Special school dilemma

[Looking2Move]

Hi there,

In a real dilemma at the moment. Our autistic 4.5 yr old boy has just received full time hours on his ehcp. Current school are not coping well and constantly look to me for advice on coping mechanisms/strategies. We are looking to move him and think the best provision will be mainstream with an ARP. However, the schools with a unit in our area are oversubscribed. We started a brief search out of borough but it all started to get complicated!

We are now thinking of a special school. My reservations are that he is still so young and hasn't been given the best start with the right support yet, so worry it's a little premature.

Would be great to hear some thoughts on your experiences/opinions etc.

Thanks in advance.

As an SEN teacher, I'm slightly biased when I say that special schools aren't as scary as they seem!

I would recommend viewing your local SEN school to get a real feel for their ethos, their level of support, the facilities they can offer your son. You may feel it's just right; you may come away thinking it's not- there's no harm in viewing!

The difficulty with significant SEN in mainstream environments is that often, support staff and teachers are not confident and may have limited knowledge surrounding children's needs. Of course, there are incredible mainstream staff out there- please don't assume I'm dismissing that!- but in a specialist environment, by definition, staff are highly knowledgeable and trained in SEN support.

Your son's sensory and behavioural needs would likely be better met too; SEN schools are very individualised and flexible as they don't adhere strongly to the national curriculum. There is more scope for trial and error, if that makes sense?

Oh, and of course you can always move him to an ARP mainstream, should places become available and you feel special school isn't working for him. There's still plenty of time to figure it all out with him being so young.

Good luck; I know there's an awful lot to consider! x

Thank you Grumboots. I really appreciate your thoughts. This search has consumed our lives for months now while my poor son struggles in the wrong provision.

You don't by any chance live around north London do you? Would love to get your recommendations on a good special school in the area?

Thanks again

Some children are just more suited to specialist schools, no matter how fantastic the mainstream support.

I work with secondary pupils- some of whom have been tried and tried in mainstream and it's just not been right for them. Their progress has been minimal and their behaviour has escalated due to frustration. When they come to a more flexible, less pressured and more individualised environment, they really thrive!

Then, of course, there are others who simply could not be supported sufficiently within mainstream. There's no shame in it at all, it doesn't reflect the pupils negatively, what's the most important is that they're getting the provision that can allow them to progress to the best of their ability x

I'm afraid I'm not London based, I'm in Manchester. I wish I could recommend some for you, though! I'm sure there will be others on here with that kind of knowledge

Best of luck with your decisions- I'll be thinking of you!

I agree. Go and view some special schools, they can differ with their specialities, so not all are the same. We found smaller classes and a greater understanding by staff etc such a relief

Is your Ds academically able would you say? Many state special needs schools most if not all the pupils will have significant learning difficulties. So this is something to consider.
Do look at a variety of different schools including independent special needs schools.
Depending on his cognitive ability Egerton Rothesay may be worth a look eger-roth.co.uk.
Tree House school also. www.treehouseschool.org.uk
Another is www.hillingdonmanorschool.org.uk
Also look at your LEA special schools and go from there
Bonus,s are genuine friends, getting invited to parties, not always being the different child,feeling included as a parent,
Downside may not be as academically challenging but if school is very difficult for him he won’t be able to take advantage of this. School may be a long way away so you don’t have that being part of the local community feel.
Things are likely to get worse as he moves through the school and differences more obvious.
LSA support age 4 or 5 is great. As an older child it marks you out as different.

Thank you all for your helpful comments and advice
It would be such a relief to not always feel like our child is a burden on the school, which is how we feel at the moment.

He is really bright and academic (in his home environment). However he is a very different child at current mainstream. Rolls around on the floor, sensory overload issues, no concentration or won't sit on the carpet for circle time, even in a very small group. But he knows his phonics, alphabet, numbers and will write his name and copy shapes at home with me. None of this is demonstrated in school.

Mary21 thanks for the schools. Funnily enough I called Tree house today to visit.

It's so hard as part of me feels it's too soon for him to go special. I wanted to try him in mainstream with support for a couple of years to see how he develops. But maybe that's the side of me that's still in denial and thinks he will 'grow out of' some of the challenges he currently faces. I suppose we are still coming to terms with his condition. (Also still waiting for formal diagnosis, only been waiting 15 months so far!)