Jump to content
Elaine

How to choose a good secondary school

Recommended Posts

Hi

 

Do any of you have experience of, or opinions on, what sort of secondary school is best for ASD children?

 

My eldest son is in Year 5 of a local mainstream primary school. Over the years, the school has been very supportive and he's doing well. Recently he's started to worry about going to secondary school. He finds the idea of going to a large school daunting. Unfortunately, all the secondary schools in our local area are large (1000 to 1500 ish). (And all have their share of bullies) Given the choice, I'd send him to a small independent school. But we can't afford an independent school and the nearest small state secondary school is in a neighbouring county. (It's about � hr. away, so we'd either spend a lot of time in the car, or move house.)

 

It's so hard predicting what would be best. I'd be interested to hear other peoples experiences of secondary school.

 

Thanks

 

Elaine

Edited by Elaine

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It really depends on the individual child.

 

Nathan tried mainstream as he was too bright for the ocal MLD secondary schools and the ASD one was way over subscribed and Nathan was far brighter than most of the others going.....he eventually tried to set the school on fire. :tearful: Lots of case conferences later he was moved to specilaist school able to handle the explosive mix of autism and serious mental health issues. The mainstream school did everything to make Nathans placement work but Nathan is not really 'mainstream' and his statement meant 1 child, 1 classroom, 1 teacher, three assistants and a very small school.

 

Sam moved from a special nursary in an ASD specific school to supportive mainstream and is now fully intergrated in a large secondary with Technology college status, he choose it over the much smaller grammer. :blink: it is also the same school Nathan tried to burn down. Same support is in place but with Sam it works.

 

The best advice I was ever given was off another parent; go to each school your thinking of and see if you can spot a child who reminds you of your kid and see if they look happy to be there.

 

Moving my youngest [has severe dyslexia and DAMP= disorders of attention, motor and perception] into a secondary school scares me the most, I am sure she is not living in the same space and time continuum and we have not a Steiner school or similar any where within traveling distance even though the authority said they would pay for neighbouring authority provision if I could find a suitable school. :angry: IF........ha.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At this moment in time if it was the time to chose (2years off) I would probably go with our local secondary school which is only about half a mile away. Not to big. And despite what local paper says has an average ratting by OFSTED

 

All the schools in the area (Like all schools) have good and bad points.

 

In our area we still have 11+ which just makes it all that more complicated. If he was to pass, unlikely at the moment unless he was able to have assistants, but who knows, then do we go for a Grammar School which would mean travailing?

 

(I'm against selective education in principal but when it is your own child what do you do???)

 

And now they are talking of reorganizing schools, our local secondary school would become part of an academy what ever that would mean.

 

Well that decision is 2 years off so I wont loosing to much sleep over that just yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Elaine

Secondary school is, I think, one of the hardest times for our children, I breathed a sigh of relief when JP left & went to 6th form, where he was much happier.

 

BUT .... he did ok. Large school, good reputation, bullies like there are anywhere. We had some truly scary moments. But with support, & adaptations, he left with a clutch of decent GCSE's, did well at 6th form & is now gainfully employed as an apprentice at our city council :thumbs:

 

What helped us & him was:

Good preparation beforehand: extra trips there in preceding summer term etc.

His TA moved up with him & continued to work with him till he left at 16

Good partnership between us, teachers & SENCO

Reasonable adjustments: he didnt have to brave the playground at break/lunch, had the key to the visitors toilet after a bullying incident in the boys toilet, could leave the class if in danger of meltdown.

Good communication between us & TA. We moved from home/school diary to telephone calls (would prob use email now, it was a few years back)

 

Mainstream secondary doesnt suit every AS child. But for some, it CAN work, it did for JP.

 

Good luck >:D<<'>

 

Edited to add: when the bullying was at its height, I did investigate private education, as I'd heard you could get funding to go there if your child has special needs. But thankfully it was resolved so we didnt go down that route in the end.

Edited by pearl

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

 

Our priority for secondary school was choosing an environment he would be able to survive in. That meant choosing a small secondary school (there are very few of these).

 

 

Having a suitable environment and staff who was willing to communicate and provide what was needed has meant our son is surviving in secondary school.

 

 

We looked at all the small schools, special school, private school, state schools.

 

In the end we choose a small independent school which the LEA were willing to pay the fees.

 

Our son is too bright for a special school but not able to access the curriculum in a large school environment due to his sensory difficulties.

 

We have been amazed at how good the school are at communicating and taking our worries and our sons worries on board.

 

Don't go by what people have told you. Go by what you feel and how the school communicates with you. I also think its very important for parents to communicate with schools on how ASD affect our child and what statergies the school will need to use.

