what is special school like? eligibity criteria ?

[Blue-Kat]

we've home educated our 10 yr old son L since nursery, he's never attended school. we've just requested an assessment / statement from the LEA, with view to applying for a special school placement at secondary level.

 

it's a bit of a jump into the unknown. what is special school like?

 

whilst largely successful, there have been difficulties providing enough activity, outings and supportive social opportunities in the home ed setting.

 

he needs a lot of literacy help, ( reading age something like 5 yrs below chroniclogical age? ) his education psych report showed a very uneven profile, able in some areas, less so in others, working memory on the 1st centile !

 

L attended playscheme run by local autistic society and really enjoyed it, despite a few meltdowns, and needing 1 day off for tiredness/stress.

 

our current thinking is that it would have to be special school or stick with home ed, there is no way we would send him to main stream school - just can't see that it would work, and we're not willing to risk his mental health to test it.

 

any ideas what are the criteria to get a place?

assuming L and us think it's suitable !

 

also, what if it all goes pear-shaped:

if he's statemented, would we be compelled to send him to the school that the LEA allocates?

as a fall back position, would it be possible to deregister and home educate if he hates it?

 

many thanks

-

Katya

[summertime]

to enable him to be enrolled in a special school he would need a statement and have a school named on his statement, but if its not one you think suitable you can appeal.

 

once you have a place then you can always withdraw and go back to home education.

 

as for what they are like, thats impossible to say as like mainstream schools they all vary.

 

the best suggestion I can give is to go and visit all the local ones to get a feel for them, if you phone the school you will be able to make an appointment to have a look round and chat to the head

[Brook]

Hi Katya,

 

the criteria would depend on the 'type' of special school.

My son attends a special school but it's not ASD specific but alot of the children are ASD.

 

I home edded for a year and I got my sons statement whilst he was at home, all the while he

was home ed the school placement part of the statement was filled in with 'home educated'.

We applied to the LEA for special school (it was special or nothing for us because of his experience

in mainstream) and if they had refused we would have continued home ed.

 

I was thinking that they normally put what school they are likely to name on a proposed statement

(not the actual school name but type) so you would have a good idea if they had taken your choice

seriously, you can always appeal, or if not you can fill in the school part with 'continue to home ed'.

 

Here's some info about deregistering from special school, though hopefully you wont need it.

My son absolutely loves his special school, I never thought we'd get him near a school again.

 

http://www.education-otherwise.org/Legal/Deregistration.htm

 

Brook

[bid]

You may find that your LEA only tells you about their special schools, which are usually for Moderate Learning Difficulties or Severe Learing Difficulties...neither of which may be right for your son.

 

However, there are many independent special schools which cater for a far broader range of needs, e.g. just for AS (like the one my son attended). If an independent school is named on your son's Statement, the LEA will pay the fees (sometimes shared with SS, and more rarely with Health).

 

You can find the full range of special schools on the Gabbitas site (sorry, don't know the addy ).

 

Bid

[something vague]

Hi Katya,

 

As Summertime says all special schools are different. i work in a secondary school for children with Moderate Learning difficulties - but I am actually situated in the autism unit which has classes for children with ASD and MLD and also classes for children with ASD and severe learning difficulties. Some of our pupils with ASD dont attend the autism unit, they are fully integtated into the main school which is run like any other secondary, children moving from class to class for their various time tabled subjects. The difference is that each class has 12 pupils or under and a learning support assistant for each class group - sometimes more depending on need.

 

Some children in the unit integrate with the main school for ome lessons but have the bulk of lessons in their own class with their own teacher. The children with ASD/SLD have a high staff ratio - 1 staff to 2 pupils usually and have most lessons with same teacher and in same room. My class last year had 4 pupils and 3 staff, sounds good but it was still hard work! They integrate for assembly and lunch and main school pupils join their class for integration. In the autism unit classes most of the staff are trained and experienced in autism, mainschool staff have some training too. All pupils follow the National Curriculum but in the SLD classes we have to be quite imaginative in our delivery of it. The unit children usually benefit from some social skills lessons too which entails going out and about in the community, shopping, cafes, leisure activities and the likes. The unit also uses specific interventions such as PECS, TEACCH and Intensive Interaction. Im not sure about the criteria to get into specil school but i think tht some ofour kids statements state the need for 'autism speific' education. With the push towards inclusion, I dont know how easy it is to get placed in special schools anymore and I doubt that our school will continue in its present form for much longer.

