Special schools

[Blandmum]

I just want to post here to vent a little and to say how much I regret the closure of specila schools

Thanks to MN and the fab people on the SN area I have abetter than average understabnding of SN than most teachers. But today.. Oh boy.

I spent a lesson with a child who is totaly incapable of coping with mainstram. I have a class of 18, no asssitance, many children on the SN regester.

One poor child simply cannot cope. On the ASD spectrum. I followed the IEP to the letter but the child spent the lesson shuttling between my class and the SN facility getting more and more overwhelmed and out of it. The student didn't learn anything, the rest of the class didn't learn anything and I left the lesson an emotional and physical wreck

Inclusion is meaningless if a child cannot cope! What a waste to this poor child!

why doesn't he have his own TA???? It sounds like he needs one.
my daughter is thriving in mainstream, but she has (and needs) a full time TA. Special school was a very bad choice for her.

Because, get this, the child isn't statmented as yet!

ARGGGHHHH

God knows what the poor parents must be going through

That's awful, how old is the child?

geekgrrl, do you mind me asking why special school was a bad choice for your ds. I ask because my ds has 1-1 support in mainstream, but there's been significant concerns that he might not be able to cope when he moves up to his next school, so might have to look into special schools.

Very common locally for kids to transfer to sn school at 7/11 or even 16 as they can't cope with the next stage in ms. I work in a sn school and many parents are being 'diverted' into ms (the head gets letters from parents-'so sorry there was no room for our son in your school'-never heard of the kid -WTF)
In our area the LEA is particularly interested in inclusion.

I totally support Inclusion but ONLY when it is properly supported and meaningful. There MUST be choices/options for those children who is does not and will not work for. Poor you MB, it must be very frustrating..... can you speak to SENCo about getting Statementing started?

macwoozy, my dd is only little - she's 4 and in reception. When she was in SN nursery there weren't any children there who could talk. Most were autistic and as dd has DS she need good role models (children with DS learn primarily by watching their peers) - she just didn't thrive in the way she is doing now. Since starting mainstream school she has started to talk, seems much more switched on generally and is making so much progress. Special school was just the wrong place for her.
I don't know what we will do when we get to secondary though!

Age 11

davros, thank you for the kind words, true it is very frustrating for me but it is totaly catastrophic for this kid, and all the others in the form!

I repeat AAARRRRGGGGHHH

Even with 1005 1 to 1 I don';t see inclusion working in this case, it is utterly inappropriate

I think inclusion is often completely inappropriate for ASD. Even when it would potentially be appropriate any chance is often spannered through lack of appropriate support and training.

My son's special school is far more inclusive than his ms one was. He gets to do everything in the school, AND has more contact with mainstream peers (through children coming into the school- and in the future through joint extra curricular activity).

We have a lot of verbal kids in ks2/3/4/6th form but our ks1 is very few sociable kids which is a shame for those who are as they are very limited in making friends and unfortunaly don't get the best role models. We have a few kids in ks1/2/3 who are p/t in ms and p/t sn this seems to work better for them.

I saw a great quote on Inclusion this week which made me think of your ds1 Jimjams, 'Inclusion is wherever a child's educational needs are being met'

ds1 has never copied anyone in his life (well hardly) I never understand this role model business. I agree with you Fio about the romantic view. The policy makers forget about the realities. DS1 at ms kept running out of the classroom (hilarious as far as he was concerned). At special he can't- he can't reach the door handles.

I'd love to drop Ruth Kelly in with a class of 20+ with diverse SEN and say, 'Go on, include them'

Jesus, no flaming idea!

We just bloody fail them

My version of role model applies to the ds kids who have got a tendancy to copy what ever is available ( I am thinking of one in particularly ) i don't mean the ASD kids

An IEP is written when a child is seen as haveing SEN. It doesn't have to be a full statement, there are two levels before statement, school action (school only input) and and school action plus (school and other agencies, say a SALT, EWO, counceling for anger managemnt etc)

I agree.

I keep trying to post on this thread, but end up describing individual cases, which Nikkie undoubtedly knows and could identify; so it's not really possible.

Put it this way I am certain the ASD children I know at her school get a much better deal than the ASD children at our MS secondary school.

Agree all changes seem to be purely financially driven under the convenient isn't mainstream wonderful approach.

My LEA has made some major changes to its sn provision meeting. At a rather heated meeting the leader of the council bellowed "All children whcih can survive mainstream will be mainstreamed"[SAD]

That is the reality of it, nothing to do with education, life skills, peer groups or the interests of the child.

In fact the child is at the bottom of the pile a statistic to be dealt with as cheaply as possible.