Help! Mainstream school? Special school? What do i do next!?

[Sammy23jandz]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on mumsnet. I am all out of ideas regarding my sons education, its a bit of a long story and im just hoping someone may have had similar experiences with mainstream school cos i feel like the only one right now! My son is in year two at a mainstream school which i moved him to in year one in the hope of better support for him. He shows some signs of autism and possibly dislexia and struggles with school. He has been referred to specialists in the past however they have never taken assessments further. After attending his new school for roughly six weeks they suggested he only attended half days as he was finding the afternoons difficult. This has been on going for more than six months. The school have said he needs one to one support at all times and have also said they cant offer him the support he needs to access a full time education. I know he needs a statement (ehc plan) but i am aware this takes a long time, i am desperate to sort this out and get him into a suitable school where he can attend full time but they dont seem to be in a rush to chase the assessments needed to enable him to access a special school. I feel he is becoming isolated at the mainstream school he attends as he doesnt join in with the class and is seperate most of the time, he doesnt even stay for lunch! Has anyone been in a similar situation where mainstream school is clearly not right for the child? I have tried everything i can think of, i have contacted the local authority, education department, parent partenership and spoken to schools directly and the answer is always to do with needing a statement. Any advice very much appreciated!

[Fiddlerontheroof]

I'm in Wales, so my advice might not be entirely correct, but the only way I got my daughter a statement was by getting the bloody forms and filling them out myself and taking them to the LEA, choosing a school I thought was suitable, making them name that one on the statement and phoning them on a daily basis until it was dealt with. Sadly, as a parent of a child with SEN, you just have to make a massive pain in the arse of yourself in order to get anything done!

I think the school are letting you down very badly here. From what you've said, it sounds like they are not good at inclusion, and can't really be arsed to make things work for him. They certainly shouldn't be sending him home in the afternoon because it's difficult for him, they should be putting plans in place and getting support.

Firstly, I think you need a proper assessment of him. I'd be going to the school and asking for that to be done, with an ed psych. Remind them that they are not allowing him full access to the curriculum, and they have a duty of care to provide his education in full. I'd request a meeting with the class teacher, school senco and headteacher, and agree a way to move forward. Be aware, you will have to do all the donkey work, but it sounds to me like everyone is buck passing, and you need some answers. :( xx

[lougle]

You need to apply for a statutory assessment of his needs. That will start the ehcp pathway, which is only 20 weeks.

[Icimoi]

I suggest you repost on the SN children board (further down the main page on the website) - there's much more traffic there.