took el to see special school

[butterfingersbimbo]

i have been thinking about senior school for el. the town we live in has two secondary schools, each with over a thousand kids in them....so have been quite concerned how el would cope with either of them, and them with her.

 

so last week i went to next big town to check out the situation there. i had been hearing good things about a special school there, they follow the national curriculum, have good links with the colleges, and more to the point they have alot of experience with autism. they also have children with other disabilities, like downs syndrome, and physical disabilities too.

 

when i went it really struck me the differences between schools. they follow the TEACH programme but reduce it as the kids get older. they have a little courtyar that the asd kids can play in if they dont want to play in the main playground. there is usually no more than twelve children in a class and they have a teacher and an LSA in each classroom. all the children and staff looked really happy to be there, and i felt very welcome.

 

so me and el's LSA took her to see it this morning. she was very manic this morning, big time cos she was so excited and nervous. when we got there el wouldnt let go of my hand! she is not a hand holder generally, and she hardly spoke! me and her lsa agreed we had never seen el so quiet lol! we did a tour and as the school had just had a fantastic ofsted review the head had organised for an ice cream van to come to the school for everyone to have an ice cream! and guess who got the first one! the head explained to el how they work their reward system, and el was very interested in that!

 

so anyway when we came out of there, we asked el what she thought but she was definately needing time to think. her lsa was so impressed with the place and said that she wishes she could work there. so that made me feel really good about the place.

 

so after school i asked el if she liked it and she said she would like to go there. have got to let the LEA know, i am hoping that it wont be a problem as her statement does say DSP unit on there, and i really dont want her to go to either local comp.....so please keep everything crossed for us, i will be gutted if they say no.

[UltraMum]

[JsMum]

It is really surprising when you look at spersific schools and the extra support they offer its fantastic that your lsa was also avialable to have a look around too, you never know she just might be joining el after all.

 

A other thought is that there will be children who are going to be able to relate to el and that will help el feel included and be more excepted rather than a second comp, dont meen that to sound really bad but there will be a feeling of more excepted.

 

When does she go to secondary?

 

I am looking at a secondary comp and also a specific special school as well and then going from their, but I like your idea of the lsa accompaning, I might ask if Js lsa would like to come when we start looking, J doesnt go for another two years yet, so plenty of time at the moment.

 

I wish el all the best and hope she enjoys it, will there be some intergration for her maybe some short days to get to know staff and children?

 

It sounds very exciting so keep us informed with the process of her been excepted.

 

GOODLUCK

 

JsMum

[mossgrove]

Here's hoping:

 

 

Simon

[Bagpuss]

That sounds wonderful Good luck, hope El gets a place and let us know how it goes

[CarerQuie]

Let's hope that she gets a place.xx

[annie]

Sounds great . Keep us updated.

 

Annie

xx

[Kathrynh]

Fingers crossed for you.

[lil_me]

Sounds lovely, fingers crossed for you

[Karen A]

I really hope things work out and you can get a place at the school.Karen

[nellie]

Fingers crossed.

 

Nellie xx

[Kathryn]

It's great that el liked the school and that you had the LSA to give you her opinion as well.

 

The very best of luck, now you know what you want, keep pressing on,

 

K x

[butterfingersbimbo]

ah thanks everyone! am waiting to hear from the lea now.....if they say no......