Unit in mainstream - pro's and con's

[Desperatelyseekingsupport]

Still awaiting dx but looking like we may have to consider a unit as school are strongly hinting that it's not the best place for him. We have a sm but how does it work in a unit? Would he get support for when he's in the mainstream classes? Any advice would be helpful as I am very about it all.

Well ds did five years in a unit so I should be able to help. Firstly the provision in the units varies enormously.Our closest unit insists that the students follow a full timetable and are in mainstream school eighty percent of the time. Ds's unit were far more flexible and the students followed the curriculum that was appropriate to the individual student and attendance in mainstream depended on what the student could cope with at the time so for much of the last two years ds never left the unit. Ds had full time support so he was always accompanied by a TA others were far more independent and so attended lessons without a TA (teachers were generally cherry picked for the unit's students) Lunchtimes and breaktimes were generally spent in the unit but students could bring back their friends and could choose to stay out of the unit if they wanted.At ds's unit all students had a reduced timetable to fit in life and social skills training but that doesn't happen in them all.
You need to look carefully at what is on offer the staff in ds's unit were brilliant and couldn't have done more it was only because ds's needs were too great that ds didn't cope not because of any failing on the unit's part.

DD2 is in reception and in a unit attached to a ms school. She spends mornings in the unit and afternoons in ms with a TA (ratio 1:2), if children can't cope with this then they spend more time in the unit.

She always has a TA with her in ms, breaks and lunchtimes, I think the maximum ratio is 1:3 although this depends on the child. There is one boy in her class who does require 1:1.

It's been brilliant for DD2, she thoroughly loves school and loves both unit and ms. The staff are amazing and she has come on leaps and bounds. She originally didn't get a unit place and was given ms with support but she would not be where she is now if school hadn't have given her an unofficial unit place. We are now hoping to make this place official, so she doesn't lose it.

I think all in all it depends on the childs needs as to how much support a unit child gets in ms but for us it's been fantastic.

HTH

My dd is in a unit within ms school. It's an observation and assessment place so only meant to be interim. DD started in ms and was referred here by EP. There is a high ratio of staff to children though she did have 1:1 in ms. There is integration with ms part of the school but dd's class don't really spend that much time there. If you move to a different class within the unit after observation then there is more integration. In my experience it's been better for dd as she was not coping at all in ms environment.

Mumgoingcrazy, have you ever had any cause for concern about children in the MS section bullying children in the unit? Is there some form of buddy system when they are in the MS section?

No, I've never had any cause for concern!

DD1 (NT) is in year 2 of the same school so I see it from both sides. The school are fantastic at including all unit children in everything. I help in DD1's class so I see the year 2 unit children come into the ms class with their TA and all the ms children are so accepting. You always get some children who are kinder and more understanding than others but on the whole the unit children just fit in.

I'm sure it varies from school to school but at ours disability is very much accepted and ms/sn children are all just growing up together. This is infants though, I'm not sure what juniors will be like.

There is another mum on this board who also has a child in the school, so she may have another point of view for you. Her DS is doing amazingly well!

Sounds positive. There is a new unit just opened at a high school in the area which school have mentioned but I am wary as the school is converting to an academy and I really don't trust academies! Also Senco mentioned something about if you go ta a unit you lose the hours from the sm so I'm not sure what that's about.

Yes I'm afraid the senco is right, DD2 will lose all the hours I fought for on her statement. I got 32.5 with a big fight so this was something I had to consider a lot and wasn't happy about, however the thought of her being totally ms even with help also wasn't an option, she's just thriving in the unit and she needs to stay there. If the LA decide to send another child into her class (which is a real possibility) DD2 would have to give her 'unofficial' place up. At the moment the jury is out on this, so I don't have the LA's decision yet.

Although your DS would lose the hours on his statement, the units have a high ratio of teachers to children. I have no idea about senior schools, as we are only Yr R in infants, however our ratio is 1:2 which is fine for DD2.

