School for gifted kids with ASD in London?

[SLPmom]

Hi all,

I am looking for advice on finding a primary school for my 9 year old Autistic daughter. We are relocating from the United States. I mention that she is gifted only because when I look for schools focusing on ASD online I am finding schools that cater to children who have higher support needs. I am happy to send her to a school that is for neurotypical kids that can also support her social needs. I understand that I will need to apply for "SEN" but given her academic strengths I am not totally understanding whether she will qualify. We are open to living in any part of London and are open to private or state schools.

Thank you for any advice.

What additional support does she need?

Children with especially high needs will qualify for an EHCP (education and health care plan) which will detail all their additional needs and the support the are entitled to. But given the information you have provided your daughter probably wouldn’t need or qualify for one. Instead the school will provide support based on professional advice and input in a more informal way. So my son is in mainstream without an EHCP but has access to quiet spaces when he needs them and a card he can show the teacher so they know he needs to leave and go somewhere quiet with out drawing attention to himself, ear defenders for when expected to work quietly as he can’t cope with distractions and lots of extra input when there are changes in routine (so for example a special individual session when he goes up a year group in September).

Thank you for your response. Her needs are not exceptionally high but she does get a lot of support. Academically she gets things like preferential seating - always near the teacher, option for a standing desk, preview of materials/ check ins to make sure she understands what she has to do. She is also in an ICT class, which is a class with a general education teacher as well as a special education teacher. It's approximately 6 kids with special needs and 14 general education kids. She also receives counseling twice a week - once privately and once in a group to work on social skills. She also has consults with an OT, SLP, and inclusion specialist once a month on her IEP.

She has an ASD diagnosis as well as ADHD.

Does this sound like it would qualify despite testing average - gifted?

Thanks!

I think you are going to find it tricky to replicate the setting you have in the US over here in the U.K. You may want to consider an educational consultant to advise you regarding a private school.

For the state primary sector you are looking at 30 dc in the class and perhaps some SEN provision to help your dd. External exams at age 16 and 18 are written by hand in the U.K. so use of IT is limited esp in the primary age group - ie occasional use of a tablet in the classroom.

Would you consider an American school in London such as ACS Hillingdon or Cobham? They are both Apple schools with extensive iPad use.

Not a lot of help right now but DS is ASC and T&G in maths and languages. If maths is thing Kings Maths School might the right place in time. There's also the Olympiads to look into.

I agree that in the state sector you likely wouldn’t be able to replicate the set up currently have. Some things (seating, preview of learning materials) would be fine but others (the ICT class, the counselling, OT and SLT) may not be as easy. If you want to use the state sector you need to identify the school she is most likely to go to and initiate a conversation with them as to what they can provide.

Alternatively, in the private sector you will have a wider choice of schools and some may be able provide support closer to what you are used to.

I'm sorry I can't help with specific schools. I think the educational consultant sounds like a wise investment.

Her academic ability won't make it impossible to qualify for an EHCP but the process takes months and is done by your Local Authority, so you'd need an address first, and she will need to start school without one. You should be asking for her to go on the SEN register, and ask to meet with the school's SENCo as part of your research. The main difference is that with an EHCP the school gets more money and has legal obligations to supply what's specified. Children on the SEN register get "best endeavours". Some schools will simply apply for an EHCP themselves if they think it's needed. This is good practice.

Typing for exams - and in lessons actually - is not the default but it's a very common adjustment especially in secondary. I'd agree that ICT receives little attention though. SO much of primary is about writing.

State primary schools often have pastoral support or an ELSA (emotional literacy something) who is usually a TA who has received some extra training. I think their primary role is to help children with particular emotional events such as bereavement or divorce, as a time limited intervention, but their remit is not limited to that. I'm not sure they will have the expertise you're looking for in a counsellor but I think that is the most likely alternative you'd be offered. Bringing in external professionals like OT and SaLT is highly unlikely under a mainstream school's budget unless specified by an EHCP. You might want to consider whether getting these done privately at intervals would be more productive than limiting your search to a school that can provide them, state or private. The school SENCo should accept the recommendations of private reports and seek to meet the needs where possible.

The two girls I know with profiles like that went to Sutton High (all girls) and Ewell Castle (mixed, but boy heavy), so those would be worth a look. Both SW London.

