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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

'The school worked with him to strengthen his motor and social skills'

Andrew and Jane - ASD
Jane Burbridge from Folkestone describes her experience of the SEN and school system with her son Andrew, 7, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and shares her tips for other parents.

"To be honest, I knew Andrew was slightly different shortly after he was born, but as he was my first baby I didn't put all the pieces of the jigsaw together until much later. It was little things like him not always looking at my face and in terms of the physical developmental milestones listed in his 'little red book' he never quite hit them at the times when he was supposed to.

"Playgroups where the other children would interact by all running together to look at something, or even fighting over sharing toys, were not something he was part of; he always seemed to exist in a little bubble of his own. At nursery, although he was bright, he was very socially isolated.

"However, from primary school this changed – partly as the main SEN teacher there recognised the signs and partly because having another child myself made me realise just how different Andrew was. The school then started working with him through various in-school groups to strengthen both his motor and social skills which I backed up with similar strategies at home. Working with the school, this eventually led us to a formal diagnosis of Asperger syndrome at the age of six.

"Some of the ways in which Andrew's condition presents itself at school can be slightly comic – for example, his lack of bodily awareness in the first two years meant that he would quite often fall off his chair but he told me recently that he only fell off once this whole term so things are improving! His lack of social skills has always meant that group work could be a struggle and break times in the playground have proved tricky.

His inability to 'read' unspoken social cues can be embarrassing at times – for example, if his teacher says anything he perceives as incorrect he'll have no hesitation in correcting her, despite me reminding him that this isn't really appropriate and if he's unsure he should ask her quietly and directly, not in front of the class.

In general, at the moment, his needs are improving as he ages as he is more able to develop strategies for coping, although we are aware he is intellectualising the 'rules' to what is 'normal' and then copying it – rather than it coming naturally to him."

Asperger syndrome: practical tips for parents

  1. I really wish I'd asked for help at an earlier stage and hadn't just kept my doubts to myself as there is a lot of help from groups out there once you start looking.
  2. It's a personal choice, but I'm glad I'm open about Andrew's condition. With most people I meet this leads to a greater understanding and patience with him and gives me the chance to explain to other people what Aspergers and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are really like.
  3. Try to see your child's strengths and not just focus on their challenges. Sometimes medical websites can be full of the things children with ASD can't do rather than what then can. For example, Andrew is really honest and straight with people and cares deeply about unfairness in the world. He's also got a cracking sense of humour and a unique way of looking at the world.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder: advice and information

For more advice about ASD and other special educational needs in education see our SEN topic hubs. The National Autistic Society has a wealth of information for parents.