 

I hope that info is useful to you but dont forget all special schools are different This is the first secondary that I've worked in and it is very different to primary special.

 

All the best

 

SV

Edited August 23, 2006 by something vague

[PinkSapphireAngel]

I home edded for a year and I got my sons statement whilst he was at home, all the while he

was home ed the school placement part of the statement was filled in with 'home educated'.

We applied to the LEA for special school (it was special or nothing for us because of his experience

in mainstream) and if they had refused we would have continued home ed.

 

 

 

http://www.education-otherwise.org/Legal/Deregistration.htm

 

Brook

 

 

Thats really interesting Brook as I am in the same situation right now with my son, we are fighting for a statement for our son who is due to start secondary school but after his experiences of mainstream primary we are not willing to risk him in mainstream secondary without a statement and are seriously considering special school.

At the moment as we are having to take the LEA to SENDIST for the second time this year (this time for refusal to statement, as they have clearly not looked at the reports) we feel we have no option but for me to home educate him and I have been saying for over a year if it came to a choice between mainstream with no statement and my home educating him we have no choice as its not worth the risk, he is already on Risperidal for his self harming and anxiety.

 

The LEA are accusing me of only trying to get him statemented to get him into a particular very popular mainstream school and that I am trying to force them to change their minds by home educating my son, they have got it all so wrong it makes me cry.

[cmuir]

Hi Blue-Kat

 

You're certainly within your rights to go and have a look. I asked my son's Educational Psychologist about special schools and we went for a visit. Be forewarned, it won't be an easy experience and you'll probably come out feeling very emotional. I know I did, especially after seeing rooms with pink padded walls, security guard, a teacher requiring assistance (panic alarm going off) and two assistants running to her aid. That was a school for emotional, social and behaviour problems. Have to say, whilst I didn't think it was quite right for Robert at the time, I was very impressed in a lot of ways. The staff handled the kids appropriately, know exactly what they're dealing with, and actually care about the kids!

 

My advice is to ask lots of questions and go and have a look around a few.

 

Caroline.

[bid]

Just so you don't panic, my son's special school wasn't like this!!

 

Bid

[Flora]

I went to look at an AS specific school last year (very like the one bid's son went to).

 

It was fantastic!

 

Not a padded cell in sight, in fact quite the opposite! The small houses where the children lived (it was residential) were nicely decorated and could almost say luxurious!

 

It was bright, cheerful, relaxed, friendly, very very organised and professional. There was no 'institutional' feel to it. I'd been to look at a private boarding school which caters for specific learning difficulties the year before and that, while an excellent school which if I had the funds would have no hesitation in sending either of my boys to, was more like an institution and not half as comfortable and pleasant as the AS special school I looked at.

 

Flora

[JsMum]

I read a post not long back about a specific book that looks at all special needs education and lists all the special schools and criterias, its by gabbatis if anyone remembers it could they say the books title as I think this book would be helpful its ?20 but your local autistic society or parentpartnership may have it to loan.

 

JsMum

[nellie]

The is the link to the Gabbitas website, your local library will have a copy of the Gabbitas guide.

http://www.gabbitas.co.uk/index.aspx?p=1197

 

You can also find a list of schools on the NAS PARIS website.

http://www.info.autism.org.uk/Pages/Index.aspx

 

Can I take this opportunity to remind members of this forum rule.

 

10. Posts should refrain from naming schools, organisations or professionals without having obtained the prior consent of the individuals concerned. For the avoidance of doubt the moderators will remove any postings where there is any doubt that prior permission has been obtained.

