Mainstream or specialist dilemma

[sameoldsameoldd]

My son is 4 and due to start school this year. He has been diagnosed with autism and global development delay and is pre-verbal. He has a good understanding of a lot of things, ie understands when we tell him to put his shoes on / take them off (and can do so), understands to share or take turns at nursery etc. He is quite a relaxed child and does not particularly seem bothered about routines etc or by loud noises, crowds of people. He has an EHCP we are about to finalise and we are struggling to decide which type of school would be best. He is currently at a SEN nursery which he enjoys.

Initially we applied for a SEN mainstream (extra funding, autism centre etc) but they refused as they have too many SEN children and have basically been used as a cheaper substitute for specialist by the LA. We then spoke to 2 mainstreams who said they didn’t feel the could meet need. All 3 schools advised specialist.

It went to panel and the LA said they feel specialist would hold him back and he would be best suited to mainstream with extra support. However they still sent his EHCP to our local specialist / autism school, who have since said they feel mainstream would be better for him and he would be held back in specialist.

There is another school that may be suitable (extra funding for SEN kids, sensory rooms etc) and the children get the chance to have the input they need, ie speech therapy, time in the sensory room but they remain part of the mainstream class and are encouraged to contribute as much as possible. We are looking to tour there but as it’s half term everything is paused.

We are going round in circles and getting very stressed!! Has anyone been in a similar situation? Or can anyone give some advice? TIA

I work in the mainstream of a mainstream school, and also spend time in a specialist resourced provision (I don't work in it often) - which sounds like what you need. The children in a SRP should spend >50% of their time in mainstream, but return to the SRP base for specialist input and occassional teaching. There are children of greatly varying need in our small provision, and at least on the children is likely to be top set in core when he reaches that stage. There is another who is cognitively able, but minimally speaking and he is also thriving. Places in these provisions are like hens teeth though, so be prepared to dig your heels in, or wait for a place if necessary, if it seems like the right place for him.

Good luck!

More and more, schools are saying they can't meet the needs of additional pupils with SEN because they are struggling to meet the needs of too many other pupils with high needs. It's a crappy system. Everyone is judging based on a piece of paper and not on their actual knowledge of the child. Have you asked for advice from his current nursery?

Have you spoken with the senco at any of the mainstreams? This could be more meaningful than reading their responses to consultation. Explain that specialist said they can't meet needs and would hold him back. Ask them if they could provide what is in his EHCP. Ask them what his day might look like.

I notice some confusion in how you've talked about different mainstream schools, so thought I'd try to explain:

• Some mainstream schools have additional provisions (ARP, SRP, SRB, COIN units are all used, as are other acronyms) where children are officially registered in the provision/unit. They are funded per pupil in the unit (plus sometimes additional top up if pupils have higher needs) and are only for children with final EHCPs that name the unit
• Some mainstream schools will not officially have such a provision but may unofficially have set one up to try to meet the needs of high need pupils. They are not officially funded and may include children without EHCPs.

I would strongly recommend looking for a school with an official provision/unit that can be named on his EHCP l, as a non-verbal child starting reception is going to need ongoing speech therapy and specialist adult support eg. Makaton trained.

But any provision in any mainstream school will depend heavily on the SENCO, so start by calling them. You would get a better picture of whether you can trust the school with your DS this way.

You can also look into independent specialist schools for him but the local authority would be unlikely to tell you about these so you'll have to look into what's available within travelling distance

This is reassuring, thank you.

Hi. Yes I have asked nursery, they don’t seem to want to offer much of an opinion really. Yes I spoke to the SENCOs at all 3. Thanks for the clarification, that helps. The school we’re now looking at does have official provision for SLD so hopefully that should be suitable for him.

What do you think?

LAs have a vested interested in encouraging mainstream even when it isn’t in the child’s best interests.

Unless your preferred school is wholly independent (is it?), the LA must name it unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

On its own, being full is not enough to reason to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full admitting DS is incompatible. There is a point LAs can do this, but the bar is higher than LAs and many schools admit. It has to be something specific that has a material effect and is more than an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”. Unless the school is wholly independent, the LA can, and must, name the school regardless of the school’s objections unless they can prove one of the above. Although LAs sometimes refuse and force parents to appeal.

For most ARPs/units, including most official ones, the mainstream school is named in section I and the unit provision is detailed in F. This is because most ARPs/units are not separate registered institutions.

What I did with a similar child who already had EHCP was do ABA parttime with an outside provider and who also provided ABA trained 1:1 when went into mainstream. All this was funded by EHCP. The split between home/centre ABA and mainstream school varied over the years and they never went full time to school. It was the best of both worlds as got a specialist 1:1 education but still access to mainstream opportunities. Without mainstream would not have same reading and maths skills as there was an incentive in mainstream to keep up as much as possible - when went to special school at 11 they gave work that was far too easy and didn’t have same high expectations. I’d also say don’t assume you must make a decision for 7 years. Make a decision each year what is right for now. Things change. By year 5 the academic gap was too big really but it worked well up to then. You can stay at nursery until term after turn 5 so you could look at dual placement or gradual transition rather than give up the Sen nursery place immediately. If what you have is working and seeing progress then i would hold onto that - the nursery funding also continues until statutory school age / start reception full time. If you have genuine 1:1 in mainstream (rarer these days) that can work well.

Can I send you a PM please? Thanks