School visit tomorrow what should I ask.

[Imagoodperson999]

Im taking ds to visit a secondary school tomorrow. Its a visit for children with EHCP. Is there anything I should ask them ?

Just a bumping this as going there in the morning

What is the aim of your visit? To decide if you want to apply there?

Yes we are looking at schools for when ds starts year 7.

He has an ehcp . Its is a mainstream school but has a unit thing (I forgot what it's called). Tomorrow they are just showing parents and children who have an ehcp . So I wondering if theres anything I should be asking or anything to look out for

It really depends on what your child's EHCP is for. What are his needs, and how can the school support them? Do they have other children with similar needs profiles? What support is offered during lessons, but also during unstructured time? How will you get feedback about how he's doing? Most secondaries only do one parents evening a year. Will he have a named support staff member, and how will they communicate with you? What can you do over the summer to get him "secondary ready"?

Hi OP. I think it depends on your child's needs, but I would ask the following:

• what are the class sizes?
• if your son needs one-to-one support, then do they have the same one-to-one TA for each lesson, or is it subject dependent?
• do they have a designated area your child can go to if they're feeling overwhelmed or tired?
• how do they support with building children's confidence/social skills?
• do they have small group or targeted interventions?
• do they have specialist staff onsite (eg, Occupational Therapist, Speech & Language Therapist or Educational Psychologist)?

Also read their OFSTED report before you go, specifically around SEN provision, and you might have some questions around that.

An ARP? He is eligable for access to the ARP?

Whats an ARP?

ARP are additionally resourced provisions. Normal for 10 children with similar needs so maybe for language and communication or MLD. They are units within a school.

Questions I would ask:
How many DC with EHCPs do they have on roll?
What transition activities do they offer for those with SEN?
What support do they offer for those who struggle to make friends?
Do they have a quieter room/lunch club DC who are overwhelmed with the canteen/playground can go?
Where do DC who are overwhelmed in a lesson go?
Do they have a sensory room?
Do they allow those who struggle with the hustle and bustle to move lessons 5 mins early or late?
Do they have DC who can’t cope with the hustle and bustle of arriving/leaving school and have different arrangements for arriving at school (such as arriving 5/10 mins late via reception)/leaving (such as leaving 5 mins early)?
What support do they provide other DC with similar needs? (The provision in DS’s EHCP must be provided, but the answer can help you ascertain how inclusive and proactive they are.)
How does the school reduce/prevent sensory overwhelm?
Do they set?
Do they have a nurture group? (If they do, what lessons are DC in nurture group for and what lessons are they mixed with others?)
Class sizes?
Do they have a SEN homework club?
Do they allow DC to use noise cancelling headphones/ear defenders? (This is a reasonable adjustment but you would be surprised how many are reluctant to allow it.)
Do they have DC who have reasonable adjustments to the uniform policy?
Do they offer any qualifications other than GCSEs?
If it matters for DS, is the site secure?

If you are looking at a place in the unit (what these are called varies area to area e.g. in some areas they are ARPs. In others they are DSPs, ERPs, cabins and a whole host of other names.) I would also ask:
Number of students in the unit?
Ratio (and type) of staff in the unit?
What proportion of the week are DC expected to integrate into MS? Does this % change as DC move up the school? Is there any flexibility in this?
What lessons do DC typically have in the unit and what lessons do they attend MS lessons for? Is there any flexibility in this?
What qualifications do DC in the unit typically sit?
Do they have professionals on site or visiting? If visiting, how often do they visit and how many DC do they see?
Where do the pupils move on to after Y11?