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Post by daffin on May 20, 2018 8:34:12 GMT
Hello all
We’re looking for a suitable 52 week special boarding school for Monkey Boy. Cotswold Chine looks plausible. Has anyone heard of it or have personal experiences- good or bad.
Do PM me if the info is personal or confidential as I’ve put this on the open board.
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Post by moo on May 21, 2018 5:26:32 GMT
Sorry daffin I don't know of it.... I hope it is what you all are hoping for.... Good Luck xxxx
Xxxx moo xxxx
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Post by jmk on May 22, 2018 9:50:36 GMT
Don't have any personal experience of this school, but had a quick look at their website and it does look quite good, Ofsted rated Good etc
There was only one thing that I was concerned about. It says there is no "waking night" staff, which means staff awake at night and alert to any child trying to runaway or whatever. I find this a bit surprising considering the needs of these children and their ages. I would have thought that most residential schools would have had night staff awake overnight to listen out for wandering children. It also says that it is "not a secure school" which I found a bit concerning TBH. Are they covering themselves with this in case your child absconds?
I'm not sure if this is the case in all residential schools or not, but the fact that they are stating it in their prospectus and stating they do not provide "waking staff" is raising questions in my mind and it might be worth checking other schools to check if this is standard or not.
Truly the only way to judge a school is by visiting it, armed with loads if questions written down to record your answers, as on paper, they all sound good, but visiting is the only way to get a real feel for the school and to see how happy or not the kids look and to see if you feel MB would fit in there. Also you could ask if you could speak to a parent whose child attends. They are likely to put you in touch with someone who is happy with the school though, so maybe not that useful.
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Post by larsti on May 22, 2018 14:48:20 GMT
I had similar thoughts jmk. Keeping ear to the ground about residential option but as lifestory work has just started we need to avoid change (or even the hint of it!) while Dash processes that.
So I had a look at the website and was telling DH about the no waking night staff and we were both aghast. Having said that, is that something that EHCP could cover..a sort of one to one for nights?
Dash has been twice to a camp run by Talk Adoption (only 2 nights) and one of the things they do is have a member of staff there specifically for night duty.
All the best in your search Daffin.
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Post by jmk on May 22, 2018 19:30:19 GMT
I doubt an EHCP would cover the cost of a person supervising Dash every night as that would be woefully expensive, but I would have assumed most residential schools, like care homes, would have at least one or two staff on duty 'awake' through the night to ensure no children go wandering or are sick etc, that's why I was concerned to see that particular school stating they don't do this, as i would have assumed all residential schools would do this as standard, with kids as young as 7 in their care? If kids know there is no one awake, then obviously that's the time to run away or try to escape. I know my YDD, a serial absconder, would be off like a shot if that were the case. She would love the challenge of beating the adults given half a chance.
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Post by larsti on May 22, 2018 21:18:18 GMT
Sorry rereading my post it looks like I was thinking about Dash and one ot one at night. Actually I was thinking of Daffin's son :-) I totally agree jmk. Seems irresponsible.
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Post by daffin on May 22, 2018 21:40:22 GMT
Thanks guys.
We’ve visited, and liked it. I hadn’t really assumed that staff would be awake through the night, but I know I’d feel more comfortable if they did. They lock up at night and 2 staff sleep in each ‘house’ of 6-9 children. Like you said, our kids do like a challenge...
Schools specialising in trauma and attachment issues are few and far between - if you know of others (offering 52 week boarding) anywhere in the South of England do say, as we’ve looked and looked online.
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Post by leo on May 26, 2018 20:32:24 GMT
Hi,
I've not got any experience of Cotswold Chine but do have some possible other places to look at. I have only looked at their websites, not visited or researched in detail - but thought it may be useful to you if you have not come to a final decision:
- Greenfields School in Biddenden, Kent - Orchard House in Essex (this one may be worth a look given Monkey Boy's recent behaviours) - Ryes College - on the Essex/Suffolk border I think
Sorry if this is too late to be helpful Leo
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Post by daffin on May 27, 2018 8:03:14 GMT
Thanks Leo. We’ll look into these. We don’t have any of these on our radar.
Many schools only provide boarding provision AT ALL from age 10. Maybe that’s why these aren’t on our list, but I’ll check......
Thank you!!
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Post by daffin on May 27, 2018 15:01:56 GMT
Hi again. I’ve looking at the websites for the 3 places you have identified, Leo. I actually phoned one of them months ago and decided it wasn’t a good fit, but things have changed since then and so it might be now. I’ve contacted them all and will follow up on Tuesday. It’s good to have options!!
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Post by feezee on Jun 17, 2018 12:54:00 GMT
Daffin I am also looking at this school. Would love to compare notes.pm me? Feezee
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Post by nzhb on Jun 18, 2018 22:10:47 GMT
And me! Also possibly looking at it - can we all PM each other?
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Post by topcat on Jul 10, 2018 12:43:12 GMT
Really useful to read about boarding school options, have been thinking it would be a possible option for us - I don't know if it's helpful but I was given a link to the boarding school partnerships site … this seems to be for professionals but essentially it is the government initiative to link up children's charities and LAC children with boarding schools and the relevant bursaries, one for your Local Authority perhaps?
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Post by daffin on Jul 10, 2018 15:22:00 GMT
Thanks Top Cat.
This is a good idea but Monkey Boy’s needs are quite severe, so he needs a specialist therapeutic community, rather than a regular (or even nurturing) independent school.
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