Going to look around a special school today-what should I be looking for?

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DD is five and a half and is fairly settled at mainstream but the differences are becoming so great that long term I am not sure it will work for her.

What sort of things should I look out for?

try to see if you can spot another child like your dd - it helps to see whether your dd would 'fit in' iyswim?

don't be taken in by:

sensory rooms
hydro pools
soft play areas
etc.

I mean, it is all very well and good to have these things, but they are not the be all and end all. and (ime and imo) they can sometimes lead to complacency wrt other aspects of education - ie more focus on keeping the children compliant than teaching them (whether the teaching is academic or life skills)

are there particular things you want from a school? ie makaton, or pecs? make a list of questions, and don't do as I usually do, and glance at it, and think 'oh, all that's been answered as it was alluded to 20 minutes ago' - ask specific things, and expect specific answers.

ask how they track progress, and what expectations they generally have of their pupils (again, try to aim for specifics, rather than pleasantries like 'oh, we have very high expectations here')

I'd also add therapists, who they have on staff or whether their therapists just visit every couple of weeks, depending on what your dd needs.

Thanks for the advice. I think a big reason I want to go is to see the other children as am unsure if DD would fit there-there is the other one out of catchment that I think may be more apprpriate but need to see to know.

Will ask how often the SALT is there ninja good point as that is DD's main issue.

I do want makaton silverfrog and visual learning. The headteacher was very good on the phone and was quite honest about things so hopefully she will be today(for example I asked about split placements and she said she doesn't like them but the LEA prob would agree to it) but I am going to write a list now. Thanks!

Ask about home/school book and channels of communication.

Good point thanks-also must ask about transport as we only live a few miles away (and a two min walk fromt he school she currently attends)

While you are there watch how everyone interacts, staff / staff and staff/ pupils. My son attends a ss and the thing that struck me on my first visit was that it was like a big family! The welcome was wonderful and I could just see ds fitting in really well.
I visited another school and the atmosphere was not the same - I didn't like the casual way they spoke to me about some of the children I saw on my visit, they inadvertently disclosed personal information about pupils without realising and talked about some pupils in front of them. I left feeling unseasy.

the school my dd goers to is falling to pieces but it is absolutely amazing. Individual care planes for physio/salt and ot, all all those services on site, teachh scheme and individual schedules and individual workstations etc. Very small class sizes

thanks cwtch yes good idea, my mum has already been to this school through her work and found the staff overly noisy and over stimulating-could have been a one off though or my mum being a bit bonkers!

Fiofio that sounds lovely, the HT said this one has classes of 9 and three staff members per class-that is just what my DD responds to.

I looked out for the the general vibe and just thought about how ds would fit in when we went round. The school I expected to be the best was lovely, but would have been too structured for my ds. The school that I was reluctant to look at turned out to be just perfect!

I am so unsure after looking that I need to look at some other ss I think as it may be I am just unused to them iyswim. I liked what the head was saying about the way they do things but then looking around couldn't see DD there without thinking she would find it equally confusing as mainstream but in a different way!

However the class they would put her in was not there to see as it has yet to be formed and will be a few children from existing classes as well as new ones who are moving across from mainstream in sept.

I suppose I didn't have a gut yes this is perfect feeling but that could also be me struggling with the whole concept.

Also some things they do are things her current school do which was reassuring.

do keep looking.

I looked around several schools when we were trying to get a place for dd1. there was only one (out of about 10) that I hated. the rest were all lovely, but I could not see dd1 there. there was nothing wrong with the schools, as such, and in many ways it would have been easier if I could have sent her there (catchment ss, LA wanted her to go to another one, etc), but they were not right for her.

ime, you do know when you have found the right place - gaining LA approval is then the problem!

dd1 has been to 2 schools that were (and are, in the case of the second one) right for her. however, we looked around her current school when she was just about to turn 4, and it was not the right place for her then. fastforward a few years, and she is the happiest I have ever seen her - it is more than right for ehr now, and she fits right in (which she didn't 4 years ago). she would not have been so comfortable there if we had fought for that placement when she was younger - she needed a very different school first, in ordert o be able to access this one, iyswim.

That really does make sense to me silverfrog as its kind of what I felt with DD-that atm her school is ok for her, its not perfect but neither would this ss for different reasons. BUT I can see a time when the ss could be right.

