academic state primary and asd girl

[zumbaleena]

Hi

I have a HFA nearly 4 yr old and I am looking at schools for her for reception next year. She has been under an ABA VB program for quite some time and has quite a few age appropriate skills thanks to aba. I like a lovely academic state primary for her but am wondering what could be the possible problems/challenges she may face there...

1. Loss of self esteem if the place is very competitive...

Can others chime in what they think?

Does your DD have a Statement in place?. If not I would be applying for such a document from the LEA asap.

Have you actually visited this proposed school?. It may be lovely but sometimes the reality is very different?. What is their ethos like with SEN, are they actually helpful at working with children with SEN?. Have you sounded out the SENCO and Headteacher?. How open or otherwise are they to ABA?. Ofsted reports certainly do not tell the full picture.

I would also look at others as well as well as making unannounced visits. This academic state primary school may well not want to support your DD, also such places are very competitive.

Hi
Definately talk to the SENCO and the Head as well if possible. They are the people you will need to interact with about the nitty gritty of your child's education. Ask as many open questions as you can. That way you will get a feel of how open and receptive they are to you and your daughter.

To answer Attila and sunnymeg -

1. Yes, dd has a statement of 12 hrs lsa support. We top up and send our ABA tutor in.

1. Yes, I visited the school yesterday and loved it. They were quite nice. Their really liked dd....their main concern was how many hours of lsa support dd will get for reception....atleast 20 they said would be nice.

1. I met the HT, not SENCO. HT was very cordial and practical. I liked that about her. We clearly discussed that I am going to name that place only if they think dd will fit into that place. I gave offered to let the reception class teacher interact with dd for half an hour to understand her. HT really liked that idea.

However good the school may be, I don,t want to send dd to a school who don,t want her.

1. Yes, I am looking at other schools.

1. The school being competitive is my worry. dd is good academically, however having been on a VB program is more playful now :-))))

Yesterday, I made a mistake. I forgot to ask questions....I basically came across as me wanting to send dd there.....what questions shall I ask? Kindly give inputs. Thanks.

I would go down the 'How much experience does the school have of children with needs similar or the same as my daughter's?' How would you look to support her?' 'What percentage of children at the school have special needs?' That sort of thing. I did this last year, looking at secondarys, and it helped weed out a couple of duds.

Best of Luck!

I'm not sure competitive is bad - if the element of competition follows 'rules' and is fair and just, you may find your DD excels.

If she is good academically, I don't see why her self-esteem would necessarily suffer (though she may struggle with anxieties over wanting to get things right (and thus be the best) all the time).

Can you ask about how they support and nuture those children that are not ahead of the curve? (not meaning those with any SEN, but children of average ability, of whom one would expect some in the school)

Is the value added/progress made for/by Low Attainers similar to middle and high attainers? Or are they a school that does well because all the children come into Reception well-prepared for school life and ready to learn, most likely already knowing all their letter sounds, and being able to recognise or write their own name, and are all well-supported at home in their learning? It's a lot easier to get these type of children to a Level 5 at KS2 than those with a normal distribution of pre-school experience.