Top 10 Tips for SEN School Search

First and foremost, does your child’s current school meet their needs? If not, why not? Try to document what is working well for your child and what isn’t. What is it that you are looking for in a more specialist environment? Sometimes you won’t know exactly until you try.

My son's behaviour at home was explosive after holding it together all day in a mainstream school setting. Once he was settled in a specialist school, all the anxieties and worries calmed down. In a specialist setting he was able to handle each anxiety as it presented during the school day, rather than allowing them all to build up and then explode the minute he felt safe.

Often the move from Primary to Secondary is a time that we see increased difficulties emerging. We help many families of Year 7 pupils who end up with school refusal after moving to Secondary.  Even in a more nurturing Independent School with smaller class sizes, this can still prove difficult, because teachers expect pupils to be more independent and self organised. This can be extremely difficult for pupils who experience executive functioning difficulties.

So what should your school search focus on? Obviously priorities will be different for each family, depending on what your child needs are, but try to focus on this top ten:

1. In discussing your child with the school, always be honest. Honesty is essential for SEN, so be upfront about your child’s needs. This will ensure the correct support in the longer term, and also rule out schools that are not suitable.

2. Does the school have on site Occupational Therapists and Speech & Language Therapists?

3. Who is going to fund the school? Will you be private fee paying, are you securing or already have an EHCP for funding through your Local Authority?

4. What are your child’s main interests? Do the school offer these sports or activities?

5. What is your child’s primary need (or diagnosis)? Try to hone in on schools who’s speciality is your child’s primary need such as Dyslexia or Autism Spectrum Disorder, for instance.

6. Does the school have a full time nurse on site? Often children require medication and it’s useful for peace of mind and medication management to have a qualified nurse on site.

7. Do they offer Learning Support, is it in a group setting or 1:1, do they support the use of assistive technology?

8. For residential schools what is the residential set up? Are bedrooms all along one long corridor with a large shared common room, or do they have house bases with 6 pupils of differing ages/year groups, more like a family environment? Do pupils have their own or shared bedrooms?

9. Try to organise one or two taster days at different schools and allow your child to take the lead in where they felt a good fit. It is so important for successful settling in if the child feels happy and safe in the environment, and they feel they have some control over the decision.

10. Most importantly, if you find the school that fits your child perfectly, or even if you don’t - do not give up!
    

EHCP Schools specialise in helping families navigate special educational needs, including finding suitable schools and assisting with education, health and care plans. We work with pupils who are mainstream cognitively able, whose primary need is ASD, PDA, Aspergers, ADHD, anxiety and depression, Tourette's, Dyslexia, Speech & language, SPD, school refusal and exclusion. Please visit us at: www.ehcpschools.co.uk 

Tamara King is an experienced Educational Consultant for SEN, and an expert by experience as a parent to children who have EHCP's and attended specialist schools. Please contact us at ehcpschools@gmail.com