Choosing your primary options - what to ask

[Spudlet]

DS will be off to school next year and as we’re in England this means we need to decide which our options will be. He has a speech delay and will be going for an ADOS (formal assessment for autism) next week, so I want to make sure we pick a school that will support him and give him a good start. He is a bright little boy and I don’t want him pushed to the back and ignored or anything like that, or written off as ‘the slightly weird kid’ (which is what happened to my dbro). I’d hope things have moved on since then, mind you. But still.

We have three or four village schools within striking distance so we’re lucky in that respect. Once the new term has started and it’s been a couple of weeks, I’m planning to ring round and see if they’re planning any open days or similar, and if not ask if we can go to visit and have a look round.

Can I please ask - what did you ask that you found helpful in making a decision? Or what do you wish you’d asked? What should we look for?

And what do you reckon are the chances of kidnapping my Reception teacher from her well earned retirement and getting her to come and teach locally? Because I really wish she could come and teach DS, she was truly lovely. I really want DS to have equally fond memories from his first school year.

Yes, I would arrange tours with each school and get the vibe of each. Ask specifically about their SEND provision and then see if you can see evidence of it action (1:1 or small group TA assistance for example).

Also look through the Ofsted reports, particularly at the analysis of SEND provision.

Chances of coaxing a teacher out of retirement - minimal I'd say! However, if you're in touch with her, you could pick her brains for questions too.

Thank you, that’s helpful! You guys will be my alibi if I kidnap Mrs K, right?

That is really helpful though, gives me a starting point. I feel like it would be so easy to make this choice blind, it’s hard to know what you need to know, IYSWIM.

I’m erring towards our village school at the moment as it’s small (under 100 children) and does lots of outdoor activities which will suit DS very well. And we could cycle there - all the others would be a drive. But it’s great to have some ideas to make a more informed decision.

See if you can speak to the SENCOs. They're the ones coordinating the extra provision. I'd want one that comes across knowledgeable and on the ball.

Thank you! I’m hoping he might have an EHCP by the time he starts - I’ve delayed applying until we have the results of his ADOS. Hopefully we will be successful with that, and it will help.

An EHCP will certainly help and it will mean that you apply through the EHCP rather than the normal application route.

Oh, I didn’t know it altered the school application process? Thanks for the heads up, I’ll google it

Worth asking about other things that matter to your family too. For us it was what their assumptions were about my availability to attend things (not one school expected DH to!) as I work an hour away. One school looked stunned and the headmaster said ‘all our children have someone at our weekly shared assemblies, maybe a grandma could come’ and looked poleaxed when I explained they were both two hours away (DH is 10 minutes away but that didn’t feature).

Yes, EHCP children apply in a different way. You would name your preferred school in the plan. The plan is then sent to the school and they have to agree that they can meet the child’s ends. In theory, a child with an EHCP gets priority over other children but it does depend on whether the school agrees that they can meet their needs. You really need to get the EHCP in place as soon as you can so that it fits in with the reception applications timeframe. Otherwise you’ll have to apply using the normal application process and hope that you get a school that will meet his needs.

Be aware that some smaller schools are struggling for funding in the current climate. A larger school may be able to offer more support.

Thank you all, there are some really good things to consider here. We are going to try and get the EHCP as soon as we can but we are slightly scuppered by the delays in his ADOS. It was supposed to be a few weeks ago, but was cancelled as the HCP carrying it out was unwell. Unavoidable, but frustrating!

I will ask about funding for our village school - I have an acquaintance on the PTA so might try and get in touch with her to get an idea of where they stand. Her little girl is only a couple of years older than DS as well and has some speech issues due to a hearing problem, so I can ask how she’s found it there.

God, I feel daft for saying it but this is stressing me out just a bit! It feels like a really important choice that I’m having to make with no assistance on what information I actually need to make it - thanks for helping me to narrow things down a bit!

I wouldn’t worry too much about a school’s funding - it shouldn’t be a deciding factor. Don’t forget that, if your child gets an EHCP then it will most likely provide some ring-fenced funding which must be used to support your child’s needs.

The PTA rep really won’t know about SEND funding and how the school spends its money on these DC. If your DS gets a EHCP, that makes a sum of money available for him and you have a document which says what his needs are and how they should be met. Without funding, you are at the mercy of the Head regarding priorities.

