primary school and statemented chidlren/sen children

[thereonthestair]

I am posting here as I have no idea where to start. My DS will be sue to start school in September 2014 (so not this year).

I live in a city and by distance should be able to get into one of two state primaries (we are in a spot which is close to two local primaries and in "catchment" for both as the radius from the schools crosses over given our central location).

School a is the nearest, single story, faith school 30 per year intake
School b is the other "catchment" school non faith 60 per year intake. Better facilities
There is also school c which is a 19 PAN much smaller and still only about a mile away. Currently undersubscribed.

DS does however have Cerebral palsy and cannot walk, and is probably not going to be able to walk to any school we got a place at by the time he starts. Traffic here is awful and not walking adds a lot of time to the journey but even then we would manage.

Intellectually he is fine (we think) but will need support in school. We have heard some mixed reports about SEN support in all three state schools. Not sure I believe any of it but who knows. Area is very much a hot house and I want children to be children and I suspect that may put me in a minority (and is certainly not what at least one fo the parents with a child with SEN believes and thinks her son shoulb be learning more and supported more. She may be right I don't know).

DS gets 25 hours 1-1 support in nursery but has no statement as such. I am told by the paeds that I coudl name whichever shcool I wanted and given his needs there would be a good chance of getting a statement to cover it. But to be honest we would probably get school a, b or c without naming it anyway given our address. Do I bother to do this and get a statement just to get a school named?

I know I should look around the schools but assume I should wait until current intake is sorted?

What should I be looking at. I am concerned about playgrounds and stairs and space much more than I am about education (given the area all the schools are good). I also do care about the inclusiveness and otherwise of schools, and I guess I will get a feel if a school does not want DS because of his disability. Anything esle to think about this far in advance

The statement guarantees the help. Without it it is at the schools discretion.
try ipsea website for model letter to apply for assessemnt re a statement.

I would definitely go and look at the schools, but wonder if your DS's needs are likely to change much in the coming year? if so it may be worth leaving it a bit later.

As you have a reasonable amount of time go and make an appointment to look around all of the schools but do check when as an SEN child your application has to be in. It has been a few years since I was a school governor but I seem to remember that SEN applications have an earlier deadline than the mainstream ones but I may be mistaken.

When you go around the schools try and get a feel for the place. Good schools sort of 'hum' with activity and it is louder than you would expect if you haven't been in a school for a while, but it is a happy and purposeful 'hum.' Look at the work on the walls. Is it creative or formulatic? Are the less that perfect bits of work on the walls to celebrate the achievenments of all chlildren and not just the ones that can write neatly?

If your DS uses a wheelchair or frame or crutches how much space is there in the classrooms for him to move about? When you go around with the head ask if you can chat to some of the children. Ask them whatever you like but what you are after is a sense of openness and kindness that a good school will instil in its pupils. Your child will be with these people for hours in a day and you need your gut instincts on full alert for what in old money would be called a caring enviroment.

Good luck.

Get a statement and get the named school that will best meet his needs. Don't leave it to " chance" in the places lottery with everyone else .

The schools with just a single form entry often pretty much fill with siblings remember.

Personally I would take your DS with you on the visit.
You can tell a lot about the school by how your DS feels about it as well.
Definitely have a chat with the SENco. Can you communicate with this person easily? Do they answer your questions or give you stock text book answers that they think you might want to hear?

No experience of Statements, but I think you need to phone each school first and book an appointment to look around. Explain your son's needs, and see if you arrange for the Head to show you around specifically to consider this. Ask if the SENCO can meet with you too.

Then, have a look. You will get a gut feeling very quickly - even without the added fun and games of a Statement etc, I knew very quickly which school I liked best. I know that our Head would welcome you with open arms, explain what the school could offer, and you'd probably get a cuppa and biscuits too:)

If you get a statement for your child you will be asked which school you want named on the statement. It is very difficult for the LA to refuse to name your preferred school. The school named on the statement must admit your child even if they are already full.

There is no specific deadline for statements but most LAs will want to get any statements for Reception sorted out quickly so they can ensure that they don't end up admitting too many children.

My dd has CP and we chose a smaller school due to the pastoral support and the nature of the school. She is the only child with physical problems although she is mobile. I love the way the other kids help her up when she falls over (a lot!) and know not to push her around too much. She has additional help with anything physical but has no cognitive problems.

This has worked for us but I think you will get a real flavour of the school and attitudes of the head and other staff from visiting. Where are his nursery friends going? Do they have good links with any of the 3 schools? Also worth finding out what the schools experience specifically of CP is - will it be a learning curve for any of them?