Am starting to panic re schooling..help!

[missworld2010]

not a good morning - called 3 local primary schools to request a visit/meeting and only one gave me a date, the others sounding very unfriendly and that they would get someone to call back once they heard we had special needs.

Am starting to feel really down about this, after nursery also recently admitting the strain... I mean, I can understand that it's an extra issue for the school that they might not want, but then really, what are we supposed to do with our poor children who are already so unlucky to have not been born 'normal'?

Feel bad and glad that we already have an elder sibling in school - I guess they would struggle to refuse her there, but of course that doesn't necessarily make it the best option for her, does it?!

No school can refuse you. Question is of course, which school do you want to send her to?

It's all very hard. Do you know any parents of SN kids locally who can advise you? Maybe Parent Partnership or your HV can put you in touch with someone?

Go with your instincts. If a school sounds unfriendly, avoid it like the proverbial plague. I made the mistake of putting mine into a school that was close to the house and supposedly good, and lost 18 months of his schooling we can never get back as a result.
A friendly lovely school is worth finding.
Horrible when we get that sort of reaction, though - and very illegal of them to refuse a response if it's a child with any sort of disability.

If you are speaking to the school secretary don't let them put you off. They are often not at all indicative of the ethos of the school

it's not always a bad sign when they offer someone to call you back, I once had the most lovely senco call me back a few weeks after I visited a school, she even offered to speak to nursery to find out more about DS's difficulties even though we hadn't even applied to the school yet! so it might just be that they want you speak to head or senco to discuss SN support at this stage, so for a good rather than bad reason iyswim.

I do sympathise, the pre-school stage is horrendous, when you feel you are applying to m/s schools without any help or support. Have you tried asking your local early years/inclusion service for support. they are meant to help support you with transition to school. unfortunately mine were as helpful as a chocolate teapot...

I looked at quite a few primary schools before finding one I was happy with. I visited quite a few where it was clear they were praying for us to go elsewhere! I would persist with the visits even if you have to push for an appointment. The one I finally went with had the most amazingly friendly and interested reception teacher. As someone else said the school secretary is not always a good guide to how welcoming / inclusive the school actually is. Having said that I would try and speak to the headteacher. If the headteacher is truly inclusive, this can make a difference to whether or not things work well or not.