Any Sen schools with places, anywhere???

[Madreamigajefa2]

We are renting and the LA we're in doesn't have any spaces in any of their maintained special schools, not that any of them actually match my child's needs. I'm aware that just because this LA agreed at review to look for a special school place doesn't mean the next LA will agree too, but we're so keen to get our lives together and right now my child is desperately unhappy in her mainstream. I'm renting and work remotely so I'd be able to move quite quickly to place us near a school that meets need. Does anyone know of any schools that are focused on MLD with complex needs (ADHD +autism+some medical and physical needs), whether state maintained or independent, that currently have capacity for an 8 year old? We do not get family support so we really don't have ties to an area but my child very much needs small class sizes and quieter play and lunch times, not schools with a large number of pupils all arriving at the same time as eating at the same time. Thanks for any advice!

If you are set on moving for a school, I would just move to where you think there is a suitable school. Unless you specifically want a wholly independent school, I wouldn’t base my decision on whether it ‘has spaces’. That’s because EHCP admissions to schools that are not wholly independent don’t work the same as they do for admissions to mainstream schools when there isn’t an EHCP. Full is not defined in law and on its own ‘full’/‘no spaces’ is not a lawful reason to refuse to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full placing DC there is incompatible with the efficient education of others or use of resources. This is a high bar. Higher than LAs and many schools admit. It has to be something tangible and specific and is more than an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”.

Also, just because a school says they ‘have space’ now doesn’t mean they will still say that by the time you move and are going through the review process in the new LA to amend the EHCP or that the LA will agree it ‘has space’.

Thanks. I'm not bothered about it being independent. I'm bothered about my child with MLD being amongst an MLD peer group and not put in a school where she won't be given the right social opportunities. I just don't think there's anywhere in this LA that meets that and is not a huge school we would not even get my child to enter. Perhaps a better question is "does anyone know od any school anywhere that is small and meets this profile?"

What is your definition of small/huge? I’m not asking that to be funny but are you meaning somewhere that only has 30/40 students or just somewhere smaller than a 1 or 2 form primary school?

If DD is Y4 now, I would look at the long game if you are going to move so I would look at secondary schools then work backwards. This is for two reasons. If you only look at primary placements you could end up somewhere that doesn’t have a suitable secondary placement. But also if you move it could well be Y5 or even later by the time you get your preferred placement named. In terms of secondary schools, Alfriston is a fairly unique girls’ MLD special school that is worth looking at.

My child's in a school of 70 and she finds break times with that number overwhelming. Her class size is less than 20 and she finds it too loud but that could be down to things like bad acoustics in the room, and also feeling aware of her differences. Unfortunately she can only really articulate that her issues are "too noisy/ too many people/ the work is too hard/ I just want to be at home" which makes the exact details tricky to determine. I think the bigger issue than absolute number is, is she getting a class size that's less than 10 where she has some 1-1 and 2-1 opportunities built in (that's in her EHCP), and are they organised enough in breaks and arrival/departure that she's not overwhelmed by excessive noise or movement at a key transition? She's been upset by a motorbike passing or a dog so 50 cars at once or 20 children walking past her to get to class wouldn't be viable.

When did DD last have an EP assessment? And has she ever had an OT assessment, including looking at the sensory side of things? I think these, along with a SALT assessment, will help you understand what DD needs and what type of placement will work (and what won’t work). It would delay moving, but I think it would be wise to consider this before moving.

Has anyone done a walkthrough of the current school to look at the sensory environment?

She's had all 3. She's been under SALT via school and they've discharged into school delivering, she's had EP and OT who recommended a large number of adjustments though the OT focused on physical adjustments, fizzy, pen grips etc. EP noted all sorts of exec function issues and my child needing support with social interactions and preferring to play alone. Current mainstream school is extremely well regarded for SEN but SENDCo acknowledges current classroom is something that carries noise and can't be changed. All accommodations possible are already on EHCP.

When were all these assessments though?

I think you need updated assessments in order to inform the next placement and ensure all the required provision is included in the EHCP. For example, DD needs direct SALT and OT input, not just looking at recommendations for the school to implement, and the fact this isn’t included in the current EHCP tells me it needs improving.