SEND IASS - How to choose a school factsheet

Local offer

Stockton-on-Tees' Local Offer is a good place to start. On the local offer you will find lists of local primary, secondary and post-16 settings to explore which schools are in your nearby area.

Department for Education

You can also find details of all schools using the government search. You can search by location, by local authority or by a specific school you may have in mind.

Find details of all schools on the GOV website.

Once you have specific schools in mind you could research the schools using the following tips.

On each school's website you should find a SEND Information Report and/or a school SEND Policy. These documents will detail provision for children with SEND and explain what extra support they can provide for children with special educational needs. This could help you decide around which school can meet the needs of your child.

You could ask for the school's prospectus or each school's Ofsted inspection report (ask the school or Ofsted website). But don't just judge a school by its league table position or building. Smart buildings don't guarantee good teaching and schools lower down the league tables may be skilled at managing behaviour and a range of special educational needs.

You may need to visit twice, once for a general look and a second time to meet the head teacher or special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) to talk about your child's particular needs and how the school can meet them. You'll need to think about whether to take your child with you. It is useful to take another adult with you too as you won't remember everything.

Use your eyes and ears as you walk round. Think about how noisy, crowded, orderly or lively it seems and what this would mean for your child. Look out for the things that matter to you and your child whether that's lots of computers, great football coaching or an emphasis on giving pupils real responsibility.

What is the layout of the school?

Can the school meet your child's needs?

Do reasonable adjustments need to be made to make it more accessible for your child?

You want to find out practical details, like class sizes and arrangements for extra support.

We would advise you pre-prepare some questions that might be relevant to your child specifically e.g. if your child has a physical disability you will probably want to find out about the layout of the building and what reasonable adjustments a school would make to include your child in all parts of school life (including school trips).

You can make notes to compare when choosing a school.

Possible key questions:

• how many pupils are in each class? How many support staff?
• how is the timetable organised?
• what subjects are offered?
• what are the approaches to teaching?
• what transition approaches are offered?
• how do you monitor progress / behaviours / needs?
• what are staff experiences or understanding needs of SEN children?
• what other agencies do you work with?
• do any staff have specialist training?
• how do you communicate with parents?

If considering special schools, you may want to ask:

• what range of difficulty or disability does the school cater for?
• will my child get help with social skills?
• what therapies are available?

The Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) can give you free impartial information and advice. Please call our helpline 01642 527158 or send us an email SENDIASS@stockton.gov.uk and we would be happy to help.

Take time to reflect, can you see your child in this school? Discuss your thoughts and feelings with someone you trust. Writing your thoughts down might help you to make a decision.

If you are unhappy, you can appeal. If you applied through the normal admissions process, you appeal to the admissions authority.

If your child has an EHC plan and you disagree with the school named in the final plan, you can appeal to the SEN Tribunal. Start by speaking to the local authority officer involved in your child's EHC Plan to see if you can negotiate a solution.

You can also contact our service for support and advice throughout the process, whether your child has an EHC Plan or not.