Has your son been to school prior to this one? If so was it a state school?
If yes to both questions it is possible that a few phone calls have been made and maybe some specific questions were asked and the answers possibly triggered their systemic country wide warning alert siren which activates when there is a possible threat to ' Outstanding' in their next inspection report.
Tip:
Make a freedom if information request to your Local Authority , an excellent way of requesting FOI is here www.whatdotheyknow.com I use it all the time. Ask for a list of all the schools both state and private in your local authority and ask them to categorise for the last academic year into 1) number of special needs/SEN pupils in each school 2) how many complaints have b been filed against each school regarding a special needs/SEN pupils 3) How many complaints regarding special needs/SEN children have progressed to Tribunal 4) How many children have been referred for assessment and of those children referred how many actually got a statement of special educational needs 5) how many children applied to each school and how many were successful and of those who applied at the same time each month, which of the successful applicants had a learning difficulty and/or a statement. 6) How many SEN/Special needs pupils have been excluded and the reason for being excluded.
These questions can be answered under your Freedom of information rights , they do not fall under any clause such as data protection , and the answers are absolutely crucial in finding a school that is right for a child with special needs. They have 20 days in which to respond to your request and they are ( public Authorities) surprisingly willing to provide this information and usually well within the time frame that they are legally given.
To decipher all the information is easy, they have done it all for you, but what I have found in this complicated and scary world of finding a school for my 7 year old who has ASD some consistent high probabilities so, the school which has the most SEN/Special needs children will suggest that they are a) accustomed to working with such children b) Will have staff who are more likely to be well versed in all things SEN c) will have developed good/strong relationships with outside service providers such as specialist teachers /social services etc d) Will almost certainly have become the school which is 'known' for welcoming SEN/Special needs children when others try their hardest not to take them. e) You will have access to lots and lots of parents of S/N children who can be so valuable by ways of support, experience and friendship for not just you but your child.
Above are the Pro's of a school with a high number of SEN pupils
The cons are few but have gravity:
A) The school will be heavily reliant on teaching assistants and sometimes will only have one special needs teacher, this means that you will wait in the queue when it comes to strategies being put in place and this can be frustrating for child and parents, which in turn can lead to bigger problems.
B) There is some resentment from parents of children who have no special needs and sometimes though rarely from Teachers that because SEN children are included into the class with just one Teacher who will have quite a lot of her focus taken away from lessons as she is taking care of the needs of the SEN children that an inadequate level of teaching is supplied to those without. This is a valid point , it can sometimes seem that children without any needs suffer academically just because of that fact,and though blaming the SEN children and their parents is ridiculous it does sometimes happen!!!
and finally, if you are looking for an amazing quality in academic learning then you might be disappointed, the teachers are stretched too thin, resources are drained, but if you are looking for somewhere where your child is more likely to be welcomed, accepted, happy and well cared for then possibly that school would be for you.
The rest of the information is also based on probabilities,for example, the school that has 3 SEN pupils out of a total of 500 pupils and who admitted 1 SEN child in 2013 and 50 children who don't have any special needs , who has the most SEN related complaints against them and has excluded even one pupil with special needs is possibly one to avoid like a dose of chlamydia
Long winded? I'm sorry but it really is as cynical as that and I just wanted to share my bitterness whilst given some useful information ( I hope)
Good luckage!
Emma