Twyford CofE High School for children with SEN

[SolNa]

Hello,

I am looking for a school for my son, who has Autism Level 1 along with a language disorder. He is very bright and does not have any behavioural issues. I noticed that Twyford CofE High School seems like a good option, especially since they have an Additional Resourced Centre that supports students with special educational needs.

I would like to hear from anyone who has experience with this school for children with special needs, as well as information about how the Additional Resourced Centre operates.

Additionally, if you have suggestions for other schools in London that may be a good fit for my son's profile, I would love to hear them.

Thank you!

Does DS have an EHCP? If not, you won’t get a place in an ARC.

I know someone whose DC with ASD is happy and doing well at Twyford. However, I also know someone who doesn’t think their DC is supported well enough there. So I think there are some who like the SEN Support there and others who don’t.

Some like Elthorne Park.

Twyford is very strict. If your DS is a rules-oriented child who isn't going to fall apart when he gets a sanction for forgetting a glue stick, and isn't going to ignore rules that he thinks are pointless, then he may do very well there. The rules are many, but they are explicit and easy to follow (and pinned up in every classroom, not just the much vaunted "Twyford Etiquette" but also the actual things you can do to get a positive or negative).

I know a number of anxious autistic children who have ended up leaving the school though. The combination of very frequent assessments (after which the child may be moved up or down a set), backpack and pencil case inspections on a Monday morning, school uniform rules etc just worked out to be far too much for them to deal with - and that was before you get into any learning and what sounds like copious amounts of homework.

I've heard from parents there that if a child doesn't have an EHCP they don't get much in the way of support, and even with one, the school isn't inclined to make allowances over homework or uniform.

Some autistic children will find the rules there very reassuring. If your DS isn't one of them then Elthorne Park has an ARP for language disorders (although you need an EHCP to access it).

This is very helpful. I just went to the open evening, the Send ARC team said it's mostly good for children that they push hard to be in the mainstream, and they "sometimes even go to their houses and say it's time to come to school, so it's non-negotiable". I sort of think this might be ok, but possibly goes along with the hard-line rules approach.

Im not sure it will work for us, unless DD finds it much easier and less scary next year to meet the demands of rules - based on now, it's not looking much like it.