How do I find out why I went to SEN school.

[Youagain2025]

When i was a child 8 or maybe nine. I'm quite sure it was year 3? I jointed a school for children with moderate learning difficulties. I was not told why and I never questioned it. I feel like there's a big chunk that i don't know about myself. I'm not sure if things were done differently on the mid 80s like what would have been done to decide i needed to ho to a special needs school. I guess there were not ehcps back then ? I have read GP would have had records. Why would a GP have records about my schooling ? I read that i can ask for a SARS? But it said something about knowing the dates and what it is im looking for . I'm not even 100% on the dates. And I'm not sure how to word what I'm looking for.

It sounds like you could do with an assessment.

www.adhd-360.com/right-to-choose/

https://adhduk.co.uk/diagnosis-pathways/

https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/nhs-services/right-to-choose

https://www.psicon.co.uk/nhs/patients

www.problemshared.net/resources/how-to-pick-your-right-to-choose-provider

Its all good 🙂

You'd feel silly, but you want to know. Either JDI or be forever wondering! I don't understand the resistance.

That is unnecessary!
OP has stated she has learning difficulties!
Shes trying to find out what they were called in those days
OP has been through a lot and has DC with SEN, which is possibly why she wants to know

I love you 🫶🏻

Thank you . I want to it one step at a time though. Firstly I want to get my medical records and hopefully something from my education days. Then if I still feel I want to or it could be a thing then I will look at possible ASD/ADHD etc. Not just now though because I will throw myself of and get more confused.

forgot to add. I know that there are free tests on line. Obviously just screening type. But I can't find the ones that give free results. The ones I find are free to fill in and then for the actual results you have to pay. Amd add emails etc.

You’re doing great op!

Thank you 💐

You can do the tests and get the results on any of the links I posted.
There's no obligation to sign up or anything 🙂

Apologies OP - I posted without having read all your posts or noticing how many pages of responses there had been. You want to know the details, understandable. I read it that you didn't believe you had any special needs therefore didn't understand why you went to a different school and that's not the case.

The links seem to say. About right to choose and needing gp referral. Also its about ADHD. There's nothing about results etc. It seems to be a route i can choose if i decide to look into it.

Ok.
I did an online test and got results, all free.
Good luck, have a nice day

Oh I couldn't see them. Maybe I'm just being dopey i will look again.

Once I hopefully get my medical records. Would it be put on my NHS app?

Not your full record.
My surgery receptionists helped me with my request when I asked for my full medical history. They printed it all off for me. Maybe yours will do the same

No the nhs app is not yet comprehensive. They will photocopy any historical paper records.

Oh so I will have it in actual paper ?

Probably , we had some on paper and some digitally scanned in from different healthcare providers.

Yes, sorry I didn't make it clear

Not dopey, I have had the same experience. It must be very hard not to have family around to answer your questions. Good luck with getting answers.

Thank you. If i don't find out at least I know i tried

Just to clarify that your GP may not have any record of why you were at a special school if it was as a result of a range of Specific Learning Difficulties. They would normally have been diagnosed by an Educational Psychologist. They always are now, but from other posters, then it could even just have been on the recommendation of the mainstream school. The only medical involvement that my family have had in diagnosing / coping with our SpLDs has been Ophthalmologists prescribing reading glasses that have been shown to help. That is unless you count the broken bones resulting from the lack of coordination, but then an orthopaedic surgeon commented that Dyspraxia had only been mentioned once in all his long training! We did wonder how many of the other broken bones he treated were actually the result of the same issues but also if the chances of the medical profession raising a red flag if someone was accident prone due to a lack of coordination were pretty remote.

This is a good overview of the range of learning difficulties www.dyslexia.uk.net/children/what-are-specific-learning-difficulties/

I thought something could be on gp records? I know its not 100% anything would be there its just a place to try.

When we referred children to special schools for moderate learning difficulties, it is right that GPs were not usually involved. They didn't ever send representatives to meetings, not did the school nurse attend unless there was something medical involved. The referral route was through the Local Authority with an educational psychology report.

My father was head of a special school in the 1970s and he would visit the children and their parents himself and decide if they were a good fit. Quite often the children were just unhappy in their mainstream schools for a variety of reasons, or their behaviour was difficult. Sometimes it was because the mainstream schools were so rigid in their curriculum in those days, there was no support. Today schools are not like that. For example, asking for money for cookery which parents couldn't afford, or asking children to bring in washing for domestic science which parents were embarrassed about and refused. Sometimes they were being bullied and hated school.
These all had a knock on effect. The children were happy to go to a school which was more understanding and kind. The gentler approach suited many children in those days.

Yes but an educational psychologist would normally write a report about their findings after assessing a child and the report would then be sent to the child’s health visitor, school and GP and anyone else who is directly involved with a child and their wellbeing. So it’s very likely that there will be something documented in the medical records. Even if it’s a recommendation by a mainstream school there would normally be some documentation of it somewhere which usually ends up finding it’s way into your medical records.

Just because the GP’s were never directly involved, doesn’t mean that reports aren’t written and a copy of the report sent to the GP to be filed in the medical records.
As I have said before, I’ve worked in a doctors surgery and things like this, even from decades ago usually found their way into a patient’s medical records due to reports being written and sent to the GP, health visitor, social worker, school etc which then get filed into the child’s records. The difference is that GPs keep all your records from birth until you die whereas other services tend to destroy records after a certain period of time hence why people are suggesting the op writes to her GP