Moving back to scotland with additional support needs child

[BlackNails]

I currently live overseas. DD age 10 is severely dyslexic and reads 3-4 years below her chronological age. She also has maths learning difficulties and is working (with support) at a level 2 years below her class (she is in Year 5) in this subject. I suspect she also has inattentive ADHD and will hopefully be assessed within the year. I intend to return to live in Scotland at the end of next school year.
She will not be educationally ready for secondary school (and I doubt emotionally ready either). She also has some health issues (including diagnosed epileptic but seizure free currently) as well as speech, growth and mild hearing difficulties. I would like her to have a year of primary in Scotland (where she would be in the same year as children she knows) which would essentially mean having her kept back a year as she enters Scottish education. Her current school have said they would support this with any necessary reports detailing her difficulties.
Can anyone advise me on the steps to take to try to arrange this eg do you apply direct to the school or to the education authority etc?
We will be moving to highland region, near to inverness where I grew up and have family. Any recommendations for good mainstream schools which support ASN pupils well?
Thanks
(Posted also to primary, but sharing here in hopes of getting more specific info re scottish education system.).

When is her birthday?

Y5=P5 but the different cut-off dates (March-Feb in Scotland's case) can make a difference, but there is also a degree of flexibility in the Scottish system, as children who are not yet 5 in mid August (when the new school year begins) can choose to defer and start the following year.

In practice, many children January and February birthdays are deferred, a few December, fewer November, while September and October are extremely rare (the only October one I know came to Scotland in late primary from a non-English speaking country)

It means that the age range of the cohort in any Scottish school will be 15-16+ months.

Ds' birthday is in September - technically right in the middle of the age range but in practice (because of deferrals) was one of the younger ones in his year. When he was in S6, he had one friend who turned 18 in the December of S6 and another friend who only turned 17 in February of S6 (which also meant he was under 18 for almost his entire 1st year at Uni )

The picture for SEN support in the Highlands is bleak, unfortunately. TA support has been cut to the bone and many schools do not have any left after budget cuts.

There is a Facebook group for parents which you may like to join.

She's january 2010 birthday, towards the end of the month.

@MyNeighboursMusic do you have a name or link for the fb group? thanks

Jan 2010 means that if she were to start school today in Scotland I know that's not possible given the lockdown , she could go into P5 or P6, either as one of the oldest in the year (but not unusually so) or as one of the youngest. So she would have either 1 or 2 more full years at primary school. Given what you're saying about her needs, I'd say definitely P5 (P6 in August) to give her maximum time in the relatively supportive environment of primary school.

(I double checked the DoBs in a spreadsheet that I use for registering kids at a local sports club and some with Jan/Feb 2010 birthdays are in P5 and some are in P6)

@prettybird thank you. Do you know if it is a right, as a parent, to insist on enrolment in a particular year group or if it is discretionary to the school? Ideally if I can, I would keep my eldest back too (she was 13 in mid-march) as she is also dyslexic and dysgraphic and I'd rather she went into S2 and had a year in the scottish system rather than straight into exam years. There's a very strong case to keep youngest back due to her low level of attainment at the present (although using lockdown to work very intensively with her on the basics so hoping to make some gains) but less strong for eldest as she is normally at the level of her class (although given she is one of the few native speakers that is not so remarkable).

By my calculations, your dd1 would be in S1 at the moment, going into S2 in August - already as one of the older ones in the year, so it would be unusual for her to be in a lower year.

But if you're only talking about moving at the end of the next school year, then depending on how your local school does it, she'd either be straight into her Nat 5 choices or have another year of the BGE (Broad General Education) before making her choices (schools have discretion as to how they do this although some local authorities have a blanket policy - not sure about the situation up North). Either way, it would still be 2 years before they sit their Nat 5s (at the end of S4), so plenty of time to settle before the exams. Or the school might just keep her on the Nat 4 pathway for some subjects

Plus there isn't the pressure of "getting into 6th form" or "being allowed to continue" up here. In S5 and S6, she would just do some/more Nat 5s resit Nat 5s (if she sat them and didn't do as well as she wanted/needed) and/or Highers, depending on what she did in S4.

Where in Scotland are you intending on moving to? I might be able to give you the contact details of some support agencies depending on where you will be!!