I would also check whether you really can get into 4 schools. That would be unusual. Do they all take DC from your village? I would check their admissions data which will be on your Local Authority's web site.

Lastly, most of us don’t get everything perfect for DC. You might be disappointed if you go into this process with very high expectations. Most DC love school. Staying in the village and making friends might also be a good thing for both of you. Playing with other DC and growing Independence will be easier.

While I would agree with Bubbles that having a genuine choice of 4 schools is unusual, I would also say that if you do get an EHCP before applying, then you have a greater say in which school you wish for (as a child with an EHCP naming the school is in the highest admissions category and so will get that school IF the school has said that they can meet the child's needs)

One key individual in the school for a child with SEN is the SENDCo, and you should probably aim to arrange a separate meeting with the SENDCo in any school that you are seriously considering, in addition to a general 'look and see' visit.

Questions to ask the SENDCo:

• Are they in school full time (some small schools have part time or shared SENDCos)?
• Do they have full time, or near full time, class teaching responsibilities as well as their SENDCo role (this can be an issue as it leaves little time for focus on SEN issuies)?
• What percentage of children at the school are on the SEN list, on average?
• Can they give a case study of a child similar to your child who has passed through the school, and suggest the type of interventions / support given?
• Is there a TA in every class, all the time? This will make a difference if e.g. your child gets an EHCP which does not specify full-time 1:1 support (few do, at least initially, IME, unless in the most clear-cut of cases). If your child does not qualify for 1:1 support and the class does not have a class TA (budget cuts have made this quite common) then the teacher will have to provide any support specified in the EHCP as well as teaching the rest of the class, and this can be tricky.

As the OP says DS doesn’t have an EHCP, I took it that these schools were all available as a standard admission. Yes, the EHCP would name the school. However some schools fight this tooth and claw if they already have large numbers EHCP pupils. They won’t want their school named.

I totally agree about what role the SendCo has in the school and also how SEND policy is adhered to. Having a great policy isn’t always borne out in practice.

Might well be worth chatting to the professionals you're involved with about your situation. I know from informal chats about DD2 with various places we were told from several sources that we'd dodged a bullet skipping our most local catchment school and we'd inadvertently struck gold by landing on "the school" in our area for supporting SEN.

There's a hell of a lot to be said though for looking around the schools - reason we picked the school we did was because throughout looking around the head knew every child by name and all their quirks and interests (it's an infant school) and throughout it all she was reinforcing the school's focus upon language and speech development which fitted with the issues we were having with DD2's development.

Also worth paying attention to the local grapevine - for all one of our schools locally is always being pushed on social media as "the amazing school" - they have among parents a shocking reputation for special needs - trying to discourage parents from applying and keep their numbers of children with special needs right down (cynically they just want the odd child in a wheelchair to look nice in photographs).

I just want to kidnap our SENCO and keep her teaching my kids forever because she's lovely - and also can stop my gobshite eldest mid-sentence with a single raised eyebrow which is a talent I wish I had (I can't raise one eyebrow).

Thanks again, I am still reading and absorbing.

As youndo not yet have an EHCP for him, you need to look at the usual entrance criteria and how well you fit them. Because if it doesn't come through in time, then there is no point in using all the spaces on the form with schools you stand no chance getting in to.

So look to see which you could have been offered a place at in the last few years. Also which have an 'exceptional medical and social need' category (not all do) and make sure you apply under that one - you will need to supply evidence for consideration to that category, so may need to collect letters (from HCPs) evidencing not just your DC's needs, but why these schools are particularly suitable (there is a polite fiction that all schools can cope, and that is what you need to show does not apply to you).

Make sure btw that your application has been received, and they have spotted that you are applying under this category - ring an admissions bod, and follow up with your understanding of what they said by email that same day. Ask if you have sent sufficient evidence to the right people, by the right means, and that it has been safely received.

It's always worth including one school,in the last slot on your form that may be a less good fit that you hoped for, but works well logistically, and is the one you are as certain as you can be that you'll get in to. Better that than qualifying for none of your preferences and the allocated school being just as iffy and in an inconvenient place to boot.