KES Edgbaston , Birmingham - Pastoral Care
Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:37 pm
We are in a quandary and would appreciate some advice.
I have twin boys who have cleared the Gloucestershire Grammars and KES ( Edgbaston ) . We live in between both -
a) They can go to KES without needing to move house using the train.
b) For Gloucestershire Grammars - Pate's and STRS we would need to move to the area and OH already working there and commuting.
They both have Asperger's ( High Functioning Autism ) and tremendous issues with low mood , low self esteem and anxiety. Their current Independent school's pastoral care has been less than satisfactory ( ie absent till it was too late ) shall we say and I am going back and forth between Paediatricians , Occupational Therapists , Pvt Psychotherapist , Pvt Speech and Language Therapist and CAMHS. I have nearly given up all work trying to juggle all of this . Frankly it has put me off all Independents as I felt that they just don't want to know about SEN and like to brush it under the carpet. eg My sons have Sensory Processing Disorder and it took a six month battle to get them out of rugby which terrified them .
We are currently rethinking KES as some friends ( who don't know about KES as such ) have advised us that too many changes ie house and school might be too much for them and would unsettle them and have therefore advised us to go to KES.
Yes it would be nice to save some money , but if pastoral care was good at a school , I wouldn't be needing these private services in the first place !
I am looking for any personal experiences - positive or negative - regarding pastoral care at KES.
Please feel free to PM me if you would rather not share your experience on a public forum .
( I am meeting the SENCO next week but I have noticed that while SENCOs in all schools speak the correct jargon , the reality of sharing information with the teachers at the coalface is less than adequate )
I have gone on Open Days to all the Schools but I am not sure I would be comfortable to form an opinion on pastoral care based on Open Days .
I have twin boys who have cleared the Gloucestershire Grammars and KES ( Edgbaston ) . We live in between both -
a) They can go to KES without needing to move house using the train.
b) For Gloucestershire Grammars - Pate's and STRS we would need to move to the area and OH already working there and commuting.
They both have Asperger's ( High Functioning Autism ) and tremendous issues with low mood , low self esteem and anxiety. Their current Independent school's pastoral care has been less than satisfactory ( ie absent till it was too late ) shall we say and I am going back and forth between Paediatricians , Occupational Therapists , Pvt Psychotherapist , Pvt Speech and Language Therapist and CAMHS. I have nearly given up all work trying to juggle all of this . Frankly it has put me off all Independents as I felt that they just don't want to know about SEN and like to brush it under the carpet. eg My sons have Sensory Processing Disorder and it took a six month battle to get them out of rugby which terrified them .
We are currently rethinking KES as some friends ( who don't know about KES as such ) have advised us that too many changes ie house and school might be too much for them and would unsettle them and have therefore advised us to go to KES.
Yes it would be nice to save some money , but if pastoral care was good at a school , I wouldn't be needing these private services in the first place !
I am looking for any personal experiences - positive or negative - regarding pastoral care at KES.
Please feel free to PM me if you would rather not share your experience on a public forum .
( I am meeting the SENCO next week but I have noticed that while SENCOs in all schools speak the correct jargon , the reality of sharing information with the teachers at the coalface is less than adequate )
I have gone on Open Days to all the Schools but I am not sure I would be comfortable to form an opinion on pastoral care based on Open Days .