Do all secondaries have a Curriculum Support Department?

[lucysnowe]

.... or a learning support unit, or similar? I think it is a special classroom or space for pupils with SEN to get extra support, or just a place to calm down.

I am just looking into secondaries for DD who has ASD. Our local secondary has links with a special school and has a Curriculum Support Department and I'm just wondering if that's unusual.

Thanks :)

They all call them different things, and there are often differences in set up, staffing, remit etc. to suit each school's needs but yes, all secondary schools have some form of them.

Yes - even super selectives have a Learning Support Department to help kids with SEN such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, ASD etc. It would be quite unusual not to have learning support assistants. Obviously some schools have better provision than others. Therefore I would be asking how many hours support she'd receive; would this be at each age group; is it 1:1 or group sessions etc.

Ah OK. Thank-you both, that's super useful :).

I would contact them and ask for a neeting with the SENCO, if you have any reports about your DD's disability take those with you. It might also be worth calling the SENDIASS team at your local authority, they are a support team for parents of children with SEN, they might be able to give you some pointers about which schools are best equipped for your DD's needs.

Thankyou Who, I will. The school also has part of a special school on site for children with severe LD which is a plus, but I don't know how much overlap there is...

There might not be any overlap. My DD is moderately dyslexic and a local secondary school has a unit for severely dyslexic pupils but she would not have been able to access it at all, however they also had a learning support department for those with milder needs (we chose a different school in the end).

I forgot to say, your LA should have a website called Local Offer which details which schools specialise in which sort of SENs.

As well as all sorts of other useful services for children with SENs

Thanks again. Well we are hopefully going to have an EHCP in place soon which will ideally open up our options a bit.