Sorry Blacknails - didn't answer the first part of your question: I don't think there should be an issue putting your dd2 into the year you want, as it is one she would have had the "right" to go into if you'd been in Scotland when she started primary school, added to the fact that it is the direct equivalent of her current year, plus her extra needs.

BTW: you're not keeping her "back": Y5 = P5. You're just not putting her into the year that you could put her into.

Don't think, without very strong supporting evidence, you could keep your dd1 down a year, but as I explained, the flexibility of the senior phase should mean that it's not too much of an issue.

@redastra moving back up north to inverness-ish

Thanks @prettybird you've been really helpful. It's 16 years since i went overseas to work, so (although i am a teacher) the exam system was still standard grades and then intermediates 1 and 2 and higher, so i haven't kept up to date with the new nat 4s and 5s. I guess i need to anyway to start job hunting next year anyway :)

Nat 5s are the equivalent of the old Standard Grade (or O grades in my case ). Nat 4s are a non-exam based lower version, so schools can decide if a pupil is not capable of a Nat 5, just to keep them on the Nat 4 track.

Ds ended up with a Nat 4 in RME (which wasn't one of his 8 Nat 5s) as he'd covered enough in his core periods. He'd probably have got in in PE from his core periods, but he was doing it as a Nat 5 anyway.

Some of the Nat 4 stuff may have changed since he was doing it.

Highers and Advanced Highers are still pretty much the same (although in theory there is less of a jump between Nat 5 and Higher under Curriculum for Excellence ) as before - although the curriculum supposedly teaches more of how to apply knowledge rather than just rote learn it.

Being 2 years behind def try to get a educational/health care plan. (or scotish equivalent.) In primary I was abut 2 years behind but got the right help, stayed in mainstream, got my degree ect.
But you can hold them back 1 year in Scotland with out much probs.
Contact the Dyslexia association see if there is any support networks in Inverness and for advice on schooling.

I live in the Highlands and have a child with additional needs. He is 8 and in mainstream school. The way the Scottish system works is that if your child is born in Jan or Feb you can automatically choose to defer there nursery place for a year so they can start school at 4.5 years or 5.5 years. Your dd would be in P5 or P6 at the moment if she were in the Scottish system. This would depend if you had chosen for her start school at 4.5 years old or 5.5 years old.

At the moment all schools in Scotland are closed indefinitely due to COVID. The Scottish government have also changed the legal acts due to COVID and the resulting school enforced closures to state that education falls to parent pretty much. That's not to say schools are not providing school work because they are via online classroom systems but the onus is on the parent to work with the child to oversee the work then submit it not the school. Unlike England children with additional needs cannot continue to attend school in Scotland at the moment as Scotland temporarily removed the legal act that ensures that. The only children in schools just now are those of key workers which is pretty much doctors, nurses and care workers. The laws were all amended for up to 2 years I believe as nobody knows how long COVID will impact for.

Your child will automatically be given a space in your local catchment school. If your not sure what your local catchment school will be look up Highland council catchment maps and type in the postcode and it will tell you. You do have the legal right to apply for a space in a school outwith catchment but they can decline it. Schools are very busy here and like any area the best ones are very sought after so you may not get a space. If a school is capped to catchment it means you will not get a space in the school if you live outside catchment unless your circumstances are very exceptional AND the school has a a place AND it can meet needs of local families moving in. The same system applies to both primary and secondary schools.

If your local school cant meet your DD support needs you are entitled to place a request for another school through whats known as a JAG admission team request. These are looked at on an individual merit bases by a committee.

Highland Council have enforced massive budget cuts across ASN services. It has had a brutal affect on some schools unfortunately which means support is just not as good as it was in some schools. This does vary considerably depending on the school. There is a very specialist school which has provision for a small number of children with severe additional needs. It is excellent but again all admission to it are approved through the JAG team I believe.

My child is in one of the best mainstream school and is doing very well with ongoing support. Obviously at the moment he is home schooled but the school have continued to provide as good support as they possibly could given COVID.

Your child should be given a childs plan and any additional needs identified once they start school. This plan allows the school to see what there pressures and strengths are and work to support them and you.

Please be aware though COVID may change all these things though.

OP if you want to message me privately I can maybe give you an idea of the school me in your local area as I know the Inverness area well

@fundays12 thanks - i have sent you a PM