SEN and 11+
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abc123
I had been hoping that you would have received a reply from someone with more knowledge than me - however. there is no reply so I will give you my take.
I have an AS son who went to a grammar school and it didn't work for him - that isn't to say it doesn't work for a large number. Some boys at the school my son went to did have autistic spectrum conditions and did well - it just didn't work for us.
Realistically. you have to sit down and really think about how well your own individual child would cope in mainstream school at secondary level - very different to primary, alot more independence is required, changing classes, changing teachers with less time, etc. - you also need to have a long talk with the school to find out how much experience they genuinely have with autistic children.
Further look at http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/
Good luck
I have an AS son who went to a grammar school and it didn't work for him - that isn't to say it doesn't work for a large number. Some boys at the school my son went to did have autistic spectrum conditions and did well - it just didn't work for us.
Realistically. you have to sit down and really think about how well your own individual child would cope in mainstream school at secondary level - very different to primary, alot more independence is required, changing classes, changing teachers with less time, etc. - you also need to have a long talk with the school to find out how much experience they genuinely have with autistic children.
Further look at http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/
Good luck
Hi Jo
Firstly I am not an expert on this....just a mum but as no one with more experience of the system has answered I thought I would give you my thoughts.....
It seems that you need to speak to your LA about the naming of school for your son. Your problem isn't so much that you are unsure of where your son should go but that in naming the GS you may be left with a completely unsuitable school. Although your son would be expected to pass...anything can happen on the day.
Explain the problem to your LA....see what they say. See whether they will let you have a 'second' named school as a backup. I am not saying they will but you should at least ask.
There will be reasons why only certain schools would be suitable. Make sure you have researched the schools and have these reasons written down to refer to.
Recent changes should mean (not sure of my facts so willing to be correced) that if you place the GS first on the CAF and then your first choice Non Grammar school....you should be accepted to your second choice (as per admission code) if the Grammar cannot offer you a place. This should apply to a statemented child when naming the school earlier.
Different schools/areas have different ways of doing things...if you feel that you could post your area/ grammar school then you may get feedback from people that know the system in your area.
Good luck
Firstly I am not an expert on this....just a mum but as no one with more experience of the system has answered I thought I would give you my thoughts.....
It seems that you need to speak to your LA about the naming of school for your son. Your problem isn't so much that you are unsure of where your son should go but that in naming the GS you may be left with a completely unsuitable school. Although your son would be expected to pass...anything can happen on the day.
Explain the problem to your LA....see what they say. See whether they will let you have a 'second' named school as a backup. I am not saying they will but you should at least ask.
There will be reasons why only certain schools would be suitable. Make sure you have researched the schools and have these reasons written down to refer to.
Recent changes should mean (not sure of my facts so willing to be correced) that if you place the GS first on the CAF and then your first choice Non Grammar school....you should be accepted to your second choice (as per admission code) if the Grammar cannot offer you a place. This should apply to a statemented child when naming the school earlier.
Different schools/areas have different ways of doing things...if you feel that you could post your area/ grammar school then you may get feedback from people that know the system in your area.
Good luck
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greta2
Hi Jo
Am not sure that I can answer your query specifically but I can give our experience.
We only had a provisional statement issued for our son by July of Year 5 and it just said a maintained secondary school but did not name a school at that time. We told the special needs team at the end of Year 5 that we wanted to consider grammar schools. We then put grammar schools as first and second choice and the upper school as 3rd choice on the CAF in October.
The statement had to name a secondary school before the 11 plus results were known and County SEN team called us to agree the name of an upper school which would be named on the statement by mid November. I assumed that this must mean he hadn’t passed but they reassured us they had to name a school and couldn’t name the grammar until they knew he had passed. So we were told he would definitely have a place at the upper of his choice if he did not pass but would be automatically be considered for our 1st choice grammar if he did.
He did pass and a few days after we had the results the County SEN team telephoned to confirm he would get a place at our 1st choice grammar and they would remove his name from the upper school. We then had written confirmation in February (2 weeks before the national allocation day) to confirm his place, as apparently all statemented children have notification of places by 15th February. We didn’t know this and it was a real surprise to get the letter earlier than everyone else.
I am not sure if this helps as I’m not sure if you have the same system but for us it worked quite well as we were able to name our preferred school on his statement if he didn’t pass but could still put the grammar schools as first choice on the form.
I can only suggest that you contact your SEN team at the LEA. Ours were very helpful about this process.
Good Luck!
Am not sure that I can answer your query specifically but I can give our experience.
We only had a provisional statement issued for our son by July of Year 5 and it just said a maintained secondary school but did not name a school at that time. We told the special needs team at the end of Year 5 that we wanted to consider grammar schools. We then put grammar schools as first and second choice and the upper school as 3rd choice on the CAF in October.
