SEN schools - if schools close?

[xxmassy]

What do we think?

There is always the old line of vulnerable / EHCP children can get a key place but that's for mainstream generally where they are a smaller proportion. At SEN schools, ALL children have EHCPs so the school would have to operate as normal for all children (which ours refused to do last time obviously as the line was close schools!)

Our children can't do remote learning (generally). My autistic son won't sit in front a computer or do twinkle worksheets for anyone. Their school is embedded with daily therapy and a huge volume is outside / physical learning. It's all so key for them to thrive. They haven't caught up what they lost over lockdown yet.

Also, a lot of our children missed buckets of education in the past. My son was out of school for 2 years already with zero education as no school place could be found for him and his needs.

I know everyone is suffering but these children already had what everyone else is getting now and even that will be taken away again unless our SEN schools stay open.

Sorry nothing to add here really except we're the same here.

Autistic DS attends a Special Primary School which was also closed from March to Sept. He also has very rigid beliefs about home and school being very separate (it took years for him to not have a meltdown if he saw me attending a school event as I was meant to be from his 'home'.. ) So very little 'formal' learning took place here..

He also adores school and his routine, snd not having access to his physical/sensory therapy meant his behaviour and sleep were deeply affected.

I'm dreading another month of watching him showing his distress with daily meltdowns..

I am dreading this eventuality too. My twins just started at specialist school after half term after a long fight and tribunals, and the difference in them is amazing already - it will be such a massive setback if their school closes. Plus they love going so much and I can’t explain to them why they’re not going over Christmas, let alone not going indefinitely.

Their school was open during lockdown 1 though and they’ve had no cases since the boys started (not sure about before) - I’m really hoping they can stay open. It just can’t be compared to mainstream schools closing - specialist schools are often therapeutic as well as educational, it’s often not possible to find childcare for disabled children, my boys have full time 1:1 at school which I can’t give them at home, plus it’s often the only respite parent carers get.

I work in a SEN school for children with extremely complex needs. We have around 300 children on roll. During the first lockdown around 17 children attended on a rota basis. Yes, all the children have ECP's but they were individually assessed and those children who had keyworker parents attended as did children who were assessed as being more unsafe at home than in school. I think there was about a 50-50 split for each group so only about 8 children deemed unsafe at home for differing reasons. I imagine my school will implement the same system in January if advised. Could your ds's schools not do similar?

I think last time EHCPs were put on hold, this time they haven’t (so far) so the schools should be open.

Ours stayed open last time only shutting parts of it for a few weeks at a time due to staffing issues - no testing at that time.

Full ehcp provision has to be in place legally so changes to that law need looking out for.

I believe that the government have acknowledged that the shutting of special schools did cause lots of problems and created risk last time so I think they will be reluctant to go down that route.

I teach in a school classified as SEN/AP. We are expecting to remain fully open this time round - we only closed last time once school transport stopped. Even then, our families had daily contact with school adults, some of the pupils were supported by our staff but at mainstream schools close to their homes, others had 3/4 half day sessions in a park local to their home so their parents had some respite. Once we got to June 1st, pupils who didn't return (parental choice or ECV) were visited at home and taught outside.

I'm dreading this, too, as, clearly, is Ds2. We're all on edge with his non-stop, loud, vocal tics, today.

As a teacher in a special school I hope we will stay open but I wonder if provision may be on a rota basis? Staffing is a huge issue, we have staff needing to self isolate, needing to look after self isolating children and during the November lockdown some of us (myself included) were told to shield. If that happens again schools will be short staffed (4 shielded staff at my school) there is no additional money for supply, and it's very hard to find suitable supply staff for children with complex needs. So I have no answer for you other than we hope to stay open but realistically it may not be full time for all children

@Cactusowl

I think last time EHCPs were put on hold, this time they haven’t (so far) so the schools should be open.

That's a good point which I totally forgot. EHCP rights were suspended until September weren't they and now they are not. EHCPs can't be upheld out of school so one would assume they would have to stay open unless they revert back to the suspension.

My grandson special school closed on 16th Nov, and only took key worker's children n parents who couldn't cope.
Not going back till 11th Jan

Outs stayed open last time. Hope so much it’s the same this time. It’s impossible for families otherwise.

I work in a SEN school for children with complex needs and we are expecting that school will be open for all students from 5th January. There are some CEV students who have remained learning from home since March and are being provided with outreach/home support. We are tier 4 and have not heard anything different.

I work in a special school. I too hope we stay open as our pupils struggle hugely without the routine of school.
However, I don't expect we'll be able to replace the self-isolation periods with testing as so many of our students can't tolerate the tests. That's the aspect of the proposed testing regime which worries me the most. However, am sure (hope) we'll be doing things differently to mainstream.
I know some parents and kids find the SI hugely stressful (SLT have been verbally abused on the phone by a small minority when bubbles burst) but we've had proven in school transmission. to parents and school staff.

"However, I don't expect we'll be able to replace the self-isolation periods with testing as so many of our students can't tolerate the tests."

Parents of children with sn should be given the option of doing the testing at home. This won't work for all children but I know I can test mine at home whereas he probably wouldn't tolerate school doing it.

We are fortunate in having an onsite nurse and also we are a relatively small school so it probably could be possible, but if those tests are so unreliable is there any point? I agree that parents should have the option to test at home.

@Spikeyball - you're right. That option should definitely be available to families as the last thing we want is for the kids to associate school with something negative like having a Covid test! There are still students who will refuse (as is their right) but it would help massively. I'm guessing SLT have got a lot of planning to do...

Same here, my daughter has asd and the last lockdown was dreadful for her (school remained open to keyworker children only despite all pupils having EHCP as part of criteria for admission) She also has mobility issues and lockdown had a detrimental effect on those - we were given daily exercises to do but she was very resistant as 'this is what she does at school with her physio' Its a nightmare

I'm dreading it because the March to September were hard and he got so down 😫
Some sen schools near us stayed fully open but not my sons they just took keyworkers kids and those with a social worker!

We've been told that our SS will open on January 4th as normal. Small village in tier 2, but the town 3 miles away is tier 4.

SS need to stay open.

"but if those tests are so unreliable is there any point?"

If his school didn't think the tests were reliable I would accept keeping him off school for that period but it would make it more acceptable to take him out for exercise or car rides. Completely staying inside would be hellish and something we are doubtful we could see through.

Absolutely Spikey.

I amazingly did manage to test Ds2 at home when he had a cough, last month, but it took a couple of days of preparation, playing tickling games with cotton buds. I did the swab with the swab in one hand and a cotton bud in the other and managed enough sly pokes to get a result.

He refuses his flu spray, though.

We have been doing regular cotton bud practice in preparation for testing and managed to get a result when he needed testing. He has had sprays up his nose before so I thought testing might be possible. I have to do the flu spray because he won't let the nurse do it. These days they don't even try and just give it to me to do.

My son goes to a specialist college. He was off for 7 weeks in March, went back in May. They haven’t said they won’t be really-opening on the 4th. Most of the kids are termly boarders so they may close the school and college for day students. Dreading it to be honest.