Archived Forums

Is he having visits this term? At our school the last 2 weeks of term are transition weeks and so they are in their new classes with new staff. If your school was the same I would think it would be useful for him to partake in some/all of this. We started in January, and just had 2 visits - other kids went 1 day per week for the whole of yr 6 (I think this would be confusing, but everyone's different).Re transport. This is a much bigger issue for me. I took/picked up for 1 week, then went in the taxi am/pm in wk 2, then they went with driver & escort. We are the only ones from our LA at our school so the girls are on their own (as opposed to a minibus).

I wonder if it really will "obviously be quite tough for him" - I would have thought it will probably be the exact opposite. At last he will be in a school which is geared up for children like him.I would suggest that you believe it's going to be brilliant for him and he's going to love it and never look back - and operate from that place, rather than thinking it's going to be tough for him.

Hi MummamooI should be able to share our experiences very soon as Pumpkin has an Assessment Week at a Special School this week, and if all goes well will continue there for the rest of term. I understand your concerns. We had an afternoon visit ten days ago when Pumpkin took a whole list of questions that she'd written down. We've been emailing other questions this week too. They gave her several leaflets and newsletters. As I'm partially sighted and don't drive we've had to go with taxi transport. The taxi driver is visiting tomorrow afternoon to meet Pumpkin, so that she isn't getting onto a car with a stranger. She hasn't said an official "goodbye" to her mainstream school yet, as we felt it would be better to get through the Assessment Week first, and then go back and visit once she's settled in her new school. We are really hopeful that this will be the making of Pumpkin, and that she will blossom in her new school. She will find the transition challenging as she is highly anxious about change, but we reminding her that it's normal to feel apprehensive about starting a new school or job. I'll let you know how we progress!Lumpkin

Thank you for your replies. Lumpkin, it would be great to hear how pumpkin gets on. It seems they have much more organised for her. Washiewoo is getting 2x 1 hour visits next month and that's it. They will then work out which class to put him in. No assessments - just working from his statement and info from school. Poor kid is going to be so upset about leaving his friends, and has got to relearn what school is all about. Hopefully it won't take him long to adjust if it is the right place for him, but he is highly anxious about change too.A bonus I have just found out is they give you one set of school uniform

Not sure that its any harder transitioning to an sen school than to a new mainstream. I think in some ways a new mainstream can be more scary and overwhelming because of sheer numbers and expectations.It's taken my daughter most of this academic year to settle into her new mainstream - and that's a supportive, understanding and inclusive school.The advantage with special schools is that their knowledge and experience of working with difficult children is - in my experience - far superior to other schools. They set up their children to succeed, not fail.Transport? Middly has transport, a fab escort who's been with him for the past couple of years. She knows him really well and they have a really good relationship. Before middly started both driver and escort came to the house to meet with him and us so that they wouldn't be complete strangers on day 1.The trickiest part is timing! He gets home at anything from 3.10 to 3.20 and I have to pick littly up at 3.30. You may want to check on timings.