does your child attend sen pre school are they any good?

[Msbaylee]

Any one had experiance with a sen preschool are they any good are they better than main sream preschools.
Your thoughts please x

I tried both and found ms nursery way more productive

Hi thank you, may i ask in what way?

Ds has been at sn nursery, but we struggled with sn preschool, as they were very inflexible about doing things a certain way (for example, ds has chronic separation anxiety, but they wouldn't allow me to stay to help settle him at all). He is starting at a mainstream preschool in April, with full time 1-1, and he will have a speech and language programme in place as well as regular ot and physio. The ms preschool have been great about introducing makaton into the sessions, and ensuring he will be able to access the setting. They have also said I can attend sessions for as long as it takes to settle him. I think a lot is down to the indvidual setting.

The one thing that worries me is how different he will seem to the other children.

The SN pre-school had just such low expectations, it was pretty much just nursery rhymes. At least in ms there was a bit of a point to it all.

I think it depends on your child, to be honest. DD attended drop-in sessions at a special school's pre-school department, but she was far too able for them. They were good at differentiating for her, but it was very obvious from quite early on that her only issue was a physical one, and that cognitively she had no issues. For her, the SN nursery would not have been stimulating enough.

However, for my friend's little girl who has very little awareness/connection with the rest of the world, an SN nursery is the right place. They can include her therapy into the day, have a safe environment without more able-bodied children charging around, and a much higher staff ratio.

Maybe worth visiting both and seeing how you feel.

My DS attended the same SN school as Galena's DD. It was definitely the very, very best place for him to be at that time. It was enormously supportive to parents who were coming to terms with Dxes and facilitated parental support groups. It maximised my DS's achievements, introduced lots of fantastic therapies, including OT, SALT, music therapy, swimming lessons, RDA, forest school. I was initially put off by the other DC, they had SN! How wrong and in denial I was! Please visit and find out what the ethos is on this SN pre school. They aren't all the same.

Hazeyjane, sounds like our experience was very similar to yours, except ds attended both preschools, a couple of days a week at each (well MS one was a playgroup really). Ds was hysterical when separated from me so I found the SN one very hard and I only found out afterwards (when I saw a written report, they never told me) that he never settled there at all which broke my heart, although I do think the experience helped him with the surprisingly untraumatic transition to 'proper' school because he'd got used to being picked up from home by minibus. The staff from the SN place were also very supportive to those at the playgroup (who had little experience of autism) helping them with some makaton and suggesting games and toys to try to engage his attention.
I was able to stay with him at the playschool which was nice in some ways but very difficult in others. I particularly remember how awful I felt when ds was the only child not in the Nativity and spent the whole time at the back of the room putting a piece of tinsel on a table and then watching it fall off. Looking back I'm not even sure why I bothered to turn up for 'events' like that and put on a brave face. If I had to do it all again I think I'd protect myself a bit more and avoid some of the situations rather than feeling duty-bound to join in. At least with SN preschool the parents are spared such traumas as everyone is in the same boat!

Again, I must have been very lucky. Parents were actively encouraged to stay for sessions at my DS2's SN nursery school, so that we could learn strategies from the staff and share best practice and siblings were also welcome. (My DS3 spent so much time there he could have been one of the class.) They also had a parents' room with toys for pre schoolers, so you could stay until they were settled, then have a cuppa in the parents room so to be on hand if there were any problems, if you couldn't bear going home.

Dd2 always went to ms nursery and pre-school, but for two years she had a one day a week dual placement at a SS pre-school.

The SS placement was ok to get therapy, but tbh as her disabilities are largely physical, (she has no cognitivee issues other than being too smart...) it wasn't the right long term placement.

Horses for courses, as always. Visit them all and see what feels right for your individual child. They are all different.

My DS3 is due to start an SN Nursery that is a class in a SN school in January.

The transition process will start in September / October time, where I will be able to stay with him to settle him. He won't stay on his own until January.

It is a very gentle settlement process. I thought that would be the 'usual' way of doing things in a school or Nursery setting for DC's with SN's?!

My DS3 is due to start an SN Nursery that is a class in a SN school in January.

The transition process will start in September / October time, where I will be able to stay with him to settle him. He won't stay on his own until January.

It is a very gentle settlement process. I thought that would be the 'usual' way of doing things in a school or Nursery setting for DC's with SN's?!

Sorry for double post!