The statement had to name a secondary school before the 11 plus results were known and County SEN team called us to agree the name of an upper school which would be named on the statement by mid November. I assumed that this must mean he hadn’t passed but they reassured us they had to name a school and couldn’t name the grammar until they knew he had passed. So we were told he would definitely have a place at the upper of his choice if he did not pass but would be automatically be considered for our 1st choice grammar if he did.
He did pass and a few days after we had the results the County SEN team telephoned to confirm he would get a place at our 1st choice grammar and they would remove his name from the upper school. We then had written confirmation in February (2 weeks before the national allocation day) to confirm his place, as apparently all statemented children have notification of places by 15th February. We didn’t know this and it was a real surprise to get the letter earlier than everyone else.
I am not sure if this helps as I’m not sure if you have the same system but for us it worked quite well as we were able to name our preferred school on his statement if he didn’t pass but could still put the grammar schools as first choice on the form.
I can only suggest that you contact your SEN team at the LEA. Ours were very helpful about this process.
Good Luck!
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Jo
SEN and the 11 plus
Thankyou all for your wonderful replies I am really grateful and have taken on board all your comments. I will definitly contact my local LEA on this subject, especially as greta's experience was so encouraging. I spoke to the SENCO at Gravesend Grammar School on the open evening, who was lovely and really enthusiastic. He told me there were 14 boys in the school on the spectrum and they were very familiar with thier difficulties, including the teaching assistants. I also know of a boy with aspergers in my elder sons class, who appears to be doing very well.
My son has his annual review in March, when I have been told they normally like to name the preferred school on his statement. However they have told me that I can delay this until July if necessary. I think I will leave it till nearer July and then after trying a practice paper with my son, decide whether to name Gravesend Grammar as a first choice. At the moment he is so keen to try the 11+ I really don't think it would be fair to stop him. I was really sorry to hear about your son's experience abc and I hope you have now found a good school you are all happy with. Once again thankyou all for your kind help, it is really so very useful. I will keep you all updated on how things turn out. Kind regards Jo
My son has his annual review in March, when I have been told they normally like to name the preferred school on his statement. However they have told me that I can delay this until July if necessary. I think I will leave it till nearer July and then after trying a practice paper with my son, decide whether to name Gravesend Grammar as a first choice. At the moment he is so keen to try the 11+ I really don't think it would be fair to stop him. I was really sorry to hear about your son's experience abc and I hope you have now found a good school you are all happy with. Once again thankyou all for your kind help, it is really so very useful. I will keep you all updated on how things turn out. Kind regards Jo
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Guest
Hi Greta, Thankyou for your reply it has given me great hope and determination. I just wondered what area your local LEA is in, as I could quote thier procedures to Kent County Council if they are not very helpful with the problem. Thankyou again for taking the trouble to share your experiences. Kind regards Jogreta2 wrote:Hi Jo
Am not sure that I can answer your query specifically but I can give our experience.
We only had a provisional statement issued for our son by July of Year 5 and it just said a maintained secondary school but did not name a school at that time. We told the special needs team at the end of Year 5 that we wanted to consider grammar schools. We then put grammar schools as first and second choice and the upper school as 3rd choice on the CAF in October.
The statement had to name a secondary school before the 11 plus results were known and County SEN team called us to agree the name of an upper school which would be named on the statement by mid November. I assumed that this must mean he hadn’t passed but they reassured us they had to name a school and couldn’t name the grammar until they knew he had passed. So we were told he would definitely have a place at the upper of his choice if he did not pass but would be automatically be considered for our 1st choice grammar if he did.
He did pass and a few days after we had the results the County SEN team telephoned to confirm he would get a place at our 1st choice grammar and they would remove his name from the upper school. We then had written confirmation in February (2 weeks before the national allocation day) to confirm his place, as apparently all statemented children have notification of places by 15th February. We didn’t know this and it was a real surprise to get the letter earlier than everyone else.
I am not sure if this helps as I’m not sure if you have the same system but for us it worked quite well as we were able to name our preferred school on his statement if he didn’t pass but could still put the grammar schools as first choice on the form.
I can only suggest that you contact your SEN team at the LEA. Ours were very helpful about this process.
Good Luck!
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greta2
Hi Jo
We are in Bucks. Once we got over the hurdle of getting them to assess for the statement in the first place (a 2 year hurdle!) I have to say that the LEA SEN team have been very efficient and helpful at answering such queries. I also spoke quite a bit with our local parent partnership who helped in advising me of who to speak to.
