Cheshire school options for autistic girl and boy (secondary/primary)

[Aintnosupermum]

I really need some help on how to navigate what is best for our children with special needs. What settings are available? How long does it really take to go through the process? I was told 8 weeks but I’ve been in the game long enough to double check this timeframe!

Our daughter (11 this year) has autism and ADHD. She was in a special needs class in a mainstream setting while we lived in the US and it was a complete failure. In this setting she was assaulted by staff (they used the term restrained) and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD. Her medical team put her on all sorts of medication and nothing helped. The meltdowns were epic.

Covid hit and we moved the children to Denmark so she could get access to help. We were desperate and to be fair they have done a great job with her. She is off all medication, we have not had a major meltdown in months and we manage to complete undesirable tasks half the time. This is a major major accomplishment.

Our son has just turned 9 and also has ASD and ADHD. He is extremely bright and capable but needs support. His WISC testing scored him at 135 but the therapist said he is clearly 145+ and his disabilities prevented her from getting everything from him. When we moved to Denmark to get help for his sister, DS was sent to the same specialist school. It’s been a disaster. He has massive tics, desperately needs OT which we are still on the wait list for a year later. He is allowed to play Minecraft or Pokémon for hours everyday and comes back repeating the sounds of the game incessantly. There has been zero academic work completed so i work with him myself. He is now on level with his peers in most areas but behind socially, his handwriting is terrible and the eating problems are back (we are on the waitlist for the one private therapist who does feeding therapy as it’s obvious his mouth muscles need strengthening again). He was 2-3 years ahead academically at the start of covid. He is the type of child that thrives when you challenge him academically. He needs a calm, structured setting with small class sizes and access to support. Right now he is a shadow of his former self.

So, I’m looking for some help on how to navigate the system and what specialist settings are out there. Dd really can’t go to a mainstream setting. We are happy to pay to go private but it needs to be a special needs setting for our daughter. She is academically very capable, but she learns on her terms and at her pace. She needs a lot more exercise and less (actually zero would be ideal) screen time.

For DS, again we can go private and it’s fine for the DC to go to different schools. We have a 3rd DC too with her own challenges from the pandemic so it would be best if DS and DD2 went to the same school to avoid 3 DC at 3 different schools.

8 weeks for what?

When you arrive in the LA you can apply for EHCPs. The process takes 20 weeks unless you have to appeal, which sadly many do. IPSEA and SOSSEN are useful.

An EHCP is necessary in order to access special schools and schools with additionally resourced provisions in mainstream schools. The vast majority of special schools, even independent ones, do not allow parents to self fund. When you become resident in the LA the LA have to provide a school place, but without an EHCP this will most likely to be a mainstream place. If the school need more funding to meet DC’s needs while going through the process they can apply for high needs top up funding. If attending mainstream school is inappropriate the LA must make alternative arrangements e.g. home tuition or small group tuition.

Do you need an ASD school or a SEMH school?
Are you wanting a MS for DS? You won’t get small class sizes in state mainstream schools and many independent schools aren’t supportive of the level of SEN DS has.

Depending on where you are planning to move to in Cheshire look at:
NAS’s Church Lawton,
Alderwasley Hall
West Kirby school
Some of Witherslack’s schools
Some of Aurora’s schools

Thank you for your reply!

In the Us the children had IEPs and they have something here in Denmark, they just won’t share it with us. They will most definitely qualify for a ECHP. I just don’t want it to take 6 months to set up because we are just on the other side of school refusal. They will regress when moving so I want this to be as smooth as possible.

Are there any ways to speed up the ECHP process? I saw Axia is recommended by many as a good testing center and I was considering having both assessed again as we are coming up to their 3 year mark since their last set of assessments.

Sadly, there’s no way to speed the process up. It can take up to 20 weeks, if you don’t have to appeal but many parents do, some more than once.

However, the LA must provide DC with a full time education when they become responsible for them. This would normally be by offering a school place, but if they determine a mainstream school isn’t appropriate they should make alternative arrangements.

Assessments 3 years ago would be considered too old to be up to date. Even if you get new assessments the LA are likely to do their own. During an EHCNA the LA have to seek advice from:
a) the child’s parent or the young person;
b) educational advice (usually from the head teacher or principal);
c) medical advice and information from a health care professional;
d) psychological advice and information from an educational psychologist;
e) advice and information in relation to social care;
f) advice and information from any other person the local authority thinks appropriate;
g) where the child or young person is in or beyond year 9, advice and information in relation to provision to assist the child or young person in preparation for adulthood and independent living; and
h) advice and information from any person the child’s parent or young person reasonably requests that the local authority seek advice from.

Also, not every child in the US who has an IEP would qualify for an EHCP in England. Some may have needs that would be expected to be met at a school level via the Notional SEN budget.

So, if they need to provide a place while they do the assessments, how does that work? There is no way our daughter can attend any mainstream school. Are they able to send a teacher to the home or do we need to enroll in a homeschool program? We are American citizens so I have the option to enroll her in a public remote school program. It’s just, the screen time the better. Covid taught us our sweet cherubs are not good with online education so this would be our last resort!

Sending her to a mainstream school is cruel. The first time we went to the hospital for an assessment here in Denmark she had a meltdown upon entering the room because it was set up like her classrooms in the US. It was horrific to watch and I don’t want my child to experience that again.

• the less screen time the better.

If you Electively Home Educate, often called EHE in the UK, the LA do not legally have to provide anything as you are making suitable alternative arrangements thereby relieving them of their duties.

If DD cannot attend mainstream while going through the EHCP process, and the bar for that may be higher than you imagine, the LA have a statutory duty to provide alternative arrangements. The nature of these arrangements depend on individual needs and the LA, it may be online, 1:1 home tuition at home, 1:1 tuition at a centre, hospital school, small group tuition at a centre, PRU…

That’s very good to know. The last thing I want to do is home school but I will if absolutely needed.

For our son, I’m happy to try him in a mainstream setting with support while he goes through the assessment process because ultimately I know he can handle it with suitable supervision. He was an easy target for the other children at the school in the US. We had a couple of shocking incidents and I got him a 1-1 aide who made sure nothing happened.

I haven’t thanked you answering all my questions. I really appreciate you coming back. I am very anxious about my eldest being in the right setting. So much has happened to her and at this point I too have PTSD from the ordeal she went through.

Did you find a school in Cheshire

How are things now @Aintnosupermum?

Did you find a school in Cheshire?

I am sorry I didn’t see the tags!

I decided on FIRS for my younger two and homeschool for my eldest until she is placed. It’s chicken and the egg right now. Contracts are flying around for work. Of course it’s last minute and I can’t get anyone to commit either way. I have schools in the US on ice too. Not great for rigid kids who need a long lead time.

It was marginal if our youngest should go to the private school but she needs the pastoral support given so much of our focus is meeting the needs of our elder two.