This article discusses key questions to ask when visiting a school. The time has finally arrived, and you have that school visit, the chance to ask the questions, and make sure that this school, this one, at long last will be the right one for your child. You know how important this meeting is, it’s been etched into your brain for weeks, and then...
‘I keep six honest serving-men, they taught me all I knew; Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who?’
‘Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked Why?’
Don’t be afraid to ask Questions.
What do you say?
It’s like meeting your idol from stage and screen and saying, ‘it’s really nice to meet you, and I love your work’. Yes, great, they’ve never heard that before, and it’s a huge conversation stopper. You had wanted to ask something deep and meaningful, if only you had been prepared.
Well, you need look no further, taken from the Frequently Asked Questions, about how to get the most out your visits to school, as asked on our Facebook Group. Empowering Families of Children with SEND Ltd have put together a list of questions, which you should adapt as per your own child/young person's SEND.
Preparation:
It’s a good idea to think about what is not working in your child/young person's current placement, especially if you do not yet have an EHCP. If you do have an EHCP, one in Draft or have professional reports and recommendations coming in, go through these. Look for those very specific details that will denote the degree of specialist support that your child/young person needs.
It's this specific detail that is so important and which will ultimately decide the type of school and the level of expertise, resources and environmental specialisation that the placement must provide.
Remember that it’s possible to procure staff, resources and packages of interventions. Changing a school environmentally would require more magic than an entire class at Hogwarts, and you must still ensure that those providing the education did not do the same teacher training course as Professor Umbridge.
We cannot make an entire school smaller, have smaller classrooms and class sizes, reduce the sensory stimuli, have all staff qualified and trained and change the entire peer group by insisting that the LA chuck a large wodge of cash at their doorstep.
This is all about your Sections B and F of your EHCP, from your professional reports, and to be that stuck record – B + F = I.
Questions to Ask:
Can you tell me about the availability of places currently? Is there a waiting list?
How many students do you have with EHCPs, do you support a particular type of SEND need?
Tell me about the specialist qualifications and experience of the educational staff, with a particular reference to the needs of my child.
Are all school staff trained and experienced in supporting my child’s SEND needs – for example Vision Impaired, Speech and Language, Social Communication and regulation difficulties?
What are the maximum class sizes, and the adult to child ratio in each?
Can you tell me about the support staff in each class, are they HLTA TA, LSA, INA?
My child requires a full time 1:1, and this is specified on their EHCP, Section F. Will I be able to have any involvement with the recruitment and suitability of the adult who is to undertake this support?
My child needs a Sensory Room, do you have one, may I see this?
Do you have a fully accessible site, with lifts and fully accessible disabled access toilets?
My child requires support with communication, do you have consistent signage throughout the school, and are all school staff, including lunchtime assistants and administration staff fully trained in the use of AAC (for example)
My child is a ‘flight risk’ is your site fully secure?
Do you have your own SALT, OT therapists on site, or allocated to your school?
Do you have therapeutic interventions embedded throughout the curriculum?
Do you follow the full national curriculum, or can you opt out and provide a bespoke curriculum for my child, tailored to their individual needs?
Do you offer provision for students with mainstream qualification potential?
My child experiences sensory overwhelm, how does your school reduce sensory stimuli for children such as mine?
My child has dietary needs, as evidenced in Section B of their EHCP, and alongside this, needs support to use cutlery at school. Do you provide specialist lunchtime support, with adapted school meals?
Does your school have specialist interventions and strategies for children/young people when they are emotionally overwhelmed/dysregulated - such as therapy dogs/animals?
Can we please talk about sanctions, my child has difficulties with dysregulation and trust of adults, mainstream sanctions/punishments have only exacerbated this, and my child is easily triggered, how do you manage this as a school?
Should you offer us a placement, how long will this be kept open for us, given the current Tribunal wait times?
Am I able to make direct contact with the admissions officer when consults are out, to ensure that my child’s suitability for a place has been identified to the LA?
Final Thoughts:
This list gives you examples and an insight into the type of specific questions that will help you to identify the suitability of the school. However, nothing at all beats your own gut feeling and your observations of the children at any school. It is, after all, all about the happiness of our children. If they feel supported and understood, you have hit the jackpot. Always request a ‘taster day’.
This will all provide that one critical element of any EHCP – evidence.
The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off so make sure you are prepared!
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