 

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the relies everyone!

 

Lynne, would you mind telling me how you managed to get funding for an independent school? My CC take the view that all schools should be able to take ASD children, so if you choose another school (even if it's a special school) then it's parental choice and they wont pay.

Edited by Elaine

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

 

If you have a good statement which states your child needs access to a quite room to allow his senses to calm down. Most of the large senior schools do not have any empty rooms.

 

Having an objective to minimise Paul's sensory difficulties meant the LEA could not argue a large school environment would be benefical.

 

 

 

In fact we only looked at the independent school on a open day because we had exhausted all the LEA schools. But we found them so inclusive. Paul went for 4 visits to the school before the school was happy to accept him. And we were happy the school had got to know Paul over a period of time.

 

These are some of the things we have in our sons statement, which help us to secure the correct senior school.

 

 

These are Pauls objectives in his statement

 

1. To assist Paul in managing his emotions and behaviour, particularly in the school setting.

2. To develop his social interaction skills with both adults and other pupils

3. To improve his attention, concentration and listening skills.

4. To improve his expressive and receptive language skills.

5. To minimise Paul?s reported sensory difficulties

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sensory Integration

Paul finds changes in routine and new environments very difficult to cope with and is therefore very socially and emotionally vulnerable during these times. He needs to feel safe and secure within the learning environment. Familiarity gives him security and he welcomes the opportunity to retreat, regroup and to function in an environment that does not impose or intrude

 

 

h) When Paul?s neurological process of selecting, filtering and organising sensory information is overloaded, Paul needs the opportunity to retreat and re-regulate his arousal effectively so he is able to deal with the event/activity effectively. In reality this means that Paul needs to be taken out of the class setting to a quiet area and given 1:1 attention by an experienced adult until he is able to deal with the environment again

 

 

 

l) Access to a ?quiet? area (safe area) where sensory input can be cut down ? less light, less sound, less touch

 

n) Support to assist Paul in coping with change in the school environment. This should include changeover points for activities.

 

Having a very detailed accurate statement helps to secure the right placement.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I,g go look at all your local schools and meet the head of learning support in them all.Also speak to local parents of ASD kids(perhaps at a local support group) and ask them which schools they would recommend.My son goes to a huge high school over 2000 pupils, and he is alot happier there than he ever was at his small primary school.He accesses the student support room for breaks and dinner and his statement means he is supported in lessons etc.

........a move to high school isn,t always for the worse my boy is alot more settled now, but its down to the staff so I,d be looking at the support side of things more than the size of school.Best of luck suzex

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My personal view is that good and secondary school is an oxymoron.

 

The biggest criticism I have of secondary schools in general is the curriculum. The truth is that about 90% of what secondary schools teach is pointless rubbish of no relevance in the real world or for everyday life as an adult. I also think the social skills developed during secondary school are not applicable, or even desirable, for life as an adult. The best education for young teenagers is obtained from good role models - which in most circumstances are quality adults that work in quality real world careers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

 

The attitude of staff is very important and it the essential element in our children being intergrated.

 

However, even with the best staff my child would not of survived in a large school due to his sensory issues.

 

You need the environment and support that is best suited to your child.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the information Lynne. If things don't work out with the state schools, I'll try the independent route, but don't hold out much hope, my CC is awful. (Last year, my youngest son was due to go to a special ASD unit, it was written into his statement. Anyway, at first the CC refused to provide transport as, they claimed, all schools can take ASD children, therefore it was our 'choice' to send him there. Eventually, after a lot of phone calls they agreed, but refused to provide him with an escort (he was only 4 at the time). Again more calls and they agreed to that too. Then, when everything seemed to be going our way, they closed down the unit !!!!! )

 

Thanks for replying Suze and Canopus.

 

I am a member of a local support group and have asked around about schools already. (And I've asked the other Mums at my children's school). There is one school that is good in terms of academic achievement and some people have found it quite helpful (others haven't), but it has 1500 pupils. It's the sheer size of it that concerns me. Knowing my children, they'll find it overwhelming. (And I would like a school where the teachers and the head actually know who the children are, which isn't going to happen in a school that size.) I'll pay it a visit anyway........

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Elaine , my sons Head has no idea who my son is...........but the important thing is the support staff do, they all have experience of autism and its they who have made the difference to him.The head of learning support is the most important person you should be talking too.Does your son have a statement??...............that,ll make a difference.I would,nt necessarily think a private school any better than a state school, a friend whose son is AS is having to fund support herself in the private sector............is was either that or expulsion........they can afford it, but they,ve had little understanding or help from the school.Best of luck Elaine,... suzex

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...