Options Trent Acres School

My child is happy, so I’m happy. I am really pleased with the school. They have been helpful to my child and they have have him to settle in. Nothing is too much trouble.

They’ve continued taking more and more pupils when the staff numbers haven’t improved meaning the children already here are now put on the back burner and evidently struggling. ( to many cooks spoil the broth) this is what’s happening here not enough time or staff to help the children already here let alone taking on more and more. Capacity for 100 pupils and current at 85 I absolutely dread when it reaches 100 because it’s just declining daily as it is. Safeguarding is a huge issue children escaping , been attacked verbally and physically by other pupils while staff do very little. I’m not going to sit here writing this review and lie because I’m extremely saddened at how this placement has now turned out. My child used to love coming here and now I can’t get them in. They just hate it , staff aren’t helpful in helping in any way to aid my child going in and I’m often left sat in the car with a stressed child refusing to go in. I want change I don’t want to bad mouth anyone but I want the school I was promised I want my child to attend and be happy. I just want everything we were promised. That’s all. I believe you need to hear this and I hope the school can see this and act on it because after all these kids have been through enough. Life’s hard enough for people let alone a person with autism or sen. The school has so much potential , I’m at the point of begging for change and I doubt it will ever happen as companies like this want the money and nothing more. I have no doubt the staff have good intentions for these kids however they do what they’re told and won’t ever speak out against the school. A high turnover of staff I believe proves they see what goes on and then decide not to want to be a part of it which is completely understandable. Id love to see this school improve so that many can give (genuine) positive reviews however only time will tell.

100% brilliance, love this school! Our child adores it here, more so than any other school they have attended.

I have held off doing a review to this point, as I am still trying to work with school to increase my child’s attendance, but having seen the huge array of quite ridiculous and unfair and unwarranted positive reviews, that I understand have only been added to discredit the negative reviews left by a number of extremely upset and concerned parents, I feel that I have to share my honest views. I don’t believe that the school is horrendous - it has so much potential and my child used to be happy, but sadly there are not enough staff available now to support the children who attend. Children are screaming out unmet needs and display these challenging behaviours regularly. The school is currently disorganised and the communication is poor. They seem to be fighting fires rather than making positive change to improve things for the children that need a calm environment, structure and consistency . I’m sure that most of the staff have really good intentions, but the expansion has not been managed well and this has had a very detrimental impact on the children and staff. The school used to be smaller and calmer but the way things are now are very concerning. How other parents can refer to the options of concerned parents as ridiculous is beyond me. I thought it was an unwritten law that SEND parents support each other. My child has changed class twice since September and had 2 different classrooms and was supposed to be in a new classroom after the Xmas break but that has been delayed again… this is no good for children with autism. They deserve so much more.

Terrible experience, lack of appropriate staff qualified to deal with sen children. My child has now left the school however this isn’t the outcome I had hoped for after battling for so long. Broken promises and shattered dreams for me and my child, I was truly sold the dream story when we initially looked round this school, promised everything and nothing ever came of it. Many issues happened within school and now it appears many positive reviews have suddenly been posted within a quick succession making me feel it’s simply to cover one’s back and boost the ratings. Overall suspicious activity, I have come and left my review in hope it could shed some light on my personal experience of this school and hopefully to improve the outcomes for other children that may be here and struggling with what I experienced. Negative reviews are left to show the truth why would any parent bother if they had been happy with the outcome. I also decided to leave this review as I noticed the bad ones and wanted to voice my opinion openly and I have to say everything I have read has been true and what we experienced whilst at Trent acres. If the slightest chance that the positive reviews are true then this is something that many unfortunately haven’t experienced so my question would be why let down some children and not others. Lack of appropriate safeguarding also is an issue here and I do believe something bad will happen if things aren’t changed. I think this company and SLT at Trent acres shouldn’t be trying to suddenly back things up or hide the truth but perhaps take these genuine negative reviews and work on them to make the future lives of current children attending better after all this is what these review platforms are for. I wish I could sit here and praise this school but honestly I can’t find one positive thing to say. Extensive research into this company and it’s become clear what this is all about. Do some research a simple Google search brings up a lot. I hope this review helps and sheds some light into the school. And I hope options group and Trent acres can buck their ideas up and work towards the school they have openly promised to many desperate families and children.

After reading some of the (ridiculous) reviews on here, I have decided as a parent to write my own. I can say truthfully that my daughters and my current experience with Trent Acres is professional, respectful and caring. Everyone is entitled to their views and opinions, however I do feel some reviews for this school are a little bit unfair and not warranted. There have been many times the school has gone beyond the call of duty for my daughter to make her feel welcome, comfortable and accomplish. While at the same time making sure her education isn't affected.

This school has amazing staff, they seem to learn about the children and always go the extra mile! The opportunities for young people here are brilliant, always seems to be something going on for the children to take part in. My eldest adores going to the school, they love food tech and the teacher. Alway bringing great food back for us to try. Keep up the great work and thank you.

Brilliant school that is grow and developing. My son loves it here and I hear the same off others. They treat each and everyone as equals, but also treat each child as there own person. I honestly couldn't be happier sending my child here, nor could my son. ?

So disappointed. So much potential but it’s all a show. Empty promises. Basic autistic friendly strategies not in place, yet the slt wonder why the children are at breaking point and kicking off and trashing the place.

I can not express how grateful I am to Options Trent Acres School. The amount of care and understanding they have shown my son. He has come on leaps and bounds with his English and Maths. Thank you

Everything is so personalised. If something isn’t working, this school does its upmost to change it. My daughter goes every day and loves it. The setting is just beautiful and the animals help so much and calm anxiety. Always someone to talk to if you need to.

My child attended 3 schools before this one. These people are so committed to the children they support. My child has never been so settled. The support for families is remarkable. Just received a hamper over Christmas due to illness in the family. We were blown away by the kindness.

This school has gone above and beyond for my child. From a child who would not go to school to one who cannot wait to attend We won the lottery with this placement!

Please please avoid.

Disorganised and defensive SLT, no communication and no autism awareness. Should be closed down.

Unfortunately the school has a high turnaround of staff. The staff seem incapable of dealing with situations and are led by a very disorganised SLT. Look at the staff reviews on indeed! You hope that they are just disgruntled ex staff, when in reality what the real negative reviews state are exactly as described. Expansion of the school has been too quick and mismanaged. Lack of appropriate staff to ensure the safety of the children there is an accident waiting to happen. SLT are very against parents talking about the school and experiences of their children at the school. They demand control of parental support groups so they can keep a watchful eye and rely on desperate parents to pass back information from other concerned parents to the school directly to remain or regain control. Many complaints have been made about this particular school. Finding information beforehand is difficult as it’s seen as the school of dreams for SEN children, unfortunately it’s far from that, many will refrain from talking openly about issues and so it’s very difficult to get a true perspective until people talk or you experience the chaos personally .

A fantastic school for autistic young people. Brilliant facilities and beautiful grounds. Staff are dedicated and excellent and their jobs!