Transition review Y5

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Do you have to have chosen a school by the Y5 review?

No. the Y5 review is to discuss the 'type' of setting that may/will suit them. (Of course no-one will tell you which specific schools that means.)

Generally, they advise you to go and look around as many schools as you can and then you have to make a decision around about the first couple of weeks of the first y6 term. (You then don't hear a dicky bird until 15 February. )

Schools tend to hold their open evenings right at the very start of y6 and the deadline for you to name which school you want can be really tight, so it's useful to get ahead of the game by visiting some schools during the end of y5 if possible. We went around a couple of schools late in the summer term, once GCSEs were over and done with.

Our LA held a transition meeting for parents of all children on SA+ or with statements that talked you through it all, so it may be worth asking if yours does something similar.

Thanks, that's helpful.

Thats interesting moose Dd3 is on SA+ I had no idea she maybe entitled to a transition review this school yr. Will be making enquiries after half term.

Not sure if it's the same for all LEAs.

Actually, it seemed a bit odd that they included the SA+ parents at the LEA meeting, because they have to go through standard ms admissions anyway, so don't get to name a school.

That is a bit odd, I suppose it makes them look like they are doing something! Or is that me being cynical again

Maybe it heads off secondary school statementing applications??

While the admissions process for DC with statements is separate from all other DC, actually, in my LA, they 'encourage' you to have chosen a school for the Y5 transition review, and it gets added to the statement in section 4 at that time and the 'new' school is invited to the review (as well as the Y6 review.) My LA had the transition review before Easter in Y5. Other DC don't have to make their preferences for a school until October 31st in Y6, though, so this is generally for the LA's convenience, rather than an enforceable rule.

If you have the school already agreed and named on the statement it makes the admissions process a lot easier (for the LA and the receiving school) because they can include you at the top of the criteria along with all the other non statemented DC, so, despite the fact that schools must take you even if already full, if you are already in the system, they won't have to go over PAN. I went to all the open evenings in the Sept/Oct of Y5 with DS2 then by Y6 only had to take him to his named school, knowing he was guaranteed a place there. Obviously, the open evenings were only a taster of the schools, but it was amazing how many I could rule out from that experience. The short list left took quite a few more meetings with the SENCos to make my final decision.

In Y6 we went to a transition conference in the March, (when admissions had been set) which all the receiving schools, the primary schools, and the parents of all those DC with statements attended. This was arranged by the advisory teaching service and they had a conference for each area of SN, eg I went to the ASD specific one. We spent 3 hours discussing my DS with the primary SENCo, his primary TA, the secondary SENCo and the secondary lead TA/transition coordinator. The 4 advisory teachers were circulating and we had a detailed questionnaire to fill out for the receiving secondary school. There were 15 DC from my LA included the year I went as a parent, only 7 the next year that I attended as a TA.

Thanks Ellen. It is clearly different in different areas.

I don't know whether to go for m/stream with ASD base for DS or to try and create a more individualised package in m/stream

Tricky. There aren't any specialised bases in my LA at secondary, but some schools were so obviously more set up for (and willing to have) DC with SN. I had a hard choice of 3 in the end. I think the advantage of secondaries are that they have economies of scale and more experience of different DC with different SN and SEN. I would go for a school with a good ethos and some relevant experience, but see how support wil be managed.

In my DS's school they have a thriving learning skills dept where DC with all sorts of SEN are withdrawn from key subjects like Maths, English and MFL and taught within the LS dept in these subjects. (Rather like a generalised SEN base.) My DS is too academically able for this support, though, so has a gaggle of TAs supporting him in the MS lessons. It's tricky because I see the need for specialist subject TAs at secondary ( I would struggle in Spanish and Biology for example) but it does mean they know their subject better than they know my DS! I guess a specialist ASD base would be great for social skills etc, but if your DS is able, would he not get more out of attending MS lessons with good 1:1?

They do attend m/stream lessons from the base and encourage them to do so with support from the base.

It seemed very well organised and easy. Lots of those little daily challenges taken out - they organised homework rotas, letters home etc. But I'm not sure if that is just too enabling.

Also, they have one visit a week from an OT and a SLT but who knows what they are like and what the quality of that provision is. I have fought hard for a more personalised package.

They have also been forced to take more and more children with significant behavioural challenges and there is a room within the base which is used for that. They mentioned several times that we had come on a quiet day which made me think that there are some very challenging episodes there sometimes which is just not DS.

I took DS to visit and one boy was lying on a chair sleeping and DS noticed this straight away as being 'odd' (his words).

He is keen on secondary and being a grown up and I just wonder if a more specific package of help would be best.

We have seen one school who are being very welcoming and I have a meeting to discuss how they will offer support in practice - almost like an ASD base package around him

There is another local school with only 350 kids. Improving reputation but not sure what they are like with SEN.

IIRC we were advised that if we were sure which school we wanted then it was worth having it written into the statement as it was a legal document and therefore cemented the process a bit, as the support in the statement would be around preparing DS for XXX school, with regular visits etc.

Blimey Ellen that sounds streets ahead of what we get around here.

