Meeting the SENCO at secondary schools?

[sahs1969]

Hi,
My dd is in Yr 5 at the moment but we have been advised by her Head/Senco to start visiting schools now and meeting with their SENCO to discuss what they offer in the means of support etc.
DD has been on an IEP since Rec-and has extra support with Maths from a specialist base unit that come out and teach her-1-1 5 days a week for 1/2hr.
What I'm looking for is a list of questions we can ask when we go along to visit?
She is very young for her age and really struggles socially too.
She requires a lot of support in class to be kept on task.
Just need to be sure we are looking for the right school for her that will meet all her needs.
Thanks
Sahs

I did the rounds of schools when DS (statemented ASD) was in Y5.

The SENCos that I met with are very used to this and actually I found that there was very little that I needed to ask of them as they were very forthcoming in giving information and asking questions.

I did e-mail them a copy of his statement so that they were aware of what provision he had / an idea of his needs and that formed the basis of the chat that took place as we toured the school.

we're just starting an early transition with ds1, also at the end of yr5 now. Got in touch with the SENCO at the high school about this time last year and had a couple of meetings with him, now ds1 has been on one visit and has several more planned.
You need to move quite fast now imho, as the applications for the chosen schools go in during the first term of Y6.

Sort of stuff you need to be asking / looking at -
arrange to meet with SENCO / Head of Learning support
do they have a support base for children with SEN / additional needs etc (essential imo)
how many children in the classes of her ability (take her current nc levels)
subjects on offer? This is where ds1 is really looking forward to doing all the practical stuff, he's severely dyslexic and ASD, but is fantastic at woodwork, cooking, design, practical stuff.
What support is she likely to get, how much will they provide
what transition programme is likely to be
will she get extra resources eg laptop, extra time to complete work? Extra support in class?

Do you need to look into applying for further support or statement ?

Don't just be looking at yr 7, suss out GCSE options. Look at the layout of the school, will it be easy or difficult for her to suss out how to get from A to B during the school day? Lunchtime routines / organisation? Support available during break time?

Sorry, I'm off on one now. (SEN teacher, and I do supply in high schools. It doesn't mean that we're that sorted, but at least we know what to look for )

I found this very helpful indeed as I had been thinking about approaching our local secondary to suss it out this term before the rush of the autumn term.

Would people suggest doing this for children at School Action Plus?

My child has been at School Action Plus since Reception and is now in Yr5. I don't know if this is usual at all. I wonder if I should I be pushing for statementing before secondary, so we can hit the ground running in Year 7?

Any thoughts very gratefully appreciated!

YEs. Most LEAs will leave a child on SA+ rather than statement 'cause it costs less. We have pupils on SA+ who have more needs than some of our statemented ones. Go now while the year 11s are gone and before things like Enrichment week. Also SENCOs and the like get caught up in transition which starts round about now so I would go and have a look.
Applying for a statement is yuck and hell but worth doing. You have to think - what does the statement give my child that SA+ currently doesn't. If you need to have the amount of support for your child protected and stated then the statement is for you. If your child has been on SA+ since Reception then I assume he/she is quite complex. You won't get a statement for anything straightforward (you should but unless you want an absoulute battle you won't). Statementing also requires a great deal of paperwork on behalf of the school and a lot of work. Unless your child is really failing at school at the moment and will need some greater specialised provision at secondary then it is unlikely that you will get the statement quickly and it is highly likely you will be turned down at first (if you apply then you can appeal). Does your child's school think they need a statement?