You could try talking to this organisation?
potentialplusuk.org/index.php/families/advice-service/

My dd is autistic and very clever, she attended a mainstream school with classroom adaptations like sitting near the teacher. Dd was at school in the USA at first, there's a different system in the U.K. and specialist programmes are aimed more at behavioural issues, not those who are ok in standard classrooms because inclusion is presumed unless not possible. My dd has never had a full echp

She's very unlikely to get specific support from the nhs, my dd had social skills group and private counselling in the USA but that was paid for by insurance, our insurance bill was nearly $1000 a month over 15 years ago (mostly paid by employer) so very different to the U.K. where healthcare is provided for all (I had friends in the USA with autistic kids whose insurance wouldn't pay). We had excellent state support to in the USA but that programme ended at 6, we moved

Hi OP you have some mixed messages on here. I work in the field and have an 8 yesr old dd with ASD. Yes, for lots of things like extra funding your daughter would need to apply for an ehcp. However, academically able kids with other needs can get them as it is needs based rather than diagnosis based. Also OT and SALT are usually (not always) not school based but donvisit children in school (my own dd has asd but is high functioning and has input from both sometimes they see her at school, sometimes we go to clinic) I think however this works differently depending on where you live in the county and I'm in the North. Also the kind of set up where your dd is at the moment does exist in the UK state system, it is known where I live as additionally resourced mainstream but again that may vary. I used to work in one for children with SAL needs but you did need an ehcp to access it. I would potentially see if there are any local Facebook groups for areas you are thinking of living and ask there for experiences. It could be tht she attends a mainstream school with a unit and then she could move to the unit bit if needed or of she got an ehcp.

Our ds with ASD is at private school.he is not gifted but his school does cater for some on the spectrum who are gifted in areas, as well as gifted neuro typicals. They are very supportive.

class sizes are 15

I think an educational consultant would be helpful here

You might consider casting your eye wider than London. Many people commute into the city by train from the surrounding counties. This would give you a wider range of schools and many have less pressure on numbers.

For non-SEN private schools you are looking at going through their normal admissions process and giving them the information you have on your daughter's needs so that they can decide if they can provide something you are happy with. However, I don't know anywhere mainstream that offers what you currently have.

School counsellors are a standard part of the American school system, but they aren't over here. Many schools don't have any and when they do, the counsellor (NHS in the state sector, private in the independent sector) will visit for appointments with specific pupils because of a clinical need identified by a doctor, usually after a referral through CAMHS. In other schools children would be taken out of school for this appointments. Ditto with speech therapists etc. It depends where you live and what the NHS offer locally.

Schools offer one-to-one and small group sessions with the SEN department. These staff offer support in a variety of areas depending on need - literacy, numeracy, executive functions... some schools might get a play therapist in once a week if there is demand. In the private sector all this is paid for by parents as the staff are peripatetic. In a specialist school provision is more likely to be included in the school fees. In the state sector your child would have to qualify for the provision, but it is free if they do. This would require an EHCP.

The SENCo (SEN coordinator) oversees the one-to-one and small group SEN provision and also creates a report on each child's needs which is shared with their teachers, so that they know what reasonable adjustments are expected.

SEN education over here is an absolute shit show. The set up you describe in the states sounds great. Stay there.

Try gabbitas.com/school-search-support/

If you are looking in London, Finton House School in SW17 might be what you are looking for. It is a mainstream primary (goes to 11) with an ethos that supports and welcomes children with additional needs, including ASD. They have OT, SALT and autism specific teachers on-site and the generalist teachers all understand much more about autistic kids than your average teacher in a private school.
Academically they cover the top half of the distribution with some of their kids (incl with ASD) every year going on to the most academically challenging secondary schools in the country. They do this while keeping the kids happy and grounded and will also advise on which secondary schools are most likely to provide the right environment for your daughter so that she can flourish and be happy.

OP did you manage to find a school for your DD? I suggest you apply to leading London Day Schools as they want gifted students and some have brilliant Learning Support Departments. Do not let the fact your DD has ASD hold her back if she just needs some extra support and is academically able. London Day schools are good with twice exceptional schools

@RedPanda2022 would you be able to share the name of the school please with me privatly? We are based un Islington and looking for a secondary schools for my 10 year old boy whonis in spectrum but academically bright, thanks!

@SLPmom Did you end up finding a good school? My 3 y.o. has been recently diagnosed as autistic but is also gifted. We were able to secure an EHCP based on his social communication needs, and now looking for the right school for him. Thanks!

Worth looking at North Bridge House in Canonbury if you’re in north London. They do very well by bright neurodiverse kids alongside neurotypical