SENDIASS: Choosing a School for a Child With Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (Factsheet) - WNC

Choosing a school for your child can be a difficult process for parents, especially if your child has special educational needs. You may wish to consider the following list of questions when visiting a school.

Examples of questions you might want to ask:

School Organisation

• How is the school organised? Into departments? By age? By ability? Subject Groups?
• How might this change, as my child gets older?
• How often would my child change class or move around the school?
• How many children would be in my child's class?
• When and how often are children taught outside the classroom?
• How does the school arrange extra support for children who need it?
• Is the extra support usually provided in the classroom, individually or in small groups?
• What health or medical facilities does the school have?
• (If your child has difficulty walking) Are all areas of the school accessible to my child, or would adaptations be necessary? 

Staff Knowledge & Experience

• Does the school have any experience of helping children who have similar difficulties to mine
• How many other children in the school have special educational needs? What kinds of needs do they have?
• How many staff are there in school? Teaching and Non-teaching special needs support staff?
• What training have staff had about special educational needs?
• What does the school do to make sure that all the staff would know about my child's individual needs?

Pastoral Care / Extra Curricular Activities

• How would the other children be helped to understand my child's special needs?
• How would my child be helped to make friends?
• How does the school help children to learn how to make the school a happy place? Does the behaviour system reward effort as well as success?
• What is the schools experience of bullying? How would the school prevent my child from being bullied?
• How would the school make sure my child has the chance to take part in all areas of the curriculum?
• How do you make sure all children have equal opportunities to take part in school trips?
• How would my child be encouraged to take part in out of school activities such as clubs and sports events?

Assessment and Progress

• How is children's progress monitored and recorded?
• How regularly would my child's progress be reviewed? Who is involved in this?
• What happens if school staff feel my child is not making progress?
• What would happen if I feel my child is not making progress or if I have any concerns?
• What special arrangements are there for internal exams, tests and SATs? (Older children) What public exams are children able to take & what is the success rate?

Communication / Support for Parents 

• How would I be involved in the individual planning for my child's special educational needs?
• How often are written reports sent home?
• How would I be kept up to date about what is happening in school?
• How are parents involved in school life?
• Does the school produce newsletters for parents?
• What sort of support and guidance does the school offer for parents?
• Is there a parent’s group?
• What arrangements are usually made for transport to and from school?
• How would you get to know my child before they start at your school?
• How would my child get to know your school especially in the first few days after starting?

This information can be made available in other languages and formats upon request.