SEN statement - catchment area primary only?

[FutureMum]

Hello, DD aged 4 has a proposed statement which I am in the process of discussing with LEA. I had my heart set on an ASD base outside the city, there's supposed to be four in our county but two closed down, so not much choice. The one outside the city is v good but LEA reluctant to consider as they think the city one would meet DD's needs as well (there's quality issues as well as sensory, etc.) LEA has advised that it's unlikely we'll get a place in either and to start looking at mainstreams in catchment area only. My problem is that I am moving home next summer (outgrew tiny rented flat) but don't know exactly where. Don't like the catchment area primary, it's very poor and has terrible stats (bottom 20% of results for the country). Where can we go from here? I don't think my daughter needs Special School, I think she would thrive in the right unit and she may even manage in the right mainstream with support - am I allowed by law to apply to other schools in the city? Or is it so unlikely to get a place that there's no much point? School pressure high in our city and quite a lot of quality issues.

A few things
Can you not name the school of choice on the proposed statement

I think the right school very much depends on atmosphere
What's the Senco like?
Are they genuinely welcoming of kids with SEN? Have they had kids with ASD before?

Also local works out well as then you get to know people close by

So my advice would be - go meet the Senco of places that might be on the list

You should be able to name the school of your choice. If your DD needs a unit then you need to push for a unit, maybe taking this to appeal if necessary, though you will need evidence from professionals that they feel this is needed. If you genuinely feel mainstream is acceptable then you should still have a choice of schools, not just catchment area. Realistically most people are only in the catchment for one school which gives you no choice at all. If you look at mainstream then you need to speak carefully with each school and make sure the attitude of the school is right for your DD needs, don't just be guided by Ofsted reports and results. DD1 moved from an outstanding and very supportive infant school to the outstanding linked junior school, but their attitude at the junior school for SEN support was just awful. She went from happy child to stressed out shell in a matter of months. We won our appeal at tribunal to change her placement and she is now in a specialist school and thriving there.

Thanks. Yes, I was planning to go and meet SENCOs and get a feel for the place. Another problem is that because I work full time, realistically I can only visit up to 4 mainstreams and 2 units in the next week or so (I have some time off due), so I need to target what I am doing. Agree that reports don't necessarily reflect the reality of the school, but as soon as I read them I had concerns re: how much they push students (not enough), ineffective leadership and lacking results. If I can look at mainstreams in the whole of the city, at least it opens up the field a bit in terms of quality. I will certainly push for unit but I know from friend's experience that it is hard.

Is there any local ASC support group which you could contact for a few recommendations