Can anyone help? Secondary school transfer assessments?

[SparklyGothKat]

DD1 is in year 5 in a MS school, on a statement for cerebral palsy, ADHD and learning disabilities.

She currently is working on borderline levels for MLD and mainstream schools. The SENco feel that MLD secondary would be best for her, as does the teacher and the advicory teacher.
DD1 is immature for her age and she acts much younger than her age. Peers find her 'odd' and 'annoying' but she is unaware of this.

She is having her secondary transfer assessment by EP in april, when the LEA will decide what setting is best for her.
What we would like to know is what we can do to get what is best for our daughter? we feel that a MS secondary will be very damaging to her self esteem and she will be bullied because of her immaturity. But with her levels being so borderline for MLD we are going to have to fight this hard.
TIA

not very knowledgable about 2ndary school, but is there anyway you could visit both the likely ms school and the likely MLD school, and speak to the ms school senco to get a feel as to which would fit your DD best, and would best fulfil what is written in her statement?

Sorry I can't add too much but just wanted to say - visit all the schools, more than once if necessary. Take your dd to the MLD school to visit and try to observe her reaction.
DS's school (where I am a governor) has quite a few children transfer in from MS at year 7 (and even Year 10 sometimes). Speaking to their parents, I often find a massive sense of relief all round and the transition seems to go smoothly (much easier than vice versa!). Where the differences are borderline - well, sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than vice versa.
However, do look at all the mainstream options as well, I myself have only just discovered a wonderful MS secondary with a number of pupils of DS's age at his ability levels. Definitely considering for his post-16 which would be the first time he's EVER attended MS.

Yep have been to see both the MLD and my Ds1'a MS school. The senco at the MS school said children like DD1 struggle in school and their self esteem is badly damaged.

The MLD school was great and a MS school is on the same site, so children that are doing well in maths or english can go over the MS school and do exams there.

Well that sounds like a good set-up.
Self-esteem, self-worth, self-respect, the feeling that you're valued as part of your school community are all really important for the future.
DS has always been at special school (but he has always has an overdeveloped sense of his own worth), but two members of his class transferred in for Year 7 from MS.
Both have done really well, both educationally and emotionally.
If your dd is Year 5 now you still have a few months until you need to make a final decision on the course you take, and time to plan the transition carefully. G'luck!

when I say borderline for MLD and MS, I mean she is high for MLD but very low for MS.
Have to wait for EP's assessment, but hopefully with the school saying MLD this will give us a good start

So she may be able to dip into the MS school on site for some lessons?
If you can get to a point where you're happy with the curriculum she'll be following, and content that she's being stretched enough, then you have to concentrate on the emotional side and ask the basic question of where she will be happiest.
For those of us who may feel that our SN dc is not going to set the world of academia alight, being happy, secure, valued, included is really important.