South Marston Church of England Primary School

Appalling school which has dreadful SEN provisions. I only wish I could rate zero stars.

3 years after leaving this school my daughter is continuing to have PTSD after her experiences at this school. Thankfully her new school has regained her trust and deals with her with dignity. Children flourish in this school if they don't require additional help. As soon as the parent starts questioning things then the teachers at this school close ranks and start getting very defensive — even suggesting that the parents are completing homework to make 'digs' at the school. An autistic child was allowed to have an autistic meltdown at the side of the road as it was deemed more important to take this child to the Easter service at the church instead of treating the child with dignity and dealing with the meltdown in the classroom, where it began. Teachers who would frequently ask if my daughter would 'grow out of her autism and adhd', a senco who didn't believe in privately funded Dyslexia tests and a SLT team who used threats of exclusion and not attending school trips to try and 'scare the anxiety' out of a child who was in crisis. A TA, who apparently specialised in Autism, would frequently tell my daughter that she was being selfish while in the midst of a meltdown. Finding out that on a school residential trip my child had multiple meltdowns which weren't communicated to us as parents on her return — we had to learn about them from her distressed twin. These are only a small amount of issues — our final complaint totalled in excess of 20 pages of detailed instances.

My biggest regret is I didn't remove my children from this school. I was too scared with how fragile her mental health was at this stage to risk another change. A lengthy complaint process finally saw us being heard, having our complaint listened to and being apologised to. Unfortunately a LOT of damage had already been done — my daughter NOW has a fantastic support network around her. They recognise the small adjustments that need to be made — not everything is budget driven like South Marston suggest — dignity and kindness cost nothing. I can highly recommend the secondary school they now attend but will NEVER recommend South Marston for the damage they have done to my daughters mental health and the fact that they made her final year at that school an incredibly traumatic time.

If you have children who require a SEN provision, please do your research. South Marston can provide for your child as long as there are no bumps along the way. It's a quaint village school for those parents who have never had to fight for small adjustments just so that their child can access the curriculum. When things get tricky it all falls down to budgets and 'we don't know what to do' cop out statements. My daughters new school has shown me how a SEN Provision DOES work and that with just simple techniques involving KINDNESS and DIGNITY my daughter is thriving and no longer ridiculed.

I wouldn't wish our experience on any child — especially a child who might be deemed vulnerable. Do your research