LVS Hassocks - Independent SEN School for Autism

"Our son as been at this school now for two years. In that time he has developed massively. His learning skills have allowed him to now enjoy school which was a problem in the past. He enjoys LVS so much that if he has a day off I'll, he becomes very upset, something we never saw in main stream school. All the staff are helpful and caring, and will assist Toby as an individual to maximise his learning and life skills. I don't know where Toby would be now without LVS. THANK YOU!"

"Since becoming a student at LVS Harvey has begun a journey . He is able to have friendships, start socialising with the support of members of the team. There has been a definite change in his attitude towards life. He was very low when he first started, having been both internally and externally excluded at his main stream school for virtually a year, before that very confused and troublesome in his class. Harvey's mental health is the most significant improvement, I feel this is due to the actual facing up to the issues he struggles with within his Autism, being allowed to be himself, and not having to 'hold' his behaviour all day as in other settings. By being able to challenge his at times extremely aggressive behaviours he is beginning to recognise and at times successfully avoid such aggressive outbursts/ meltdowns. The discovery that music is a great therapy for him could only of happened at LVS where he is nurtured to try, believe in himself and both succeed and accept failure at times. His very fragile self esteem at least beginning to improve due to this. I hope that his continued attendance will eventually enable a lovely worthwhile young man to realize that he is just that and allow him to accept and manage the difficult aspects of Autism and embrace the amazing things that being Autistic can bring."

"LVS Hassocks have been brilliant for our daughter. She has made friends, massive social strides and academic progress. She has complex needs in addition to her autism, which the school have accommodated willingly. They have listened, acted and been a relief to work alongside after so many years of fighting for our daughter's needs. It's been fantastic to see her happy and excited about school for the first time!"

"LVS staff could not do more for my son and work tirelessly at finding ways to help him. They are calm and considered, even in the most stressful circumstances. They always make me feel that they genuinely like my son and want to do what is best for him. They have supported him, and us, through difficult moments with respect, sensitivity and professionalism."

"Complete, and utter rubbish. It's like a prison! The staff don't give a damn! There are a load of unnecessary rules that only apply to certain students (for example, by the time I left, my whole class were not allowed to mention the names of any politicians - my class, and my class only). -Instead of GCSE's, they do this "ASDAN" time waster (or whatever it's called), which they claim is better than a GCSE, but you will find that it won't get you anywhere in life. -They will have three different year groups in one class, doing the same work, they claim to have 30 acres of land, but you will only be able to go on about 5 acres before you get shouted at. -They do a "reward scheme", where they pay students for good behaviour - out of their parent's own money! -They will "restrain" you over nothing. I once saw a teacher restrain a student for calling her a b*tch, which is hardly putting others in danger, is it? -If you have a physical disability, they will not acknowledge it. I suffer from a severe case of flat feet, and they forced me to go on long walks without rest breaks. If your child is in a wheelchair, don't bother with this school (not that I would anyway), because it is a hell for wheelchair users. The ramps are placed so inconveniently, that you will have to go around the entire building to access areas you could otherwise get to by walking up a small set of stairs. And I'm only scratching the surface of what's wrong with this place, if I was to write down everything, it would be an extremely long read, and I would be sitting here typing for ages. This school made me want to kill myself at one point! In the end, I had to deliberately get myself kicked out of the school, it was that bad! Everyone seems to agree that it was the best thing to do, even the adults. Do not send your children here (especially those with higher-functioning autism/Aspergers), because they will hate it. You could ask any of my mates, and they will tell you the same thing. I left this school nearly two years ago, and it still scars me to this day. I will post more details later, expect the next review (possibly on another account), to be just as long."