I have already talked about my experience with a mainstream secondary school and how I absolutely hated it. But in this post I want to talk about my experience in a Special Educational Needs school which to get into required a statement of special needs, which was difficult to get and is something that all parents with children who have special educational needs should try and get as soon as possible rather than waiting – sure your child might get along well in a mainstream primary school just like I did, but that does not at all mean that a mainstream Secondary School will work out for them, you really don’t want to go through the hassle I did, which included me losing a year and a half of important education as we battled for the statement which they were reluctant to give, for whatever reason.
As soon as I finally managed to get into the new school, I was obviously at first very nervous, as I turned up in Year 9 (not having been there for the previous years as we battled for the statement) not knowing anyone and feeling a little bit like an alien, in some schools the new kid on the block several years in can be a bit of a death sentence. I had visited the school previously and it was certainly a nicer atmosphere than the mainstream secondary school I had went to and I also had a few test days there which went well.
But actually going was very nerve-wracking and I was scared it might still end up with me not fitting in well or constantly having anxiety or being bullied – but luckily it was nothing of the sort. After a few days, perhaps within a week I already started feeling comfortable and no one had been problematic towards me, everyone in my class were nice and calm and all the teachers were also fairly patient and of course more understanding of our differences. I also really liked that the classes were smaller and the school itself was smaller, despite it being a combination of a primary and secondary school within one.
There was no feeling like you were in a sea of people, many of whom you didn’t recognise, you could easily in the end come to recognise everyone at the school, which made it feel much more comfortable. Naturally with a more comfortable environment and social atmosphere led to making the actual educational part of it much easier as well as the teachers understanding to be more patient and due to the smaller classes, they were more easily available to help you.
At first, I didn’t talk at all, due to having Selective Mutism, but as time went on, I slowly came out of my shell. I began talking to specific teachers and I became more and more comfortable. Now, each end of year at the school I went to also had a special end of year trip which had you away from home and family for like a week if you chose to go. For lower year’s up until Year 9 it was a camping trip and in Year 10-11 it was a trip to a seaside town where we stayed at a hotel and did numerous activities.
I had only ever gone on one of these trips before in a previous school, which was a leavers Primary School trip to The Netherlands to a rollercoaster park called Efteling and that was only for one weekend, but was still a big step for me at the time. So, when I decided to go on the end of Year-9 trip for a week of camping it was certainly a big step, I would certainly have done nothing of the sort at the secondary school. On the trip is also where I really opened up and actually started talking to other students of the school and actually hung around with some of them as well, which felt very foreign to me but also good at the same time. I also ended up going on the Year 10 and 11 end of year holiday’s as well, they were very much enjoyable.
So, things were going very well and they continued to do so, I honestly in the end was extremely comfortable at the school, something I thought would never happen after the experience of a mainstream secondary school. I actually enjoyed going in each day as I knew there was nothing to worry about. The only very few downsides were that the school didn’t have a big focus on lessons such as Geography and History and they did not offer a GCSE in those subjects. As well as that the school was caught up in some kind of educational change by the government which meant they had to scrap GCSE’s for ICT and English and do Functional Skills instead.
But ultimately it was worth it for my sanity as well as mental health and I still got as much educational advancement in as I possibly could under some of the unfortunate conditions and also considering what I missed out. My educational achievements are nothing at all to marvel at, but it is what it is and I tried my best given the circumstances.
The Special Needs school I went to has since much improved with new facilities and an expansion to more adequate buildings and even has a developing college now as well, so there is only good times ahead, it is only a shame I cannot experience all that is now new there.
The conclusion of this is that for me a special needs secondary school was far better. Now this won’t be the case for every single special need’s child, there are a number that can cope in a mainstream secondary school. But for me, it was probably one of my life’s highlights that enabled me to avoid a mentally torturous atmosphere for a much calmer one. It is just a great shame that college didn’t work out for me in that way at any point.
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