6th Form

[KnottyAuty]

Academic DC looking for a 6th form. Has autism and adhd diagnoses, EHCP in place. Should get 9 good GCSEs. But it’s been horribly hard work getting there and they have masses of sensory/anxiety issues. Any tips when trying to decide on a setting? What questions to ask? Thanks

Does his current setting have a 6th form?

Does the school/college offer the courses DS wants?
Class sizes?
How many hours of teaching for each subject?
Do they have supervised study in other periods? If so, where, who supervises and what support is available for those who are struggling?
Do they have somewhere quiet DC can study during free periods/independent study periods? And what support is available for DC during these sessions (although obviously any support in the EHCP will be enforceable, it is helpful to know what is offered as standard)?
Do sixth form have to attend tutor, PE, RE/RS &/or enrichment?
What enrichment activities are available?

What training and experience do staff have?
Do they have a sensory/quiet room DC can use when they are overwhelmed?
Do they have somewhere quieter DC can eat lunch?
Do they have DC who have reasonable adjustments to the uniform policy/dress code?
How does the school/college support PfA? (Although, again, the LA must ensure anything in F is provided, it can help to get a feel of the school/college.)
How does the school/college communicate with parents?
Transition arrangements?
Where do their pupils move on to?
Depending on DS’s needs, how does the school reduce/prevent sensory overwhelm and how do they manage dysregulated behaviour?
If relevant, what school/college buses are available? (Although there’s also LA transport.)

If it is wholly independent, what is the availability of places currently?
If an independent/NMSS, does your LA fund any pupils currently there? (An answer of no doesn’t mean it can be funded, but an answer of yes will however prevent the LA lying to you by saying ‘we don’t fund that school’.)
If wholly independent, if you have to appeal, how long would they hold the place for?

If you are looking at specialist schools/colleges, do they have professionals on site or visiting? If visiting, how often do they visit and how many DC do they see?
If it is a specialist school and DS wants to take any subjects requiring specialist classrooms/labs, do they have those?

Yes - one of the reasons we chose it…
But it doesn’t offer his favourite subject :(

Oh thank you so much for this brilliant list.
ive got some of those but you’re list is much better than mine xxx

What's the favourite subject?

It may be hard to persuade DS otherwise, but if DS is settled, and the school is supportive, it is worth considering swapping the subject choice to something the school does offer unless it would be essential for the next step after sixth form. Don’t underestimate the toll moving placement can take. A supportive school really helps.

I agree with @Bright.

I was just wondering about the subject in case it was one of those UpLearn offer.

Further Maths (too few applicants)

I totally agree and that’s the line I’ve taken all the way through. But actually he’s only really surviving where he is and it may even be a risk to his mental health staying on. He wants to do Computer Science degree so Further Maths is essential.

But I’m still so nervous at the thought of a transition. The new place will need to be almost perfect to be worth the risk….

thanks so much for “getting it”.
not many people I know IRL understand

Oh that’s a thought as a back up plan… I’ll look.
he hates online learning

Not really coping where he is changes things. Do you know what it is about school DS isn’t coping with at the moment? Knowing that will help you think about what is suitable.

However, I would focus on the right placement without worrying about FM. FM can always be delivered outside of school. That can be F2F where online isn’t suitable. And if it is a state school, you could also look at the support AMSP offer for FM.

I don't think they do Further Maths. Other providers do though.

Up learn looks great! But sadly not what we need. FM is difficult to find in small structured settings sadly. Will keep looking

Does the school have any partner schools or any kind of consortium arrangement? I think our school would perhaps send a y12 in this position to our partner 6th form for the FM lessons.

When are you due a review of the EHCP? If it's before Sept, you could ask that a budget to study the FM elsewhere could be added (perhaps at a college if online's not suitable). Does the school actually have Maths teachers able to teach FM?

Ask this stuff now.

