Bruern Abbey - PDA suitable?

[cushionsarelife]

Hi,
I am looking for some recent insight into Bruern Abbey school and whether it would be suitable for an autistic child with PDA profile.

My son is about to be 8, has an EHCP and has done a year out of school previously. He was attending a specialist SEMH setting but this has broken down due to the extreme violence of the other pupils.

He is very bright and when in the right environment, feeling safe and with trusted adults and friends he thrives. However, when he is anxious, feels under pressure or senses loss of autonomy he can lash out and behaviour can be challenging.

we have looked around Bruern and chatted with Admissions and they think that he could be a fit there - but as they specialise mostly in dyslexic and learning disabilities rather than ASD I would love to know if anybody has a child there with ASD and especially with the tricky PDA profile?

How flexible are they if your child just 'can't' and needs a break mid lesson, can they opt out if they feel too anxious? How is challenging behaviour dealt with - do they understand that it's not a 'bad child' but a child who is feeling under threat? are there break out spaces if they just need to take a minute?

Any parents with experience I would love to hear from you. It's such a major decision and I don't want to mess it up!

thank you very much!

I don’t have up to date personal insight on Bruern but I know people who have looked at Bruern and got close to saying yes but then decided against due to a whole variety of reasons. All of these dc did not have dyslexia as their main need . It does look like an amazing school and hopefully someone will be along to give a more recent experience.

I wonder about looking at St Chris in Letchworth as well? St Chris has a continuously staffed sensory room in the prep section as well as a continuously staffed whole school sensory room in their SRP. I’m only aware of one other private school which has an SRP and it’s very good for kids who need time to recover their equilibrium.

Thank you for your reply that’s super helpful. I feel we may get to that tipping point and then pull back at the last minute! Eek.

we are not Oxford based so it’s a v long drive to Bruern for us - I’ll look up St Chris too - thank you!

Hi OP
Did you continue in your admission journey? We are considering the same school for our son with a similar profile..

Hi @Mumoftwo23 - yes we are continuing and been to look round twice and taking our son in a couple of weeks to see what he thinks. How old is your son? Have you been to look around?

In our experience the requirements in your penultimate paragraph is what makes Bruern stand out. A deep understanding of every child and willingness to support each one with great flexibility and caring. I think you’ll find a range of ND and associated SEMH conditions in the school not mainly dyslexia.

Good luck with the visit with your son! Yes we have also visited. Our boy is 8 so potential cohort for September y4. He’s doing OK in current local mainstream and has lots of friends but academically struggles and we just know he will never cope/thrive in mainstream secondary so we are considering whether to intervene early with Bruern. He is highly masking, sensitive and anxious, no behavioural issues in school at least and we worry whether he will find a suitable peer group at BA. It’s also quite the journey each way for us which I don’t mind doing if it means he will thrive.

Do you have any experience or knowing students at the school with a quieter and masking profile and how they get on there with the bigger personalities?

Exactly that. I suppose the staff are generally more tuned in to the dynamics of the classroom and the community and manage it well. It is normal too for children to be helped to step away when simply exhausted or overwhelmed or to flex to manage their load. Something we found very difficult/impossible in mainstream sadly

Sorry to jump on this thread, but my DS is currently in Y6 and we're considering Bruern Abbey.
He is bright, funny and an incredibly sociable boy. He has severe dyslexia and is around 2–3 years behind in reading age, but what he lacks in reading and writing he more than makes up for in confidence and sport.
I'd really appreciate hearing from parents with children at BA. What is the social mix of the school like? Is it mainly children with significant additional needs, or is there a broad range of boys with different strengths and challenges? My biggest concern is finding a place where my son will feel he fits in socially, can build strong friendships, and where his dyslexic needs can be met.
The alternative is our local feeder secondary, where all of his current friends will be going. It's a large school and I'm worried he will struggle academically there, but at the same time he would have familiar faces around him.
I also have a question about the social side of school life. We are by no means wealthy and would be making a huge financial commitment to send him there. We live in a small terraced house and will need to remortgage to cover the costs. I imagine many families at independent schools are in a very different financial position to ours. Have children from less affluent backgrounds found it easy to fit in socially, or can there be noticeable differences that make them feel left out?
Any honest experiences or advice would be hugely appreciated. We want to make the right decision for our son, both academically and socially.

@BumbleFizz You might get more replies if you start a new thread

Have you considered applying for an EHCP?

OP I would love to hear if you managed to find out more details on this or where you are on the admissions journey? Our child also has PDA and we are considering this school, my child desperately requires a supportive, nurturing and flexible environment but equally a ‘specialist’ setting wouldn’t suit. It is so challenging to find the right placement.