Choosing a school for your disabled child

This information applies to England and Wales.

Finding a school which will be good for your child will depend on your child’s needs and what you can access. Visiting a school and talking to parents at the school will help you find out more before you make a decision.

Search for schools and colleges to compare (GOV.UK)

Your child’s needs may change over time. The right school for them when they are younger might not be the right school when they’re older.

For example, you may send your child to a mainstream school, then choose a specialist school later.

Mainstream school

At a mainstream school, your child will meet children with and without additional needs. They will be taught the national curriculum.

National curriculum (GOV.UK)

Curriculum for Wales (gov.wales)

Mainstream schools may offer a wider range of academic subjects and GCSEs. Some specialist schools focus on teaching life skills, which may be more useful for some children. What is right for your child will depend on their needs and personality.

Your child may be able to get: 

• Special Educational Needs (SEN) support
• an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan in England
• an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in Wales

Your child may get less specialist support at a mainstream school than at a specialist school. Some mainstream schools have specialist departments that support disabled children.

Specialist schools

Schools that specialise in teaching disabled children often have:

• teachers with more experience of supporting children with additional needs
• more specialist equipment than mainstream schools
• smaller class sizes

Pupils often learn more practical life skills at a specialist school, such as managing money and cooking. 

Choosing a SEN school

Before your child starts going to school

Your child can be referred to a child development centre for an assessment. The centre may recommend that a specialist school is the best way to meet your child’s needs.

You need a healthcare professional like a paediatrician, health visitor or physiotherapist to refer you to a centre. Check the referral policy of your local centre to find out more.

After your child has started school

To get a place at a specialist school funded by your local authority, all of the following must apply:

• your child has an EHCP or IDP
• your local authority agrees that the specialist school can provide the support in the plan
• the school agrees that they can meet the needs of your child
• your local authority agrees to fund the place

In some rare cases, a child might get a place at a specialist school after their needs assessment has started, but before their plan has been finalised. This is called an ‘assessment placement’.

Changing a named school on an EHCP

Placements (SNAP Cymru)

Going to a mainstream and specialist school

Sometimes your child can go to a mainstream school and spend some time in a specialist school to get extra support.

This means that they could get the benefits of both. This is called being 'dual registered' or 'dual registration'.

You can:

• see if your local authority has a dual registration policy
• talk to your school about how this might work for your child

School size

Larger schools are likely to have a higher number of children with similar needs to your child’s. This can mean that the school is more willing to invest in staff and equipment to support disabled children. But it could also feel busier.

Homeschooling

You may decide that homeschooling would be the best option for you and your child. You may be able to get support from your local authority.

You can:

• choose how you teach your child
• give them more attention than they might get at school

But:

• it may be harder for your child to meet other children and make friends
• some parents find supporting their child all day tiring and stressful
• applying to college or university may be harder without a school to help you

Homeschooling your child

Home education (GOV.UK)

Talking to other parents

Find other parents of children with additional needs who go to the school you’re interested in.

Search for groups connected to the school online or on social media. You could try to arrange a playdate.

Support groups for parents

Visiting schools

The more contact you have with a school, the more you will know if it's right for your child.

Think about going:

• with your child to see what they think
• without your child so you can focus on talking to teachers
• during school time so you can see how pupils interact

Open days can also be helpful. But they are not the best way to see what everyday life at a school is like.

Meeting the SENCO

All mainstream schools have a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). There may be a person who does this full-time or as part of their role. Talk to them where they work to get a feeling of how they do their job.

You could ask them:

• what their typical day is like
• if they are a full-time SENCO or if they have other roles at the school
• how much time they get to spend supporting children with additional needs
• how children talk to the SENCO when they need to and if they have an open door policy
• if they feel that they’re supported by the leadership team at the school

Questions to ask the school

Meeting the needs of your child

• Do you have any children like mine?
• What do you think this school does well?
• How many exclusions has the school made?
• How does the school welcome and settle new children with additional needs? Do you do anything specially for them or is it the same for all new pupils?
• How do you meet the specific needs of a child? Can you give any examples?
• Can you describe a typical week at school? How much time would pupils spend in the classroom, in specialist sessions or doing group work?
• Does the school specialise in supporting children with a particular condition? How does that work for those children and those with different needs?
• Do all children have access to the curriculum? How does this work?
• How do teachers teach children with different needs in the same class?

Measuring progress

• How is progress measured? How often? Who tracks it?
• How do children with additional needs make progress in the school?
• How does the school let parents know how their children are doing?
• How does the school communicate with parents? How often?
• Does the school communicate differently with parents when their child has complex needs?
• How do parents give feedback to the school?

Funding and staff

• Does the school pay any outside agencies for support?
• Who provides additional support? Is it a teaching assistant, the SENCO or someone else?
• Are children supported by people from outside the school, such as speech therapists or physiotherapists? How do children get that support? How do professionals share what they know with staff at the school?
• What training have staff had for children with additional needs?
• How does the school get funding to support children with additional needs?
• How does the school support parents? For example, does the school offer workshops for parents? Who runs them?

Online support

Talk to our online community about learning, schools, special educational needs (SEN) and more.