Research for Parents in South East England

[rhifoxy]

Hi, I am currently trying to write a business plan to open a special needs school in the South East. I'm aiming for it to be a government funded free school but if that doesn't get accepted I will look into an independent school. This school would have a completely holistic approach so the child's education would be shaped to meet them there would be no one size fits all approach, it would be under the ABA/VB umbrella but in no way rigidly stuck to ABA if it didn't work for a child, its more the 1:1 approach that we are interested in. Each child would receive 1:1 tuition during all lessons. I am aware that there are similar schools in the area however they typically only accept children with a diagnoses of ASD and where I would want this school to differ is that it would accept children that have a diagnoses of SEN but it would not have to be ASD.

My question to you is how much of a demand is there for this kind of thing? Is it something you would be interested in?

Where in SE England? We have looked at a specialist schools in SE London, and would certainly be interested in anything commutable.

Definetely would be interested, just not sure what is south east.. We are in Essex and would love good alternative school.

What training would all those 1:1's have cos I'm telling ya now - a standard TA's NVQ isn't enough for most SEN children!!!! ABA doesn't come cheap, and neither does properly trained staff. Please don't say "you'll train em up" without doing serious research into the cost of that (clue - talk to Treehouse school about THEIR staffing costs). The reason most LEA's don't support ABA is down to cost, they pad their arguments with lots of waffle, but it does come down to money.

You'd have to show a clear cost/benefit per year for ABA trained 1:1. How would you measure tangible benefits?

The "holistic" approach sadly sounds rather like a caring carrot phrase. To really make a different support & interventions need to be very specific and measurable. Many kids without a diagnosis have significant sensory issues - will you have a developmental OT on staff, or access to one? Same story with SALT? What's the NHS policy on supporting children in free schools? Do you expect to obtain funding via the statementing process? If so how will this tie in with the new "care plans" coming online in a couple of years, especially as you may have pupils from multiple boroughs?

Having said all that there is deffo a gap in the market for more specialist SEN provision. I'm NOT trying to be a Debbie Downer just starting to ask the questions you'll need to complete a comprehensive business plan AND parental questions.

Well as a trustee of a private and charity funded school in Herts I can tell you now Hertfordshire will not be any help to you what do ever. They have pulled all the funding of this small school with half a terms notice!!
Their answer when asked why they won't fund a child to go there is "it's your choice to send your child there, we believe that your child's needs can all be met in MS school that is cheaper".

There is definitely a need in the south east. Where are you considering?

I am in oxfordshire, would definately be interested-we have no primary school option other than mainstream really atm.

Nothing in Herts either! ABA school was bullied to the point of closure.