Secondary School options

[Kateel13]

Hello,
My child has autism and currently at year5 in a mainstream school with 1:1 support in place. We are based in Reading and looking for options on secondary schools. I would like to hear from parents who had the transition from primary to secondary school for their ASD children and any recommendations with regard to the supports available from secondary schools. I would like to understand what level of support we can expect from secondary schools if the child has EHCP. Can secondary schools still provide 1:1 support as needed.

I have also heard about Blessed Hugh Faringdon where there is an ASC unit available. Does anyone know more about it. They have mentioned the child will be accessing all the main stream lessons and can use the unit for some time off. But I also heard from another parent that the child will be just sent to the unit between the lessons and it also ends up that the child spends most of the time in the unit missing the classroom lessons. This is really worrying.
I am feeling very helpless at the moment and getting very anxious thinking about the secondary schools.
I would love to hear from other parents on their views and experiences in choosing secondary schools and what worked better and what didn't.

My DS has just started Yr7. He is in an autism resourced provision attached to a large mainstream secondary.
He attends all the lessons alongside his NT peers but with 1 to 2 support.
The only subject he doesn't take is a modern foreign language. He spends those two hours a week in the unit working on speech and language/social skills.
He is actually in the 'top set' for science so a good school will play to each child's strengths.

All provisions are different though so it's worth speaking to the school to work out what kind of a peer group your DS would have, how much time they spend in the unit etc.

In terms of what support your DS will get - his EHCP will transfer over to his secondary so if it says he must have full time one to one, that's what he will get in secondary.
This is obviously why Section F of the plan is so important.

Places in resourced units are very oversubscribed. Your DS's primary school will need to fill in a fair bit of paperwork to apply for a place. Do you have much evidence to support an application?

Schools have to provide whatever provision is specified and quantified in section F, regardless of what is normally provided, so if 1:1 is specified and quantified it must be provided.

@monstrousmayhem Can the secondary school not accept the child after the review of the EHCP for any reason? One school I visited mentioned, they have the right to say 'yes' or 'no' after the review of the EHCP.

Unless the school is wholly independent the LA must name your preference unless they can prove one of the following:

• The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
• The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
• The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

The bar is relatively high. If the LA cannot prove one of the above they must name your preference regardless of the school's objections on consultation.

@monstrousmayhem thank you. That is very helpful. I keep thinking more and more about the secondary schools and really becoming restless.
Does it also depend on how much funding LA can do for the needs to be met as outlined in EHCP? Is this funding going to be same for primary school and secondary school? I am assuming the support TA might be paid higher in secondary school as compared to primary school. Does LA take care of this?

Funding isn't your concern. Provision specified and quantified in section F must be provided, if the school need more funding they should approach the LA.

Secondary TAs aren't necessarily paid more.