statment says mainstream ! need autistic school tribunal?

[kittycat68]

we got my ds statment though last week that says mainstream placement school he already attends was on school action plus since starting school were giving ds 20 hours support on SA+ now statment says 25 hours. i produced two independant specialist reports to the lea stating my autistic ds needs to be in a specialist school along with my own strong views emphasising specialist school but to no avail. mainstream school said they had no concerns in meeting his needs but the lea funded autistic school said whilst they could take him they had concerns reguarding his behaviuor. i have had to call out the police three times this month alone as child has tried to stab me with a knife smashed up the house and ran off from schoolx4 times! i am at my witts end on how to get ds into this school or another similar hes hitting puberty and often refusing to even go to sschool the school sent me a letter saying they would refer me to educational welfare! can anyone give me some advice i want to try to go to tribunal but i am worried it will be a waste of time as they may want to try the extra hours first then it will be another year before i can appeal again. this child keeps saying i wish i was dead! he has self harmed before and had two previous suiside attempts .

[MavisEnderby]

Could you go to IPSEA?

Will try to find link

[MavisEnderby]

ipsea.org.uk

[ThatVikRinA22]

id push it to tribunal. tribunal costs. lots . they will try and settle before you get there. if the specialist placement thinks he will need specialist input how the hell does the school saying they can take him think they will cope! they see ££££ signs and bums on seats im afraid.

do phone ipsea - however have to say they were useless for me. but they may be able to help in a more extreme case.

[MavisEnderby]

hth op

[kittycat68]

thanks i know the mainstream school just want the money they told me that as i was going to take it to tribunal there was no point employing a TA for ds as it wasnt fair on the member of staff if they then lost thier job. she then went on to tell me about all the new computer progrrammes they were purchasing for the learning support department and tha tit would great next term! ds have mental age of 7 and can only read and write at a three year old level according to the school and specialist reports ds almost 13.

[ThatVikRinA22]

then push it to tribunal. have a look at the stats - most who get to tribunal win.

[kittycat68]

should i try to get more evidence or just appeal now with what i have

[kittycat68]

anyone advise please

[HarijukuLover]

Hi Kitty.

You should definitely call IPSEA. Also, the parent's advice line at NAS. They gave us some good preliminary legal advice for free re: statemnting. Do it NOW though. They can take a while to get back to you.

Can you afford even one hour with a solicitor? Some solicitors offer 30 mins free email/telephone advice. You need someone with SENDIST tribunal experience. NAS/IPSEA/SOS:SEN will be able to give you names, I'm sure.

At this point, I think you need a letter from a solicitor (or from you, but informed by a solicitor or IPSEA) stating your case and saying that, unless the matter is resolved to your satisfaction asap, you are pushing ahead with tribunal.

Don't listen to a word of the negativity churned out by the LEA, either. They want to deter you from fighting your corner.

Re: the special school. Are you sure this is the best provision for your son? You need to be pretty sure. Is the Head supportive? You mention they are worried about his behaviour. How do they manage young people with challenging behaviour? You need to know exactly what strategies they use, otherwise you may face the same situation you would do in mainstream - exclusion etc. It would be really helpful if the Head was supportive of your case. Can you give him/her a ring and make your case?

Good luck!

[kittycat68]

absoulutely convinced this would be the right school went to visit it twive and spoke to the head each time took ds on one occassion as well to get a reaction from him. He shone! most important comment he made was the others are like me! he seemed suprised hes hads years of being picked on at mainstream school, i think he would be very happy there which is my main concern. being an auttic school they are aware of the challenging behaviour some children have i think they said this as they wanted a few more hours on the statemnet to cover playtimes as he only got 25 hours which dont cover this . will go back and speak to the head again re your advice contacted childrens leagal services and they put me intouch with a firm of solicitors will chase them up monday as as not heard back form them.

[HarijukuLover]

Good luck kitty. Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Stay strong. Take it one step at a time. Don't give up!

[kittycat68]

has any one else been through this please

[kittycat68]

advice please on what i need to produse to sendist

[LucindaCarlisle]

You are right to try to get him into the Specialist School.

Mainstream schools just do not have the expertise to help and support Aspergers Children.

[TheDevilWearsPrimark]

Are you in touch with your local branch of the NAS? We have an amazing support worker who has helped me with so many issues. She even comes to see me at 11pm when I can be sure DS will finally be asleep.

[kittycat68]

hi all just to update you all have now sent in sendist forms as lea refuse to even TRY to negociate! ipsea were very helpful giving me and advocate and so were autism anglia so we will have to wait and see now does anyone know anything what the tribunals are like to they even listen to the parents point of view, thanks

[wasuup3000]

Your council may have a mediation service which the LEA should have told you about?
Sometimes LEAs cave in before tribunals but you will have a lot of written evidence backed up by medical professionals to prove that your child can not manage in Mainstream. You may have to look at all your local SEN and mainstream schools nearest to your home and have good reasons why they couldn't meet your child's needs.
Tribunals are pretty formal you will need to have some important points memorized that you want to say and most of your evidence will be in a bundle their.
You need to have your paperwork organised, keep all the reports, letters, spare copies (never send originals) so keep a box file for it all. Anything you send to the LEA or SEND or any other professional keep a copy for yourself.