SEN school experiences and opinions

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Hi , my child is in Yr 3 at a mainstream school. He is autistic (Non verbal) with an ehcp in place. Since the new term began it is becoming more apparent that he may need to move to a specialist school and his behaviour is showing that he may find certain aspects of his day overestimating and traumatising.

I guess I'd like some input from other parents thar have found themselves in the same position. Did you keep your child in mainstream and try more and more strategies or did you make the move to a specialist school. How did your dc cope before and after?

Thank you.

My eldest moved to Sen for year seven, best thing we ever did.
We kept him in mainstream for primary however we were constantly working with school to find ways that helped him learn, if I could go back now I'd of swapped him to his Sen school sooner he's a lot happier & confident and his self esteem rocketed being around kids just like him.

@MeMyCatsAndI thank you. That's really positive to read. I feel like my son needs to be around kids like him too. I observed him at playtime when I dropped him off at school late today (after another night of terrible sleep) and he clearly couldn't cope with being out there with the mainstream children. He was trying to get inside the building immediately. He doesn't fit in there any more , it's clear to me now.

My son was in a similar situation, he has ASD, non verbal, learning disabilities and was placed in a small specialist class within a mainstream school.
Quite quickly became obvious he wasn’t coping and I was constantly called in by teacher and headteacher for strategy meetings but local authority kept saying he’s fine where he is even though he obviously wasn’t.
I ended up doing a parental placing request (I’m in Scotland so system is slightly different) and he was placed in specialist school where he seems happier and calmer, the only downside is the new school is miles away so he has to get the minibus which he’s not that keen on but otherwise, it was the best decision to move him to a school that meets his needs. Good luck, you might have a fight on your hands knowing what councils are like!

@theresabluebirdinmyheart yes , my son is in the sen class of a mainstream school , but all of the children meet at lunch and playtime.

I'm in England , London to be precise. I'm trying to get an understanding of the process of moving him now. I don't know if its a general local authority admission or an individual one.

I feel like whilst the school have done their best and the staff are amazing , I may not have been told the full story about how he is at certain points in the day. I will discuss with the sendco when I can.

I was a governor at the special school my son attended; he never went to a mainstream school but we had several children who transferred at some point from mainstream. Every parent, and there must have been about 15 transfers during my time there, said they wished they had made the change earlier. Good luck!

@Knittedfairies2 thank you. That's reassuring. My son is becoming aggressive at school and has been bitten by another child in his class this week also. There's clearly a problem there , probably partly due to staffing levels , but it needs to be addressed. I think moving him is the answer.

Speak to the school and ask them for brutal honesty.

The school and I knew from day one that DD4 wouldn't cope in mainstream. Even their SEN unit isn't equipped for her needs.

We worked together to get her moved and I hate that we had to fight so hard for it. It took so much time - my time, the school's time and also time that DD was in a setting that overwhelmed her and really wasn't right for her.

I wish we'd been able to do it quicker, and I haven't met a single parent yet who has made the move who wishes they'd waited longer or it took longer.

@ARichtGoodDram thanks for your advice. I'm going to set up a meeting and do just that. I'm glad your child is more settled now.

It is worth investigating the possible schools. See which, if any, you think will suit DS.

If you wanted to pursue a different placement now you would need to request an early review of the EHCP. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use. If the LA agree to an early review (they don’t have to. In which case you would have to wait until the annual review. When was the last annual review?) you can make it known then you would like a change of placement. Following the review meeting, the LA must inform you if they propose to amend or not within 4 weeks. And if they do amend they must send the amendment notice at the same time. If they propose to amend they must then finalise within a further 8 weeks. If the LA doesn’t amend or amend but don’t make all the necessary amendments you can appeal.

At your meeting, ask the school to call an early EHCP annual review.

This may take a few weeks as the school will need to request and circulate reports. As part of the review, placement should be considered. Get advice from the Local Offer on your local authority's website and/or SENDIAS (the school Senco should be able to direct you to both) as to what provision is available in your area and the process for getting a place.

There is a lack of special school places so you may find you are waiting so in the annual review also ensure that the provision that he should be getting now is watertight, e.g. it’s clear that provision for break times needs improvement.

Also be aware that the current school can only discuss what they can do, not what other schools offer, so should not be telling you that X school or Y school can meet his needs.

