St Edwards Oxford - supportiveness/pastoral

[ChocolateHoneycomb]

I've posted before about ds1(9) who has high functionning asd and mild dyslexia. Currently at an Oxford prep school which thankfully goes to year 8, delaying our need to find a senior school for a while.

We have been dithering for a year now on where to apply for his 13+ school - we have ruled out very pressured schools and also the local state options, who sadly appear to be too stretched to offer much beyond lip service for a reasonably performing but very anxious child and where I strongly suspect ds might be eaten alive socially. Moving is not an option currently so we are going with private schools for him for the time being. He is not really odd compared to peers at his prep school but has slightly more academic/eclectic interests than perhaps totally mainstream and I suspect may continue this way into adolesence.

Current prep has tried to be helpful but is suggesting various very different school options. Educational psychologist and ds' ASD CAMHS consultant recommended weekly boarding to provide the strict structure/routine he craves and a distinct split between school and home.

St Edwards (Teddies) is a contender but I can't get a feel for how supportive they could/would actually be if needed. At present ds does not have 1:1 and benefits from people knowing about his ASD and things like that he might get anxious about change etc and typing rather than handwriting some work. I spoke to the SENCO but she was pretty vague tbh. Said they had a few other kids with ASD who were fine there and lots with dyslexia but contradicted herself a few times.

Just wondered - has anyone got / had/ known people with dc at Teddies? with or without any mild SEN is fine. I just am trying to get any kind of notion of if the school is responsive to the individuals' needs should this arise.

We have registered for Teddies, Bloxham (looks fine and quite nuturing but not as much for your cash as Teddies offers), Bradfield (not sure). Jury massively out on D'overbroecks as it is totally different.

Thanks!

I've a friend with a dc at Teddies who has not been impressed with the Sen provision reflecting what you had said - it's vague. Also check out the GCSE options if your dc is academic, only 2 science options not 3 and not a full set of GCSE's, ie 9 or 10. Instead they offer their own courses that aren't endorsed by the UCAS system so can't be used on an Uni entry form.

I know a boy with high functioning ASD at Bloxham and he is thriving. They are really catering for his needs, both where he needs support and where he needs stretching (very academic but tends to get a bit obsessed about his favourite subjects.). He is what I would describe as a lovely boy but rather quirky. The weekly boarding has helped him no end too - he finds the routine very settling.

I agree it’s not a school parents are falling over themselves to get their children into, but I think it’s unfair to pass judgement based on results or to compare against more popular schools. It’s not trying to be a top flight academic school or sell itself for something it isn’t. Pastoral and SEN support has been excellent and the children are very accepting. Just nice normal kids.

Thanks both.

@Skatingpark97 ds is academic in that he has a high IQ, but anxious and wouldn't thrive in a pressured hot house type environment. I think these 'taking the middle to upper middle' type schools would be ok, and it might help him to be nearer the top rather than at the bottom in a more pressured classroom. Having gone to a comprehensive where only the top set took double science, and done a science degree at oxbridge after that, I am not overly concerned about that aspect. If he was really keen to do sciences at a-level and it seemed like higher up the leagues school would suit at that point we could always move for 6th form.

Your point re UCAS was interesting -I called Teddies and asked about their qualifications, and they told me they are eligible for UCAS and are underwritten by Uni of Buckingham, although not sure what the latter part means. They said similar to mini MBA some schools do, or other non-GCSE qualifications that are recognised. I can't see why any school would offer qualifications that won't help their pupils get places at university. Apparently this year the majority of the pupils are studying 9 GCSEs + 2 of the in house qualifications, which sounds ok, although I would be wary if the balance tipped the other way.

@zodlebud Thanks that is great to hear something positive about Bloxham. I have mostly only come across people who chose it when their dc failed to get offered places anywhere else, which is a bit of a depressing viewpoint! When I visited Bloxham just before covid they did give me a copy of the 2019 exam results, which were massively better than I had expected - not really sure why they don't publicise them.

Would be good to hear any other views or ideas out there.

@ChocolateHoneycomb , thanks for the clarification re school's own qualification. Not sure why they offer it but i think it's to do with their "ethos" etc.

@ChocolateHoneycomb what about Sibford school or Kingham hill. Pastorally they’re both second to none, lots of friends DCs there.

My child has SEN and we looked at Teddies- to be honest we were not that impressed. We felt our child would struggled there.

@littlefireseverywhere we looked at both - kingham hill I really disliked, I found it a very odd place that seemed to be afloat due to deals with US military and armed forces. The boarding houses seemed very stark and I just couldn’t envisage sending my child there. Having said that, clearly there are 300 or so kids there who I imagine are mostly doing fine, so it may not have been a totally logical reaction to the place. Visited pre COVID.

