Resource base versus local mainstream school

[Widemouthfrog]

I haven't posted on here for a while, because to be honest life around here has been pretty stressful.

DS, 5, HFA, currently attends our local primary. After a terrible year in reception he settled well in year 1. However, his class teacher has now been out of school since Christmas, and despite having the same regular supply teacher since then my DS has been unable to settle. His behaviour is increasingly defiant and he is very stressed. Despite more and more complex measures, which are helping his stress levels, we are still struggling to get him to access learning. He is now taught sseparately from his class with his 1:1 TA, and the Ed Psych feels this is not really inclusion.

At a review with the Ed Psych on Friday, I was asked if I had considered a resource base around 5 miles away.
To be honest, I wasn't ready for this.

Our current school is fighting to keep DS, and is pulling out all the stops. I really want to keep DS there as he is in his community, and is accepted by the local kids.
They say he is a real asset to school as he has such a great sense of humour.

I guess what I really want to know is what are peoples experiences of their kids going to an out of area resource base. Can mainstream really make this work or am I delaying the inevitable?

Thanks for all your replies folks.

Pipinjo - my DS is really really happy today. he is responding well to be taught on his own and each day the anxiety is subsiding a little more

retiredgoth - well done on the diagnosis. Who diagnosed your DS, We were diagnosed through Dr Brooks' team. I think at secondary level i would not even be having this discussion about a resource base - I would be biting their hand off for it.

Nikos - You talk a lot of common sense. Yes my DS is overloaded by sensory issues. I think we are slowly chipping away at those, but we really need the OT. This is the only plus I think the resource base can offer that our current primary can't - a quieter, calmer environment. Inclusion support are visiting school next week - I know the lady from the Earlybird course and she is very experienced so this should be helpful. However we have had to fight for this as apparently my child is a low priority as he already has a statement .

Riven - we know we are lucky to have this school. I couldn't home educate - I have a preschool DS. I do not have the skill or the patience to teach him. The EP is not the one you are talking about. Her name begins with C. (by the way hope DD is better after last weeks status. My DS has epilepsy also but not to this level).

I think I will wait for our statement review meeting next month, and then organise a visit to the resource base. Both me and school want lunchtime cover as they are not resourced to offer this atm. His TA is also a lunchtime supervisor, but she cannot be 1:1 with DS, so she is not always there when needed - especially when he wants to withdraw to Lunchtime club and is unable to communicate this.

DS is so happy this week after his worst week ever in school 2 weeks ago. I think school has gone into overdrive and we are starting to see the results.

You have given me lots of food for thought.

One thing to bear in mind is the nearish future - is the juniors the same school or a different one - just if it's a different one they may not be as flexible/helpful.

Our primary goes right through. HT, SENCO, TAs, building, playgroud all stay the same. This is great, but this is why it is such a busy environment now as he is in the mix with kids from yr1-yr6. The older kids respond very well to him though.

i've found this very interesting as we have just deregistered dd who is 5 with asd. She has become increasingly stressed at school and sounds exactly the same as your ds. She couldn't access anything and certainly wasn't gaining anything by being there. We are home educating and have the support of teh school as they say its breaking their heart to see her so anxious. for us another school whatever size of class etc wouldn't be right at this time - that's not to say it won't be at another time.

Hi Knat.

Sorry to hear that your DD found school so tough. Are you happy to HE? One piece of advice that I was given was that by deregistering your child from school the LEA no longer has any responsibility. An alternative is to leave your child registered at school, but keep her out of school on the basis that she is suffering stress - would your GP/ Paed support this? Then the LEA have an obligation to provide ediucation - usually in the form of a home tutor for around 6 hours a week. Apparently you are within your rights to ask to re-register your child, if you decide you made a wrong decision.

This may not be relevant to you, but just a thought.

You have my deepest sympathy in having to deal with S Glos Council. I'm in their area too and I've had more success nailing jelly to the wall.

I see that school are doing a lot for him but it's Aspergers-specific teaching that he would benefit from i.e. social stories, teaching staff who've actually heard of Aspergers / ASD, sheleterd base etc and that cannot always be delivered in mainstream school. He's at the age when specialist input really could make a big difference to the longterm outcome.

Also, if he's having difficulties at junior school those will be magnified a hundred times in secondary so he would probably need a resource base then (e.g. The Grange or Filton High school) and by staying in mainstream pre-secondary he may drop off S Glos's radar map when it comes to secondary provision.

Places in the bases are so sought after that if the Ed Pysch thinks it's the solution I would go along with it (if even the Ed Pyschs are as has been pointed out - pretty useless).

We managed to extract (and I chose that word carefully) home tuition from s Glos when son was too unwell to attend school on medical advice. There was a wait of several weeks and solicitor's letters before any kicked in and then I had to fight to get it increased over the next few months. The Govt guidance is a minimum 5 hours per week in only the National Cirriculum subjects. The home tutors were alwys changing their designated sessions and often simply did not turn up.

Seem to be a lot of us in S Glos

Wetaugust,

Thanks for your thoughts. I have thought that maybe turning a resource base down now may make it difficult later (ie secondary) when I really do think that is the way we will need to go.

There has been further discussion about making the move at KS2. I will be considering this carefully at our review.

Filton High would be our nearest Secondary resource base. The base is has a good reputation, but unfortunately the mainstream it is attached to could be better!

His TA is very experienced with ASDs and we are using social stories already. His core teaching staff are well qualified and experience, but unfortunately the wider school community is not!

One theory as to why there is such a pocket of ASDs in S Glos is the high level of engineering in the area, which may or may not predispose towards an Asperger's type personality.

