Need advice on Primary and SEN Schools in Nottinghamshire area!!

[micheann]

Hello everyone,

I am currently living in Plymouth, Devon but will be moving to Nottinghamshire / Mansfield area in July and need some advice on good SEN and State Primary Schools as i have no idea lol

I have looked at OFSTED and printed a load of reports on schools which look good on paper! basically we are picking his school first then looking at housing and work after!

Daniel is 8 years old and he has a Statement Of Educational Needs due to having ASD and ADHD so we have a choice between state and SEN schools, the SEN schools i have are:

Redgate School - Mansfield
Stubbin Wood School - Mansfield
Bracken Hill School - Kirby-in-Ashfield
St Giles School - Retford
Derrymount School - Arnold

Primary - well the list is endless!! lol

if anyone could help i would be sooo grateful!!

Just bumping for you really.

From what I know from friends in the area, and assuming this is a long term move, I would look at this from secondary down. Ie choose an ideal secondary option, and look at primaries from there.

Also, posting on the sen boards and local boards may be more productive.

Good luck x

Be aware of the city boundaries between Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. I hear there is a very different approach to SEN between the two.

mansfield has a character all of it's own.
visit the school to see what they are like. some are in extremely deprived areas and have a high proportion of children with various difficulties.

Ditto the advice on choosing the best fit for a secondary school and look at primary/housing on there. The SEN provision at secondary level is astonishingly varied in this country.

Be aware that Nottinghamshire is an 'inclusive' county.

In reality this means that they avoid statementing like the plague and huge hoops have to be jumped through to get one.

Funding is generally allocated to families fo school and then bids are made to get funding for children. Don't get me started on how this leaves children with high needs with very little funding.

Do you have to live in Mansfield itself, or could you live a little further out?

Mansfield is a unique town, and I would suggest a visit to make sure it suits you.

We have friends in Farnsfield - 9 miles away (20 mins), lovely village with pubs and shops, primary school and in catchment for a highly regarded secondary school in Southwell (Georgian market town). No idea about SEN provision I'm afraid.

Or you could travel 20mins in the other direction from Mansfield and be in the Peak District.

I love this "unique" stuff: most people rate Mansfield as a dive. Although it has a strong community feel, too. Proud history but fallen on hard times due to coal mine closures in wider area that have driven up social deprivation.

I got impression that Worksop is well-rated(?)

Stubbin Wood School is a Derbyshire LEA maintained special school. I haven't looked round in years tbf but it's a generic special school rather than an ASD school.
You might be wise to consider locating within the Derbyshire LEA boundary tbh so as to keep the statement you already have. Nottinghamshire are keen to not have statements instead giving funding to schools but you will know the benefits of having the right to legal redress should your child's needs not be met.
Ds attends Sutherland House which is an independent autism specialist school that you might consider looking at it's located close to Nottingham City Centre and takes children from Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and other Counties besides Notts.

Should add of course with a statement you will have priority over your choice for secondary anyway but if you have other children be aware that Derbyshire schools don't always give priority to siblings over those in the catchment area.