After that incredibly long blog surrounding our journey to finding the right school I thought I would write a blog on what I think would of helped and supported me through this as a SEN parent. As mentioned, the LA was no support in the years of looking for a suitable placement and this is echoed nationally. Recently I was contacted on social media to help support a family, whose daughter was struggling at her current school but when the family spoke to their LA they were simply told “look around schools”. Familiar? It is disheartening that that is the advice given to parents when trying to secure educational provision that will change the trajectory of their children’s lives.

This is what I came up with.

Always read the OFSTED report. The OFSTED report will give clear indication of how the school is maintaining it’s overall standard of education.
When looking at the OFSTED if the school has ever been “requires improvement” or “inadequate” has improvements been made? When was the last full inspection?
Look on the website for the SEND information report. Some Local Authorities require schools to present their SEND provision and show what can be accessed. Others just require a statement to how SEND provision is valued in the school. All schools must provide some level of SEND support.
Speak to the SENCO. All schools have a Special Education Needs Co-Ordinator.
Look around. This is the best way to determine whether the school is a good fit for your child.
Check for cognitive ability. Does this special school have limitations on cognitive ability or can children progress, if so, how? when? to what level?
Is there any on site therapies? if not, how/when does the school buy them in? Is it weekly? Termly? what additional support is there for the child?
Does the school do any off site enrichment activities? What are they? are they accessible for your child?
Policies. What is their behaviour policy, do they use rewards or sanctions? How will your child manage that? What is the restraint policy? Which method do they use? Who is trained in restraint? Can you see their policies? Are they available on the school website so that you can read through them yourself? Does it have an online prospectus.
Do they have a nurture programme? does it have any limitations?
If it is a secondary setting what provision do they have for post 14 years and post 16? Can the school accommodate post 16 and further education.
Do they use alternative education providers. If so, who?
How is the school maintained? Is it a local authority? academy or private/independent school? What is their admission policy?
If they are an academy trust what sort of reputation does the trust have? How many schools are under the trust?
What is the school’s core values and ethos? Does it match your values?
What support does the school give during key transitions? Through the year groups and during key transitions such as from nursery to primary and primary to secondary?
What wraparound provision does the school have?
What outdoor provision does the the school have? Outdoor classrooms, play area, green areas, forest school?
What wellbeing support do they have? An inclusion officer, a counsellor, emotional coaching and literacy, buddy system, therapy animals?
If it is an ASD unit, or SEMH unit does the unit have integrated access into the mainstream school?
Can your child access all areas of the school? buildings and outside, 2nd story buildings, toilets, changing areas, wide doors?
How secure is the school?
What aids and provisions are there for accessibility?

I had no idea I would need to know the answers to half these questions and I had a child that had completed secondary education. Finding a SEN school has opened my eyes to an education system which is failing a large portion of the future generation. It is difficult to get funding, local authorities gate keep access to special education and even then, SEN schools are not a one size fits all which we found out. There is limited support, and the support that is there, you have to dig very deep to find it. It is not accessible to everyone.

My one wish in life is for education to be accessible to everyone.

Georgina