Kid with speech problems from outside of UK

[TatianaTV]

Hello. My name is Tatiana, I'm journalist from Latvia, and my 9-year-old son has speech problems. I really hope that someone on this site could help me with advice, because I'm depaired and have no idea what to do...
My family is going to the UK very soon, to Plymouth. And as a mother I'm first of all worried about my kid. He used to attend Special school here in Latvia and I need to find the similar school for him in England. He is really kind and frendly little person, but a bit retarded. So in his 9 he acts and thinks actually like 7-year-old kid. He's great in mathematics, and even was a Champion in checkers in his previous "normal" school. But it is hard for him to make complex sentences and to understand them. He usually says to that: "Too many words, I don't get you."
He realises that somehow he is different from other kids - he understood that while he was in ordinary school, where "normal" kids were very cruel to him. So he bends all his efforts to learn more every day.
Now the question is, how do I find the right school for my son in Pymouth? And if our Latvian SEN concluson is valid in UK? Shoud I certify it at notary to make it valid? Or should I go to some place in UK to make local SEN conclusion?
I would appreciate any advice. Thank you so much even for readig that.

Here in the UK we have three different types of schools:

Mainstream ('Normal')
Mainstream with a Speech & Language Unit
Special Needs

Almost all kids go to Mainstream Schools. Special Needs have to be very severe before a SN school is considered. If your child is 9 and acts like a 7 year old and can speak, but not well, he would probably not go to a special school.

Mainstream schools with attached unit are few and far between, and almost certainly full.

So your child will probably have to go to a Mainstream school. However, in the UK, because most children with SN go to a mainstream school, support should be offered within the MS school.

Being academically behind is not a problem. Children in the UK can't be kept back, so teachers are expected to teach all children in the class, regardless of where they are.

I suggest you start by contacting plymouth parent partnership. They are there to support parents of kids with SN.

Oh, and we don't normally say 'retarded', but rather 'developmentally delayed' (or 'learning difficulties'). It's a more polite term nowadays....

Dear IndigoBell, thank you so much for your answer. I will certainly follow your advice about Plymouth Parent Partnership. That would be the start at least.