Our LA transition event was just a very basic meeting, where we got given a checklist of what to look for at schools, a quick talk from the transport bods and another from PP. There were a few local SN charities there and that was that. Transport people refused to talk specifics or even possibilities and said we had to wait until a school had been allocated to 'bother' them as they are very busy.

Not one professional was willing to discuss possible schools with us - all anyone would say is 'we're not allowed to but definitely mainstream' except the EP who asked if we'd looked at the local SS, but then said 'oh yes, you're right' when I pointed out that ds has completely the wrong profile and is academic so it was way off the mark.

At no point was there a proper conversation, yet alone an in-depth meeting about ds's needs and where they would best be suited. No-one would talk to us about it.

Mind you, it was complicated by the fact that his statement was only issued as a draft around Easter and not finalised until July, but they still had him down as statemented and invited us to the transition event on that basis and still no excuse for the wall of silence we were confronted with.

We only got someone to finally admit that he needs the out of area indie after the local Academy refused to take him and relations with the school completely broke down just before Christmas. He was a mess and it was clear that he wasn't even coping with his current setting. As that point the head of inclusion had an off-the-record conversation with us and said she wanted him in the indie and would support our application.

Our meeting was after the schools had been allocated on March 1st though, with no official help as to which ones to choose, but we may have got a few unofficial sympathetic 'eyerolls' when discussing 'certain' school's attitudes. It was a hugely useful meeting at that point.

Yes, you didn't have a statement by the time my DS's place was done and dusted, so that would change things, as well.

With transport, I had to sign a disclaimer, saying I would provide transport costs as while my choice was fine, it wasn't the closest MS school to my house and in the LAs opinion, any MS school could provide an adequate education for my DS!

Ellen this is not right.
If that school was the only one to meet his needs, then the onus is on the LEA to prvide and pay for transport.
IPSEA as always very helpful on this

I think the problem is that the LA will argue that he could have gone to crapville comp down the road who hates SEN kids sothe costs are your fault for wanting to be a princess and send him to a school where they give a damn!

That's what they did with us.

Certainly not my experience when relevant legislation and guidelines pointed out politely.

There has been case law on it and most LAs will use a particular form of wording to say they have accepted the school in Part 4 even though there is a school nearer which could have been appropriate because of parental choice. But this is done on condition that parents pay the travel.

If, of course, you can prove that your school was the only one that will be able to meet your child's needs then that is different.

If you have chosen your school because, like us, the local school pretended they were meeting his interests but weren't, that is very difficult to challenge.

same with me - they wanted to send the elder son to the huge local academy. took him for a visit and he just fell apart and the school was empty! he got a place at an extenstion to a special school - there are only 50 kids in the building and there are 4 classrooms downstairs and 4 upstairs so feels very small and homely - its in the next county and he got a place there but the LA argued it was more expensive and wont provide tranpsort - they wrote taht into part 4 of his statement so if i ever say no to transport he reverts to the local academy - no way he would ever cope there.

if i lose my tribunal over younger son i am resigned to moving to the other county where my elder son goes to school as there is another school there that younger son could go to. both boys ironically would get transport - just need to convince dh its the way to go as he loves this house as its a 5 min walk away. where i want to move to means a 10 min drive so its not going to be too bad!! pkus he would get the country side views hes always dreamed off

It's helpful to organise a formal interview with the head or SENCO to put to them a list of pre prepared questions on their approach to evidence based practice with regards to SEN.

Then you can take a notepad and jot down the answers quotes from which you can then use in your request for transport on basis of unsuitability of that school.

Just an idea......

A very good idea too.

I have another child at DS's current primary so I would want to take them to school anyway but an older child may want this independence and it does undermine parental choice with costs

Excellent suggestion.

We were told that even though the indie school we're hoping ds goes to is ms, the LA will definitely fund transport for him and in fact they already do for half a dozen children from our area.

I think, because the local Academy refused to be named, that left them in an impossible situation, as if he can't go there, that means every single ms secondary in our area is also unsuitable, whereas the indie is a third of the size with all staff ASD trained, small classes and large LS department which is extremely ASD oriented.

If they'd insisted he goes their 'go-to' (read sink school) for secondary for children with SEN, we would have had a fight on our hands for transport, as it's just a couple of hundred yards shy of three miles away.

Ds has it written into his statement that he is too trusting of strangers and isn't safe crossing roads alone though, so that might have worked in his favour. Apparently our LA provide adult walking-chaperones as one option - can't see any of them wanting to trudge 3 miles along spooky country roads in the middle of winter though.

As IE says, re transport costs, the LA have worded it pretty much as she says, that they will accept my parental choice, but that a nearer (shite) school could also meet his needs, so I must agree to pay for transport.

It's tricky, because none of my local schools, officially, treat SEN or SN any differently, and none have specialist bases etc. I chose the school DS2 goes to because of its ethos, its thriving learning skills dept sited just off the main atrium in the new building and the fact that DS1 goes there. Nothing that the LA would recognise as meaning it was the only school that could meet his needs.