To think you only get a specialist school if you have a lot of money to throw

I'm an Occupational Therapist and sadly lots of parents do have to throw money at it as the type of assessments they need aren't available on the NHS or via education.

I get a lot of emails about reports for EHCP input and tribunals. They're not all rich families though, it's usually families at the end of their tether and who don't know what else to do.

I never thought I'd work privately because I really believe that the right support should be available from the NHS and Education. I do still have an NHS role but I can't offer the support the children actually need which means I know I can't continue to work there.

Education's focus is now not on finding the right placement for the child but keeping them in mainstream. There's a funding issue at the heart of it but there are also a lot of schools who simply don't understand neurodiversity or sensory needs and think it's naughty behavior and that children need a firmer hand or better parenting, not a specialist setting where there needs can be met. So if you're unlucky enough for your children to go to an unsupportive school then you're never going to be able to gather the evidence without private assessments or be supported to know the right arguments to make.

The worst schools aren't necessarily the poorest ones though, they're often the ones who are very academically rather than pastorally focused.

My son did exactly this in later stages of primary. It wasn't learnt behaviour, it was an expression of deep overwhelm and distress.

My DD got a specialist place for high school, no money changed hands - just a lot of time, evidence gathering, support from primary school and Ed Psych, and knowing the right arguments to make with the right people.

that is learnt behaviour. Where has he learnt that?

Focus on getting your right of appeal then appealing if the LA doesn’t name your preferred school. When was your AR?

And most SSs are Independents not State

According to the government website, there are 1857 (open and open but proposed to close) SS. 755 of those are independent. A further 52 are NMSS. 389 are academies. 471 are community schools. 82 are foundation schools. And 108 are free schools. So most are not independent.

I hope you get what your son needs OP.

I empathise as it's stressful.

I would contact IPSEA for support, they are wonderful. You'll feel like you have someone on your side. It's been a few years so I can't fully remember but I think they facilitated for me to speak to a solicitor specialising in educational needs over the phone.

Edited to add that none of it cost anything. They have volunteers working for them.

Have you emailed your MP? Spoken to people canvassing? Emailed councillors?

I helped my sister get a specialist school place for my nephew. It was a long tiresome process and I think it's designed in a way that they just hope you give up.

The school the LA were trying to force her to accept even said themselves that they couldn't cater for his needs.

I found IPSEA to be an amazing support.

We didn't spend anything on solicitors but we did make an absolute nuisance of ourselves to get anywhere, including sending multiple emails directly to the head of the LA.

I learned in the process that the LA are never on the side of the parents and never have the child's best interests at heart, unfortunately. It really shocked me how vicious and underhand they were throughout the whole process.

'access to' is used a lot in Ehcps to avoid making actual commitments that require time and money. It sounds like your section F in the EHCP needs to be tightened up. With very specific provision. E.G 'Child X requires sensory breaks every x minutes, every day. Child x will spend 20 mins every day learning emotional regulation using x resource.' Access to is a cop out, specific and measurable targets need to be written in. And then at EHCP annual review the outcomes of these interventions should be shared and new specific and measurable targets should be agreed. I'm sure if you Google you can find examples of how to word your section F. This is key to getting appropriate provision named in the EHCP. Section F needs to describe provision over and above that which a mainstream can provide.

It can feel really overwhelming I know. How old is your son? Is his current SENCO supportive of a move? Apologies if I have missed this in the thread.

What stage of the process are you at?

This is a really helpful website if you haven't come across it before Get support | (IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice

@Satanzlilhelpa - that sounds a very difficult situation. Have you identified a SS that you think might suit your ds yet? What provision is he supposed to have as stated in his EHCP? What educational setting is he in now and does it meet his needs?

And most SSs are Independents not State but usually only take LEA-funded pupils.

It is all very bewildering at first and all the more difficult as you also have to provide a greater degree of parental support and care for every minute when they are not in school as well as being able to drop everything and go to the school even when they are there.

I didn’t throw a single penny at the fight to get a specialist placement for my child but you do need to have your wits about you and understand how to fight the system. For some who aren’t able to do that themselves for whatever reason, then yeah money helps.

You don’t need an advocate either. If you decide to go down that route, you should choose carefully because advocates are an unregulated business and whilst there are good ones, some are bad and do more harm than good to your case.

I have 2 children in special schools. Dd we got lucky, that 2 spaces came up in her age group, and she was just given a spot no problems. Ds we filled out the appeal paperwork, and were offered a guaranteed spot for the following school year before it went to tribunal. We moved dd to a different school this year, as she no longer needed the support of a school for severe needs, so applied for a change in her Ehcp to a school for moderate needs and that went through with no problems, probably because it freed up a place in the original school.

Working in special schools, no, absolutely not, never had a child get in by use of a solicitor, many parents have no resources at all, and some children are there against their parents wishes

My middle child spent 5 years at a specialist secondary, no tribunals or appeals needed. His need was evidenced, no mainstream was able to meet need, so a place was assigned.

There simply aren't enough places. MLD schools were mostly closed down years ago, and so children are thrown into mainstream when they need more support, but not to the level of SLD/PMLD schools.

I have worked in a SLD school for 20 years. Our numbers on roll have increased every year... our staffing goes DOWN every year as people leave, worn out by the job.. the pay is dreadful for TAs and the demands are high on teachers. We can't recruit, and there is no budget.

We have an unprecedented number of new pupils starting in September, way more than we should have, and most of those went to tribunal to get a place... and these are children with severe learning disabilities, autism, physical and complex needs.

It's a bloody disgrace.

No money changed hands to get my son his place at a SEN school. Just hard work and a few arguments! I deal with some parents who literally have nothing and some who are loaded. Those with money don’t get any further any quicker. If a school can’t meet need or doesn’t have space, no amount of money will change that.