Does anybody have experience of any 'alternative' schools ? (I know this is not really HE, but...)

[TheodoresMummy]

...maybe there are some like minded people lurking here ?

I intended to HE, but DH has decided he's not keen (and DS does love his nursery).

So I am looking for a natural extention to his nursery really.

Particularly interested in:

Park School - Totnes, Devon.
Lewes New School - Lewes.
The New Forest Small School - Lyndhurst.
Summerhill - Sussex.
Sands School - Ashburton, Devon.

Any info/pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Sands does look lovely (and more rules than Summerhill). I might send ds2 and ds3 there (we're quite close!) May still be quite unstructured for AS though.

I get the impression from Sands that parents can be a bit more involved/supportive of the kids. Could help him develop a structure for himself.

Summerhill are keen to point out (several times on their website) that parents are kept at arms length.

May have the wrong end of the stick tho.

Yes that's what I thought, and parental involvement is essential for a child with SN (or at least the chance of parental involvement). IIRC parents can go to the weekly meeting at Sands. Also at Sands once a child has chosen which subjects they want to do (they have big input in that) they are then expected to go to the lessons. Having spent time reading the prospectuses after my earlier comments I remain dubious about Summerhill for any chid with SN, but fell in love with Sands

Also liked the Head's comments at Sands -and his comments made me want to meet him iyswim- whereas I think Zoe Neill is a bit of a fruitcake (just my personal opinion- she'd probably be equaly dismissive of me).

I just looked at the first two of the Summerhill episodes on the BBC play again thingy.

It's a wonderful place, so much in the way it operates is completely familiar from an autonomous HE POV

I can kind of see why they keep the parents at arms length, given the parent of the main character, but yes, it seems odd to me too, that parents sufficently tuned into the autonomy of their children to think of a school like this would also be keen not to see them for weeks at a time. Maybe there's a whole boarding school mentality I'm just not appreciating.

I think Zoe wotserface want to be the leader of an empire

Seriously thing openess between school and home is beneficial for any child and essential for a child with SN. Especially if the SN are of a social-communication disorder type.

Sands school looks lovely. It's just the sort of place I would like dd to go to in the future but there's nothing like it near me.

Hi StellaBlue..does your daughter board T sUMMERHILL?i WENT FOR A YEAR WHEN MY MUM WORKED THERE.oUR Son is 8 at the moment and home edded but he would and we would love him to go.We live in Republic of Ieland and of course i worry about the fees!Sorry re terrible typing

Hi TheodoresMuumy,

Yes my DD (she's 10) does board (her choice) but at the moment only weekly and comes home at weekends. Most of the really young children are day kids and fit in fine, they start to board when they feel ready, as with all things at Summerhill it really is the childs choice. When our DD moved schools she was given the choice of other day schools in our area (we couldn't move nearer Summerhill without completing the disrupting the rest of the family)but chose Summerhill.

I don't know what Summerhill would be like with AS but they do have a good success rate with ADHD. The best way to find out would be to email Zoe and ask.

For those people who don't know much about Summerhill the reason it is boarding is that it considers itself a community rather than just a school and it is hard to be a part time member of a community. The main ethos of the school is freedom, to be who you want to be not what your parents/teachers think you ought to be. When setting up the school the aim was to make the school fit the child rather than the other way round (which seems to be most school's aims in my experience)

The school believes passionately that children have rights and the freedom to exercise those rights. This includes the right to make mistakes, be horrible or just plain silly but it also means experiencing the consequences of those actions. (And they do learn very quickly how to be a constructive member of a community)

I understand that it's not everyones cup of tea and I guess it really comes down what you want for your child.

I'm not familiar with any of the schools mentioned here, but I went to one in Bristol (since closed) at primary school age (it was for primary & secondary). I have very happy, fond memories of it and I still have a sense of sadness that I didn't get to finish my education there.

It was a great experience and I am very glad I went.

What was that school like foxy ?

Was it 'alternative' ?

What do you feel were the positives of your experience ?

I was very little - about 6 when I went, and was there for about 2 years. My most vivid memory is on the day we went to look at the school, my Dad asking if I liked it and did I want to go. When he asked when I wanted to start, I said 'tomorrow'. I never went back to my state primary

It was a very creative environment. I spent most of my time in the art rooms, throwing pots, screen printing, batik, murals. We put together and performed plays. Lots of drama.

You weren't late for school if you were in by lunchtime

Parents were very active. We cooked lunch for the school in a massive kitchen, standing on chairs to fry the onions.

There was a horse and shetland pony for riding lessons. We collected eggs from the chickens daily. We had french and piano lessons. We went camping in Wales.

Am getting all nostalgic. I remember the people, activities and comfort. We called the teachers by their first names. We had meetings and were all included.

Both my older sister and myself have nothing but positive memories. I'll have to ask my parents if there was any downside, but I don't know of any. It was a very happy time, of course, it was a breakdown in funding which finished it off.

Oh foxy, it sounds lovely !!!!

Am getting my knickers in a right old twist now.

