Facing permanent exclusion - what next?

[liveinthesticks]

My son is eight with undiagnosed asd with strong sensory integration difficulties and hyper-arousal.we have seen a paediatric consultant and are now on a waiting list for
formal diagnosis by the asd team (for a year so far!). The small primary he attends has been fantastic, he has a full time teaching assistant, all staff have been on specialist courses. However, despite all the work the school has done, ds has become increasingly violent with not a day passing with teachers, staff, children being hurt. The school our under huge pressure from the council not to exclude permantly - however they are in crises management each day to keep everyone safe and provide some kind of education. We and the head are currently all trying to get advise of our next move, however we live in a rural area with little options - the head said she is not prepared for us to end up on the merry go round of being shunted from school to school but equally feels that they cannot meet ds needs. Help - anyone out there who has experienced this?

[liveinthesticks]

England and yes EHCP completed in the summer.

[Ineedmorepatience]

You may need to look for an independent specialist provision. Unless your authority have somewhere suitable. They will have to pay for him to go and to be transported there!

[Ineedmorepatience]

If you google specialist Asd schools, you might find something, there are settings throughout the country and lots of them do seem to be in rural areas.

[liveinthesticks]

How do I find out about independent specialist provision - is there a specific website?

[liveinthesticks]

At the point really of not really caring if identify self - just want the advice and knowledge of mumsnetters!

Cornwall/Devon boarder. Live in Cornwall, school in Cornwall, Devon GP and therefore have been in referred into Devon services - paediatrician and autistic pathway assessment team.

[liveinthesticks]

Oh yes....is that bad, however will it be any better in Cornwall?

[liveinthesticks]

Thank you. Just feel we are floundering around not knowing what to do, as does the school. They so want to support us, but DS is the first child they have had with his needs- so has been a huge learning curve, which they have taken head on.

[liveinthesticks]

Thanks
Yes academically able but behind his peers due to his behaviour and difficulty in assessing him.
This board has been a godsend - set me on the path of who to see what to do.
The head teacher said today that everyone she seeks advice from has hidden agenda's, feel lucky to have a school backing us 100% - but it's got to the point where we may have to face it's not able to provide what Ds needs.

[Ineedmorepatience]

The list polter has linked is excellent, you do have to check each schools speciality and its quite a daunting list but it has all of the ones that LA's can and do pay for!

[liveinthesticks]

Have started on polter's list! Nothing for primary ages in Cornwall, so now looking at Devon.

[NoHaudinMaWheest]

I am in Devon but other side of the county from you.
Ds wasn't really coping at primary although we had a very unsympathetic HT and the issues were very different. He ended up in LInk Ed for pupils out of school for about a year before transferring to a ms secondary. These units are not always great for pupils with SN but the one ds went to was actually good and helped quite a bit. I would certainly explore that option but I have no idea how it would work in Cornwall.

Dd was referred for an ASD assessment this year and they said it would be just over a year for assessment to begin so it might be worth enquiring where your ds is on the waiting list.

[OneInEight]

I think you need to call an emergency review and ask for a change of placement. It sounds like the HT will fully support you that the school can not meet needs. This strategy worked for ds2 although the HT had put him onto reduced hours as he was not coping and this provided clear evidence of the unsuitability of the placement.

As well as the independent specialist schools which others have suggested it might be worth investigating what the EBD provision is like in your area. My reason for suggesting this is that ds1 (who was permanently excluded a couple of years ago) did very well in one as it was calmer and the staff had far greater understanding of his needs than in mainstream. In terms of distance it is likely transport would be provided (with escort) as your ds has an EHCP plan so anything up to about 1 hour is doable (ds1 copes with a bit more to go to his secondary but he is older now). Another option would be to board if there is no sufficiently local provision although I am not sure how many of the specialist schools would take on a child as young as 8 for boarding. Don't dismiss also independents with nominally EBD specialities as many do take children whose challenging behaviour is due to sensory problems, ASD etc and are very good with them.

If you have not already it might also be worth considering social services involvement. Our family were referred because in addition to the violence ds1 and ds2 did a far bit of absconding! My main reason for getting them involved is that they were very helpful in chasing up appointments and getting the change of placement for us.

[liveinthesticks]

Thanks OneInEight - no we don't have ss input, I have been wary to do this - but if it helps will do so. Our head is like a dog with a bone at the mo, and has been challenging the asd team over length of time we have been waiting to be seen and has called an emergency meeting
Still getting to grips with all the terms being used, what does EBD mean?

The head has called an emergency meeting and is gathering as many relevant people to attend as she can. I'm just trying to arm myself with as much info as I can.

[OneInEight]

It sounds like your HT is one of the good ones.

Just thought another person to contact / make sure attends the HT's meeting is the LA's exclusion officer as they will be able to tell you what happens in your area if a child is excluded and maybe able to suggest other routes for help.

EBD is emotional and behavioural difficulties. About half the children in the one ds1 attended had a diagnosis of some form of ASD or ADHD. Confusing as different acronyms can be used to describe this type of school e.g. BESD (Behavioural Emotional and Social Difficulties) is also used.

In our experience CAMHS etc were more than happy to ignore the entreaties of school but accelerated appointments etc when social services intervened which is why I suggested it.

[liveinthesticks]

Thanks so much...yes got the welfare/ exclusion officer attending.