Sibford we thought was a gentle school, but very limited curricular/clubs/activities options and even they said they thought ds would be right at the top of their cohort and it might not suit for that reason. The other big element was that they have only a few boarders (distance means weekly boarding would be essential) and they were all international students, which made us concerned if ds would fit in in what seemed like a boarding house full of other languages being spoken. Again, these were gut feelings and it seemed a happy school.

However, if wherever we choose first fails or he doesn’t get in anywhere, we may need revisit all the options again!

@TinkersBells struggled in what sense? Socially, academically, pastorally? What support were they not offering?

All of the above but particularly limited 1 to 1 support/SEN overall sold as SEN "embedded", which if true is great, but on the visits we had we did not feel comfortable that it was the case - indeed the teachers we spoke to did not understand how they might have to adjust for a dyspraxic child.

Thanks.

I think I will try and speak to the SENCO at Teddies again nearer the entrance process.There is a new head coming in this summer so who knows what that might mean for the future.

Luckily the iseb pretest is used by bloxham/teddies/various others so he could sit that and we can keep options open until we see which schools feel they would offer a place!

I’ve organised to speak to staff inc SENCO at Teddies and Pangbourne - visiting not possible currently.
We are already registered for Bloxham.
Hoping some of this will become clearer going forward!

Have you considered Shiplake too? Bit more snappy than Bloxham but has a similar vibe.

@Zodlebud not really, I will investigate it! Thanks

Hi @ChocolateHoneycomb we are also trying to make sense of the SEN at Teddies at the moment. Had an offer at Teddies and Shiplake and also liked Bloxham but not currently applied as Shiplake is closer and rowing appeals. The SEN at Shiplake looks excellent. We haven't yet seen Teddies but are also keen to hear of any information about the SEN - it certainly doesn't appear very clear. Also keen to hear on how other kids with SEN find boarding there - are the other children inclusive and kind etc.

@Meer1 It is so hard during the pandemic isn’t it! Not being able to visit and get more of a feel for different places. We are in the opposite situation geographically, Bloxham is closer and ship lake a significant distance. A big issue for us is that whilst ds has SEN, it is impossible to predict what sort of support he will need in the future...currently he is taught entirely with his class, no 1:1, but has a few in adjustments for his needs. I guess that could be said to be ‘embedded’ , like @TinkersBells mentioned above. Trying to predict/cover all bases is tough.

I think Bloxham would work for him, but if at the end of this process I felt Teddies would be supportive enough for ds to be happy and they offered a place I would be tempted as for us it is closer, much nicer boarding facilities and seems to have much more choice both academically/extracurricular. Somehow the fact ds’ current prep regularly sends kids there makes me have more confidence, though that isn’t necessary a sensible thought!

I recognise we are choosing between schools all very good, it is just predicting what/where might suit a child with ASD in several years that is hard.

@ChocolateHoneycomb I totally get where you are on that as I'm feeling very similar. My DS has processing difficulties so hard to know what that may look like then trying to GCSE prep etc - I definitely would feel more comfortable knowing a school will provide support if needed. We have also now heard DS shortlisted for next stage at Radley so brings about more questions in terms of where/ SEN provisions if needed/ what would be best environment for him - I'm looking for nurturing, SEN provision but also a school that will really encourage to push himself to fulfil true potential. I'm also thinking that's a good sign if your son's prep send a lot there - I'm guessing you would be hearing whispers of issues but I know that's not always the case. I just noticed that they are recruiting for a new head of learning development on their FB page.

I would re-consider St Edwards over Bloxham, experience with both, both sons dyslexic, one son we moved and eldest I wished we had for 6th form, poles apart in every aspect and academically what my 2nd son has achieved I would never have thought possible with his dyslexia. My eldest said only the other day if and when he has children he would never send his children to Bloxham, which I am sad about.

@boyslave Thanks for your insights. What did your family think was poor at Bloxham?

Quality of teaching, turnover of teachers, Teddies seem to get much better grades, and the year you are talking of 2019, there were a number of children that underperformed including our own, pastoral care, range of activities and opportunities, in house community and camaraderie that the boys experience at Teddies, just the whole picture and it comes through the way children walk round the school, confident and with a smile, it’s just my opinion having experienced both and you only get one chance with education while the children are this age. We bitterly regret not moving are eldest, and it had a huge affect on his choice of university. Fortunately, he is turning it a round and fingers crossed good will come out of it for him.

Thanks, really appreciate your reply