Are PRUs really that bad?!

[Gracell4545]

DD struggles in MS she is 14 and since starting secondary has made little to no progress. School have said they "don't think they can meet her needs" and suggested the possibility of the pru.
DD has learning difficulties but is very street wise. she has a tutor out of school but her memory difficulties make it tricky for her to progress.
DD would be really upset to leave her friends , I have only ever heard horror stories about PRUs. Has anyone had a positive experience?

If staff at the school seriously think people only get EHCPs for specialist residential schools they are utterly clueless and the SENCO in particular should be sacked. You definitely don't have to opt for a PRU just because they say so, and frankly in your shoes I would complain about their lack of knowledge of special needs.

I noticed the other day that SOS SEN are starting drop-in advice centres in Kent - www.sossen.org.uk/advice_centres.php. I suggest you go along.

DD is under the care of our PRU but has never been in the building, they monitor and pay for her education because of her EHCP which we applied for

DD has a health condition that causes anxiety in a school setting so education from home was the best plan, she is not violent or struggling educationally but is gifted infact

Not all PRU'S educate in the same way, talk to them, find out what they could or would do for you, it may surprise you

Alternative education can be great for some students. However, it doesn't sound like your daughter needs to be taken out of ms school. The school need to sort themselves out. You need to push for an assessment of her LD and an EHCP.

Does she have any in class support?

I worked briefly in a PRU.

The majority of the students came from troubled family backgrounds and had fairly severe behavioural problems. A typical class had 4 students and 2 members of staff. Helping the kids understand and control their emotions and behaviour was the number one priority. The staff worked extremely hard to create a positive, kind atmosphere.

There was a separate section of the PRU that was more for school refusers, which was much quieter and calmer.

From what you say about your daughter, however, I don't think the type of PRU I was in would help her.

Tutting, eye-rolling, head on the desk - these are not the types of behaviour that would suggest a PRU is the best place for your daughter.

[what GruntledOne said]

I would be absolutely livid with the school, they are passing the buck, and seem like they can't be bothered to put in the effort. I would have a meeting with the SENCO and ask what her IEP is, him they are helping her? I woukd demand they start an EHCP.

EHCP definitely, that can open the door to different types of mainstream school, which may have specialust units and on the ball, thus more able to help her.

I am livid and so cross of fighting them , I feel they do not want her there ! Studio schools look amazing, wish there was one closer. I think I hate the education system !

IPSEA are fabulous.

What does your DD say about it all?

On paper they have written various things down which have tried and failed. They are not very consistent in approaches they take or strategies. they offer her support (without talking to me) and give DD a choice, I get why but if you say to most reluctant teenagers "do you want 1-1 in maths" DD will say "no thanks". They then say 1-1 offered and refused to engage. DD is not great with anything not expected so if they'd spoken to me I'd have warned her it will be happening, when, who with, the benefits then she'd be prepared. She is meant to have a key worker whose role is to meet DD daily, liase with teachers and email me HW and anything to remember. She's done it once in 6 months despite my daily emails .
I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle with them but dd hates the suggestion of changing.

I have spoken to ipsea (took me weeks to get through) they were very helpful and I do take Parent partnership with me now. It's good having them there but I'd prefer someone more vocal , the lady who comes in from pp is lovely but stays almost silent then rants when we leave about how awful the meeting was!

they offer her support (without talking to me) and give DD a choice, I get why but if you say to most reluctant teenagers "do you want 1-1 in maths" DD will say "no thanks". They then say 1-1 offered and refused to engage. DD is not great with anything not expected so if they'd spoken to me I'd have warned her it will be happening, when, who with, the benefits then she'd be prepared. She is meant to have a key worker whose role is to meet DD daily, liase with teachers and email me HW and anything to remember. She's done it once in 6 months despite my daily emails

That's really poor.

Tricky if DD doesn't want to move.

These links might be helpful:

www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/state-schools
www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/sen-complaints

Good luck OP. Hope you still have the emails. Probably not essential but will help a lot.

i work in a Pru and have visited several. tbh they vary incredibly but our kids are mostly happy and love walking in each morning. some kids really relate to small numbers, lots of attention, therapeutic approach. Also most are short-term these days-they wont keep her if there's no need because they are expensive. Has the school considered a managed move? What about the behaviour and learning support services? unless she's been perm -exed it can take some time to get get a kid in a PRU-I cant see it happening with 0 exclusions.

I've joined Mumsnet just so I could respond to this.

PRUs- they're not all as bad as described in some of these posts.

I work in three different PRUs and they're great, very little bad behaviour, lots of learning and the pupils leaving with qualifications (BTEC and GCSE) with most going on to college courses.

I recognise that not all are like this.

I would also say that from how you've described your daughter, a PRU is probably not the right placement for her and the school need to step up and work out how to meet her needs.

Thank you for all your posts it's certainly given me food for thought. It's tricky now the whole education system has changed seems bloody unfair to put children through things they know they won't get. Wish it would all get more vocational again.
She would benefit from doing less GCSEs and more alternative plus the small class sizes but socially she'd be pretty stuck !

Curly locks what areas were the ones you worked?

Are you definitely too far from the Studio at Rye? It seems like they have a very broad catchment area and the creative focus seems like it would suit your DD.

It would take about 2 hours each way unfortunately

The places i work are in Gloucestershire.

I sorry...not i...