Advice on School please

[anniebear]

Ellie goes to SN School 3 days a week, then goes to mainstream 2 days with a carer which SN school provides

There has been quite a lot in the press recently about the SN school closing

If it did........and I decided to put Ellie full time into her mainstream school (dont think that would be right at the mo) would we have any hassle?

we have never had to fight for anything up to now, the Head of her SN school is fantastic. But alwyas hear of parents fighting for everything, especially if their SN child is in Mainstream

Ellie has a statement, I presume she would automatically be given a full time one to one ??(she would need one )

At the moment her SN teacher sets most of her work for Ellie in mainstream. so who would do it if she had no contact with them anymore? How would a teacher with no SN experience know what to set for her?

and finally, Ellies carer at mainstream (who comes from the SN school) is fantastic! could she become Ellies full time carer in mainstream or would we not have a say?

sorry if that is way too complicated to understand!

Thanks

When is Ellie's statement review due? Could you discuss it then and make sure that full time 1:1 is stipulated, if she went into full time m/s? We haven't got to that stage yet, so don't know how reviews work exactly. But I would say you need to get f/t 1:1 provision in writing in part 3 of the statement.

As far as who her 1:1 would be, I think it depends on the Head of the school and the LEA. We went to visit the local m/s school and asked whether we would have any say in an appointment of a 1:1 for DS2. The Head (a pretty enlightened man) said we could suggest someone, but they would have to be interviewed. He also said we could have a say in the selection process 'up to a point' - whatever that means!

I don't know loads about it but from what I can gather it is quite hard to get a truly full-time 1:1 in mainstream - it tends to be so many hours a week and there is usually some time when the child is left to fend for themselves. That would really scare me about Ds2 - I don't think he could cope without help the whole time. I may have got this wrong but I think you would have to be very careful about the provision you could get and the support the school would provide if she wasn't entitled to a 1:1 the whole time.

AB We have jsut made this decision. We didn't have any arguement over hours with the LEA accepting ours and the schools opinions.
Our ISA is someone that has worked with ds before. She had to go through an interview as there were several jobs up for grabs at once but ahe made it clear she was after ds. We made it very clear that we supported her.
I think an excellent ISA is the key one that knows your child and is not afraid to speak their mind.

You could ring your caseworker and ask what would be the likely out come, if you have a good relationship with them. I can see I'm pretty lucky compared to others here.

she is already doing 2 days full time at mainstream school with a carer, so they know she would need a full time 1-1

so even though she has a statement, the school know she needs full time carer she might not get one??

Depends opn how much money her statement is for , as that is to pay for support, specialist input and specialist equipment on top of the usual pupil funding.

Re the 1:1 it depends on the school but at our sn school when we get a kid from mainstream and would need extra support bringing too , their m/s LSA gets first refusal but they wouldn't neccassarily be the 1:1 IySWIM.

How serious is the risk of the sn school closing?
Lots locally are being threatened with closure but it is unlikely to happen as they are actually over subscribed

How much support does she have in th Sn school?
We have pupils who can work on 1:2/3/4 in sn but when on inclusion they need 1:1

Hi anniebear
my son has a statement for 34.5 hrs a week 1.1 support in a mainstream primary school.
We had to work very closely with the school to sort out how this time is broken down and who is with him. A teachers time is worth more than a TA, so one hour of a teacher is worth 2 hours of a TA.
He has full support all day, but some of the time he is taken out with a teacher, in small groups to work on social skills etc.
We tried (but failed) to get the LEA to put in the statement that the TA had to have experience with children with an ASD.
His current TA had no experience, but is being sent on courses by the school and the specialist team for autism comes into the school to advise about three times a term.
This year it is working very well, but that is because the TA and teacher are very able and interested in DS2, however I do not think all teachers and TA's in his school would be as good and last year we had a dreadful time. This is a big worry to me as the TA and teacher changes every year and so next year it could all go wrong again.
If you can have a TA that is employed just for your DD and can move up with her, it will really help, but you cannot be certain that you will always get a teacher who is willing and able to work with a child with a SN in the most positive way in a mainstream situation.
I have had it said to me so many times "every teacher in mainstream is a teacher of children with SN" I would agree with that but, not every teacher is a GOOD teacher of children with SN.
Hope this is of help.

there is a high ratio of staff to children (very small class) in her SN School

But she is one of the more abled ones, the majority are quite severly disabled.

I have always worried that she is in the right school for her as she is one of the more able ones, but they are fantastic with her

Regards to it being closed, I haven't a clue! It was in the paper a few months a go but the head put our minds at rest, saying the people in this area have put so much into it (time and money, raised thousands for the sensory garden) it would not close easily

But then it was in the paper about it again this week

It is only a small school, but the children coming into the early years are severly disabled, really need 'nursing' major health probs etc. Not sure why, but this was mentioned in the article as to being a factor???

I wouldn't want Ellie in mainstream fulltime but if her SN School closed, I am not introducing her to another one when she is has just settled doing her 2 days in mainstream

saying that, if her school shut, it would be quite a while away I would imagine!

I like to worry you know lol lol

Thnaks for your replies, sorry for waffling!

Thanks isgrassgreener

her 1-1 in mainstream is lovely. She actually works in Ellies SN School and they send her with Ellie for the 2 days.

Ellie also goes in her group on her own round a table for a bit, works well

Just thought if her SN school closes, her 1-1 may as well go to mainstream with her lol lol

I know she loves working with Ellir there, and speaking to the head the other week, she was saying how lovely she is and how well she has fitted in. so who knows!!!

I am going to have a quiet word this week and tell her if SN School closes, we are taking her with us lol lol

Thnaks again