Which type of seconday school

[nix]

Hi there have not posted for a while. My youngest was diagnosed two years ago with ASD and developmental delay he is now 5.

 

My eldest who is ten has been diagnosed with AS and I am confused over which schools to look at.

 

I have been looking around the mainstream schools and am unsure if these would be suitable.

 

There is a lovely private school nearby which has chess clubs and computer clubs etc but it costs �9000 a year and we cannot afford this.

 

Has anyone any advice or been in a similar situation ? Do you think I will be able to get a statement ? it nearly destroyed me getting youngest ones but I got there in the end and it is all specified and quantified etc so I know what to do but am unsure whether I would get one as eldest has superior intelligence and the autism is much more subtle compared to youngest .

 

If i got a statement would they pay the fees ??

 

Thankyou .

[cmuir]

Hi

 

Have no idea. Can you ask your son's consultant for advice (I know it's not their remit, but my son's consultant is very knowledgeable about education options)? Also, how about asking your educational psychologist or LEA? You could also make a general enquiry with the school - thing is though you may not get support ie learning assistant funded by education dept if in a private school. I tried a google search for private schools within my locality and got results. You could try arranging visits by phoning schools and liaising with your EP.

 

Best wishes.

 

Caroline.

[Canopus]

�9000 is an awful lot of money for just one year at school. In fact it is the cost of a university degree.

 

I have known many parents who sent their NT kids to fee paying schools and ended up regretting the amount of money they spent, despite their kids ending up with excellent GCSE and A Level grades and generally enjoying their time at school. Some of the parents think the money should have been put aside for university and one said they should have used the money for a deposit on a house.

 

As general rule an LEA will NOT pay fees for a private school unless the school specifically provides SEN services. Even if the school does provide SEN services then getting an LEA to pay the fees is a very difficult task.

 

Here are a few facts about private schools and SEN.

 

1. Support for SEN is very chequered unless the school specifically provides SEN services. Some schools that are not SEN designated provide very good service for kids with SEN, but others don't understand their conditions and treat them badly.

 

2. Statements do not apply in private schools.

 

3. Private schools are exempt from government legislation relating to SEN provision.

 

4. Teachers in private schools are often less clued up about SEN than teachers in state schools. Often they are reluctant to change their teaching style to accomodate kids with SEN and sometimes don't give a damn to kids with SEN.

 

5. Private schools often maintain a school culture than can be difficult in places for kids with SEN.

 

6. Private schools are sometimes reluctant to provide extra help to kids who struggle with certain subjects and generally have difficulty in understanding kids that have uneven profiles.

[nix]

That is very useful advice thankyou I never thought of it like that.

 

The problem is that he is superior intelligence and I thought that there would be many other children like him in a private school for good role models. There are chess clubs and computer clubs and opportunities to stay over with friends if he wanted to.

 

He plays with a boy down our street who is diagnosed ADHD who is absolutely lovely but my son picks up on his bad behaviour but is drawn to him because of the same obsessional interests and I am afraid that he will be drawn to the "wrong crowd " at secondry school.

 

Sorry hope I don't offend anyone.

[Canopus]

The problem is that he is superior intelligence and I thought that there would be many other children like him in a private school for good role models. There are chess clubs and computer clubs and opportunities to stay over with friends if he wanted to.

 

It's difficult to say really because I don't know the technicalities of your son and the school to determine whether they would be highly compatible or whether there would be underlying problems. The kids who attend the private school may well be of superior intelligence and intellect than most kids who attend a state school, but you have to remember that most of them are NT and could view a kid with AS as a weirdo or out of touch with things. Ditto for the staff. It might be worth enquiring about AS and finding out how AS friendly the school is and how willing the school is to provide any SEN services required.

 

You also have to take into account any class snobbery. At �9000 a year it is safe to say that the majority of kids come from wealthy parents. There are probably kids who come from less well off backgrounds whose parents have to make sacrifices such as holidays or cars to come up with �9000 but they quickly becomes apparent to the wealthy kids and are sometimes marginalised. Some private schools see themselves as culture clubs.

[yoyo]

I have wide experience of private schools and disagree with some of the views expressed. The majority have excellent learning support departments with teachers more than willing to research pupils' specific learning or other difficulties. All private schools that I have experience of have excellent pastoral care systems in place and the general ethos is one of acceptance of others and tolerance of differences. Snobbery is not an issue in all places; our three attended one of the top co-ed public schools as music scholars. We sacrificed to pay the fees and they never once experienced snobbery; neither did we as parents. From my experience as a teacher and a parent Iwould suggest that, where an AS child is happy in a timetabled environment, has reasonable organizational skills and as the academic ability of the chosen school (they are not all places for children of superior intelligence), a private school could well be the solution. Private schools may not be everyone's cup of tea but they are certainly not places where less wealthy are marginalised and definitely not culture clubs.

 

Yoyo