teachers by their first names etc.

I'd pick Reepham College over Paston though.

I know the area very well OP. Aylsham and Reepham are quite different. Aylsham is bigger with more going on. You are moving from a city like Oxford into a part of the world that has an older demographic and has a much slower pace than where you are from (I also know Oxford!). Even Norwich as a city is laid back. If you want to be about 20 mins from the sea and 30 mins from Norwich then Aylsham is a good bet as it is literally sitting between Norwich and Cromer. Holt is lovely and more buzzing and has a ‘more trendy’ vibe than Aylsham. It will take longer to commute to Norwich but has some amazing seaside areas near it. Why wouldn’t you want to settle in Norwich out of interest?

I am sorry I am not up to date on the schools question. Good luck OP. Norfolk is a lovely place to live.

Yes, there's nothing for teenagers to do in Reepham. We end up driving our kids into Norwich all the time (buses are pretty infrequent and take a long route).

Aylsham has a bit more going on.

You can get to Cromer etc relatively easy from Aylsham.

There's a lot to be said for Norwich City Centre too, although there are obviously some parts that aren't so nice.

For teens, Aylsham has a better bus service to Norwich than Reepham, so they can be more independent and you’ll have less ferrying around to do. DC1 went to Reepham 6th form and hated it (he wasn’t at high school here) but flourished at Paston. However I have several friends who’s dc’s have really enjoyed Reepham.
Feel free to dm me if you want any other info

Probably should have added there is a bus service from Aylsham to both Reepham and Paston, but it will be trickier to get a bus from Reepham to North Walsham where Paston is

As above, Reepham, though lovely is a tad quiet for teens, although the college is excellent. Aylsham is lovely but you will find that the younger folk wil want to go into Norwich. All the big gigs are at UEA.
I too wonder why not the city? There are some lovely areas on the outskirts.

I'd be tempted to also look at properties in the heart of the city rather than the outskirts.

It would be great to just walk out for a coffee etc!

There are some good Sixth Form colleges in the city centre.

Re the dd with the ehcp etc - join this group on Facebook (if you’re not on Facebook it’s worth creating an account just to join, it’s the main group for children and young people and their parents with sen in Norfolk, lots of advice about provisions etc)

www.facebook.com/groups/sensationalfamilies/?ref=sharewww.facebook.com/groups/sensationalfamilies/?ref=share&exp=9594

Norfolk is typically dreadful for specialist provisions and sen support. It’s a huge area, very spread out and children are expected to travel long distances. For example, my son spent 5 years travelling 23 miles each way from south Norfolk to Norwich to his specialist school. (The council supplied a taxi and escort). That placement ended and he’s now at a closer school but that’s been luck really.

City college Norwich is the main college providing specialist support at college age. Some of the specialist schools go up to 19/25. Google Norfolk specialist schools - but there are HUGE waiting lists.

Be aware if you move LA the new LA will review the EHCP and potentially reassess, amend or cease to maintain. Obviously you can appeal but it is a risk and worry.

Thank you.

Thank you I am already joined. Is the City College any good do you think?

Thank you for so much useful info, please keep it coming and I will read through it all carefully later.

Just to clarify daughter is currently in mainstream with TA support for physical needs so not specialist provision school. She does have ASC so probably won’t cope with going solo into Norwich as can’t cross roads, yet. She looks likely to make the GCSE grades for Paston and I have booked her in for the taster day there in November.

City college is well thought of. I have a dd who is now in her second year at Nottingham university (after getting AAB equivalent at A level) who went there for her A levels (no sen). And I know lots of people whose children do have sen who attend and really rate the college.

Thank you everyone this is all really useful. We will look at Norwich a bit more but currently we live in a village within Oxford and rarely go into the centre except for work. I was born and grew up in central London and when I moved out from my parents I lived in the suburbs and that wasn’t for me so that might be why I am resistant to living on the outskirts of Norwich. All in all I am pretty sure I am not a city person but each city is different so it is worth looking at.

We actually really like the laid back feel of Norwich and when we drove into Aylsham it just felt right. I’ve booked the taster day at Paston College and I’m going to look at the City college as a plan B.

I think living in Reepham will be a bit too quiet for us and Aylsham is a better fit but we are going to look at Holt too.

I really hope Norfolk won’t challenge our EHCP but it is good to be warned that they might. My daughter wouldn’t manage without TA support so I would have to fight it if they try to change that. I will ask our SEN officer in Oxford for advice on this, thank you for the warning.

What about looking at North Walsham itself?

There's a bit going on there and obviously Paston College. It's about a 30 minute drive into the city or you can get a train.

It's fairly near to the coast too.

How would she get from Aylsham to Paston every day? If she can't cross roads solo, I mean.

House prices in Aylsham have gone totally nuts but I guess still not that high compared to Oxford.

I live in Norfolk and absolutely love it...which came as a surprise to me. It grew on me. I love over in West Norfolk so a bit further than you want to live, but I worked at UEA, commited for years and really liked it, beautiful campus. There is a much slower pace of life in Norfolk, especially North Norfolk. I really hope you and your family settle well and enjoy it.

Sorry. Typos. I commuted for years, not committed. And I live over in West Norfolk, not love. Though I do that too!

Yes I should have asked about North Walsham. We did try to look at it last time we were over but it was late and the roads in the town centre were closed so we just went to Waitrose. Is it nice?

I think I might be driving her a lot to Paston College. In Oxford she qualifies for transport but I’m guessing not in Norfolk.

Norfolk itself is lovely but be prepared for a real fight for SEN support. It’s bad here. Not that I think it’s great anywhere but my experiences with Norfolk have been pretty dire so far.

I’d advise joining the sensational families Facebook group for advice and support on SEND provision in the area. Norfolk SENDIASS are worth a call as well (you can find the number via the Norfolk County Council website).

In my experience, Norfolk will do their best to get away with the absolute bare minimum of support that they can get away with, up to (or perhaps down to) and including none whatsoever.

Gorleston! right on the beach and a fantastic beach too! Great sixth form too (East Norfolk Sixth Form)

Don’t ask the LA for advice! LAs will tell you what they want you to know whether that’s the law or not. In some areas SENDIASS is helpful, but in too many they repeat the LA’s unlawful policies. If you want correct advice IPSEA or SOSSEN are better.

DD may qualify for transport, but post 16 transport rules are different to transport for CSA pupils, so even if you stay where you are DD may not continue to qualify or you may have to pay some/all of the costs. SENTAS can help with transport problems.

Which A-levels is she interested in?

North Walsham is considered far below Aylsham in the Naice league. Aylsham is full of independent shops, NW is full of abandoned shops. But NW has more facilities, like the train line, college, leisure centres, youth clubs, employment. There are subsidised season train tickets to get youngsters to 6th form, I haven't heard of subsidised bus fares for 6th formers. Might be subsidies if have SEN, I suppose. There are regular bus services from Aylsham to/from NW that 6th formers can/do take, but they stop running about 4pm IIRC.

Paston tries hard to offer good pastoral care, may be worth chatting to them direct.