Is 5 too young to send a child to a special school?

[adrianna22]

Hi

Most of you know that I'm planning to place DS at a specialist school.

Recently I've been having doubts. Yesterday I had a call from the SENCO and we were discussing DS targets and whatnot and then we were having a brief discussion about specialist schools. He STRONGLY advised me that DS does not need to go to a specialist school, he has observed DS in class many times and feels that his too young and that he is supported where he is.

I definitely do not want to make the wrong decision. But I've always believed that the earlier the help, the better.

I know that the severity of his speech and communication will have an impact on him and I'm not willing to wait till this gets worse.

But- I don't know. Why is it every time you mention that you want to place your child in a special school, theres an immediate pause or some kind of "let's wait and see".

Special schools take children from the age of 3.
You know your child best. You have been to look at lots of schools and you know where he will fit in and do well. It doesn't matter what the SENCO thinks (unless they get called as a witness at your hearing!) so you do what you feel is best.
If ss is not right then i am sure experts will say so when you have your indie assessments done. As will a solicitor if you decide to hire one.
Trust your instincts.
If you do get a place in a ss then it doesn't mean he can't go back into ms at some point if that's what you want. It's a school not a life sentence!

It's total horseshit. Like you say, if special school provision's right for his needs, then the earlier the better. And like fairgame says, ms is always an option for the future if he makes rapid progress at ss.

What does this particular SENCO know about the special school you're looking for? Or is his distaste for this special school it just an unfocused side-swipe against special schools in general?

The only thing that would make me consider whether a special school was too young for a child in KS1 would be if you were talking about a residential provision more than an evening's drive away from home. And even then, I wouldn't rule it out.

I teach in a special school where we take children (part time) from 2. In my pinion this is not too young, intensive input may make a big difference to children's achievements at this age. Could you ring the SS to talk about this? I would welcome a patent in your situation to spend time observing in school to see if what we offer is what your child needs. Good luck with your decision

A special school would not take (or hang onto) a child who was considered too able to be there. They would start talking to you about moving the child on to mainstream.
Lots of mainstream staff have never been inside a special school and don't necessarily have a good idea what the children there are like or what they do.
Just trust your own instincts, you know your child best.Visit and see if you see children like yours.
Mainstream teachers have almost no sen training and almost no time to get to know a child with sen well so what mainstream can offer can be quite minimal.
DS has ABA partly in mainstream so we have best both worlds.
Dual placements are also a possibility.

No. It's not.

If you feel ss is right, then you know best. My DS started ss early at 4, when he was due to start at 4.9 yrs and it has been brilliant. I had no problem getting him in but there were quite a few voices of dissent, including DS' Ms nursery who told the ss they felt he would cope well in ms and nearly lost his place for him.

DS' key worker in pre school cried when I told her DS had a place at a ss...people reacted as though I'd condemned him to a life of disability. It was absolutely unbelievable and the hardest time of my life. I felt terrible guilt. BUT it was the right decision and now I send him off happy to a school who value him, can offer him intensive, specialist support with his academic development and it's wonderful.

Ds's special school takes children from 2. A lot of children moved on to mainstream when they were ready.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It has given me assurance that I'm making the best decision for DS.

Luckily Fairgame we have had some experts assess DS, well the ones at the special school, (his only been assessed three times), most of them have commented that if DS does not get the specialist provision now, he will get worse. They all reckon that DS is one of those kids that don't fit into either setting.

Uggerthebugger No, the SENCO does not know of the special school I want DS to go to. But he said that he has worked in a few special schools and know that DS would not be suited there.

The SENCO may be speaking from the heart. Or from the directions given by the LA.

I met a SENCO who had done quite a few Tribunals. When I said that I knew the LA told their employees what to say in Tribunals she replied "Oh not always".

I would treat a call home specifically to try to talk you out of SS with the deepest suspicion.

Possible that the SENCO had been in some awful general LA SS schools as well.

Still, record that call in an email as it seems seriously weird to me and will help to show bias later when you need to undermine the SENCO/LA views.

You know what your ds needs, and hopefully it's on his EHCP too.

I'm interested that no one here has been cynical enough to mention that the mainstream school will be in receipt of additional funding and perhaps even a TA for your ds. Him moving to ss may well mean them losing a staff member, but tbh that isn't your problem. You do the best for your child and in ss he'll be in a position to spend more time with suitably trained teaching staff and small class groups. I'd be going with my gut instinct, and make sure you stick to your guns.

ds was at a sld, complex needs school from 4, absolutely the best provision for him. He was non verbal till 8, incontinent till 11 and has reached all those milestones now. you will know if this is the best placement for him... go with your gut!

I agree, if you have a place you think is a good fit then send him there. He may be able to attend a Ms school and cope well enough not to develop behavioural issues. But without speech he will not be able to access the curriculum fully and these are the years where the basic fundamentals are taught. He needs to be able to understand these before he can move on educationally. Actually, I think 5 is a far better age to go to ss than anything older! My ds language unit only does nursery to P3.