I really liked a lot of the things they do there and the fact DD would be sheltered from some of the crap we have come across this week (not at her school but horrible incidents with NT kids at the park that kind of thing), I liked that there is such an individual approach so there aren't strict year groups, that kind of thing.

Wasn't that sure about some stuff I saw but that could be me not being used to it-there was a PE lesson and I could see children being physically brought back to their seats after the activity, not really forcefully but more than you'd see at mainstream iyswim but of course I have no idea of the children's needs or of why etc etc. Also I am a fine one to talk because I tend to try and grab dd's hand to get her to leave as often it is what she requires and she waits for me to do it!

it can be really tricky.

we have never wanted mainstream for dd1, really. we did entertain the though for a bit, and she went ot mainstream pre-school, but it was always with a view to collecting evidence as to why she needed to be in ss. LA wanted ehr in mainstream, as she was 'no trouble'

dd1 has also been to a ss placement which was so wrong for her (again, to build up evidence to support what we knew was right for her). the first school that was right for dd1 was tiny - dd1 was pupil number 3 - as what she needed at that point was no children (she was scared of children). she had her own classroom, and it was exactly what she neded at that point.

after nearly 2 years there, she moved on, and is now at a small ss, in a class of about 8 (20ish in the school overall), and it is right for her to be there now. when we looked around when she was 4, it was not right for her, as she would have ben terrified of the other children. now she can cope with that (thanks to her last school), it is right for her.

but as I said, we saw many, many schools which had absolutely nothing worng with them - some of them I really liked, but they were not right for dd1. it would have made all of our lives easier (except for dd1's) if we could have sent her to some of those schools - we owuldn't have had to move house (again!), we woudln't have had to take the LA to tribunal, etc. but it would not hav been the right decision for dd1.

you now know a little more what to expect, and what you like/don't like about ss. keep looking. they vary a lot in terms of management, ime.

You could ask if there is any sort of parent group or EGroup (or both). Years ago, at DS's previous school, we used to get the parents together every half term and make resources, e.g. laminate stuff for the classroom, make PECs etc. The school didn't mind us going in and having a bit of a gossip while we did it of course. Also whether there are family events such as sports day, summer fair etc. You might want to ask these things later on though

Thanks silverfrog, sounds like you have been through a lot to get your DD into the right place.

I was so stuck on DD needing a s and l base that I didn't consider ss at all really till very recently but I think I have been in denial! My dad apparently felt that the school was not right for DD (he came with me) but mainly I suspect because he thought their behaviour too extreme/needs too great which again is quite possibly denial! I think I will take up the head's offer of using thier outreach service (had never heard of this before?!) if her current school are happy then they will send a teacher out to support and advise on how DD is coping and whether the progression is what is expected etc then give strategies that can work for children with a learning disability. And then try out year one with extra support and see where we are after that. I will also go back in sept to see the class dd will be in as I think this could make a huge difference if it goes to plan. Will also look at a couple of other ss definately the one I thought was meant to have more of a peer group for DD (although the head has not called me back-she said she would but that we are out of catchment and they are full...)

Thanks Davros some good questions for next time. I have spoken with a parent of a child who attends the school so could also email her to ask- I would be really sad to miss out on that as we have moved to our village so that we could be part of the community of the school dd goes to. Mind you it hasn't quite worked as planned because of DD being one of the only kids with sn in a mainstream village so I need to not get hung up on it!

some great advice there silver I have took some of it on board for myself and our situation lol.

It is good isn't it I actually wrote my list of questions from this thread!

I'm glad it helped used

For me, I have a child who has been through special school from 2 to 9. He has always been difficult to get him there, then by 9 he was too heavy to lift and move him there physically. So for the last 2 year he has been at home.

try to see if you can spot another child like your dd - it helps to see whether your dd would 'fit in' iyswim?

This done it for me.........as I have never came across a DC like mine, have not found a suitable place exactly either, so maybe he is in the right place so to speak.

Yes that bit was very good advice-and also made me think because i don't think I saw any children similar to DD today. But that could change when the new class starts.

Must be hard to not have come across a child with the same needs as your son-there is a girl very like my DD in an older year at her current school which has made me think!

lets hope the school can create for you what they are doing for the older child, if thats what you want.............good luck x

Thanks good luck to you too and your DS x

just out of curiosity, are you north east?

No, South east!

lol, I have you mixed with someone else, sorry

No prob!