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Special or Mainstream - which school is best?!

SusieL

HI - I'm new on here and have a dilemma I wonder if anyone could advise on please?

Our little boy is 5 - he has a diagnosis of autism and hypotonia. He started at our local mainstream primary school in September 2012. His Class teacher is also the Deputy Head and the SENCO at the school - she is fabulous and is doing all she can to include Jack in all that the class do. He has his one to one learning sessions and has a TA during lesson time and a lady that looks after him at lunchtimes. He has settled into the school better than we imagined - despite a rocky start when his newly appointed TA left before the new term even started and he had to attend part time until a replacement could be found. The second TA was amazing with him and used to working with autistic children - unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstance, he had to leave at Christmas. The TA who looks after him now isn't trained to work with autistic children but she is fabulous and very willing to learn everything she can to help him.

However, looking forward to September 2013 - I wonder if Jack will cope in Year 1 in a more formal learning environment that isn't sympathetic to a child with learning difficulties. We're now wondering if mainstream school is the right/best choice for Jack - are we being fair to him and would he be better off in a Special School? Has anyone else moved their child from mainstream to special - or, indeed, the other way round and for what reason? Any advice, comments would be most welcome. Thanks. x

Parents

  • Thanks so much for all your comments and advice - I find this really helpful.

    I just feel in such a dilemma at the moment. The school Jack goes to now is quite small but oversubscribed. There are 3 children with Statements in the Foundation Class but only Jack has Autism and it's the first time the school has had an ASC child so they are very much learning about it themselves. His teacher is very proactive in getting training for his TA and has also arranged for Jack to attend a Social Communication Group every Friday morning at a local Special School (attending this school isn't an option tho as they come under a different Authority to where we live - so stupid really!). He fits in well into their ASC class and his TA is learning so much from them.

    My worry is that as Jack moves into Yr1, the school will struggle to educate him. His language isn't brilliant but he does talk and is getting better. He is quite passive so at the moment isn't causing any problems in the class environment. At our family meeting with the school, Ed Psych and Integration Officer, it came out that there are two boys in the class that copy Jack's actions (flapping) and noises that he makes. I worry that later on this might turn into bullying, though the school are keen to stamp out the behaviour they can't always control what happend in the playground!

    Looking ahead, I want Jack to learn valuable life skills and hand on heart I know he won't learn these in mainstream school - as sad as that makes me! His 'autistic talent' is music and even at age 5 he can sing, hold a tune perfectly and strums his guitar and follows a sequence of notes on a keyboard - these are the little things we are nurturing and I want  him to be able to express - I don't think that can happen in mainstream.

    i thought about home schooling but don't think I could do it and have seen how Jack loves being around a lot of people (though he does like his solitude too when he decides he needs it). 

    I'm typing this and realising what I need to do - I need to get on and sort this out don't I?! My hubby trusts my judgement when it comes to Jack (it was me who pushed for the assessment when Jack was 2yrs old and I thought he was showing autistic traits) and I know he'll agree and support the decision to explore a move of schools. I need to talk to Jack's teacher and tell her what I'm thinking, I need to contact the SEN Dept at the Council and I need to speak to the Special School that I have in mind for Jack (it comes very highly recommended from other parents of autistic children who say their kids have thrived there), and most importantly we need to take Jack to the school and see how he reacts to the environment - they have a class specifically for ASC children.

    The one thing I know I'll stuggle with is the school run!! Jack's school is a 5 minute walk from our house - the Special School collect all their children by bus so they arrive on time, relaxed and ready to start their day - hmmm! I'll need to get over that for Jack's sake.

    I really really appreciate all your help and advice and know I still need to hear it as I'm sure I'll have a wobble somewhere along the line. xx

Reply

  • Thanks so much for all your comments and advice - I find this really helpful.

    I just feel in such a dilemma at the moment. The school Jack goes to now is quite small but oversubscribed. There are 3 children with Statements in the Foundation Class but only Jack has Autism and it's the first time the school has had an ASC child so they are very much learning about it themselves. His teacher is very proactive in getting training for his TA and has also arranged for Jack to attend a Social Communication Group every Friday morning at a local Special School (attending this school isn't an option tho as they come under a different Authority to where we live - so stupid really!). He fits in well into their ASC class and his TA is learning so much from them.

    My worry is that as Jack moves into Yr1, the school will struggle to educate him. His language isn't brilliant but he does talk and is getting better. He is quite passive so at the moment isn't causing any problems in the class environment. At our family meeting with the school, Ed Psych and Integration Officer, it came out that there are two boys in the class that copy Jack's actions (flapping) and noises that he makes. I worry that later on this might turn into bullying, though the school are keen to stamp out the behaviour they can't always control what happend in the playground!

    Looking ahead, I want Jack to learn valuable life skills and hand on heart I know he won't learn these in mainstream school - as sad as that makes me! His 'autistic talent' is music and even at age 5 he can sing, hold a tune perfectly and strums his guitar and follows a sequence of notes on a keyboard - these are the little things we are nurturing and I want  him to be able to express - I don't think that can happen in mainstream.

    i thought about home schooling but don't think I could do it and have seen how Jack loves being around a lot of people (though he does like his solitude too when he decides he needs it). 

    I'm typing this and realising what I need to do - I need to get on and sort this out don't I?! My hubby trusts my judgement when it comes to Jack (it was me who pushed for the assessment when Jack was 2yrs old and I thought he was showing autistic traits) and I know he'll agree and support the decision to explore a move of schools. I need to talk to Jack's teacher and tell her what I'm thinking, I need to contact the SEN Dept at the Council and I need to speak to the Special School that I have in mind for Jack (it comes very highly recommended from other parents of autistic children who say their kids have thrived there), and most importantly we need to take Jack to the school and see how he reacts to the environment - they have a class specifically for ASC children.

    The one thing I know I'll stuggle with is the school run!! Jack's school is a 5 minute walk from our house - the Special School collect all their children by bus so they arrive on time, relaxed and ready to start their day - hmmm! I'll need to get over that for Jack's sake.

    I really really appreciate all your help and advice and know I still need to hear it as I'm sure I'll have a wobble somewhere along the line. xx

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