Conclusions from discussion of analysis

The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how parents experience and perceive the decision making process when choosing a secondary school for children with statements of SEN. Through a review of the research literature available on parents’ decision making, it was identified that there was a lack of detailed exploration of parents’ experiences of the process, particularly in England, with most of the studies utilising postal questionnaires and surveys. Through using semi-structured interviews with parents who had recently experienced the process and using IPA to analyse transcripts, a deeper understanding of their lived experience could be explored providing a unique contribution to the research literature. The discussion thus far has considered each of the themes identified from analysis of the interviews in relation to the research question:

How did parents perceive and experience the decision making process when choosing secondary school placement for their child with a statement of SEN?

In summary, it appears that although each of the parents interviewed had their own unique experience of the process, most of them perceived their experience to be effortful. The parents interviewed indicated that they were satisfied with the outcome of the decision making process and they did appear to feel that they could choose between a range of placement types such as mainstream, resourced provision and special school placements. However, their experiences of going through the decision making process did not appear to be perceived as a ‘clear’ or ‘real’ choice as promoted in government publications (DfE, 2011). Parents perceived the choice to be limited and experienced difficulties and confusion with the way information was communicated from finding out about prospective schools to the process of allocation. Parents’ perceptions of the process as a ‘fight’ and a ‘struggle’ identified in the literature

144 review (Bajwa-Patel and Devecchi, 2014; Jessen, 2012; Lalvani, 2012, section 2.4.5.3), were echoed in the current study. Through a detailed analysis of their lived experiences using IPA, interpretations have been made identifying parents’ constructs around events which were perceived negatively, leading to the process being effortful, and events which were perceived as helpful and supportive of a positive experience of the process. These are summarised in Figure 5.1: An illustrative diagram to show experiences which were perceived by parents to be effortful or supportive to the decision making process when choosing secondary school placement for children with statements of SEN.

145 Figure 5.1: An illustrative diagram to show experiences which were perceived by parents to be effortful or supportive to the decision making process when choosing secondary school placement for children with statements of SEN.

5.5.1.1 Effortful process

Parents appeared to find the process to be effortful at different stages. Experiences which contributed to it being perceived as an effortful process began with parents finding it difficult to identify which schools were available for

146 them to choose from and an effort to find out information about the schools. Some parents perceived that the choice available was limited and felt that more specialist provisions were needed in order to increase the number of options. They did not appear to perceive that mainstream options widen the choice set. This could be due to mainstream secondary schools not having the ability to meet the needs of individual children or schools purposefully steering parents away due to competitive school choice markets (Bagley and Woods, 1998; Jessen, 2012).

Parents appeared to put pressure on themselves to choose the most suitable school available on behalf of their child. They found it difficult to include the child in the process without causing them anxiety. Therefore, it appears that parents wanted to gather information in order to make an informed decision, but found gathering this information effortful, which appeared to be due to their interactions and experiences with other people during the process. Parents expressed difficulty with accessing clear information from the LA SEN team and other professionals involved. One parent found information from the Educational Psychologist to be unhelpful and several others perceived their role as insignificant. Perhaps this was due to their limited involvement and the EPs and other professionals involved with the family and child frequently changing so that they are not able to establish an ongoing relationship. It is suggested that this may lead to less trust and parents perceiving that professionals have a lack of knowledge and understanding of their individual child’s needs.

Parents thought that information regarding the process was not clearly provided with two parents speaking of confusion between the SEN and normal school allocation process. The process was also felt to take too long with parents feeling like there was no information on timescales. They felt that the information about which schools they had been allocated was provided too late to support a positive transition for the child and found it difficult if the school they had chosen as most appropriate was then taken away from them. Parents perceived that they had to actively fight and advocate for their child.

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5.5.1.2 Supportive process

From their lived experiences, these are elements that parents perceived would be supportive in helping them to have a more positive experience of the process.

Parents felt that visiting schools was a beneficial part of the process. There experiences of visiting schools helped them to make a decision about whether they felt the school would be suitable for their child. They appeared to be influenced by their perceptions of the person showing them round and the atmosphere within the school.

Despite parents’ negative experiences during the process, several parents spoke about sources of support, such as their current schools help with the completion of paperwork and teaching assistants accompanying parents on visits to schools to contribute to the decision making process. There was divergence across interviews regarding experiences with professionals. It appeared that these may be perceived more positively if the people providing information have an established relationship with the parent, such as specialist outreach services, or show an interest in the child as an individual. The EP, who parents felt provided them with useful information on their child’s individual needs was perceived positively as the parents felt this information was able to support their decision making. This suggests that being able to develop a relationship with professionals is important in developing trust and parents feeling that information is more personalised to their child. Parents who had access to consistent support from a service over a longer period of time, appeared to view their role and input in the process as more influential and effective. Parents who did not have the consistent support either appeared to not recognise a significant role for services in the process or felt that the information provided by services was inaccurate.

They also felt supported by informal sources of information, such as family members and other parents of children with SEN. However, not all parents have access to this source of support and so could lead to an inequitable system. Although perceived positively by parents, informal sources may

148 provide parents with misleading information about the process which could ultimately lead them to experience a more effortful process.

Although the LA SEN team felt that they provide parents with information about schools and the process, this was not experienced by the parents who were interviewed. Based on their lived experiences, these parents perceived that clearer information about schools and the process from LA professionals would support a more positive experience.