Key questions for picking primary school

[HappyMummy24]

What would be your key questions?
child has EHCP, 1:1 support included in EHCP :)
How on earth do I decide. So far 2 schools seem so supportive. Both are small. One has larger classes from Y1. Have another small scuool with smaller classes but a bigger one to view.

my gut is resources and experience may come with bigger scuool but I have a gut feeling somewhere smaller will be better…

i don’t have long to decide?
what helped you? What do you wish you knew? What were non negotiable z? little one is likely autistic, doing very well!

Questions I would ask a mainstream school:
-How many DC with EHCPs do they have on roll?
-Class sizes?
-In the schools with smaller class sizes, do they have plans to mix year groups? (Small class sizes are difficult for schools to afford long term.)
-What support with transition do they offer for those with SEN? (Although transition can be covered in the EHCP.)
-What support do they offer for those who struggle to make friends? (This provision can be included in the EHCP, but it will give you an idea how proactive they are.)
-What support do they provide other DC with similar needs? (The provision in the EHCP must be provided, but the answer can help you ascertain how inclusive and proactive they are.)
-How does the school reduce/prevent sensory overwhelm?
-Do they have a quieter room/lunch club DC who are overwhelmed with the hall/playground can go?
-Where do DC who are overwhelmed in a lesson go to?
-Do they have a sensory room?
-Do they run a nurture group?
-What is their outdoor provision like?
-Where do children take movement breaks?
-Do they have DC who have reasonable adjustments to the uniform policy? (This can be included in the EHCP but will give you an idea of how supportive they are.)
-Do they have DC who can’t cope with the hustle and bustle of arriving/leaving school and have different arrangements for arriving at school (such as arriving 5/10 mins late via reception)/leaving (such as leaving 5 mins early)? (This is a reasonable adjustment and something that can be included in the EHCP, but you would be surprised how many schools are not supportive.)
-Do they allow DC to use noise cancelling headphones/ear defenders? (This is a reasonable adjustment but you would be surprised how many are reluctant to allow it.)
-If it matters for DS, is the site secure?

Make sure the 1:1 is detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP and that it doesn’t have woolly and vague wording such as “access to”, “would benefit from”, “regular”, “up to”, “or equivalent”, “opportunities for”, “as appropriate”, “would be useful/helpful”, “such as”, “e.g.”, “as required”, “as advised”, “key adult(s)”…

Thank you! One I looked at this told me so many answers tothese off the cuff. I was quite impressed! Thdy had a sensory cupboard not room though 😂

the arrival bit is so helpful. Yes. Secure site is really key to me. One just has those quite low metal railings, thats not super secure is it!

thank you- they had already read the EHCP, I sent it before and said they would need 1:1 which they would recruit for!

feeling a lot of pressure to get it right…. 5 in total in the running 🤔

Why does it matter how many ehcps they have, sorry if that’s obvious :)

The number of EHCPs can be interesting. The answer doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t suitable for your DC. If they have 0, I would wonder why and probe that. I would ask around locally about it, e.g. do they make it a hostile place for DC with EHCPs. If they had a huge number, I would ask further questions about how they manage that. For example, if they had e.g. 6 DC with EHCPs in one class, I would want to know how they handled that.

Some unsecure sites can be made secure, so I wouldn’t rule out a school that is otherwise a good fit just because of an unsecure site.

The one that gave you the answers without you asking sounds like they are proactive.

thank you- they had already read the EHCP, I sent it before and said they would need 1:1 which they would recruit for!

Needing 1:1 and 1:1 being detailed, specified and quantified in F are different things. Some DC need 1:1 but do not have it detailed, specified and quantified in F and therefore it is not legally enforceable.