Bristol: schools for autistic kids

[AlittlebitofMonica]

Looking at secondary schools for my 9 year old (year 5) son. He’s autistic, but will be in mainstream.

He's bright, not sporty, and quite anxious, so needs a lot of encouragement and reassurance to do his best.

Can anybody recommend any schools in particular? We can pay for private if that’s the best option.

Does you ds have an ECHP?

@catndogslife - no, we have just started the process. My guess would be he’ll get some accommodations but his needs are nowhere high enough for the specialist schools, he will stay mainstream.

The reason I asked is because if you have an EHCP there is a different application form for secondary transfer to make sure that children with additional needs are prioritised and that includes both mainstream and specialist schools.

My suggestion would be to try for Bristol Cathedral Choir school (state school) - it's smaller than a lot of other secondaries which may suit your ds. I do know of bright autistic children that have attended that school. They do also have a second school Trinity Academy which is fairly new and therefore will be quite small.

Ah thank you, I hadn’t realised that.
many thanks we’ll take a look at those schools :)

Cathedral choir is VERY loud and perhaps not the best for someone with sensory processing differences...

OP, if you are in bristol and your child is in year 5 now it's very unlikely that you will get an EHCP before the start of year 7 due to the high number of applications BCC reject. I managed to push DDs through in a year but that's only because I was relentless in pursuing judicial review and an earlier tribunal date. It took 13 months from start to finish, she's now in year 6, and they still haven't named a mainstream secondary setting yet 😬

I love QEH and they are amazing with welfare. My own children don't go there as I couldn't afford it but a friends child does and I have also visited due to work for a safeguarding issue. The issue was related to the child, not the school but the school were amazing with him.
For a state secondary Broadland is amazing with children with sen and autism.

@RMNofTikTok thank you, yes we’ve been warned about the timing issue! We have a lawyer and educational psychologist lined up so will push through as quickly as possible.

@Daisy12Maisie thank you, QEH would be one of the private options we’d look at. We can do private, I hear a lot of conflicting opinions about sen support in private school but I suppose it varies a lot by school.

Very unlikely to get cathedral without it being named on an EHCP, due to their admission criteria.

@AlittlebitofMonica

Even with a good solicitor, your time line is likely to go

Apply for ehcna

Get rejected 10 weeks later

Apply for tribunal, who will take 5 weeks to respond.

They'll concede about 6 weeks after that

You'll be waiting minimum 7 months for Ed psych assessment, they may not accept a private one even though this is unlawful

8 months after conceding they'll refuse to issue

You'll apply to tribunal, who will take 5 weeks to respond to your application and 5 weeks to move the date forward.

About 3 months after that they'll concede again.

It's going to take about 18 months, unless you are prepared to throw a lot of money at it. And I mean a LOT. I had to do 2 JRs, nearly got to hearings on both.

According to school guide uk there are no private schools in bristol with any students with an EHCP currently.

I honestly wish I had just moved into a better catchment!

@RMNofTikTok god that was a depressing read. But I do appreciate knowing! And yes, moving has been suggested but I have elderly parents here so it’s trying to juggle everybody’s needs tbh.

Sorry @AlittlebitofMonica, it's just that Bristol have very recently entered the safety valve scheme so it's even harder here now and I'd hate to give you false hope.

@RMNofTikTok oh absolutely, I’d rather know. If we can’t realistically get an EHCP in time then that’s an argument in favour of the private schools, which I think we are leaning towards anyway. Smaller class sizes are the single biggest thing that’s going to help I think. So maybe we are better off throwing our money at private school rather than at an educational psychologist and lawyers and judicial reviews etc.

@RMNofTikTok thank you for your advice, much appreciated :)

Have you considered looking at schools in the other local council areas?

@AlittlebitofMonica

BGS has a good reputation for SN support in the private school system.
I agree that Cathedral is likely to be overwhelming as a PP said, no insight on QEH but it's a great school.

St Katherine's in Pill has also been very good historically, I don't know about any other state schools though, sorry.

Good luck with your journey, just keep going!!

According to school guide uk there are no private schools in bristol with any students with an EHCP currently.

The school guide UK is wrong. If you look at the government data you can see the actual data. The most recent is from last academic year, but not all the pupils with EHCPs have left.

@MrsMoastyToasty ah no I haven’t really thought about that tbh, is it worth going out of county?

@7catsisnotenough i have the impression BGS is quite pressured academically? My son is bright but very anxious, I know he puts a lot of pressure on himself anyway so had written BGS off tbh but maybe that’s unfair?

@BrumToTheRescue yes there are definitely students with EHCPs at privates here, I’m just not sure if that’s a useful route for us given how hard/time consuming it will be to get a decent EHCP. Maybe we just focus on getting him into the right school even if private and then agree with them what he needs?

Personally, I think pursuing an EHCP is worth it.

We applied for an EHCP at the start of year 6, and had it in time for transfer to yr 7, despite the LA initially refusing to issue, so there is hope!

My experience of secondary is positive, and it totally depends on your son's personality and difficulties.

SMRT has an excellent reputation for supporting children with additional needs. Trinity is quite regimented but that may work for your son if he likes clear guidelines.

Can I ask which mainstream secondaries are close enough/easy enough to get to to be a consideration.

Sidcot has a good reputation for quiet, no pressurised, I know a few autistic kids who go there. John Cabot used to be good for SEN 10 years ago, but so many cut backs in education budgets I don't know what it's like now

Thank you @Allotment123 , that’s quite far out for us but we will take a look

Well... the LA have stated their preferred placement for DD is BCCS despite her having large sensory processing differences.

I'm going for a tour there this afternoon, I'll feed back.

Just got back.

The site is insecure with no perimeter fence, so definitely not suitable for children that run off or wander.

It is virtually inaccessible for people with mobility needs, no level access and steep hills within the court yard, there's no disabled parking on site and security prevent you from driving onsite.

Because the classrooms are in different buildings it can be a long walk from one lesson to the next.

And as their SEN report suggests, it's LOUD.

Definitely not suitable for DD who is at risk of wandering, has sensitivity to noise, and has never successfully taken herself into a classroom without support.

If you're prepared to look a little outside Bristol, I would heartily recommend Wycliffe Prep/College near Stroud. My son is also on the spectrum, clever, motivated but anxious and not great with social interactions and friendships.

The head there, Mrs Grant, is absolutely lovely and I can't fault the way she dealt with any issues arising with DS. He's now at the Senior school in Y9, has 2 close friends (I never thought this would happen! 😍) and is happy and successful.

Good luck in finding the right fit for your son.