Autism support in Slough

[schooltalash]

Hi,
We have a 3 year old son who has been diagnosed with Autism. We are currently living abroad but planning to move back to UK in summer 2015.
Slough is one of the areas we thinking of moving to.
Does anyone have any opinion or experience with support in Slough schools for Autistic children?
We are looking at Castleview school as one of the option but have no idea if the support will the adequate for our son.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or guidance on this

Regards

Hi schooltalash,

I have a son with ASD at Castleview in Slough. He has been there since nursery and is at the upper end of the school now so has experienced the full experience! CV is a great school, welcoming of kids with SEN and the early years provision is exceptional. Every child with ASD being different - their experience will also vary. Life gets tougher as kids grow up and the gap between them and their peers widens but this will be the case in any mainstream school. The other kids are lovely and my sons experience has been great there overall (with some hiccups along the way for good measure!). The school does some good things with a creative curriculum and has an outstanding ofsted rating which it has maintained for many years now. It is officially an autism resource base now whatever that means so they have limited places. They do things like music therapy once a week and have a Speech and language therapist that comes in weekly I believe.

It is key to secure a Statement (now EHP) for your son as the support the school can provide will be affected by this. It can be a long drawn out process but don't take no for an answer as this will be key to any help for your son in his education moving forward.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply mamaspice28. Its good to know about your son's experience has been great in CV. In your opinion, would you suggest a child with ASD to be in a special school or will mainstream school with ASD unit be a better option? We have heard mixed opinions on this.
The only special school with ASD in Slough area seems to be Arbour Vale from what I know. Not sure what that school is like. Also, if we were to live in Burnham, will CV accept our son or do they have a catchment where we need to be in?
We are looking to purchase a house as well in the target area hence the question. We are told we cannot start the statementing process until we are resident in the UK. Also not sure how long it would take to get him that once the process starts. Looks like it may take a while before he can get into a school

I would say mainstream vs special school is very much dependant on your child and his needs. As you will know ASD is such an umbrella term and some kids needs are greater than others. We have been looking at special schools for secondary and the range and provision is mind boggling. Have seen a new good options for kids with more severe needs. Arbor Vale is a very large school which caters for such a range of needs - I personally found it overwhelming and it did not feel right for us but visit and see what you think. You will definately need to be in catchment for CV as it is very oversubscribed and unfortunately the house prices in catchment are high because of this. Its so hard to advise without knowing your childs needs Im afraid. On a side note we are running and ABA programme at home as well and this has been a great help - its hard work to manage but worth it. Read around it to know more - some special autism schools offer it and others are open to incorporating it. Peach.org is a good source of info on it and they are have open days for people wanting to find out more. I know a few families that run this successfully. If you are thinking longer term maybe Slough is not the best option as secondary provision is grammar schools or not very good comps - some have autism bases but we have visited and ruled out. Surrey seems better equipped with better secondary schools. Hard to think so far ahead but if you are looking to settle down it might be an idea.

Thanks again for very useful information. He is very young (just turned 3) and his condition is not severe. We have been working with play based therapies for him for the past year or so and we can see positive changes. We will look at Surrey as well. Do you know how much will it cost if we wanted to supplement the school with private therapy? I heard it costs a fortune but haven't heard anyone mention any numbers. I know this is subject to the level to support each child needs but even a ball park average would help

I've heard figures of upto 45k per yr for a full programme but this is the top end. Independent consultant rates are more reasonable than large agencies and tutor rates can range from £8 ph for starters upto £30 ph for very very experienced tutors. It is an expensive business whichever way you look at it! Some ABA schools annual fees are 55k pa! The final cost will depend on the number of hrs you want really if you are putting together your own programme. Many providers say 30 hrs min per wk but we started late so went with a reduced hrs programme of around 12 per wk.

Priory School in Burnham is resourced for ASD. You would need to be placed there by the SEN panel but it would be very handy for you if you lived in Burnham.

PM me if you would like more info!

That is an expensive program indeed. Don't think we will be able to afford 30hr per week but good to know there are options.