What a SEND parent may look for in a residential school

Choosing a school is for a child with SEND can be an overwhelming task.  Most parents start by looking at their local schools to see of they can meet their needs, then specialist provisions maintained by the borough and then also private schools.  Some of my friends have also looked at or decided upon residential schools.  Some have worked out, some have been hard work and some have not.  

The Education for All bill and choosing a secondary school

 

The new Education for All bill, referred to in The King's speech, sets out some big ideas for world of education in the UK.  If you have any any experience of a SEND child in education you probably know that the current system is highly adversarial.  It feels like a child has be failing to prove they need support, and then you battle for two years to get that, whilst competing with other families for the one school place that could work for your child. 

And that's just the start.  Could this new bill make a difference? It has some old ideas (more mainstream inclusion) and some new ways of trying to support this.  There are a few years before it all happens but schools may start looking a bit different and if you currently have a child in primary with SEND or an EHCP you'll be thinking about secondary schools sooner than everyone else.  What can you do to help with your decision?

Three things to think about for a SEN student going to University

 Uni can feel like a long way off, until it suddenly isn’t. One day we're desperately trying to help Anthony pass his Maths and English GCSE's so he can get onto a Level 3 course at college and the next we're thinking how to help him get the most out of his education while he is still in it. 

Usually I take most things as they come and try not to plan too far ahead but at 16 or 17 years old suddenly what you do now could have an impact on what you might be able to do next. 

Helping our autistic son with exam stress

A recent report into anxiety and depression in people under the age of 18 showed that 7 in 10 (69%) are very worried about school work and exams and 2 in 3 (66%) were worried about their future. As the top two worries of young people, according to Wysa, many young people will be feeling anxious and stressed now more than any other time in their lives so far. Anthony is in the middle of his Year 11 exams, so what can we and he, do to help?

Helping my autistic son prepare for exams - creating steps

As my eldest heads towards the end of his time in secondary school, I'm running a few posts to support kids in the run up to their exams.  Today it is about breaking things down into smaller parts. 

Getting the kids ready for going back to school

The school summer holidays is always the longest break in routine for our kids. Whilst our kids with autism struggle with these changes, many kids find the transition into and out of school holidays challenging. 

Ways to teach our autistic kids about the natural world

Teaching anything to my autistic kids can be a challenge.  Even when it's an area that they are interested in it can be challenging to support them to learn when they have such significant difficulties with communication.  David is in Yr 7 according to his age but in many ways he's operating like a child who is in Yr1.  He speaks in only a few words and needs to be shown most things to learnt them as he only understands some of what is said. 

Will increased free childcare, in the budget, discriminate against autistic, SEN kids like mine?

The government has announced an extension to free childcare but a quick calculation shows me that if my son, David, was in childcare now... he would only get ... three... just three hours childcare a week, a tenth of that of his fellow peers. And all because he has autism.   If free childcare is going to be offered it needs to be offered without discrimination. 

What is alternative provision?

I have been working in various types of education for nearly 15 years.   I have three children (if you can call my teenager a child) in education - two of these with special educational needs attending specialist provisions. One of whom started in what's called mainstream (a regular government funded school) and has ended up in a special school as mainstream became unsuitable for him. 

Helping our autistic kids stay safe when using the internet

The internet is a great and exciting place filled with opportunities to explore new ideas, stay in touch with friends, and find new interests. My kids had been playing a variety of age appropriate games on gaming consoles for years before they really needed and wanted to use the internet.  As a parent, we want to ensure our kids use the internet safely and responsibly as it's a viral source of information for them. 

Next steps in education for my autistic teenager

I can't believe my eldest son is at the point of choosing his Yr 10-11 options. It really doesn't seem that long ago since we was diagnosed with ASD at four years old.   It's even stranger to hear him talk about things like what he'll do after school or if he'll go to college.  I'm delighted he's thinking about this but like everything with our kids I'm already thinking about how to prepare him.

What I've learned from working in different schools and at different levels

I started teaching in Higher Education when our first son was about a year old.  I was a marketing professional that went back to the agency i worked at part-time - two days a week.  There was a recession at the time and the client base was shrinking so I started to look at other work and came across a college looking for a marketing professional turned teacher.   

How to look at secondary schools for a child with SEND

When your child has special educational needs (SEN) it feels like there is an even greater weight to getting the right school for them. Many children with SEND can attend regular mainstream primary and secondary schools and have their needs met well there. Both our boys have an ASD diagnosis but only one went to a mainstream primary school.  When it came to his secondary transfer what would I share about looking at secondary schools for him?

My top apps for our autistic kids

There's no doubt that all my kids get technology.  Sometimes it can seem like they are glued to their screens but, especially for my autistic son's, they learn a lot from being online and there's a bunch of apps that are really good at engaging them in learning or sensory feedback, which is so important when they struggle with these on a daily basis.  Here's some of my favourites. 

What would I go back and tell myself when my kids received an autism diagnosis

There is no correct way to react to your child receiving an autism diagnosis.  For some parents it can be a shock, others are worried, some are relieved.  It's normal to wonder why or how a child is autistic.  When we were at our first autism diagnosis meeting the first thing the paediatrician said was something like 'it's nothing you did or didn't do, nothing that you did wrong.'  

Finding a school for a SEND child

David is approaching his secondary transition.  For those whose kids are starting on their educational journey, secondary transition is the move from primary to secondary school. It's not going to be easy.  David is a child with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and needs a whole host of support in order to access education.  

Easter break activities and games for my kids at home

It's the last week of Easter Break and despite the weather trying to convince us otherwise, it's spring at last.  So what can we do to keep our kids busy at home for the last week of the Easter holidays?

Supporting my kids learning now they are back at school

It's so good to have the kids back at school.  I know that being able to send my autistic kids to school for at least some of the time during lockdown was important for them (and us), but it's so good for them all to be back.  My daughter has always been a quick learner and enjoys this part of being back at school.  Like many she's missed friends, but has then also struggled with getting on with peers again.  Even though they are all back to learning at school, we can still support them at home with this - especially if they've fallen behind when they could be.  

Educational resources for our kids this lockdown

We're back at home teaching the kids.  There's plenty for them to do during this lockdown though.  The teachers have got to grips with google classroom in a big way and it shows.  I mean it makes sense, I'm using TEAMS to teach so why shouldn't they be busy doing meetings and providing materials too?

Back to online learning - 5 things we do to help our kids be safe online

It's back to remote learning.  The internet is a fantastic tool for learning and socialising but, sadly, it isn’t risk-free. For us, it’s vital to recognise the risks associated with surfing the net and to try and implement effective measures to ensure our kids can stay safe online. To get started, we take a look at these five things we can do to protect our kids when they’re using the internet: