Primary / secondary schools in Edinburgh for child with ASD

[bananachop]

Hi! Looking for some feedback from parents in Edinburgh on primary / secondary schools in the city that have catered well for your children on the autistic spectrum. My son's difficulties are not too severe and he is doing well in mainstream primary school. It feels like he could be supported better though (what a surprise!). About to enter primary 2 with a class size of 30 and no learning assistant!! Are there any schools in the city where there is always a learning assistant in the class? Does anyone have experience of West Lothian schools? Are these perhaps better resourced? I am working my way around making enquiries at various schools but some 'real feedback' would be good. What are the independent schools like? While things are ok ish just now, I am worried about local secondary school which has a mixed catchment and wondering whether to move house to a better catchment or look at private schools??? Lots of questions, but look forward to hearing any first hand experiences!

Does he have allocated hours for a Pupil Support Assistant to be with him?

Thanks for your interest ( I am new to mumsnet and forgot how to check back on this!). He has no allocated hours at present and this is kind of the problem. He does " Ok" .... But I was hoping school would be more than "OK" I guess!!! We have a meeting coming up and it may be that he has some hours allocated to him for next year but nothing as it stands.

I don't have any first hand experience, but the 13 y-o son of a friend is at Portobello High and they seem to rate it highly. He went to Towerbank Primary, and they were considering an independent secondary when the time came, but his friends were going on to Portobello High so they decided to give it a try and haven't regretted it yet. The physical environment isn't so hot, and there's a lot of walking around during the day which he found hard at first - the school allowed him to leave lessons a couple of minutes early for the first few weeks so that he could practice (with LSA) getting to his next class while the corridors were still quiet until he got used to it. I thought that was a nice touch. I have no idea about West Lothian schools or independents, I'm afraid.

Thanks.... Is a minefield and not sure I am making much progress. My DH's work means we are fairly limited to west / north / city centre at a push! Glad it worked out well for your friend :)

I think in the private school you would have to pay for the 1 to 1.

School budgets are being cut and PSA's seem to be the ones which schools are letting go if they cannot afford. It may be better to look for a school who have smaller classes.