Neither myself or DH are engineers by the way. I have been an academic scientist though pre-children which is probably even worse .

Hi

The school sounds really supportive. My son also had a very supportive primary and the majority of kids were really good with him. BUT he never really had true friends. Really, although he was much liked and 'coped' with and yes it all did get much better from the horrors at Infant level, I think he took on the persona of the school hamster - a bit of a pet to be looked after. He is now in SN Secondary - full normal curriculum but lots and lots of therapy and it has made the world of difference. The thing is the type of education that a smaller environment can give him CAN focus on the social skills, the strategies, etc that he is going to have to have and with the best will in the world mainstream can only touch on this. Also, although he gets on well with his TA etc, as I know, TAs come and TAs go and the quality is variable. Think a couple of years down the line. You might be lucky and the TA still be there (in which case he will be totally reliant on 1 to 1 support to do ANYTHING - as my son did) or you might have a mums army educating him - some of whom can't cope but who have their children at the school. By going into a unit he will be encouraged to start to work more independently.

I work as a SEN teacher in a unit and all our year 7s come to us having had years and years of 1 to 1 support. They find it very very hard suddenly moving to a 3 or 4 to 1 support and have very few independent learning skills. They are, however, amazing at manipulation and have learnt that if they kick up a fuss then a nice lady takes them out with whom they can bargain - 'you do 10 minutes of x and then you can . . . .' The problem is this then sets a pattern of learned behaviour.

I would visit the unit and if it is good - I'd go for it. It's a huge decision and one that I think is easier said than done because you are having to acknowledge your child's 'specialness' very openly.
All the best

Flying Mum, I really see the behaviour you mention with respect to independent learning skills with my daughter. She has amazing strategies to avoid working too by arranging pens etc. She is in year 6 and will be moving to a special school this year where I hope she will reach her full potential.

Hi again WMf

Not just engineers - our son is the product of 2 computer programmers. Poor thing didn't stand a chance LOL

I looked around Filton high school resource base a few years back. I agree with you about the mainstream school and we were told that some lessons would inevitably have to be held in the mainstream facility with mainstream children e.g science and PE.

The base itself was good. they explained the social stories etc they used to assist social development. I would have been happy for son to have gone there but his dx came too late in his school life. They operate a buddy system wheereby they are paired up to give them confidence and mutual support, and that works best when they all arrive in the base at the same time at secondary transfer.

I don't know much about the other bases in the area. The Grange one is very new.

Best wishes

Flyingmum,

I can recognise all those behaviours already. That really gives me food for thought.

I am not taking any decisions before our full review meeting next month. I have a couple of meetings in school next week and then I will try and set up a visit. but I think I may be leaning toward a move at KS2.

I'll let you know what I decide - watch this space.

This decision just gets more difficult the more I think about it, especially as DH and other family members are so resistant.

It is really interesting to hear these positive stories about specialist schools. And I can totally see that a specialist ASD school can offer much more in the way of therapy.
My ds is in the early years centre attached to our school so starts in reception next year. So I have a bit of time to think about options.
But one of my worries, and please be gentle with me, is that going to a non mainstream school seems to be sending down a particular route to me. And that is that he might not get a job, have a relationship, get married etc. Am I being really sill here?

Hi Nikos

Resource bases for ASD children attached to a mainstream school are themselves still mainstream education. That gives the child the opportunity to follow the national Cirriculum and gain GCSEs. The Filton autistic base has no 6th form so at that stage the child would be in full mainstream education.

Many of the special schools don't give the child the opportunity to get GCSEs but those that are able can attempt them at some specialist schools ( see North Hill House, Frome).

the point of resource bases are to tackle the obstacles to learning that ASD children experience because of their condition / comorbid anxity etc. the sooner they are proactively taught in a resource base the strategies that can assist them overcome their difficulties the better the outcome for them longterm.

Thanks for that wetaugust.
What happens in units attached to mainstream? Do the students learn strategies like social skills etc?

nikos my ds willbe going to sn school and they do gcse in maths english,art drama, it science ,and for the more able they do split places go into ms for lessons.Infact onetheir pupils from last year now at uni which not sound lot but there is only 30 in each year

The Filton base is a social and communication disorders base - so yes ASDs basically. Unfortunately this will not be of use to you Riven. There is a resource base at Brimsham Green (Yate) for Physical Difficulties, according to my folder from the LEA - I'm not sure how up to date that is though.

Hanham High aswell.

Re learned behaviours - just to give you an example. One of our chaps who has come to us unable to read and write and we were told spent most of his time curled up in a ball crying at primary school. We were really worried about having him in the unit as on paper he seemed like he was MLD and not suited to mainstream. Anyway he obviously has a severe literacy difficulty (unpicking it I think the words jump about on the page for him) but he spent most of year 6 with the Reception kids 'helping' and told us that his TA used to say 'If you do 1 thing for half an hour then you can do what you like for the rest of the day'. He had refused to do pe all the way through primary and would never talk to the speech and language therapist. He has just scored a level 5 in a year 7 Science exam (with reader and scribe), loves PE and is doing very well. He is still problematic and still needs lots of support because of his learned behaviour but actually he is a reasonably bright kid with an amazing facility for structuring, sequencing and patterns. When threatened with big scary male head of year he can also read remarkably fluently and spell pretty well as well!!! I just think that he has been indulged by all for years. Yes he has a learning disability and yes he needs lots of support and attention but he obviously quickly learned that if he went into a catatonic state no one could do anything with him so that's what he's learned to do. I think nipping this behaviour from the start is key.