Tell me your experiences with ALN (Additional Learning Needs) Units

[unlimiteddilutingjuice]

After several years of Home Ed, I've managed to get DS(11) a place in an ALN (Additional Learning Needs Unit) within a mainstream secondary school.
DS is autistic and geeky, with a very high level of knowledge in his "special subjects".
But he's almost completely incapable of focusing or taking in knowledge in a classroom environment. He just zones out.
It's still unclear to me whether this is down to sensory overwhelm, as a strategy for demand avoidance, or a bit of both.
In any case, it led to us home educating for several years, just to get the basics of reading/writing/maths in place.
I've looked around the ALN unit and chatted to the head teacher.
It all looks lovely and nurturing and they seem very flexible. They'd be open to him spending every day in the unit, venturing out to do mainstream classes, attending only part time...or any combination of the above.
Yet I still feel ambivalent about it.
I'd love to hear your experiences of ALN units. Especially if your child sounds similar to mine. Or if you transitioned to specialist proision from home education.

ALN must be a local term
so not a resource provision, unit provision or alternative provision?

These units are often / usually referred to as a 'Resource Base' in our and the adjoining area.

LovelyGreenCushions
Its the term used by Glasgow City Council.
I googled the terms you mentioned and I think its closest to Unit Provision.
Its a unit for kids with learning disabilities and social/emotional problems within a mainstream school.

MarchingFrogs
Yes, I think its what might be referred to as a Resource Base.
Every area seems to have a different name for the same thing. Its very confusing.

I worked in a school with an SLCN unit attached to mainstream. The students there had specialist S&L provision, but were mostly in mainstream lessons with support. Increasing numbers of students with autism were given a place and there was a great deal of flexibility, so they came to the department if things became overwhelming.

My DS (14) is in an autism resourced unit in a large mainstream secondary in the SE. He sounds like a similar profile to your DS. In some subjects he's working at A-level ability but he still can't tell the time and he doesn't know his times tables.

A few things to ask, I would say are:

• What is the profile of his peer group in the unit? It may be that your DS will be with DC who have significant learning/behavioural needs. It's becoming more common for DC with quite challenging behaviours to be given places in units that aren't really suitable for their needs as it's a cheaper option for the local authority.
• What are the destinations for the DC when they leave the school/unit? This will give you a sense of how the DC are supported and the aspirations the school has for them.
• How are the DC supported in mainstream lessons? In my DS's school, they have 1 adult to two students in all mainstream lessons. How is the work differentiated for the students? Are there reasonable adjustments in place for things like homework.
• What level of education do the support staff have? In my DS's unit, all support staff are qualified to at least A-levels. If your DC is academically able, I think it's a reasonable thing to ask. Also what sort of experience have they had working with DC who have autism.
• What's the home - school communication policy? At my DS's school I have the email contact of all his subject teachers and support staff. While I try not to bombard them with emails, I think it's important to know they are contactable if issues arise rather than being expected to wait until the one parents' evening a year.
• What sort of social skills activities are available? I'm assuming the DC are able to stay in the unit during unstructured breaks if they chose to but there should be opportunities for the DC to try and make friends/practise their social communication.

I never thought my DS would be able to attend secondary school and seriously thought about home-schooling. While it's not perfect, it's going a lot better than I expected. My DS doesn't have friends as he's so different from other teenagers but he's enjoying some of the learning aspects of school which I think I would struggle to give him at secondary level. There are some amazing teachers at his school who are blown away by his specialist knowledge and are so kind to him.

I hope it works out for your DS.

Thanks for your really thorough reply Toomanyminifigs. You've given me loads to think about.

I think my DS is a lot like yours. He studies history at a level of detail which wouldn't be out of place on a first year undergraduate course. And reads adult non fiction books for fun. But his spelling and grammar is early to mid primary school at best. And his handwriting isn't legible.

I don't know the answer to a lot of your questions- but I will definitely ask, as they are all very sensible.

In terms of peer group, I get the impression that the general academic level is very low (understandably). It's a mix of mild learning disabilities, autism and social/emotional problems.
He'll be in a class of 6 to 10, organised by social/emotional level rather than academic ability.

I don't necessarily mind the mix of kids since DS is quite low ability himself in some areas and because the classes are small enough to allow for individual differentiation.

No idea of destinations other than "back into mainstream" or "college". The school as a whole doesn't send a lot of DC to uni (deprived intake) so I doubt the ALN unit will be the exception.

I don't know how DC are supported in mainstream lessons. I would hope a 1to1! I don't know about homework. DS couldn't do homework after a day at school (too overwhelming). But he could do some during time in the unit or (if on a part time schedule) during a day off.
We'd obviously have to keep it to a minimum though, particularly if he was doing a few different subjects.

I also need to ask what happens when the kids start studying for NAT5s (Scottish equivalent to GCSEs). Would he have to commit to the exam in order to continue with lessons? Or would they allow him to continue to sit on on mainsteam just for the fun of learning? I'm not sure if he'll be ready for the pressure of exams on the standard schedule.

I don't know the level of TA education. I can Google some job ads and get an idea. It seems too personal a question to actually ask of someone!

Great point about communication. I will definitely want the emails of his mainstream teachers (if he chooses to do mainstream classes)

Social skills lessons are a plus! There was plenty of evidence of this when I visited.

I'm really glad things are working out for your son.
It's so difficult isn't it?
I feel like I have to choose between nurture/pastoral care and academic rigour.
There's a big part of me that would like to keep home educating forever because he is so happy and settled.
But the teenage years are almost upon us and he needs some experience out in the wider world.