What school would be best :?

[Shittymumm]

Hi, my youngest is being accessed for autism and the schools SEN has asked for a ET ? to watch my son for a while in the class room, she said that after this she will be applying for an EHCP. This to me is all great I followed everything she said till she told me that after the LC have done the plan they may suggest my son should attend a special school. She the told me they have a resource base on site which they would try him in to see if they can provide for his needs there.
Sorry for the long post Im new to this all and i dont know anyone who has been through this kind of thing, so my questions really are:
whats the difference between the two? Is one better than the other? Is one more focused on learning?
Thank you x

It’ll be an EP - educational psychologist. If your son is able to get an ehcp, it’ll outline his needs and also what provision he needs. You might find a specialist will be able to meet need better but you might also find a mainstream is able to meet your son’s needs.

Resource bases are within a mainstream school. They usually have some lessons in the base and then do some lessons in mainstream. Specialist schools is just that specialist. How old is your son? Not all specialist schools are good, not all mainstreams are good. I’d advise having a look at your local specialists to see what they offer.

@FadingoutThank you so much for your reply.
My son is four in reception and I am so grateful that the SEN is amazing and trying to get things in place earlier rather then later but I don't want to decide now (over the next year) and regret it because he is so young. x

I found Year 1 tended to be the most telling point because it switches to formal learning. One of my dc stayed in mainstream until year 7 and switched to specialist. Youngest did a year at mainstream and then went to specialist. For some kids it’s very clear but for others it takes a while. You don’t have to chose a specialist with an ehcp but it’ll make your son’s life better if the provision laid out in the plan is good. At least an ehcp would give you choice further down the line.

The EP may recommend a special school, but that does not mean that's where he will end up. If you get an EHCP you will be asked your preferred school.

If you wish your child to stay in a mainstream school, then that can only be refused and a special school named instead, if they can show there would 'no reasonable steps that could be taken to prevent your child impacting on the efficient education of others' as you have a legal right to mainstream education unless that condition applies. It's very difficult for schools and Local authorities to argue against.

That said, it's obvisouly important to base your request on the evidence and what you think is best for your child.

@Fadingout thank you for replying, I know that the echp can take a good few months so I'm expecting he will be closer to being in year one so hopefully the school will have a better view on if they can keep meeting his needs or not 🤞
@BurnedToast thank you for your reply.
I know that education is so important but my fear in mainstream is that hes different to the other children and he'll get bullied and left out in the future, he's already not being invited to birthday parties (I'm more hurt by this then him) but in a specialist everyone there might be more excepting including parents. (The amount of dirty looks i get because he has a melt down when I pick him up because he's lost his thing of the day)
Sorry for the late reply and rant lost my login and had a rough week haha thank you for listening/reading x

I think a lot really depends on need. My older dd spent all her primary years in mainstream. She was happy with 1:1 support and we chose a specialist school for secondary as our local mainstream weren’t keen to accommodate and I worried they wouldn’t follow her ehcp. She’s not overly happy in mainstream and socially it’s quite limiting.

Her younger sister did a year in mainstream and was treated appalling. And it went to a discrimination tribunal and we moved to specialist. She’s much more suited there.

A lot of it really depends on your son’s needs and what the schools can offer you. I was very on the fence between mainstream and specialist but felt she deserved the opportunity and if it didn’t work then we could reassess.

I wouldn’t worry about other parents. I used to get some really horrible looks but it says much more about them than it does about my child.

You don't need to wait until after an EP assessment to apply for an EHCP. You can apply yourself now, IPSEA have a model letter you can use on their website. An EP assessment should be part of the EHCNA.