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Mainstream school suggesting a move to SEN school.

NAS96662

Hello Everyone,

Our little one (ASD, suspected AuDHD) has been at a mainstream primary school for just over a year. He recently started year 1 with an EHCP but not enough funding for a full time one to one. As a result, his set up is that he spends part of the day in a group of four SEN children and attends the parts of the main class that he enjoys (PE for example).

Yesterday was parents' evening and instead of a teacher the SenCo turned up and told us that his attention issues are so bad that he is essentially blocked from learning and is a barrier to the other kids in his group's learning. We have been told in no uncertain terms that he should be in a specialist educational setting as soon as possible.

Emotions aside, I feel like I'm at the foot of a big hill with no clue how to start climbing.

I do plan to ask the school to request a higher level of funding, given that what they are proposing is a far more expensive solution, but would be very interested in hearing other parents' experiences on the following:

What is it like in a SEN primary school?

How do you begin to find and apply for these schools?

Thanks in advance for anything you might have to share.

Parents

  • Hi,

    SENCO here...I would be asking the following questions of the SENCO:

    - if you have identified these barriers and needs, what reasonable adjustments have you made for my child?

    - have you consulted with the Ed Psych for further information (I assume not or you'd know about this?) An Ed Psych will be able to offer far more detail into why you child should either move or remain in his current setting.

    - Have you sought advice from an OT to explore whether there are any underlying sensory difficulties driving these difficulties?

    - What training have the teachers and support staff received specific to the needs of my child?

    - Have you investigated any 'hot spots' to understand the underlying issues here... is it my child's needs or is it linked to a particular room, time in the day, staff member, pupil etc - and once this assessment has been completed what reasonable adjustments have been made to cater to these? 

    There are many more, but these are a good starting point for you to go back to school with. In my borough it is not a straight forward process to move to specialist provision and I know that there are issues with capacity nationwide so I don't imagine it will be straightforward wherever you are based. There is a lengthy process to go through. If the ultimate decision is to move to specialist provision, this could take up to and beyond 12 months so it's important that the school start to unpick further and see what else they can put in place for your child while he is on role with them.

Reply

  • Hi,

    SENCO here...I would be asking the following questions of the SENCO:

    - if you have identified these barriers and needs, what reasonable adjustments have you made for my child?

    - have you consulted with the Ed Psych for further information (I assume not or you'd know about this?) An Ed Psych will be able to offer far more detail into why you child should either move or remain in his current setting.

    - Have you sought advice from an OT to explore whether there are any underlying sensory difficulties driving these difficulties?

    - What training have the teachers and support staff received specific to the needs of my child?

    - Have you investigated any 'hot spots' to understand the underlying issues here... is it my child's needs or is it linked to a particular room, time in the day, staff member, pupil etc - and once this assessment has been completed what reasonable adjustments have been made to cater to these? 

    There are many more, but these are a good starting point for you to go back to school with. In my borough it is not a straight forward process to move to specialist provision and I know that there are issues with capacity nationwide so I don't imagine it will be straightforward wherever you are based. There is a lengthy process to go through. If the ultimate decision is to move to specialist provision, this could take up to and beyond 12 months so it's important that the school start to unpick further and see what else they can put in place for your child while he is on role with them.

Children