Moving area, want to Home Ed Autistic ds when we get there?

[shimmerysilverglitter]

Have already had some great advice re practicalities of Home Ed on another thread but have just found out that I could possibly be in a position to move area within the next month or two so many things going to change and thought I should start a new thread for this.

Ds (7) HFA. Fully statemented, in MS, has 32 hours one to one at the moment but is only getting mornings right now as they have not been able to find a suitable TA to support him in the afternoons. We have just been turned down for a School School place and tbh I am not convinced it would have been the right place for him anyway.

The only place he seems happy and content in himself is at home. At school he is learning nothing and I mean nothing. He becomes aggressive, is restrained and I feel that the teachers that have lost patience. Twice now he has come home with bruises and scratches on his face and marks on his arms apparently due to him having to be restrained. He is never like this at home. The child they talk about is not the child that I know.

I want to home ed him. We are moving areas in next month or two. What happens when we move. Do I even have to let the new LEA know we are in the area? If I do and they can't find him a suitable place surely he will just be at home anyway so I can just continue with that?

Anyone else done this, what do I need to know with regard to LEA and legalities. Many thanks.

[ommmward]

you do NOT have to inform the new LEA that you are in the area.

You DO have to thank your lucky stars that labour lost the election - they were interrupted in the process of changing the law to force us to ask permission of our LAs to home educate, and to make it a criminal offence not to register with the new LA (involving asking permission to HE) if we moved house.

You just need to write to his current school to say "we are deregistering him. bye" Will bump the thread with link to official letter. (situation slightly different in scotland)

[minimathsmouse]

Did you send him this morning?

I ask because I wouldn't have done. If your son is regularly being restrained in school but is not at home, you would have a very valid reason to keep him at home. Teachers in mainstream schools are not trained to restrain children, they are not sepcifically trained to work with children who have ASDs.

If your child has been statemented you need to contact the LEA and speak to them about HomeEd. Have a look at the Education Otherwise site, it has lots of information about the law and HomeEd for children with special needs.

I'm new to HomeEd, I'm sure others here will have lots more advice.

[SDeuchars]

You do not need permission to withdraw a statemented child. You can withdraw him tomorrow (and, tbh, I'd do that given what you say above about being a different child - there is obviously something sriously wrong).

You only need to ask permission if a child is enrolled in a Special School. When you move, as ommmward says, you do not have to tell the LA at all - just continue home educating. If you tell your current LA that you are moving, they may well try to find out your address and tell the new LA. Some LA officers have been known to ask neighbours for an address and then report children as "missing". There is no good reason for them to do so - they are bending the law when they do it.

You and your DP are responsible for your child's education, not the LA.

[shimmerysilverglitter]

Thanks very much. Really helpful replies.

Someone has said on another thread that I DO have to inform the LEA in the area we are moving to and that if I don't SS could become involved, which is a bit scary. Have looked at a few sites though and it seems to be as you have said on here.

The problem is I am not actually HE'ing yet, well I am but not in school hours iyswim. So my plan is to dereg over the Summer Holidays and just move without telling anyone when we get there. Is this feasible? I obviously do not want to break the law but I don't want to be coerced into informing them and having to send him to school if I don't need to. So you see it is not a case of continuing to HE in a new area because I am not yet doing that iyswim.

[SDeuchars]

Shimmerysilverglitter, I am absolutely sure that you do not need to tell the new LA. If you'd like to talk on the phone, let me know and I'll give you a number to call.

If you are moving, you will deregister from current school. That is what any parent has to do. No parent has to tell an LA anything. The school has a duty to tell the LA when a child is deregistered. So the moving is a red herring - you deregister a child and you home educate them. You do not have to tell anyone in particular about it.

[AMumInScotland]

You definitely legally are under no requirement to tell the new area. Simply tell the current school that he will be leaving on X date (end of term, or straight away) as you will be leaving the area. Then move, and start HEing when you are ready to start. Do give him a good break without anything remotely "schoolish" to give him a chance to feel positive about being home, and get over the change of the move if that is an issue for him. I mean, give him time whatever, and extra time if it's an issue.

The LEA can ask you for info about how you are providing the education, if they notice you, and you are generally advised to reply if they do ask. But they should not involve SS if it is only the education side which they want to question - there should never be an assumption that HE means there are SS issues.

So - legally your responsibility is only to provide a suitable education. You do not have to register.

[shimmerysilverglitter]

Thank you, sorry to take so long to get back to this been doing a lot of research.

What I am extremely grateful for now is that the tories got in and I never thought I would say that!

SDeuchars If you could give me that number, that would be fab. Thank you.

Have decided on the area we are going to move to, mainly if I am honest by checking local council websites and their policies on HE. Some really seem much more proactive and supportive than others. I won't be informing anyone but will be ready if we are noticed.

I kept ds off for the last two days of last week and over the weekend obviously and he was once again the child that I know not the stressed, unhappy little boy that I pick up each day from school. So my mind is made up with massive changes coming over the school holidays, move etc.

Thank you for all your replies on this and my other thread. This Board is inspirational. I really feel I can do this now.

[SDeuchars]

If you ring me on 0844 855 3200 (the North Wilts national rate line), I'll give you my direct landline number. You can also email me on [email protected] and I'll give you the number.

Glad you are feeling better about it and that DS was better over the weekend.

[LucindaCarlisle]

Some Local authorities have excellent Special Schools for Autistic Children.

Try to find were those excellent ASD schools are.

[Vallhala]

Do go away Locarno.

Good luck with your venture into HE, Shimmery. :)

[LucindaCarlisle]

Is Sdeuchars really Locarno?

[LucindaCarlisle]

Some Local Authorities have excellent special schools for ASD and aspergers Syndrome. some of them are residential.

[LucindaCarlisle]

How are you getting on now?

[streakybacon]

Shimmery, I took my son with AS out of mainstream school two years ago and the change in him has been remarkable. He's genuinely a different boy - happy, calm, thriving in all directions. It was the best decision we ever made.

He too was in an unsupportive school (the second one we'd tried) and it was very damaging for him. Because he'd already moved school and the second had been just as bad as the first I knew he would never settle in another unless it was magnificent, but I knew none in our LEA were. We took him out and have watched him blossom into who he is now.

Bear in mind too that it's far less stressful for the rest of the family if you're not always engaged in battles with school that you're unlikely to win. Nowadays we're in charge and can plan ds's future based on his specific needs. There is no interference from professionals who claim to know him better than we do.

Let me know if you want to talk about it some more. Good luck with your decision.