EHCP help! i am so stressed!!

[McFarts]

Please bare with me this will be long and confusing!.

My DS is 8 and has an ASD DX and significant learning difficulties, his EHCP was finalised last year and he attends a school with an IR unit (special needs unit) but with mainstream place.

Despite having a mainstream place my DS spends a minimum of 2 hours each day in the IR unit, and he has had this level of provision in place since he first started school in 2014, as he cannot access a mainstream curriculum.

We held his first annual review in March and following discussions with the SENCO and his class teacher it was agreed that we would request a change to his placement from mainstream to an IR placement. Due to DS's extremely slow rate of progress.

My LA then sent his case to placement panel, the response i got back was that they wouldn't change his placement, as school hadn't requested further advise from the EP and learning support teacher.

Now the SENCO at DS school is a qualified learning support teacher! and his reports from his EHCP assessments whilst dated 2015 (from July - Sept) still very much reflect his needs accurately, so from schools view point to have further involvement, really wouldnt be best use of their resources.

Now my thoughts on the panel requesting further professional advice is that they have not followed section 39 of the childrens and families act and i mentioned this when i emailed a response to the panel's decision. My LA however have still issued my right of appeal with this as their reason . Or am i mistaken here? is their reason a legal one?

Following this decision i rang the mediation firm that my LA use, and arranged a meeting for this coming Tuesday.

Now here is where this all get's confusing! following the panels decision my SEN manager has then sent me a new draft plan, including some other amendments that were requested at the annual review. I sent this back to them requesting further amendments , using the schools annual review form which specified and quantified my sons IR sessions. Now when i requested them to do this, i didnt expect them to do so! i was really thinking along the lines of gathering evidence for an appeal! because to do so, they would needs to give him his own place in the IR unit, or so i thought!

Yesterday i received a new draft, they have made all the changes i requested! in section F it has DS must have X2 one hour sessions in the schools IR unit for English and Maths.

I arranged a meeting with school for yesterday afternoon, to discuss and show them the draft, they have gone ape shit! understandably so as my LA have well and truly screwed them over! . They now intend saying they cannot meet DS needs when the LA send them their copy of the draft. Well not an outright no! more a yes we can meet this child's needs, but we will need an additional IR place funding to provide it.

Now from a parents view point i now have everything legally written into DS's plan! but i simply cannot just stand back and watch whilst my LA have my lads school over, they are a fabulous little school who go above and beyond for all the children.

I am still going to attend the mediation meeting on Tuesday and argue that the reason the panel gave for not funding an IR place for my son isn't a lawful one and the fact that they have now included IR sessions into his provision, also consolidates the fact that he needs his own funded!! place.

Its just all such a mess! and whilst i should be over the moon that my sons plan now fully incorporates all his needs and the provision he needs to meet them, but i cant help feeling absolutely bloody furious that my LA are trying to pull a fast one with his school. The last thing i want is anything, that will put strain on what has been a long standing positive relationship between myself and his school.

Your thoughts please.

[Ceto]

Call SOS SEN, but it sounds like you need push them into finalising so that you can appeal