 

You are free to use the PM system for passing the information.

 

Nellie xx

[jlp]

I'm another one watching this topic.

 

My ds#1 is struggling in mainstream school and until recently we were always told he was 'too bright' for special school but his behaviour has now escalated to the point where - unless a miracle happens - I don't think school will be able to cope. Our consultant, who is always the first to say she isn't allowed to have much of a say in education matters, asked how we'd feel about special school. We'll be meeting with the Ed Psych in October (do you still see one?) and will see what she says, by then we'll know how ds has reacted to Y2.

 

I suppose the logical step would be to contact several local special schools and go and have a look and a chat to see if they are able to cope with your son's particular needs. I haven't done this myself yet, it's a bit a a big step (and I think we need to see if the predicted Y2 crisis happens for G or if he shocks us all and settles down).

[Blue-Kat]

many thanks for all the helpful replies <'>

 

we've written to local recommend special secondary school to ask to visit when the new term has begun.

 

the LEA have written to say a statement would have to be in place in order to apply.

 

I'm a bit considered that by the time the assessment/statement process goes through ( if it does ), 6 months on will be early 2007, and this will be too late for applications which are due in this Autumn, and all the places will be allocated.

 

the whole process seems rather convuluted.

 

thanks for suggestion to consider Independent AS schools, I am not aware of any in this area but definately something to look into.

I've looked up the gabbitas book at the library online catalogue, but unfortunately it's barred from being requested. will ask parent partnership when they return to their desks.

 

thanks all

[Blue-Kat]

Hi Brook

thanks very much for this, so pleased it's worked out so well for your son.

 

Hopefully, things will work out well for my son too (and red tape won't be too drawn out!), but just checking out the worst case scenario as I've heard a few stories of LEAs being difficult about deregging from Special school, and things turning ugly. We've had a bit of bother with SS in the past when we deregistered our older 2 who have ME/CFS ( Chronic fatigue syndrome ) and dyslexia, and couldn't go through that again.

but also trying not to be paranoid, hopefully things have moved on.

 

regards

-

Katya

 

 

Hi Katya,

 

the criteria would depend on the 'type' of special school.

My son attends a special school but it's not ASD specific but alot of the children are ASD.

 

I home edded for a year and I got my sons statement whilst he was at home, all the while he

was home ed the school placement part of the statement was filled in with 'home educated'.

We applied to the LEA for special school (it was special or nothing for us because of his experience

in mainstream) and if they had refused we would have continued home ed.

 

I was thinking that they normally put what school they are likely to name on a proposed statement

(not the actual school name but type) so you would have a good idea if they had taken your choice

seriously, you can always appeal, or if not you can fill in the school part with 'continue to home ed'.

 

Here's some info about deregistering from special school, though hopefully you wont need it.

My son absolutely loves his special school, I never thought we'd get him near a school again.

 

http://www.education-otherwise.org/Legal/Deregistration.htm

 

Brook

[Blue-Kat]

sorry to hear wht a fight you've got on.

I hope that your son feels less anxious in home ed environment and that the statement and appropiate placement come through.

 

-

Katya

 

 

 

Thats really interesting Brook as I am in the same situation right now with my son, we are fighting for a statement for our son who is due to start secondary school but after his experiences of mainstream primary we are not willing to risk him in mainstream secondary without a statement and are seriously considering special school.

At the moment as we are having to take the LEA to SENDIST for the second time this year (this time for refusal to statement, as they have clearly not looked at the reports) we feel we have no option but for me to home educate him and I have been saying for over a year if it came to a choice between mainstream with no statement and my home educating him we have no choice as its not worth the risk, he is already on Risperidal for his self harming and anxiety.

 

The LEA are accusing me of only trying to get him statemented to get him into a particular very popular mainstream school and that I am trying to force them to change their minds by home educating my son, they have got it all so wrong it makes me cry.

[Blue-Kat]

Hi SV

 

thanks so much for taking the trouble to describe how things run at your special school to me.

