spec ed in herefordshire for dd12yr w/ downs

[petesgirl]

hi--
we're living in london where my 12yr old dd w/ down syndrome attends a fantastic private school for chidlren with speech and communication disorders. however, we're planning on relocating to herefordshire and we're wanting to assess the spec ed situation before making the move.. i've looekd on the herefordshire county webstie and the four schools they list seem to be for more profoundly disabled chidlren... my dd is borderline mild/mod ld so finding the right place is tricky but we prefer special schools over mainstream/// can anyone offer any advice, websites etc to get a better picture of what herefordshire offers its children with spec needs? many thanks!

Which part of Hertfordshire are you looking to move to. I have had no direct experience of special needs schools in Hertfordshire.

However I did part of a PGCE and I had a placement in an EBD school. I know quite a few people who had placements in moderate special needs schools.

There are moderate special needs schools in hertfordshire. Hertfordshire has quite a lot of special schools.

I have no idea what the moderate special needs schools are like, but I know they do exist. In Hemel Hempstead there is the Collet School, in Redbourn there is St Luke's school, in Abbot Langley there is the Breaksphere school. I am sure that there are plenty of other moderate special needs schools.

If you want a private special needs school then the egerton-rothsay school has a special unit for children with moderate special needs. It is in Berkhamsted.

www.egerton-rothesay.herts.sch.uk/

Their special unit caters for children up the age of 16 and is called the "John Adkins Centre".

I hope this helps

hi petesgirl, are you a member of the DS-UK mailing list? It might be a good idea to join and see what other people on it have to add.

It's a very friendly and helpful list. You can join here

Hiya,

I'm from Herefordshire !! But no experience of spec ed I'm afraid !

However - my mother used to teach in a special unit attached to a state secondary school called "Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School" in an area called Tupsley. It was extremely good and people came from all around to it. She's retired now and I'm not even 100% sure it's still there - but it would be worth a look.

Good Luck !

I'll also ask my friend tonight as she still lives there and may know about other schools.

Hi again,

Some links for you

Bishops and Barrs Court School

thanks for the leads! i did have a look at barrs.. but i got the impression that it ws more severely disabled children?

i will def check out ds list and Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School

thanks.. i'll keep on truckin'

Hi - yes I'm not sure about Barrs Court - my friend lives very close to it and says she has seen lots of DS children around and about that's why I mentioned it. Maybe they cover the whole spectrum of SN ? Worth asking them - it has an excellent reputation in Hereford.

My DS is starting at Bishops in September. The Kielder unit (SN) there has an excellent reputatuion and Bishops itself has recently had an Outstanding Ofted report.

The current Head is retiring this summer to be replaced by a female Head who I've heard also has an excellent reputation.

Let me know if you go ahead and move this way, I'd be happy to help with any other information about this fantastic county

Sorry that link to Bishops doesn't work - I missed out the www !

I'll try again !!

Bishops

Info on the Kielder unit:

THE KIELDER RESOURCE CENTRE

· Housed in The Kielder Centre, purpose-built accommodation opened in 1994, the Centre consists of four groups of pupils with moderate learning difficulties, some of whom have physical disabilities.

· Wherever possible, children who are taught in the Centre are integrated into mainstream for some subjects, depending on their aptitude and suitable timetable matches. All Kielder Centre children are in mainstream forms.

· The Centre has five specialist teachers, one of whom has the added responsibility of providing an adapted P.E. programme for those with a physical disability, including those in mainstream where possible. In addition, Learning Support Assistants work in the Centre classrooms and there are strong and regular links with the various outside agencies.

· A leaflet giving full details of the Centre's curriculum and organisation, its extensive residential programme and vocational preparation will be available during the tour for parents who are particularly interested.

Sounds like it could be just what you want - they teach in mainstream where appropriate !

Do have any other children?

You need to be careful where you pick to live in Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire has some fanastic mainstream schools, but it also has some nightmare secondary schools schools.

Frances - she's not moving to Hertfordshire - it's Herefordshire !

You can live pretty much anywhere in Herefordshire - although North of the River is generally thought to be better !! Getting across town from the South is a bit of a mare at rush hours as there are only two not very big bridges across the river which cause a big pinchpoint !

I'm south of the river so very aware of the traffic problems, which are about to get worse with construction of teh Rotherwas relief road.

Are you Bella ? You did well getting ds into Bishops then !

How long's the Rotherwas relief road going to take then ? Shame they didn't do it same time as Asda really !

We've got a church place for DS

Yes, but that would probably have been too much chaos at one time.

Where abouts are you then?

In Hampshire now - but grew up in Tupsley ! Right by Bishops actually - although I went to Cathedral ! (Bishops wasn't THAT good then !)

sorry, I'm really tired, my five year son has a sleep routine as bad as newborn baby at the moment. I didn't read the first message properly.

I hope you find a suitable school for your daughter

is bishops a state school or is it independent? is the LEA cooperative in herefordshire.. are the bent either way (for mainstream or self-contained?)

probably veering off here...v worried about move re: dd\s school as we have great sit. here with her ed. thanks

just realized this is a church school .. ! we're jewish...grrrr! surely there's got to be some more schools out there for MLD kids!!?!?

Yes it is a church school - and it is a state school too. Would you actively not want dd to go to a church schol ? I think they would take all denominations tbh into the Kielder Unit.

Hereford is quite a churchy place - has loads of 'em !!

I don't think being Jewish would cause any problem at all! Why not ring them and speak to the Head of the Kielder Unit?

Check their admissions policy on the website below that Scatterbrain gave you. Their 1st priority is Kielder unit, then catchment area then CofE places (which amount to roughly 70 out of 235 places). So it's not 100% church places, there are all sorts and walks going there.

It is a state school and the word on the street is that it's currently better than the Independents.

Hi there. My name is Sarah and I help to run the Herefordshire Down's Syndrom Group. So if you ever need any specific information in relation to Down's Syndrome then we are the people to ask. Our e-mail address is [email protected].

Thye best choice for your daughter if she is able enough is the Kilder Unit which is attached to the Bishop of Hereford's Blue Coat school. They take mild and moderate Learning Dificulties and there are many boys and girls there with Down's Syndrome already.

If you do manage to move into the area, please get in contact. We have many members in our group with children of all ages and would be great to welcome you and your family.

Take care and again, if there is anything else you want to know, just get in touch.

Take care Sarah