Choosing the Right School

Choosing a school is a big decision for you and your child and there are lots of things to consider. To help you feel confident in making this decision, we’ve put together some things to think about as you start to consider your options.

To help you get the full picture of the school support around you, it can be helpful to talk to other parents, your Local Authority and to research your local schools. This will hopefully give you a better idea of what might best suit your family and help you to think about any questions you might want to ask as you move forward.

Before you start looking for a school, your child’s needs will be assessed to help you choose an environment where they will receive the support they need.

• Often, they will have a clinical diagnosis from an ophthalmologist.
• You can ask your Local Authority Sensory Impairment Service for advice as to what support they may need at school. Your child may already be in the assessment process for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
• A Qualified Teacher of the Vision Impaired (QTVI) may perform a functional vision assessment to assess how your child’s vision or lack of vision affects them. They will assess the extent of their visual impairment, the impact this will have on their learning, and the support they will need at school.
• It may be that they will also have an assessment carried out by an educational psychologist. They will look at the strengths your child has and the areas where they may need some additional support.

For children with additional or complex needs, a more detailed assessment is likely to take place as to how they are going to learn and thrive at school.

​​​​General things to check

Once you have an idea the kind of support that might best suit your child, you might want to begin by looking at:

• What Ofsted says about the school
• The school’s catchment area
• How long it takes to get to the school
• Does your Local Authority provide transport to and from school?

Things to check for vision impaired students

There are some things that are important to check when choosing a school for a vision impaired child.

Your Local Authority should be able to support you to think about the best options for your family. If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you can use this as a guide to check that a school would be able to support your child’s individual needs.

You can apply for an education, health and care plan (EHCP) for your child with your local authority.

The plan is a legal document that lists your child’s needs and what kind of support they are entitled to. The plan can, for example, help with:

• Making sure your child gets the right learning materials, for example, braille, tablets, screen readers
• Possible one-to-one support from staff
• Solving problems if things go wrong, or start to feel more difficult

If you don’t have an EHCP, it can be helpful make your own list of your child’s support needs, and use this to think about any questions you might have for a potential new school.

You might want to ask your nursery or primary school if they can recommend schools for your child. They often have a good idea which schools in the area can best support your child.

What to consider when choosing the right school for your child

• Check if the school has experience supporting children with vision impairments – if they don’t, talk to them about how they will tailor support to your child.
• Ask the school for their accessibility plan (every school should have one) – this makes sure the school doesn’t discriminate against pupils with a disability.
• Check out the school buildings and the campus – how easy will it be for your child to move around them?
• Plan how your child will get to and from school

Getting help with travel arrangements

It is important to think about how your child will get to school. It may be that you will provide transport for them, but depending on the level of your child’s needs and the location of their school, you may need some extra help.

If you think your child is likely to need support getting to and from school, it is important to find out whether there is any transport support available, before choosing a school.

Your Local Authority’s ‘Local Offer’

You may already be aware of the ‘Local Offer’ provided by your Local Authority. The Local Offer will outline the Local Authority policy for transport for children with SEN and the criteria that they use.

If your child is likely to need support getting to school you can find out what support may be available by visiting your Local Authority’s website and searching for their ‘Local Offer’, and the section marked ‘Transport/Special Educational Needs’.

Open Day

School open days are your opportunity to find out more about the school, how they can support your child, and if they would be a good fit for your family.

An open day has the potential to be overwhelming. Here are a few general things you’ll want to look out for:

• Think about the school building, considering the layout, any steps, the size and shape of the playground, and access to the toilets.
• Consider the lighting and sound levels. Does it feel very dark or bright? Are sounds muffled, clear or echoing?
• What does Ofsted say about the school, particularly the provision for children with special educational needs? Inspection reports are always a snapshot and when schools need to make improvements, they try to do so quickly, so do note the dates of any reports.
• Are staff enthusiastic, responsive and interested when you speak to them about your child? Did you get a sense the school is interested in knowing and understanding the individual needs of all children?
• If you visit when other children are at school, how are they engaging with their teachers and their learning?
• Think about whether you can picture your child thriving there, whether you feel comfortable approaching staff, how the school would fit the needs of your child as an individual, and your family as a whole.

More specific things to consider when visiting a school open day

The list of questions below are things you might want to be thinking about, as you meet with a potential school. If there are any questions you forget to ask on the day, having contact phone numbers for the SENDCO and head teacher will allow you to follow up later and arrange an additional meeting.

• How many children are in each class?
• What is the staff/child ratio like and how many support staff are there? Have any members of staff been trained to support children with vision impairment?
• Will my child have a dedicated teaching assistant?
• How can I be involved in decisions regarding my child?
• Does the library have large print or braille books, or access to them?

What support is available outside the classroom?

• What are the options for activities at break time?
• How do you support children to make friends and play together in the playground?
• If my child needs it, will there be some support at lunchtime?
• Will my child be able to be included in breakfast clubs/after school clubs? Will there be sufficient staff to ensure they are safe and happy?
• How will the school support my child’s developing independence, for example, being able to find their own peg to hang their coat on?

What experience does the school have with children with vision impairment?

• Has the school had any other children with vision impairment attending?
• If my child needs medication (e.g. eye drops), is there somebody with the appropriate skills and experience available?
• What are the best things I can do at home, to prepare my child to settle into school?

Teachers and children may not always understand the type of vision impairment your child might have, or how to best accommodate their needs in the classroom. Starting to create a ‘School Passport’ can be a fun way for your child to introduce themselves. It can be given to a new teacher, or any afterschool club staff, to make them aware of what makes your child feel most comfortable, the things they like and dislike, and can give a brief overview of how best to support their needs.

Throughout the process of choosing a school, it is important to keep your child involved the process and to take time to talk through any worries or anxieties they might have. Try to get them prepared in a positive way, and remember that starting school can be difficult for both the child and their parents, so try not to worry too much about some initial wobbles!