 

it's a big jump back into the education system for us, having been home educating for 5+ years.

-

Katya

 

work in a secondary school for children with Moderate Learning difficulties - but I am actually situated in the autism unit which has classes for children with ASD and MLD and also classes for children with ASD and severe learning difficulties. ....

...big snip....

[something vague]

Hi SV

 

thanks so much for taking the trouble to describe how things run at your special school to me.

 

it's a big jump back into the education system for us, having been home educating for 5+ years.

-

Katya

 

Hi Katya,

 

The one thing I didnt mention though you probably guessed is that a school such as ours isnt likely to cover many GCSEs, some of our pupils take ART GCSE and I think MUSIC/performance arts GCSE. Otherwise we follow alternative awards such as ASDAN - a kind of living skills/social skills award, its very good and the AQA entry level certificates which are academic subject related. However, as I said before the whole school population follow the National Curriculum so they do get exposure to all subject areas and of course lots of English and Maths practise.

 

I hope you get sorted, we sometimes have people starting mid school year so dont worry too much about that

 

SV

[Blue-Kat]

thanks SV.

not too bothered about GCSEs, there are other qualifications and routes. Education for the whole person, not just academic tick boxes, unless it suits the person and their circs of course.

 

my 18yr old hasn't taken any GCSEs, but got a lot out of doing a video and media course and gained some NCFEs.

he and my 15 yr old daughter are just about to start Foundation studies at local college, which seems well set up with young people with special needs. Apparently there's an area of the cafe that been sectioned off for people with ASD / other conditions who need quieter atmosphere.

They can do EdExel basic Literacy and numeracy ( or equiv GCSEs ) and try various other courses without the pressure of it being an exam course.

[something vague]

thanks SV.

not too bothered about GCSEs, there are other qualifications and routes. Education for the whole person, not just academic tick boxes, unless it suits the person and their circs of course.

 

my 18yr old hasn't taken any GCSEs, but got a lot out of doing a video and media course and gained some NCFEs.

he and my 15 yr old daughter are just about to start Foundation studies at local college, which seems well set up with young people with special needs. Apparently there's an area of the cafe that been sectioned off for people with ASD / other conditions who need quieter atmosphere.

They can do EdExel basic Literacy and numeracy ( or equiv GCSEs ) and try various other courses without the pressure of it being an exam course.

 

That sounds great ,

 

Unfortunately my boy went thru school undiagnosed dyslexia - his dad and brother have too. I didnt push for diagnosis and wish I had now. He's just got GCSE results - all Es apart from D in art. We weren't expecting anything else and we're fine with him, proud he actually took the exams to be honest but what now? If he goes back to college to do basic skills I fear he'll just be put with similar students to the ones in his last class - who couldnt give a damn and caused a lot of trouble. He had wanted to do photography but told he needed Cs at least At the moment he's just looking for unskilled work. Was the video and media class a special one or open to everyone? That sounds like something my boy would like..........hopefully it would give him a bit of confidence.

 

SV

[Blue-Kat]

Hi SV

 

sorry to hear your son didn't get the help he needed

 

my older 2 are a bit worried about how motivated the other students will be on the Foundation Studies course, as it's draining being in a crowd of disenchanted pupils. but the course is clearly set up to help people who need support and may have been overlooked in the school setting, there's 12 to a group with a LSA + teacher.

 

this is course they are doing:

http://my.sheffcol.ac.uk/index.cfm?PID=373...urse=ARTDEFOUN1

no formal quals required, they book took portfolios to interviews

 

with regard to the video course, this is the course my eldest son did

http://www.shiftmedia.org.uk/

it...."provides media training to the local community, with special emphasis on providing access for people without the qualifications required for college media courses."

 

might be worth looking for e2e courses for your lad?

they may be listed on the local connexions website?

 

regards

Katya

Edited August 27, 2006 by Blue-Kat

[Canopus]

It's ironic that vocational courses insist on GCSEs whereas it's quite easy to take A Levels without GCSEs.