Visiting a school is a great way to get a feel for it and to have your questions answered. Many parents find that the feeling they get during a school visit helps them decide if it’s right for their child. It’s usually a good idea to visit during the school day, so you can see the school in action when teachers, support staff and children are there. While you’re there, you could also ask to see an example of their school plans, such as an individual education plan or a Pupil Passport. Mainstream schools Mainstream schools usually have open days in the weeks before the standard school applications for reception, primary and secondary schools open. This usually involves a tour of the school along with other interested parents and children. It’s usually run by a senior member of the school staff and you’ll have a chance to ask questions and get more information. If you want to visit when there aren’t open days, or want to meet directly with a member of staff, you’ll need to organise this yourself. Most parents arrange to meet with the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo). If your child is moving up to secondary school, it can be helpful to meet the head of year or head of Key Stage 3 too. When you arrange a meeting, you might decide to take someone with you to give you support and another pair of eyes and ears. This could be a partner, family member or friend. Take any relevant information about your child with you too. The kind of documents that are useful are a previous school support plan, any educational psychology advice, copies of or a copy of your child’s Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, if they have one. It’s a good idea to take the same list of questions with you if you’re visiting more than one school. That way you can compare different schools equally. It can also help to take a short summary of your child’s strengths and difficulties, such as a one-page profile. This will help give the school a sense of your child as a person. Many parents visit schools with their child at some point though, before making a decision. This can help them to get a feel for whether they would like it too. Special schools If you’ve been given clear advice that a special school is appropriate for your child, then it’s a good idea to visit. Special schools don’t usually have general open days though. Visits are sometimes arranged through the SEN 0-25 team, but sometimes schools are happy to arrange an informal visit. If the school is full, they may not offer a visit. Check directly with the school you are interested in. When you visit a special school, take your child with you if you can. Ask if you can speak to staff and other pupils and take note of the school environment and accessibility issues that might be relevant for your child. These could be things like adaptations that will meet your child’s needs if they have a physical disability, or classrooms that are designed to reduce the impact from sensory difficulties. Find out what kind support is available. Special schools will often have specialists such as speech and language and occupational therapists, specialist teachers and psychologists available on site. Check whether what’s available can meet your child’s needs, or how specialist support from outside school will work.  Try and get a sense of the level of need and the types of behaviour that other children and young people at the school have. Think carefully about whether your child is likely to ‘fit in’ with their peers. You know them best, you know their personality as well as their needs, and you’ll know whether they’re likely to thrive in a particular environment and peer group, or not.  Take your child’s EHC plan and list of questions with you and go through them with the SENCO or whoever you’re meeting with. Make notes, so you have something to reflect on when you get home.