Shepherds Down school - compton, winchester - any experience/knowledge? Namechanging welcome

[lou031205]

Ta

I have name changed.

The school is very, very good. It has an excellent reputation, the teachers are very committed and the staff turnover is very low indeed.

There is a hydro pool, sensory room, ball pit/soft play, big hall, very large outdoor area, large walkway/climbing frame, wooded areas, spacious classrooms and much more besides.

The school recently started an after-school club as well as a Saturday club (each family is entitled to 10 Saturdays per year).

We still find it amazing that such a school happens to be on our very doorstep.

Have you been for a visit? Are you considering sending your dc there? Which other schools are you considering?

If you have any questions, then please ask.

Wow, thank you

To answer your questions:

1. Visiting next Wednesday

2. It is our nearest SS. All professionals so far had said that they thought mainstream + support. But DD will need full 1:1 at mainstream for safety. I was on the fence & saying perhaps SS better. Proposed statement arrived with no 1:1 hours & setting described as "setting with enhanced pupil staff ratio...." AKA SS. Phoned statementing officer who said Shepherds Down. She controls numbers & can apparently guarantee a Sept 2010 place for DD.

3. Apart from local mainstream (who have said grab Shepherds Down with both hands), we can't really consider others, because we can't afford to provide transport for DD (live around 10 miles away & have a DD in year below DD1, so would have to do local drop off at same time) & LA would only provide for nearest suitable school.

DD has a brain malformation which has given:
-Severe speech/language delay/disorder (although very verbal)
-Ataxic gait with tendency to trips/falls - Blue badge - (although very mobile)
-No sense of danger & tendency to climb
-Fine motor delay (4.1 & can draw approximate circle & approximate cross/line), poor strength in hands.
-Epilepsy
-Emotional/behavioural difficulties
-Gross motor delay

May I ask what needs (roughly) your DC has & their rough age? Feedback I have got ranges from "fantastic grab it" to "dd not severe enough..."

Thanks again.

The official line is that SD don't provide 1-1 care, although this is put in place when it is absolutely necessary. For example, my dc has vSLD and although doesn't have 'official' 1-1 care, the care given is pretty much 1-1! The school is very much a 'general' SS, so the whole gamut of abilities and disabilities. There is a small class in both the Junior and the Infant sections which caters for the most severe ASD kids. Sometimes, a 1-1 is dedicated to a particular child if the child's parents have organised funding themselves (either via a charity or other source).

The SALT sees the kids about once per term and the staff carry out the recommendations. There are also a couple of OTs and a music therapist plus physiotherapists too. The classes also have TAs.

If you have been offered this place, then it means the LEA already think that your dd qualifies. There are very few (if any) kids at the school who would cope full-time in a mainstream school, though some pupils do visit a local mainstream school once per week for lesssons, though they are taught in a separate unit. I would take the place.

Enjoy the visit, that's if the snow permits your passage!

Can't say from experience but my next-door neighbour , who is an OT, is looking to going back to work with children, went to the school. She was impressed and said it was a brill school.

I'm a complete outsider to this but it seems a jump from mainstream. The MLD school I visited was for children whose needs were more borderline.

There is a good school in Fareham which we thought was better suited for dc with MLDs. It depends on the severity of the OPs dd and also where they live. If OP lives half-way between Shepherds Down and the school in Fareham (Heathfield School) and the OP thinks her dd is MLD, then the LEA should provide transport. However, if the OP lives closer to Shepherds Down than to Heathfield School, then they will not provide transport because they will simply state that OP's dd's needs can be met at Shepherds Down (because it is a general SS, catering for PMLD, SLD and MLD).

It's the OP's call. I have provided some information about Shepherds Down but only she will know whether it is the correct school for her dd.

I see what you mean - I had a similar situation though - a school for CLD (Complex Learning Difficulties) appeared on a list of possible schools for DS1. When I asked about it, the Ed Psych said he would be the most able child there. I asked her about the pros and cons of that but she just blanked me as if she had never even thought about it. Luckily we found somewhere good - and it is on our door step too - and it was not on the list of suitable schools but Ed Pysch was very enthusiastic when the idea came up. I think the moral is you have to shop around very carefully.

Or the moral is live close to somewhere suitable so the transport costs don't come up as an issue !

SD school is 8.3 miles. HF is 10.7 miles.

Ed psych isn't sure that DD has LDs per se, but that her sensory difficulties ('definite difference' in virtually every area), severe SAL delay/disorder, extremely small attention span, ataxia, etc, combine to cause her problems with learning. She is actually very bright (they all say), but is clearly very behind. The question is how the gap will widen (my view & I am seeing dd2 (2.4) overtake dd1) or close (the ed psych wonders).

Proposed statement says '....complex learning difficulties'

I guess your allocated transport could reach both schools but it depends on how picky the LEA choose to be, e.g. how many other kids that live close to you go to SD or HS. I would check out both schools and then think about the tranport when you have made a decision.

We briefly considered HS but the LEA said that the only way they'd provide transport would be if a taxi 'just happened to be going there and had a free space but that anybody who really qualified would be entitled to usurp my dc at any future point'.

I don't know anything about the area or specific schools, but I am in a similar situation where DS is being encouraged to go to an LEA school which I consider to be unsuitable as his needs aren't as severe - he would be far more able than the other pupils.

I would bear this in mind on your visit, ask lots of questions about the current learning levels in your DD's age group, see what her peer group is likely to be. It IS relevant that she needs to be in a school which is 'suitable for her SEN, ability and aptitude'. The peer group is important, because they need to be able to socialise with other children they can relate to. Also, if the level of curriculum is generally lower than their abilities, it can affect behaviour (through lack of stimulation) and self-esteem (by achieving below their ability).

The LEA HAVE to pay for transport to the nearest suitable school, so if you don't think SD is suitable, you need to show that it isn't by referring to the points above. It isn't an issue about how good the school is - my LEA's preferred school is actually outstanding, but it is completely wrong for DS. You will only know if it is right for your DD once you have visited.