Our DS, now 10 yrs old went from mainstream with support to a unit attached to mainstream. It was the best move ever. He spends most of his time in the unit in a class of 6 with 1 teacher and 2 PSAs in the class. The whole school has recently moved to a brand new building with another mainstream school and they join with ms for more things like assemblies. The staff in the unit are amazing and we're currently looking at the possibility of moving DS more into ms over the next 2 yrs.

It does depend on the school and local authority how much time the kids spend in ms, but I've not heard any bad reports as most places seem to take the needs of the child into consideration.

Regards behaviour, it can be a problem both ways. At sports day recently some of the ms pupils were being hit by some of those in the unit because the unit kids couldn't cope with being so close.

I'm puzzled by the loss of statement hours. In our case a prerequisite for the unit was that the child had a statement with at least 25 hours support (DS had 32.5).

He's thrived there (secondary), and like Insanity's son he had a timetable that allowed him to do as much or as little mainstream school as he could cope with day to day.

I'm not really sure of the ins and outs of it, but DD2 was given 25 hours when we got told she was ms not unit, and I fought and got 32.5. I think it just means her statement will reflect that she is a unit child with the units staff:child ratio rather than specific hours.

Not sure.

Units vary a LOT from one to another. Overall, I think there are a lot more pros than cons, but you need to ask the questions that are concerning you, at the Unit.
As a general rule, I would throw in that schools that have a unit, also have 'understanding' / 'good' / 'trained' / 'experienced' teachers with knowledge of the type of need the Unit is supporting, because they work with children from the unit year in, year out, which mainstream teachers might not otherwise have the opportunity to do.

I think it depends a lot on your child's needs. DD was in an ASD unit for six months and they claimed to offer flexible support for individual children, but that meant that she stayed in the unit full-time as they felt she couldn't cope with any time in mainstream. She had a 1:1 TA in the unit and they offered life skills so had less time covering the curriculum.

I felt that what was offered was a bit of a halfway house between mainstream and special school, but failed to offer many of the advantages of mainstream (integration with NT peers) but also lacked many of the pros of special (dedicated environment). I felt the decision to place her was made on financial grounds and pushed for independent special eventually as nothing in county was suitable as she had severe needs but academically able.

I think her current environment is much more tailored to her needs rather than wanting her to fit into the available provision, and she has an extended day there which means she has time to cover life skills and an academic curriculum. She's come on leaps and bounds with social skills and I think much of that is due to being immersed in an ASD community, where all of the students have varying needs, instead of being a small group in a larger school where they don't really fit.

I'd encourage you to consider all the options available - units, state special schools and private special schools. The LEA won't tell you about all these options, especially private, so you have to do the legwork yourself.

I'm a behaviour analyst and work in both. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Mainstream school is not appropriate if a child needs a lot of room. Some children pace, some need to run a lot, some are climbers and jumpers, and some need a quiet place to be alone. Special school will have these spaces, but MS usually do not. This sounds trivial, but if a child needs this kind of environment and it isn't available they can engage in challenging behaviours.

1. One benefit of MS is that more learning happens there. SC do an awful lot of faff. They go to soft play, they go to the cafe, they always have artists visiting, etc. This is great for some kids, but with a young child with ASD I want more teaching hours, and fewer silly hours. This will reverse in adolescence.

1. If you child can imitate other children MS is better. Integration with peers is so important. I

1. The provision can be so variable you need to trust your instincts.

Thanks all.I have found out that the unit the school have mentioned is an 'able autism base' specifically for HFA/AS children. Ds really needs to mix with his peers but would not feel comfortable at a special school so this might be a good compromise. He has missed a lot of his education this year due to a part-time timetable and we are going to insist that he is able to attend school for full days in future. Am seeing CP and EP shortly so will be asking them what they feel the best provision would be for him.

I second what backforgood said:

"As a general rule, I would throw in that schools that have a unit, also have 'understanding' / 'good' / 'trained' / 'experienced' teachers with knowledge of the type of need the Unit is supporting, because they work with children from the unit year in, year out, which mainstream teachers might not otherwise have the opportunity to do."

All teachers in DD1/2's school are experienced with sn as they have children from the unit coming into their class and integrating every day.