My feed
Premium
Please
or
to access all these features

Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

Anyone have experience of Blossomhouse in Wimbledon???

32 replies

Blossomgoodwill · 28/12/2006 14:02

I am seriously considering this school for dd for secondary.
She should get into the local secondary school unit but as much as she will cope academically I am not sure how she will cope emotionally.
Just wondered if anyone had any experience. It looks fantastic from the prospectus.

OP posts:
Report
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
maddiemostmerry · 03/01/2007 12:44

Bh have contacted you via CAT.

I thought Sunnydown was a boys school?

Report
maddiemostmerry · 03/01/2007 12:44

Bh have contacted you via CAT.

I thought Sunnydown was a boys school?

Report
flyingmum · 02/01/2007 18:47

Hi,

We visited Blossom Hill and to be honest were not particularly impressed but these things are all so individual. I am a secondary mainstream teacher and I just don't think they have thought thoroughly about the secondary education and other associated issues - eg, they are going to have 6 ft tall kids mixing with tiny tots in lower primary. Their building was not that good although hopefully it is finished now - again they were talking a lot about the facilities they might have rather than having a good grip on the curriculum and its demands. Again this may have changed over the last few months but we didn't want our chap to be yet another guinea pig - he's been this all the way through mainstream primary and we really wanted him to go somewhere where they know all about it.

My son got whipped off by a SALT and interestingly he found out more about the school than they did about him! He felt it felt like primary with lots of pictures of Elmer the Elephant and didn't think it would offer him what he needed. Then again all children are different and your child might love it. Have you looked at sunnydown in Caterham? Its brill. If your child is cognitively 'normal' (ed psych terms here) and you don't want them to board then Sunnydown may be good or St Dominic's in Godalming (does boarding) - loads from Epsom go there. Am I right in thinking you reside in a county beginning with S? If so one part of S (West) is more generous than other part (East)

Good Luck.

Report
Tinseltodisguise · 29/12/2006 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 22:22

My dd is at a language unit in S beginning with M!

OP posts:
Report
Tinseltodisguise · 29/12/2006 22:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 22:02

Similar to F school in S then?

OP posts:
Report
Tinseltodisguise · 29/12/2006 22:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 21:48

Maddiemo ~ have u got CAT?

Ttd ~ do you work in an asd provision? I don't know anything about K schools!

OP posts:
Report
Tinseltodisguise · 29/12/2006 20:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 19:37

ttd ~ K? ummm not sure tbh. Any more clues?
Megalegs ~ great, thanks.

OP posts:
Report
DingdongMegaLegsonhigh · 29/12/2006 18:07

I worked with Jo Burgess (head at BH) years ago. She was lovely and several of the children from the school I taught at went on to her. Been out of touch for a long time now but have heard it's a great school.

Report
Tinseltodisguise · 29/12/2006 17:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 16:42

MLD gone here. Just SLD/PMLD. I think the moderate group have replaced the previous m/s statemented who are probably now left high and dry.

To be fair to my LEA they have statemented quickly and fairly well in the case of my children. Some of the stories here really shock me.

Bh That would be great, how can I contact you?

If you don't hear from me again today its becaudse I am off to work and supposed to be making dinner

Report
Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 16:32

Actually Maddiemo I have a very interesting letter that I received from Nicola Botting who is pioneering research at the moment re language disorders and asd. She said that there is such a fine line and asd would get us more help for dd.
If you email me I can let you see the article

OP posts:
Report
Jimjams2 · 29/12/2006 16:32

We're lucky as here we have MLD (now more communication disorder- great for moderately autistic children- very good school), SLD, PD and SLD/PMLD (where ds1 goes- fantastic school imo). Then EBD etc as well. The gap if for HFA/AS, - there's a real gap there locally. With the exception of the EBD schools all are primary and secondary.

Report
maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 16:27

JJ I bumped into a friend from portage whose son is similar to your ds1, she is finding it hard to get provision for him. The LEA are trying to keep him out of the PMLD/SLD school as he is not PD.

Inclusion at all costs, except financial to the LEA Units are cheaper than all the sensory facilities etc at special. Great for kids like ds3 but not for the kids that need more support.

Report
maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 16:23

We have had the opposite problem, people were a bit too quick to say asd and we've been the ones to say slow down we want to wait, which I know is quite unusual.

Christmas was pretty good, all happy. Sometimes I actually find it easier when they are at home as school is a big stress.

Report
Jimjams2 · 29/12/2006 16:21

God Maddie I'm pleased I left Bromley!

Report
Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 16:15

Always good to hear that schools are well sort after.
Your ds4 sounds like dd. She is doing very well, we have just got back from Pizza hut and a shop to the sales so my god have we moved on . She is growing up so much at 7 and has a few little "boyfriends" at school, 2 boys from the unit!
It's funny the dx has helped us loads I think and in many ways things have improved loads as before she was dx everyone was scared to say asd iykwim but now we can and it seems to be making people understand her more. Ds is growing up loads, he'll be 9 in Jan.
So how are your 4 boys? Was Christmas hectic?

OP posts:
Report
maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 16:08

No but I have friends considering all the schools below so it's amazing how far people will travel for rught school.

DS4 is fine, very unsettled in the run up to xmas at school. He is very perky and making lots of progress. He is much more chatty and verbally able than ds3, maybe more AS but with language disorder. It is hard to tell he has a language problem from hearing him talk. He gets confused on the subtlties of language, couldn't grasp to and from on xmas presents. He was sure he had to give presents from people back to them.

We don't have dx as we thought we would see how he grew but he is quirky.

Hope dd and ds are well, did they enjoy xmas?

Report
Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 16:01

Not as near as I thought then. Hope you don't think I am being too nosey
How are things with ds4? Haven't heard you talk about him in a while.

OP posts:
Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 16:00

No Bromley

Report
Blossomgoodwill · 29/12/2006 15:59

So you're Epsom way then?

OP posts:
Report
maddiemostmerry · 29/12/2006 15:58

We didn't look at Lindenbridge due to the waiting list and speaking to people in Epsom who couldn't get their own children in.

I know what you mean about provision we are seriously worried about ds and secondary. There is one asd secondary unit in my borough and it seems to take AS or very HFA only and I don't think ds will get in. He is too able for our local special school as it is too learning needs for him and increasingly behavioural(friend was shown round with a police escort which the LEA claim was a mistake)
There is also Moor House in Surrey but it is weekly boarding.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.