Mainstream or Special School advice

[sheepmary2222]

Hi! I'm beginner in here and seeking advices. Thanks for your helps in advance!

My son is 4 now and will go to reception class this September. He has limited attention, speech and development delay. At the moment, he goes to 2 pre-schools (one under a mainstream school and another under a special school). he is a happy boy and loves going both pre-schools.

We have started the process of EHCP and have the meeting with the educational psychologist, SENCO, and other specialists all together. They recommend to go for the special school as he is behind in everything. The problem is that he is doing fine at home, but not at the pre-schools. At home, he can speak in 4-5 words sentence, but only speaks 1-2 words at the pre-schools. We have a private speech therapist since March 2019 and he has made a great improvement in speech.

We are struggling now between mainstream and special schools. both are great. the mainstream one is super popular in the area and will be completely full in the reception class. the special school is well known & organised one.

Should we give it a go with the mainstream? or go straight to the special school instead? I have seen other mums who have tried to move their children from mainstream to special school with great difficulties.

Also, are there any mums with experiences of moving from special to mainstream school?

thanks a lot!!!

As a teacher, I’d say if you have the option of a special school place, I’d take it. Mainstream schools just don’t have the funding and often can’t support as well.
Special schools are better funded and your child will have expert support- there is usually a much more organised package of support for parents too. It’s so hard to get children into a special school and they are amazing places.

@playdoughbum thank you for your reply and very much appreciated!!

If the professionals are recommending special schools I would go with their advice. They will know what placement would suit your little boy. Often special schools fill up quickly and you may not get a place in a year or two.

I personally would start at the special school. You might find with the small classes, specialist teaching, input from SALT etc you can look again at mainstream in the future. I think that really good early support is so beneficial,

As a teacher in a special school, when I taught the younger children I taught two children who moved into mainstream after one or two years with me and two children who moved from my school (for children with severe learning difficulties) to a school for children with moderate learning difficulties. The children sometimes joined my class during their nursery years and I always looked at whether mainstream was the best next step for them.

@Ilikefreshias @lorisparkle thank you very much for your reply!!!

I don't think it is as simple as mainstream or special school because provision varies so much between schools particularly in the special school sector. I would visit any schools that are potential and ask how they could meet your son's needs before making a decision.

If there is a local support group for children with learning difficulties in your area they can also be an invaluable source of information for how different schools cope with different pupil profiles. (I would take any Ofsted Reports though with a pinch of salt as ds1's special school used to get dreadful Ofsted's but were very good with him).

If all the professionals are recommending special school I'd go with that. Early intervention and support is key and the more he has in his early years the better it will be for his long term outcomes.

Class sizes are much smaller in special schools whereas mainstream schools can have up to 30 pupils in a reception class.

The EHC Plan should be reviewed regularly, and it will be apparent when the provision in place or the placement is no longer working, and needs to change.

And if he needs to change school further down the line, it will be easier to move from special school to mainstream, than the other way round.

@OneInEight @Ellie56 thank you both of your advices and very helpful!!

I have looked at both school Ofsted reports and they are outstanding. But I will definitely go through all details again.

Totally agree with small class size as he will need more help than other kids.

thanks again for all advices!!!

This is hard, isn't it? I recommend going to check out the special needs school with him in tow at least once or twice to see if he will thrive there. There are not many special needs schools in Britain so I would heed the advice of the professionals for now. You can always re assess years later when he has been there a while. My son has a physical impairment only, no cognitive delays or small motor/speech issues however.
Mainstream school staff often are not trained to support those with disabilities. I visited a couple of mainstream schools last year with DS in tow and I felt that although he would thrive personally there, I knew someone with a more severe disability like autism or Down Syndrome could fail. Are there any support groups in your area or not for those with learning disabilities? Go with a open mind. Make notes on the school.
This is a online directory of all special schools in Britain- www.specialneedsuk.org/findaschool.asp. It is worth taking a look at the schools more appropriate for those who have autism. Did you find a school?

I have one child in mainstream and one child now in a specialist school after doing a year in mainstream (horrible school, horrible experience and resulted in a court case for discrimination). Both children have a diagnosis of asd and adhd. Older of the two wouldn’t have fit in a specialist school and we looked at the two within an hour and even explored the few within an hour and a half. Youngest is better in a specialist school having talked at length with the professionals before youngest dc went everyone was on the fence. I would say do the rounds of mainstream and specialist and see what support they offer. My eldest in mainstream has a ft 1:1. Mainstream is very rigid with their learning and you need a very good senco. I think it very much depends on your son. Year 1 is normally the crunch point where it becomes more evident if mainstream is a good fit.

@dyscalculicgal96 @DICarter1 thank you very much for your advices!

@sheepmary2222 happy to help. It’s a tricky decision as they’re so small and it’s hard to see how they can develop. I would say it’s easier probably to go from specialist to mainstream than mainstream to specialist. Councils are more likely to shove you towards mainstream as it’s cheaper.

We spoke to the head of a special school who said she had a few students who would be better placed in mainstream but the parents didn’t want them moved. Have you spoken to your son’s more specialist nursery?

Mainstream even in early years is quite tough now. Spelling tests, more structured learning.

Definitely visit as many schools, specialist and mainstream as you can as it’ll give you a good idea of what each offer.

No problem @sheepmary2222!

Mainstream education is tougher than you think. There is a list of skills children must have upon entry in Year R and the eleven plus entrance exams are also not easy. Nevertheless this is a challenging decision to have to make. Please do not automatically pick the cheaper option as it may not be suitable for your child’s needs.
The school must be able to support your child to thrive and progress as much as possible too. Your child deserves a good quality education. All children do, disabled or not. What does your heart say? How many special needs schools have you visited so far? I emailed a advocate some time back who advised me on my son’s legal rights and told me about my options under the equality act.
I only chose a local primary mainstream school after a very careful consideration of everything that mattered and I also insisted on having all my questions answered too. My son came along on the second visit with me. I looked at everything even the toilets, even watched a history lesson in progress on my first visit and then met with the headteacher on my last visit there. Make notes on both kinds of schools. Visit as many as possible in the area.
This week I toured another local primary school with him. Again I observed a science lesson, walked around the entire school and afterwards spoke with the head. Not only will there be more children, your son will have much more homework each week. Can he cope with that or not? This is hard, I know but you must focus on what is best for him. My advice is to trust your instinct. Research the school carefully online and take a look at their website.

@DICarter1 @dyscalculicgal96

thanks again for your advices. It is definitely a tough choice. But we have a special school in mind and I think we will go for it.

I think we are very lucky. We live in Kent and have the supports from the very beginning, i.e. Portage service, Early support (physio, occupational, speech therapies), great supports from nurseries, and advices from the specialists.

Hopefully we will have the EHCP finalized in May and make the final decision on school.

thanks a lot!!