Moving to Scotland

Hi all.

We currently live in England and our 9 year old has a diagnosis of Autism. His educational needs can't be met in a mainstream setting. He is currently in an SRP (specialist hub; small group setting focussed on children with needs around communication and Autism) attached to a small mainstream school. He spends very limited time in the mainstream (only able to cope for short periods in art/PE but no other lessons). We anticipate he will need a more specialised setting in secondary school ie Autism specialist or LD. He has a well established EHCP, but it took around 4 years to get him out of mainstream and this has had long term effects on his mental health.

We are currently extremely concerned about the political landscape here in England and the strong possibility of a REFORM government. We are under the impression that a far right government is extremely unlikely in Scotland. Obviously we are really worried as a family about how this will affect our son having access to a suitable educational setting and his future prospects.

I've done some research and I know that there is a different process in Scotland in terms of EHCPs not being used there.

I am obviously concerned that if we move to give him better opportunities we will have a further 3 to 4 year battle to get him into an appropriate setting which would defeat the purpose of us moving.

Has anyone with an SEN child moved from England to Scotland and managed to transition their child into a specialist setting with minimal disruption? Can you tell us about your experiences and how long the process might take?

We are very worried about the way England is heading and desperately want to get out before we end up living in an extension of the USA. We know access to education for our son would be really curtailed under a right wing government. We both have transferable jobs. I am a nurse and my husband is a journalist.

Any help/tips/ideas where to start and what to expect would be really appreciated.

Thank you!