I started the wheels to move DS in year 3 for similar reasons. He didn't really have friends and was struggling in mainstream despite their best efforts. Took a while to find a suitable SEN school because he is academically able, so needed a school with a suitable curriculum and peer group.
Best thing we did he's so happy and it's like having him back to his old self.

Our local authority fought us almost all the way though and it took almost 2 years to make the move. Some LAs do not like it because of the cost - SEN schools are more expensive.
However the longer you leave it the harder it is to find a space (again area dependent) for example our school is full for years 5-11 now so only just squeezed in in time

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good, but many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies and perpetuate the LA’s myths about ‘how they do things here’. The law is the same in all LAs. IPSEA and SOSSEN are far better.

Thank you all. I've spoken to his teacher and sendco and she is bringing forward his ehcp review. She agrees that the school can't provide certain things that I've requested for my son due to budget restrictions. It was actually a really positive and honest chat. We've made a temporary plan to handle his anxiety at lunchtimes too.

We moved our DD out of mainstream in year 3. Her school was lovely - they did everything they could to adapt things for her, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t do anything about the class size, which is what she was struggling with. She was spending her days in a separate room with her 1-1, which completely negated the supposed advantages of being in MS.

We had an honest conversation with the SENCO, who said the school was happy to have her as long as she wanted to be there, but that she was likely to find the environment as she went up the school even harder to deal with, because of the way the building was laid out, narrow corridors, etc.

DD has settled really happily in her special school with its much smaller class size and we haven’t regretted moving her for a second.

We were lucky that it was all sorted quickly, for various reasons, but I’d strongly advise you to get things in motion as soon as you can, as it can be a long wait for a place.

If you haven’t already, go and visit the local special schools - you really can’t tell whether they’ll be right for your child from websites, etc. There was one school that I’d assumed would be perfect for DD that I walked away from thinking absolutely no way.

Follow up your conversation with an email so you have a paper trail as evidence.

She agrees that the school can't provide certain things that I've requested for my son due to budget restrictions.

Are these things detailed, specified and quantified in F already?

I have a follow up email and an appointment booked for ehcp review. It's only a few weeks away.

I've also contacted the schools we are considering to gain information and book a visit.

I'll reread the more detailed posts when my head is less full! You've all helped a lot , thank you.

I found it helpful to think about what my son would be likely to be doing as an adult and what skill set he would need and then chose a school based on where he could learn those skills. My son was verbal and managed to do some low level juniors stuff in y3 but by the time he got to y5 it was clear that he wasn't going to manage more than maybe one or two GCSEs at most so we moved him to a special.achool.where they focus on independence skills. He does work experience and travel training as well as maths English it and science so a mix of everything at the right level for him
.

@Geneticsbunny I think it's unlikely that my son will be able to sit exams. I do however feel that with patience he will learn to read. We're doing phonics right now and he can replicate sight words independently and spell his name. He also has good number skills. Life skills such as swimming , travel training and cooking should also be a focus for him I think. These are things I will look for in a school setting.

Sounds like the right special school would be perfect for him. He can make friends there too.

My Y3 DS (ASC, ADHD, dyspraxia) has just moved to a specialist independent funded by the LA and is thriving. He had never even managed full days before. Mainstream is definitely not for everyone.

Like others here, I had the mother of all battles with the LA to get him there, so buckle up! 😁

We have also found this. There were no good specialist schools for our DS when he was primary age, though some looked good on paper.
He is happy, though not learning, in his current specialist school but it is Y5 onwards.

Good luck! Be prepared that the process of transferring to a suitable Special School may well take years, especially as your child is already within a an SEN unit in mainstream. So be prepared to fight on two fronts - why a specialist placement is needed, and what must be provided in his current setting first. Also see if the special school does outreach / inreach (your child attending the special school for a specific session each week) to build evidence.

I am not in London - of recent years, with absolutely everyone working together for a Special School place, it is taking at least 18 months to get a place at primary level, and then only where the mainstream school has either excluded the child (as a last-resort tactic) or refused to continue to accommodate them for the next year on the grounds of health and safety. That saved 18 months, for the local authority, means thousands and thousands of pounds as mainstream is so much cheaper, so cash-strapped authorities are spinning out the process, ime, for longer and longer.

My dd moved to specialist at that age. The gap between her and her peers ws too large. She began to struggle.

I wish we'd been able to do it quicker, and I haven't met a single parent yet who has made the move who wishes they'd waited longer or it took longer.

Absolutely. And I have met so many who realise too late that their child could have benefited from special school right from the start, but can’t get those lost years back.