Just to add, our son is now really enjoying his grammar school. It has not been without its teething problems and, with his difficulties, I never expect things to be quite plain sailing, but now that we've overcome the issue of the LSA's not sitting right next to him all lesson and giving him the right help at the right time he seems to be doing reasonably well - and came home very happily with a grade A for an impromptu test today - so he also feels he is holding his own.
Good luck with your application - I think it is always a bit harder with an SEN child. Everyone wants the right school for their child but certainly with my SEN son, having the right enviornment was more than a wish... we knew that having a school that was a good fit for him was vital.
We are in Bucks. Once we got over the hurdle of getting them to assess for the statement in the first place (a 2 year hurdle!) I have to say that the LEA SEN team have been very efficient and helpful at answering such queries. I also spoke quite a bit with our local parent partnership who helped in advising me of who to speak to.
Just to add, our son is now really enjoying his grammar school. It has not been without its teething problems and, with his difficulties, I never expect things to be quite plain sailing, but now that we've overcome the issue of the LSA's not sitting right next to him all lesson and giving him the right help at the right time he seems to be doing reasonably well - and came home very happily with a grade A for an impromptu test today - so he also feels he is holding his own.
Good luck with your application - I think it is always a bit harder with an SEN child. Everyone wants the right school for their child but certainly with my SEN son, having the right enviornment was more than a wish... we knew that having a school that was a good fit for him was vital.
Hi all,
Slightly off topic but whilst I have the attention of those who have had the experience..............
How did you go about talking to your child about his/her differences, we have started with general chats all children are different and special etc.
Just want to be ontop of the situation, all the other class parents know DS has a diagnosis and are very supportive, would like to know more about your experiences. Thanks.
Background in year 3 mainstream no support, ASD but very able, if anything he is the slightly odd loud one in a group, mostly in an appropriate way.
stevew61
Slightly off topic but whilst I have the attention of those who have had the experience..............
How did you go about talking to your child about his/her differences, we have started with general chats all children are different and special etc.
Just want to be ontop of the situation, all the other class parents know DS has a diagnosis and are very supportive, would like to know more about your experiences. Thanks.
Background in year 3 mainstream no support, ASD but very able, if anything he is the slightly odd loud one in a group, mostly in an appropriate way.
stevew61
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Jo
SEN and the 11 plus
Hi Greta, thankyou for the area information, hopefully I won't need to use this but just thought it might be useful. Congratulations on your son's A grade, you must be very proud. I agree with your comments about things never being plain sailing, but I suppose we have all become so used to having to shout the loudest for everyting, that these problems just become everyday occurences to us all. I will let you all know how I get on with my son. Very kind regards Jo
Hi Steve.
My own general experience with my son who is high functioning autistic year 5 in mainstream with 1 to 1 support. Like you we started with the talks about being special. To be honest as our son approaches age 10 we have not really moved much further. We simply tell him that he needs a bit more help at school, although he knows this anyway. As a family we laugh with him when we imitate some of his odd behaviour (facial expressions). He is very aware of his 'oddities', and he laughs with us. My take on it is when he's ready he will ask the questions and we will give him the answers in an appropriate level for his understanding.
Just keep an eye on his school time. I work in a primary school as a TA and know how pushed the system is supporting ever increasing class sizes. I hope someone with an older child might be able to offer thier experiences in talking about 'differences'.
Good luck Jo
Hi Steve.
My own general experience with my son who is high functioning autistic year 5 in mainstream with 1 to 1 support. Like you we started with the talks about being special. To be honest as our son approaches age 10 we have not really moved much further. We simply tell him that he needs a bit more help at school, although he knows this anyway. As a family we laugh with him when we imitate some of his odd behaviour (facial expressions). He is very aware of his 'oddities', and he laughs with us. My take on it is when he's ready he will ask the questions and we will give him the answers in an appropriate level for his understanding.
Just keep an eye on his school time. I work in a primary school as a TA and know how pushed the system is supporting ever increasing class sizes. I hope someone with an older child might be able to offer thier experiences in talking about 'differences'.
Good luck Jo
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Guest
Re: SEN and the 11 plus
Jo,Jo wrote: Just keep an eye on his school time. I work in a primary school as a TA and know how pushed the system is supporting ever increasing class sizes. I hope someone with an older child might be able to offer thier experiences in talking about 'differences'.
Good luck Jo
Thanks. Agree it's a wait and see how it goes. The school is very good and he is supported in an informal way by making allowances for his ways.
. Last week he did a two hour rugby training session and played one and a half matches, has taken three years to get that far, noticed that he initiates "teasing" but can't cope when it's returned with interest at that point he gets very cross (angry) am using a "button and zip that lip" approach, you play rugby with your hands and your feet not your mouth . I do wonder what goes on at school but they assure me and I have to believe them that there are no big problems 
Thanks again.stevew61
