Primary Schools in Wallingford

[SherbertLemons]

Looking for some insight into primary schools in Wallingford.

We are in the process of trying to move house to (one of the villages) Wallingford so maybe Ewelme, Warborough, Benson etc.

Our DD is almost 3 so will be starting school in September next year.

Our daughter is awaiting an ASD diagnosis. She is currently classed as non-verbal but can say a few worlds. We are hopefully she will catch up in her own time and she now has a speech and language therapist.

I'm struggling to find any information on primary schools that have a good SEN provision. There do not appear to be any state primaries with a specialist SEN unit. We do not know at this stage what her additional needs will be but are conscious choosing a school that has a good SENCo/provision should be a priority.

An anyone recommend a primary school or share what they have done for their children who have SEN who live in Wallingford.

Thank you for any advice. It's really appreciated.

St John's SEN provision is really good. SEND Report and Information – St John's Wallingford Primary School
You'll want to get an EHC plan in place. You are able to do this now if she is in nursery, but may be better waiting until you get the ASD diagnosis, depending on how far down the waitlist you are. Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND): Extra help - GOV.UK. This will then let you apply out of catchment area for a school that will suit her, or request her being allocated a place at a SEN school, depending on what level of support would suit her best at the time.

@xmasdealhunter thank you ever so much for taking the time to reply and for the links. I will take a closer look through those.

I have added St John's to my list of schools to view.

Thank you for your advice re getting an EHCP. I have to admit I'm slightly overwhelmed by the whole process! I was under the (maybe false) impression that if you have an EHCP you HAVE to go to a special needs school....and as we don't yet know what support DD will need I was nervous of potentially limiting/labelling her too soon. I understand from your post that's not necessary how it works. I will start looking into it for her. Thank you.

@xmasdealhunter oh I should add, we are on the waiting list for the ASD assessment but have been informed there is a 2 year wait (in Reading) and not sure what that will mean if we are now going to move to another local authority. We are considering a private assessment but not sure if that's the right thing to do.

@SherbertLemons No worries, it can be a bit of a confusing minefield! An EHCP is absolutely something you want regardless of if you want your DD to attend a SEN school or not. It will outline what additional help she needs and can help you get adequate support from the school. You can get one without a formal diagnosis but I'd wait until you've moved to request one.
If you do decide to go privately, as long as the provider is NICE compliant then there is absolutely no harm in doing so and the diagnosis will be just as valid as going through the NHS. If you pick a provider and can't see whether they are, then they'll be able to provide that information over the phone.

@xmasdealhunter thank you so much. I really appreciate the advice.