Oxford Swan school & ADHD

[Mumsly]

Has anyone had any experience of ADHD children to the Oxford Swan school? I have a child with inattentive ADHD who struggles with task initiation & flip flops between periods are hyperfocus & disengagement. The rigid routine & removal of distractions would probably suit her well, but I'm concerned her lack of organisation & planning will result in constant demerits & crush her confidence. She wants to do well & is well behaved, and although often does very well academically, her performance tends to be inconsistent & I'm concerned this harsh punishments will cause her anxiety. There are so many things I love about the school but as laid back family, this feels like a bit of a gamble. Any thoughts appreciated.

As the parent of a DD with ADHD Id strongly advise going into the school and discuss what support they can offer her. You'll need a confirmed diagnosis. She may not need much but some adjustments are likely to be needed.

Thanks for your reply snowtrees we're still waiting for a formal NHS diagnosis, we're purely going an ed-psyc assessment. So far adjustments or interventions are needed in school but it would be nice to know the support or concessions such as extra time are there if needed.

Schools vary massively. A lot of ADHD kids cope in primary as the expectations are very different. Once they get to high school the issues can magnify

Yes the ed -psyc did say the anxiety levels can increase with workload. Out of interest what age is your dad & what interventions are needed? Is it more emotional or academic support (it would be good to know what to expect with mine)?

It's not the workload. It's remembering timetable, remembering kit, time blindness, zoning out if lesson boring, sitting still for 45 mins, not working without a prompt, fidgeting, shouting out answers impulsively, loosing everything, hyper focusing on wrong work etc
Primary - everything is in shorter time blocks, in one room, one teacher & they move around more

My DD is allowed to request a seat change if she's getting distracted. At high school most schools have strict seat plans

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to make an appointment to see the school without DC to ask these questions to see if it's likely to be a good fit

Everyone replying should know that this is a "super-strict" school. So if her DD talks in the corridor - detention. Forgets something - detention.

Anyways, I would try to talk to current families/students at the school as I've heard lots of bits of stories. It's a school that requires a lot of buy-in to the ethos. (Mine wouldn't entertain it as she didn't want to do the "family lunch" complete with people you have to sit with for the whole year and topics of conversation!)

My DS isn't diagnosed but he has a lot of traits and I suspect he will go through the ax process at some point.
I there is a school with a similar ethos close to me and there is no way I would have considered it for DS. From speaking to the staff on open days, I could see that he would likely have been in trouble regularly for small things such as forgetting his pen, which would have been hugely demotivating for him.

I'm not in Oxford but found this thread really interesting. My son is ASD/ADHD and numerous parents have recommended a local secondary for him as "it is great for SEN". The secondary in question is super strict, their website scares me with all the rules for the tiniest thing. I can tell my son wouldn't cope with this, and yet people insist I should consider it for him as "they are so good with SEN". I've spoken with parents of ADHD boys at this school who have either moved their son to another school or are fearing he might start refusing school. From the comments made on this thread about a "super strict" school not suiting a child with ADHD it makes me feel vindicated for my feeling this local "super strict" secondary is not right for my son - despite all the people trying to convince me "it's great for SEN". My 13 year old daughter commented "they're just trying to convince themselves it's a great school because their kids go there" and to be honest I think she's right. But I can see it's not for my son and I will just smile and carry on as I am. Good luck finding the right school for your daughter. x

@Zimbolino I was aware it's super strict hence my responses. We have a super strict boot camp school near us which claims to be good for SEN.
But SEN parents either pull them out after a while or swerve it in the first place. It's their way or a punishment

In my experience super strict does not work well for my son with ADHD. He becomes angry at the injustice of being punished for something just because it is the rules (but makes no sense logically) he needs rewards and understanding and punishments are demotivating for him.
honestly, the difference in his motivation with a couple of tweaks and feeling understood is massive. Teachers who show they want to understand he works well for and teachers who want him to confirm and try and control him he disengages from.

in my experience schools/ teachers who work from a relationship first place are great, those who work from control and rules are the worst thing for ADHD.

*conform

When people say a school is great for SEN, what sort of SEN? SEN, involving what the school considers to be disruptive behaviour (a very low threshold), is not tolerated by strict schools. SEN invoking dyslexia is a different matter. SEN is a huge area and some schools don’t see anywhere near a full range of SEN Dc. The Swan would be the last school on my list for the op’s DC. They have their usp and it’s not tolerating a full range of SEN pupils.

What year is your daughter in now and does she have an EHCP? If not, are you in catchment for The Swan, because no children who are out of catchment and without a sibling got offered a place this year.

Probably not helpful as I don’t know the school BUT my inattentive ADD-er is at one of these super strict style secondaries and we’re in the process of moving him. They get the results and the facilities are phenomenal but it’s all stick and no carrot. My child is academically very able and loved school (note past tense). We are changing to a smaller, more pastoral school which may not have the bells and whistles but is a lot more carrot……

Trust your instincts. Good luck.

OP I have one with ADHD at a neighbouring school, and checked up on Swan. I didn't even put it as a back-up, as having read their policies I'd rather home ed than send my anxious ADHDer there.

Last I looked (a while ago), their SEN policy said surprisingly little about accommodations, and went very big on how their emphasis on the behaviour policy meant everyone was equally able to achieve. This doesn't really mean anything if you have ADHD, particularly if it's unmedicated... you'll need some actual real behavioural accommodations or you'll be disproportionately in trouble.

There are regular transfers to the neighbouring school from Swan mid-year by kids who've been made really anxious by it - I'm hearing awful stuff via both my kids.

I'm concerned her lack of organisation & planning will result in constant demerits & crush her confidence. She wants to do well & is well behaved, and although often does very well academically, her performance tends to be inconsistent & I'm concerned this harsh punishments will cause her anxiety.

I think your concern is entirely right. It just didn't really read as welcoming the reality of SEN - it is definitely EXTREMELY rigid. I entirely agree with @Itstoday that a relational approach is far more effective for kids with ADHD.

Do PM me if neighbouring school experience might be of help, and good luck with the rest of the diagnostic process 🙂