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Kirklees Local Offer

Choosing a school for a child with SEND

It is important to remember that what you want for your child or young person with SEND may be different to what parents/carers of children or young people without SEND may be looking for in a school.

Choosing the right school for your child or young person with SEND can be difficult. This page can help you to know how to go about making sure you have made the best choice.

It is important to remember that what you want for your child or young person with SEND may be different to what parents/carers of children or young people without SEND may be looking for in a school.

There are a number of different types of school or educational settings that are available to children and young people with SEND in Kirklees.

These are schools and settings that are available to most children including those with SEND.

All mainstream settings have to follow these rules:

"Educational settings must use their best endeavours to make sure that a child with SEND gets the support they need – this means doing everything they can to meet Children and Young People’s SEND"

&

“Educational settings must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services, to ensure that disabled children and young people are not at a substantial disadvantage compared with their peers...”

These are smaller, specialist units that are based within Mainstream schools.  Each unit specialises in a certain area of SEND, such as hearing impairment, complex communication and interaction or visual impairment.  They are staffed by specialist staff and young people spend some of their time in the ARP unit and some time in the main school.

An EHCP is required to access these settings.  More information about EHCP's can be found here.

These are settings which specialise in supporting children and young people with more complex SEND.  They have specialist staff and follow a different curriculum to mainstream settings, they also often have smaller classes.

An EHCP is required to access these settings.  More information about EHCP's can be found here.

Some Special Schools are managed by Kirklees and some of them are independent Special Schools.

 

All of the above types of setting can be found on the Local Offer Education Setting search, this search will show you settings that are both in and outside of Kirklees.

Local Offer Educational Settings directory (opens page in the same window)

All schools have a website which gives lots of information about what the school is like and what they offer.  They also have to publish information about how they meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, this is called a SEND Report.

You can use the Local Offer Educational Settings directory (opens page in the same window) to find information about local schools, this includes links to the schools website.

The school’s website will also include a copy of its most recent Ofsted report or a link to the report on the Ofsted website. Ofsted inspections include looking at how a school is supporting children with SEN.

You can also look at school performance tables to see how well children and young people do academically.  School performance tables (Gov.uk) - (opens link in new window) 

5 cartoon people. One of them is in a wheelchair. They represent an individual ethnicity

 

Visiting a potential school is important. You will be able to see the school environment, meet staff, and see children learning.

Schools have open days for families of children starting primary or secondary school. You can find details of when these are on school websites.

You can also make an appointment to visit a school at a different time. You should call or email the school to arrange this. You may want to ask to meet the Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDCO) on your visit or speak to them before you go.

Special schools and Additionally Resourced Provisions do not tend to have open days. Instead, they show families around by appointment so it is best to contact the individual setting to arrange this.

During a school visit, you might want to:

  • Tell the SENDCO or teacher about your child’s needs and ask what kind of support they give to children with these needs.

Why You Should Always Ask Questions At The End Of An Interview - Adria Solutions

  • Ask:
    • What experience does the school have in supporting children with similar needs?
    • What is the school day like? What happens at breaks and lunchtimes?
    • How do you support children to make friends and deal with friendship issues?
    • What’s the school environment like? Do you have any break-out rooms or quiet areas?
    • How do you stay in touch with parents?
    • How do you support particular needs? For example, behaviour, attendance, learning or physical needs.
    • How can you, as a parent, help the school understand your child’s needs?

It can be useful to make a list of questions you want to ask and to make a note of the answers.

Think about whether your child will come with you on the visit. This can be useful for your child and the school. But it can also lead to disappointment if they don’t get a place at a school they really liked. You may want to talk to the school about this in advance.

After the visit

Talk to your child and think about whether:

  • You felt welcome at the school
  • The children seemed happy
  • The school was able to answer your questions
  • You think your child would enjoy attending.

Free vector young couple arguing at home. man and woman sitting on couch and talking flat illustration

Talk to other parents whose children attend the school if possible. The school might have SEND coffee mornings that you could attend.

If you have any concerns

You can ask to speak to the head teacher or school SEND governor if, when you visit, you have any concerns that the school isn’t being supportive.

You can find details of support groups that may be able to help put you in touch with families that have children or young people who attend the school you are interesting in on the Local Offer Support Groups page (opens page in same window)

You can speak with Kirklees SENDIAS serves KIAS (opens page in same window)  which offers independent advice and support around SEND issues and can be contacted on 07771977384.

You can also contact PCAN (Parents of Children with Additional Needs Making a Difference in Kirklees) 

PCAN is an independent, parent led forum for all parents and carers of children/young people (aged 0-25 years) with additional needs in Kirklees. 

PCAN provides information to help parents and their children, a chance to meet and network with other parents through events and social media, and works with local service providers to ensure that parents have their say in the design and delivery of local services for their children. 

You can contact PCAN via their website, (opens a new page)

Email:  info@pcankirklees.org

Tel:  07754 102336  

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Last updated: 31/01/2023