I really do believe that a place like this would be the best for DS and us as a family, but am not very brave in RL.

Will talk seriously to DH about the relocating aspect. We have talked before, all this is not pure speculation, but DH does not always follow through with what he says.

Right, off to get DS from his lovely chilled nursery.

Funnily enough TM, I hadn't even thought about sending my kids down the same path - but I have spent most of this morning looking on the Web for schools (have found one nearby and contacted them) - see what you've started?

I am going to talk about it with DP tonight. My only issue is I think DS1 would love it as he is very creative, but DS2 is very sporty and I feel very strongly that we need to nuture this side of things too.

some good links here

c'mon foxy, spill !

what have you found...?

I knew someone who went to Atlantic college and loved it. I taught someone who went to Bedales and said it didn't suit him at all - his view was that he was bright but lazy (he was!) and that he would have done better had he been pushed (probably true). From teaching him I would say he was lovely, very mature, very bright but really had no idea how to study at all.

I went to Park School . Obviously that was a long time ago and it may have changed. I had a fabulous time there.

Even though I was under 11 I can vividly remember many of the lessons because they were such experiences: lying under an oak tree in the sun for an hour while our teacher took us through a meditation before asking us to write poems about it; learning to make pizza in a traditional outdoor stone oven; being alloed to pick any character I wanted to be in the school play before the script was written (it was written around our character choices), digging our own pond and popuklating it with catches from the River Dart, dissecting a whole pig by hand (!)... I could go on and on.

I did not go onto Sands as my Mum wanted me to get a good amount of GCSEs so I had choices for my future (at that time Sands offered very few GCSEs). However, many of my friends went to Sands. Kids grew up quickly there due to the lack of boundaries. There was quite alot of smoking/drugs/sex. But that was years ago and I can't say that my friends did not all enjoy themselves!

TM - just out of interest, did you see the CBBC dramatisation of Summerhill? I caught the last 10 mins on BBC4 the other night, but you can see it on BBC's Iplayer.

oh these schools sound just what I would love for ds. But just can't afford

Artichokes !!!

Hadn't seen your post 'til now.

Will post later, got to bath DS just now.

If you want to know anything about Park just ask TM. I was there a long time ago but I now have a friend from Park whose own son is at Park!

Thanks Artichokes.

Off the top of my head:

• Can children go part time, for example either just mornings or 3 days a week ?

• I have heard it called a free school (a primary version of Sands). Do kids spend their time doing what they want ? Or is it more structured ('proper' lessons) ?

• Is it as friendly as it sounds (kids AND parents) ?

• Is there support for a child who struggles socially (at the moment) ?

• Currently DS is def more interested in spending time with adults. Is this OK ? - I get the impression that at Summerhill the kids are expected to become very independant (might be wrong about that tho).

I will think of more, but that'll do for now.

Oh and where did you go for secondary ? Was it easy to transfer or did you struggle as you had come from a very different kind of primary ?

Thanks soooooo much !!

I am afraid that I can only answer for how Park was in the 1980s! But I will e-mail my friend whose child goes there and ask for an update.

I loved my time at Park. My mother was one of three women who founded it. She had originally sent me to the nursery of Dartington Hall School which was on the same site and was also a progressive school. Dartington Hall Scool closed down and I went to the local CofE. Then my Mum and two others decided to start start a new progressive primary. I was one of the original 30 pupils at Park. Therefore it is very close to my heart. My Mum is now dead but I am so proud of her for having been involved in starting a school like Park.

I have no idea whether children can go part time - I don't remember anybody doing that when I was there, but that does not mean it was not possible. However, the school was very relaxed if parents wanted to take their kids out to travel etc.

We did have structured lessons once we were old enough. It was not a free-for-all. We had time for maths and time for history and time for art etc. But the timetable was fluid and the lessons were less formal than at a regular school. We called the teachers by their first names and they treated us as individuals with valid opinions and contributions.

When I was there it was very friendly. The parents were very involved. Some taught lessons (e.g. drama, art or sport), some gardened, some built a play area etc etc etc. All the parents were expected to get involved in the school community. The children were all very friendly too. I don't recall any incidences of bullying and there was definitley less pressure to conform than at a normal school. The school had a non-competitive ethos so there were no grades or tests or sports days.

Regarding support for a child with special social needs I am not an expert. At an informal level there was a lot of support as the classes were very small and the teachers very engaged. If a child liked to hang out with adults that was fine as there were always parents around - gardening or cooking etc.

When I left Park I was sent to the local comprehensive! I probably did find the first year quite hard to adjust to. I had no problems academically (I beleive I learned more at Park then I would have at a normal primary) but I was used to a very small and personal environment. I did settle down fine after a while, I transferred with several kids from my class at Park and we remained close. I am now nearly 30 and my two best friends are still girls I met at Park.

I will e-mail my friend to see if I can get more up-to-date info.

If you are really interested in finding out more I would call Park and ask if you might take DS to look around. My friend did this with her child, they spent a couple of hours a day there together for about a week. Then she let the child decide whether it was the right school.

ooops - that was a rather mammoth post!