Looking for a right school for my son with mixed needs

[flyingtosunshine]

Hi. I’m looking for a secondary school for my son. He is 10 but in year 5 at the moment due to the developmental delay, ASD, language difficulties, social difficulties with anxiety and lack of confidence. Has EHCP but getting not enough support from the current mainstream school, still working far behind to meet his actual needs and the gap is wider now.

School suggested special school with a small size class would fit him best because of the 3-4 years behind academically with all the mixed difficulties. As they have all the professionals in site to help. So I'm in the process of getting a special school place with phase transfer to join the secondary next year(skipping year 6 worries me but school said going to a special school that won't be a problem). I've visited a few special schools in the area, found out they are mainly for serve needs and I feel like it is not the one I would put my son into. He is like in between, wouldn't fit the mainstream and special. I'm thinking if there is a mainstream has a special unit with a small size class would fit, which able to provide all the support with differentiated curriculum while he can still able to access to mainstream when possible. Having said that it seems like so hard to find one and get into.

We are in Gloucestershire. Can move anywhere if there is a school can meet all his needs. Consider a mainstream has a special unit or a special school. Any school suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

Is Alderman Knight one of the schools you have ruled out? If not, worth looking there.

You could look at Valley Bridge. Although if there is a global developmental delay of 4 years, they may not offer a place. I know someone whose DC was refused a place on the basis they had GDD with a delay of about 4-5years.

The problem with additionally resourced provisions is DC are to one extent or another expected to attend or work towards attending at least some mainstream lessons.

There’s no reason DS can’t continue to be educated outside of his chronological year group in a special school.

Be aware if you move LA, the new LA will review the EHCP and potentially amend, reassess or even cease to maintain. You would have the right of appeal, but it is something you do need to be aware of.

Belmont or Sladewood are best for this profile of need, IMO. Belmont is Cheltenham and Sladewood in Stroud. They are play based, warmly supportive and focused on nature and learning experientially and through play, but they do teach the standard curriculum and they have some kids who are only a couple of years behind. I know some.

Alderman Knight aim to deliver a standard academic offer, in a standard environment, but very small scale with lots of support. Great school, but effectively more like mainstream, just better supported and for kids with learning needs. I think kids there tend to work more in the broadly average ranges - they take from 20th to 50th centiles now, I think. They work towards GCSEs etc and that's the expectation for them.

The schools it sounds like you may have looked at are Battledown, Shrubberies, Milestone, Bettridge, Heart of the Forest, perhaps? They support children with very high support needs indeed, so wouldn't be suitable for your son.

In terms of independent: William Morris is getting a good word of mouth, now. It's the sibling school to Cotswold Chine, and parents speak well of it. If you've not checked them out, it might be worth taking a look?

Whereabouts in the county are you? Travel needs to be factored in, but also it's worth looking across county borders to Worcs, Warcs, South Glos, Wilts etc depending on where you are based yourself.

I'm afraid it almost always takes an appeal now to secure specialist in Glos. There are just so few spaces for so many kids in need of them.

@yetmoredisposableusernames does AK no longer have a proportion of KS2 pupils working at pre-key stage levels? And has it stopped offering entry level qualifications as well as GCSEs? Last time I supported someone considering there, which admittedly was a couple of years ago, it had both.

So Alderman Knight is moving more towards supporting the middle range, simply because there's no real alternative for that cohort. They do offer vocational and Functional Skills type learning but the fact they are also open to GCSEs sets them apart from the other MLD schools in the area. But also, it's a very conventional sort of school environment - much less relational and play-based than eg Belmont and Sladewood, which have a lot more focus on fun and exploration and also co-regulation, which I think is often more helpful for kids who struggle to access the curriculum. There's hefty overlap because a PDA child could not cope at all at AK in most cases, while many do really well at Belmont - which sometimes counts for more than whether they meet the strict academic learning cohort. So yes, they have some in AK who are working below key stages (not least because large numbers of kids in specialist in the county now, in MLD provision at least, are there from Tribunals - the default for them remains mainstream, unless parents fight like hell).

All are good, but I would lean to Sladewood or Belmont, were it my child. Just because I think the ethos and approach there tends to suit more. Having said that, a child who thrives on orderly, conventional school approaches that are just personalised, smaller scale would be well placed at AK.

