Moving House- How do we sort out appropriate schooling for dd?

[fio2]

Sorry to post this I am getting in a real panic at the moment. I think I have mentioned before that we are due to be moving soon, house will be up for sale in the next week or two and things are starting to feel more 'real'. I just havent a clue what to do about sorting a school out for dd. Do I just tell the school shes at and will they help sort her an appropriate setting out or what? Will she be entitled to go to another SN nursery or this kind of facility hard to come by? Any help will be appreciated thanks

[Davros]

When you move from one borough to another the new one has to honour your child's statement which I think means they can stay at the same school/home prog etc. But that's probably not possible if you're moving too far from where you already are. Even if they do honour it, I think they can review it in something like 3 months but then they have to show clear reasons why it does not continue to meet the child's needs. Have you looked at schools in your new area? If you can identify a school you like first I would then suggest talking to your current EP and getting them to contact the LEA you are going to or speak to them yourself. The sooner the better. Maybe someone else has already done this?

[fio2]

We are moving from Staffordshire to Kent so that is why I am really confused. I have rang up Kent County Council but apparently they are 'for inclusion' down there and I was quite happy for her to carry on with special schooling at the moment. They asked me to explain her problems over the phone and they thought there was no need for her to to special school and that they provide very good support down there. As I was concerned I asked my HV who is from Kent what she thought, she thought mainstream with support was a better idea and said the facilities down there are much better than here. So now that we have decided on an area I suppose it will be better if I tell her school and our EP to see what schooling is available in that area. God its frightening isnt it. Also does anyone know if I do decide on a special school over mainstream (if I am given the choice that is!) if that will mean I have to keep her in 'special' school forever? I dont want her to get bullied at mainstream because she is different. She has made lots of little friends at SN nursery where I am sure when previously in mainstream she was struggling to make friends with her peers.

Sorry I really am rambling now

[eidsvold]

fio - I do not know a lot about this but have a good SENCO at the school I teach in - perhaps I can ask her about it - we are in Essex just across the river but this teacher is very up on what is happening in other LEA's too. As you are only talking about nursery I would assume that when it comes to school - as in primary again you can review her needs and see what is best for her....

Perhaps if you contacted Kent and asked to speak to their EP's you might also get a better idea of where you stand.

I know that is not a lot of help but I will try and see this colleague and ask what she would advise.

[Jimjams]

I have a friend who moved form Kent to Devon. Her son was in special school in Kent and they were able to thansfer to special in Devon- the statement was just carried over. this was before all the inclusion bollards though. If you want her to stay at special I would fight for it now as you probably have more of a chance of getting her in than if you go back into mainstream.

I think the problem is more one of keeping the children in special- the buzz word at the moment is inclusion, so you wouldn't have any problems getting her into mainstream in the future if that is what you wanted.

Good luck!

[Davros]

Don't just take their word for it that Inclusion is about all that's available. Remember, the Statement is there to meet your child's needs, so there's NO WAY they can say they already know what will meet her needs, especially as they have never seen her. I think you need to try to find recommendations from other parents and go to visit some schools. Maybe try the Education section on Mumsnet? Or try some other websites.

[tallulah]

Which bit of Kent? We have several separate areas when it comes to education, & they all have a slightly different system.

[tallulah]

Which bit of Kent? We have several separate areas when it comes to education, & they all have a slightly different system.

[fio2]

Now theres a question tallulah. As I havent had time to travel down there yet I havent got a clue. dh works near to dartford but doesnt want to live at the top(!) he fancies the coast but I am just worrying about the resources provided near the coast. Do you know what areas are better for schooling in Kent? We have been told to stear clear of medway towns because their special needs funding is poor (only hearsay though) But as you can imagine we are quite limited to what areas we can afford. Kent is alot more expensive than Staffordshire. Any help would be appreciated tallulah.

Thanks Davros, eidsvold and jimjams also

[Jimjams]

We used to live in Bromley. Services were crap. They were quite into secial schools at the time but I have heard that that has changed. Certainly a friend of a friend with a severely asd son is having problems getting him into special school (the LEA have agreed he needs special school- just can't find room in any).

Mind you Bromley is ridiculously expensive anyway. The toher thing to bear in mind is that a lot of special schools are on their way out, so even if you found somewhere you really liked it might be shit down in a few years. You may do better choosing somewhere to live based on houses etc rather than services.

The best place I have come across for services is Cambridgshire- they seem brilliant. I always choke on the phone when my friend living there tells me what she has been getting (its a good comparison as her ds and ds1 are very similar and are the same age).

[fio2]

jimjams I think you are right. dh said we should forget about the whole education bit and just choose what we want. We do a great deal with her at home anyway. If we were staying here, in staffs, she was only going to be staying at the SN nursery until sept 2004 anyway and by that time she was expected to go to mainstream, with support, anyway.

[tallulah]

Don't really know what to advise you, except to agree with your friend to avoid medway! The top end of Kent is dear & Gravesend way is grotty. I'm in Ashford & we do have special schools as well as inclusion, depending on the child's needs. Again it will vary from school to school. You're probably better off this end of Kent rather than closer to London. Good Luck!

[Angiel]

I live in Maidstone and I have a friend who has a disabled son. He went to a local special needs nursery and now attends a sn school. As far as I am aware, he loves it and is getting on very well. In fact he misses it when he can't go. Not sure if that's any help or not.

[Jimjams]

Go along with dh fio2. Even if there are special schools you may not get near them. We have an excellent special school here that is specialising in communication disorders, autism outreach workers are based there etc etc. I've only ever heard good things about it. We weren't even allowed to go and look at it!

[Jimjams]

oh another thought- when asking local people for advice about SN schools check out their children's age. The ed psych told us that 3 or 4 years ago there was no way ds1 would be in mainstream, now we weren't even offered a choice in the matter.