Pupil referral units and asd

[liveinthesticks]

Advise please...my sons school has asked to consider a pupil referral unit for my son (still awaiting asd diagnosis). Currently on reduced hours at school following exclusion. Any experience of this?

I teach kids as an alternative provision provider for a PRU. I have taught at PRUs in the past.

My advice for any adults is to try to keep your kids out of PRUs. DO everything that you can to facilitate your child going back into mainstream. Or discuss them going to a special school with the skills to support ASD pupils.

My thoughts were along those lines...I can't see how a PRU can be of any benefit for my son.

Thank you - I shall go and view the one suggested by our head teacher??

DD is educated at Interhigh under the care of our local PRU, in our case they have been far more supportive than the 5 times graded outstanding secondary that drove her to the verge of suicide
Its difficult, where do you really see your child happy? School, special school, home ed? that may help you see the best route for your family

As Polter said, some of us can say we have had a positive experience others will not have, its your child, you know them best

We have had a very positive experience too of a PRU (which was part of a primary EBD school). Like the poster above it suited ds1 (who has AS and challenging behaviour when anxious) much better than mainstream because of the far smaller class sizes and staff who understood his needs much better than those he encountered in his previous schools. About half of the pupils had a diagnosis of an ASD or ADHD or both! Of course like any school there will be good and bad ones but go with an open mind.

ds1 had to go through a failed managed move before we secured a permanent place (our LA operates a revolving door policy for those who are permanently excluded). I knew it was the right place for him when we had to take him back to the PRU and a staff-member greeted him with a beaming smile and said how lovely it was to have him back. It summed up the whole ethos of that little school that children were valued and wanted and they gave ds1 back his self-esteem which after all the exclusions formal and otherwise was sadly lacking.

I have also had a good experience of PRU for ds at primary level. In his case they made small groups for those with similar types of difficulties and he had virtually individual tuition.

You need to go and see it. I would never have let ds go on to the secondary part (same site, different building) but fortunately found a ms place for him before that became an issue.