SEND and Cambridge schools

[GoldQuoter]

Hi, I'm relocating to Cambridge from abroad in June and DD has ADHD and a SEND provision at her current school, which restricts her class size + provides specialist support in Maths and English + reduced study outcomes.

What do I need to do to be able to have an EHCP in place by September the very latest? And mainly - which Cambridge schools have the best SEND support available without having to go to a special school (she can manage in a 'normie' school with adjustments). Considering Parkside as it's small and Chesterton as it seems to have great facilities.

Thanks!

Also there are other settings for students with autism. Several schools have autism hubs. PM me if you want more info.

I worked for a SEND department and we would sometimes have children with SEND moving into the area from overseas. We did accept professional reports (equivalent type ehcp's) from other countries to use as evidence of need. The issue you'll have I think is showing that your dd meets criteria for an EHCP. A diagnosis of ADHD is common so that in itself isn't enough.
Contact the SEND dept in Cambridge and have a chat.

Could you consider St Mary's? I know that it is officially catholic, but a great many of the girls who go there are not religious. It's private so you'd have to pay, but they do at times have some quite small classes for the lower sets (e.g., in maths). They are less competitive to get into than some of the other independents, although there is still an entrance exam, but it is not just for the academic high flyers.

An awful lot of children at independent schools still have after/before school tutors, as do those as some of the state schools like parkside and others. So it might be that you need to explore some private tuition to supplement whatever she can get at school, and just find a school environment where she can cope and enjoy the school life, even if you don't get the very small classes or academic support that you need.

Impington and Comberton village colleges are both very large, but have SEN resource centres where pupils go for support of various kinds. Swavesy also has a good reputation, and Sawston seems to be quite a popular choice these days as well. St Bede's I think also has a small number of places that are given on distance, so if you lived very very close, you might have a chance there even without an EHCP, although if you've already missed the year 7 entry then that would be a moot point anyway and you'd have to wait for in-year places or EHCP. Living very nearby would still help for waiting list places though.

St Mary’s has only been nominally Catholic for decades. I’m 60 and my friend a year older was there in the 1970s and she wasn’t Catholic

They are turning them around in 20 weeks in my experience.

That isn’t the case for many, unfortunately. You can search for the statistics here. For many, unless parents enforce the timelines, Cambridgeshire do breach.

I can't see stats specifically for Cambs there - am I missing a link to click?

I've seen children not accepted at several independent schools named here because of SEND.

I know quite a number of children who have gone to St Mary's and none who have then left again. Also one teacher. That seems like a good sign. :-) I don't know any more because I don't have a dd.

I feel quite nervous about the prospect of having an EHC Plan now. I no longer really know whether it would be less faff just to EHE.

If you click view or create your own tables you can search by different LAs and various different statistics.

If you are looking at private:

Both perses discourage SEN children. They are highly academic.

St Mary's may be a good option.

We went for King's Ely and our DC went by train. They have extremely good Sen support. One of our dc has adhd.

You posted earlier in the thread about pursuing EOTAS. You will probably have to appeal to get a good, comprehensive package, but EOTAS can provide far more than the vast majority of parents can afford to fund via EHE, so personally I wouldn’t be put off.

The perse schools are really really academic. I have two friends who go there and they looked really knackered all the way through school. Neither had send, and both were very bright.

I don't have first hand experience but Comberton has a rep of better provision and pastoral care than other village colleges. Can't speak for the city's colleges as I don't know anyone rich enough to live inside the boundary for those.

There’s zero chance she’ll have an EHCP by September. Most applications get refused on the first attempt.

There is actually nothing in the OPs post to indicate that she would meet the threshold for a funded EHCP anyway.

The child has a diagnosis of ADHD. That could be very wide ranging.

OP may have to appeal, but if her DD reasonably requires all the provision she is currently receiving she will need an EHCP and would meet the threshold.

Threshold may be different here. You only get an EHCP once you’ve proven all other avenues will fail. OP has a very long road ahead of her.

I didn’t say OP didn’t have a very long road ahead of her. If you read my posts you will see I have posted OP won’t have an EHCP by September and she may have to appeal, potentially more than once. The law is the same whatever LA you live in. Despite what many LAs think. The first threshold OP needs to focus on, for an EHCNA, is relatively low - a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need SEN provision to be made via an EHCP. You don’t have to prove all other avenues have failed. For an EHCP, you have to prove an EHCP is necessary. The list of SEP OP’s DD is currently receiving is beyond OAP in typical MS therefore if that SEP is reasonably required an EHCP is necessary, but again, she may have to appeal.

This article explains the funding problem:

https://westcountryvoices.co.uk/send-the-next-big-conservative-crisis/

Sadly I would agree. I have a DD with severe dyslexia (Dx in place since Y3) and ADHD. The only thing we get is exam access arrangements, no specific SEN provision in class has ever been offered or provided... now in Y10 and well off target for a number of subjects. School still have nothing to offer, no resources and have said the chances of getting an EHCP are slim to none.

OP also has an additional problem in that DC is already 12 and they are looking for Y7 entry. If DC is already 12 then they should be in Y7 currently. So they may have a fight to get a Y7 place rather than a Y8 place, and if they are a late summer birthday and turn 13 before 31st August then I can't see them getting a Y7 place at all.

OP also has an additional problem in that DC is already 12 and they are looking for Y7 entry. If DC is already 12 then they should be in Y7 currently

Good point. Op needs to be looking at y8.

Which also means checking which schools choose options in Y8. DD's school do a 3 year GCSE pathway so options are chosen in mid-Y8 and started at the beginning of Y9.

Ideally they'd want a school with a 2 year pathway with options chosen in Y9.

Yes, the birth year thing has popped up in the thread, but she can't just skip an entire academic year (nor be forced to do this by a LA) and it's been pointed out before that coming from abroad where school start dates are different, it should not be such an issue. I'll see what LA have to say about it, but I really don't see an issue with it except for admin.

She definitely could be. When does she turn 13?

There are often issues where children who defer for Reception then have to skip Y6 and go straight into Y7 at secondary thus skipping a whole academic year. Often people choose to send a very young for year child in the right cohort to avoid missing a year of school later on when they are moved to correct year group.

Nowadays it's a lot more possible to stay back a year at school entry time (Reception) if you are a July or August birthday and have prem birth date or SEN, but it's definitely not guaranteed.

Otherwise, if your child is an autumn birthday then they will be almost 2 years older than others in their year group. That can end up with safe guarding issues and also where they can't play sports etc in their year group.

I would definitely speak to the LA urgently about that as it's really not at all usual for children to be out of cohort unless late summer birthdate and coming from abroad won't change that.

Are you on Facebook, OP? If so definitely join this group for Cambs SEND parents: https://www.facebook.com/share/uqYJhk2FP2hAGNWv/
You can search for previous posts about schools and EHCPs. There were recent discussions by parents of children with EHCPs who had applied for secondary school places (Y7) and many of them did not receive any kind of outcome by the official date, and no information when they chased it - they still hadn't heard about their children's school places weeks later when all the children without EHCPs, going through the standard application process, got their places. People have been putting in complaints and have not been able to submit appeals in time because they don't have a decision to appeal! It's a mess.

I'm sorry but the doom and gloom posts are entirely correct. If you can afford it, OP, just go private - at least then your DD will be in school while you're having the fight for an EHCP and a specialist placement.

Or move into catchment for one of the mainstream schools with good SEND provision, namely IVC and Comberton.