I'd also worry that a child more than a couple of years behind might feel less able at AK. No child should feel they can't keep up, when they could access a curriculum at another excellent local school really well.

I would never touch Heart of the Forest with a bargepole, though. Some very worrying statements by parents, and when there's an 's' on parent feedback, for good or ill I listen. Hard.

Thank you for taking the time to reply @yetmoredisposableusernames. It is appreciated.

You are spot on about parental experiences rather than the public image schools portray. The reality is often so very different - as you know all too well.

Thank you so much for the info, I appreciate it!

I did check Sladewood but they are for 4-11 so it won't suitable. Also, I have visited Alderman Knight, Belmont and Milestone. Obviously Milestone is for higher needs children. Belmont sounds very supportive and AK is close to mainstream structure more so I thought it could be the choice but I wasn't sure I've found the one that I can stop looking though.

Haven't heard of Valley Bridge and William Morris before, I checked they are independent schools. William Morris seems lovely from the website. I heard the chance of getting an independent or private one with the EHCP is very low because of the funding. Is that true? As I haven't really looked into those.

In fact, I've been a bit struggling in between mainstream and special school, hoping to find somewhere can provide the support like a special school but staying in mainstream setting while he can adapt the structure and learn from the 'normal children', also able to access to sports or after school activities. It seems like that doesn't quite exist, school Senco suggested me consider a special school, it would be the best to meet his needs and less overwhelming plus I won't get better support in something close to mainstream. The comparison of Belmont and AK makes me think more about which way I should choose. I started thinking maybe a school like Belmont would be a better choice for him to grow the confidence first.

I heard there is a good school called King Henry in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire Wales. A mainstream school with a specialist provision but adding Welsh worries me.. have you heard about it?

We're living in Gloucester but I am ready to move for the right school. Any school suggestions in South Glos or area close to Ross on Rye, Hereford?

Thanks again!

EHCPs can fund independent schools. You will probably have to appeal, but you would probably have to appeal for a watertight EHCP naming a state SS too.

Be careful if you move LAs. The new LA will review the EHCP and potentially amend, reassess or even propose to cease to maintain. You would get the right of appeal, but it is something you need to be aware of. And moving to Wales would mean the EHCP ceasing and needing an IDP instead. The English SEN system has significant problems, but the Welsh system is even worse, IMO.

King Henry has a specialist resource base. That set up isn’t unique to that school. There are lots of bases/units/provisions/centres across the country. They have benefits but they have drawbacks too and don’t work for all profiles. I think lots of KHs pupils have a severe learning disability. There are schools with enhanced provisions/centres in Gloucestershire, such as The Dean Academy. I wouldn’t recommend it for your DS, though.

I don’t think moving to South Glos or the Ross on Rye area will open up more suitable school options. There is SGS Pegasus (make sure you look at the right Pegasus school. Not the one in Derbyshire.) but it is not worth moving LA for, IMO.

All specialist provision means an appeal right now unless your child is going to cost the LAs so much more in mainstream that they will save cash by sending straight to specialist. It's not easy, I won't lie, but it is also entirely possible. It all relies on needs, and ability to prove those needs.

William Morris has a very good reputation with parents, and so does the sibling school, Cotswold Chine. Definitely worth exploring them as an option. It's genuinely independent so they need to agree to place, but if they do I think you'd stand an excellent chance in Tribunal, as long as you can prove the needs. And the LA are so short of their own SEND places they might well concede before any hearing.

Small mainstream independents are sometimes willing to place SEND children with learning difficulties, but I think more in the primary years than the secondary, as they rely so heavily on their own exam results to attract parents. With the older kids, they tend to serve academically able but socially struggling ones, as far as I can see. And I would also worry about any mainstream placement, private or state, if your child is struggling so much with a mainstream offer in primary. No mainstream will have the specialist teaching or extremely small class sizes needed. You wouldn't get integrated SLT, OT etc in one either, and you would in specialist.

You'll need to appeal to place in either Belmont or William Morris, to be honest, and in fact the LA might even prefer William Morris, as Belmont is under such intense pressure for places. I think those are the best two schools in the county for the sorts of needs you are describing. Belmont are great at building kids up to go to Alderman Knight or even mainstream, I am told, and William Morris takes a fairly wide range of needs across the autism spectrum. Both are kind places. I think that matters for all kids, with all needs.