Just as an aside further maths is not essential for computer science as ds2 is in second year of a degree without it (RG group) and has coped well with the maths element of the course. It depends how high he is aiming for at University (Imperial and Oxbridge may need it).

ds1 went to a sixth form unit in a further education college to do his A levels which worked well for him (he had been at a special school for secondary) and achieved very good grades. Good points were that everyone was a new starter unlike if he had joined a school sixth form where most people would already know each other & small class sizes (he did science subjects & maths). They also were quite good at giving them opportunities to improve their CV so for instance they had a scheme where the stronger students could mentor the weaker students and class or subject reps. Rules were definitely more relaxed than at a school e.g. no uniform, allowed off-site between lessons and indeed not long hours of attendance needed (might be good or bad depending on if your ds can self-study). Although the college in total was large the sixth form unit was self-contained and other than the first week was relatively calm & quiet with quiet places where the pupils could go between lessons if they wanted peace.

Support was low key if I am honest - so in theory he had someone to go and ask for help but ds1 being ds1 did not do so. They had a week of enrichment activities at the start which nearly killed the placement as exactly what he doesn't like - waffle and uncertainty. They also put a ridiculous amount of pressure on the pupils about how hard they would have to work which ds1 took absolutely literally and got very stressed - luckily when we asked the SEN co-ordinator to chat to him about this he calmed down.

Have you looked at independent mainstream sixth forms? Not all admit DC with EHCPs but some do.

Alternatively, if you think a specialist placement is required, depending on where you are/if boarding is suitable, have you looked at More House? They offer Maths and FM. And computer science (if that is DS’s preference for a third subject. Although it isn’t required for CS at university.)

If DS is Y11 already, you should already be in the phase transfer review process. There should have already been a phase transfer review meeting and the LA must finalise the amended EHCP by 31st March.

Thank you @BrightYellowTrain @Phineyj @OneInEight that is very kind of you to respond and offer suggestions. DS is Y11 and the phase transfer meeting has happened, and the Plan has been finalised. It has had a substantial re-write/update so he sounds less needy than the last plan described, and about as needy as he probably now is! I have to now send a list of schools and although we have looked at over 10, most were not suitable - small ones who don't offer FM, school ones who pretend they offer FM but it's not actually listed as one of the options for selection on the application or huge colleges where they offer FM but would be a sensory disaster. The FM is more about him being happy with his timetable and doing subjects he enjoys after forcing himself to do GCSEs which were boring. It has taken its toll and he now needs to be happier and to want to go to college, rather than being dragged there. We have the current school which doesn't offer all subjects he would like and increasingly no friends to stay for. We hopefully have a small specialist computing college which has all the subjects he would like but involves a 45min tube run across central london - what could possibly go wrong?!? There remain 2 more schools to see which offer all the subjects so it will come down to transport and sensory as to whether they are viable for further investigation. Local private school ran their process last year and has already completed offers so that is out. Someone mentioned Oasis Academy in Enfield which might be worth a look. We looked at special boarding years ago and it just wouldn't work for him unfortunately. I wish we lived near More House... I'd love to know about possible options in North, Central or East London accessible by public transport that I've missed - hoping for a magic bullet!

the Plan has been finalised.
I have to now send a list of schools

Are you sure the EHCP has been finalised and it isn’t just the draft/Amendment Notice? If it had been finalised, you should have already been consulted before it was finalised. And if it is finalised, what placement is named?

I’m not aware of any SS in North, Central or East London which offers FM as standard. Although the nature of independent SS means they can sometimes offer a subject they don’t normally offer. If it is reachable, Woodview is new in SE London, the curriculum offered in new SS often fluctuates over the first few years, so it could be worth enquiring there. Did you rule out King’s and Imperial’s Maths Schools?

@BrightYellowTrain Good point - I think we have the Final Draft with all the content agreed but not the "Finalised" plan with the named placement.

Imperial looked good for the maths but other subjects were offered in the large adjacent 6th form which didn't seem a good fit. He sat for Kings and seemed to do well in the exam but wasn't offered an interview - but the overall experience was really good/confidence boosting so I'm glad we did that even if the result was slightly disappointing. Bromley/Woodview too far but looks interesting.

I also haven't been able to find a SS near us with high enough academics so I think that our choice will be the vanishingly small list of mainstream options!

I live in hope someone will suggest a great fit on our doorstep - but that miracle has fairly low odds I suspect. Thanks