To send my SEN child to boarding school abroad?

[Aislyn]

My child is in year 6 and we are facing the local council naming a school which is a disaster for her. They have said already that they will not name any of our preferences. She has an EHCP.

Private school in the UK is completely unaffordable due to VAT. I am feeling aggrieved about potential extra taxation due to SEN. It is only due to SEN that I am having to look at private school for her: she requires small class sizes and strong pastoral support, but is very intelligent.

Private boarding school in Ireland is cheaper than day school here. She has an Irish passport.

I am alternatively considering sending her further afield, where we have family.

Any recommendations for Irish schools?

My daughter is sen/asd and I personally would never send her away to a boarding school.
She has a ehcp, LA named mainstream sch which would of been a complete disaster so I stood my ground snd refused to send her. After a lot of work and fustration I got her a place in a independent school which has been the best thing I could of done for her.
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I’d definitely consider moving before I considered that!

If she has an EHCP then doesn’t that have to name schools that would be able to meet her needs?

would sending the sort of child who needs small classes and a lot of pastoral care to live abroad away from family, friends and everything she knows be better for her than a local school which may not be an ideal classroom environment but would have the support of her family and the familiarity of long term friendships? Because I think it would be really traumatising and sending her to a local school where she has these things would be by far the lesser of two evils. Even if the learning environment is not what you had hoped for.

It would be a better option to move somewhere else in England where a suitable school has places.

There's a long (though not large) tradition of Irish children going to boarding schools in Britain and British-born children boarding in Ireland.

If you think it's best for the child and you can afford it, it's worth thinking about. I was tempted to move to Ireland for the educational system.

OP, I disagree with most people replying to. I think the right boarding environment for her would allow her to flourish. There are many superb boarding schools that would be well set up to manage her, and you.

I would however want to be closer and on hand if needed. Have you looked at bursaries and scholarships closer to home?

Welsh person here and we have immersion centres for children who want to move into Welsh Medium Education from English Language schools. Surely the Irish would be able to be taught. I would hope so.

That matter aside, I would sooner sell my soul than ship my child off to boarding school abroad. You state that your DC is intelligent, so I assume difficulties are with the classroom setting rather than the work? How will they manage without the people who know and love them best? Honestly the thought of it makes me so sad.

Would this school be suitable?

limpsfieldgrange.co.uk/

Im surprised boarding school in Ireland is much cheaper than private day school here. I wouldn’t send my child abroad to boarding school personally,
moving to Ireland with her could be an option though

Send her away?????
What are you thinking?????

I personally think this is a horrid idea. Simply horrid. Keep your dc close and parent them, no one will do it as lovingly and with as much care and undertsanig as you. I know from personal experience how messed up some people in the sector are and it leave life long scars. Don't do it is my advice. Instead, get a team of excellent tutors and help your dc find hobbies they love. Stand by your child especially if they have a neuro diversity.

*understanding

This

There are smaller cheaper independent schools in England. Also some LAs in some circumstances will allow you to choose an independent school that can meet your child's needs and you pay the base fees, they pay what they would have paid a state school.

I think you are placing all the emphasis on school and none on home. Sending any kid, but especially one with SEN, to a boarding school in another country would surely be far more stressful than being in a close by school where she gets to live at home with family?

It depends what the bigger disaster would be for her - a school that doesnt suit her needs or living apart from her parents.

That's what it comes down to.

You haven’t mentioned once how the child in question would feel getting shipped off to another country just to save you money.

YABVVU for that alone.

Is it a SEN specialist boarding school?

Or just a generic private school?

Assuming the school you have been offered is a mainstream UK school and the boarding school is a generic private non specialist one, it's hard to envisage which SEN could not be managed at that school but would thrive when being sent away from home to board in an entirely new school environment in another country?

Absolutely not. What on earth makes you think a child who has special needs would be happy living away from her parents? The fact you are even thinking of this is shocking.

And if the parents have to work to pay to house and feed the child ( and any others they may have)

I’m Irish, live in the uk and went to weekly boarding school. My daughters are ND (eldest is autistic and youngest has adhd). I may have adhd.

I cannot say strongly enough how much I would avoid boarding school in these circumstances. No matter how great the school (and my school was brilliant).

Depends where you live really doesn't it? If you are near Stansted then a flight to dublin is an hour away. Far closer than driving to Newcastle for example. Main thing is whether it's a specialist school that the advantages a outweigh the fact it's in Ireland

i moved over from the UK to ireland when i was 10, had to learn irish ( really wish i was exempt ), its a very very hard language to learn, and i actually hated it, barley passed it in my leaving cert never spoken a word of it since i left and am in my mid 40's now. Even now when i hear irish spoken on the radio or telly have to switch it off, cant bear to hear it. You dont need to learn irish to get an irish passport
Population of aprox 5.5 million people and its spoken full time by about aprox 300,000 people, mainly in the west gaeltaect areas

As an ex-boarding schooler who is also ND, I would say no. Absolutely not. Just don’t.

Sorry - re-read and saw they are year 6. Apologies. I still think you’re not sending her for the right reasons…