She should be provided with an alternative education

@BackForABit threatening JR doesn’t always work, which is why I said if that doesn’t work, OP needs a pre-action letter.

For JR proceedings themselves, for failure to provide section 19 provision, the proceedings are in the child’s name. Therefore, DC can be assessed for legal aid in their own right.

That doesn’t cover the pre-action letter. For that, it is in the parent’s name, so they are only eligible for legal aid for the pre-action letter if the parents meet the financial eligibility criteria. SOSSEN’s pre-action letters are free of charge for failure to provide section 19 provision - although there is a wait.

This is all true. Our SENDIASS has been great but it is still clear how close they are to the LA.

I'd only add though that I've threatened JR several times and it's done nothing because LAs know lots of parents don't have the resources to instruct solicitors to fight JR. I've always been told you don't need legal representation for tribunal (done this myself several times) but you really do for JR??

Going through the normal complaints process is not a reasonable remedy in this situation. It is far too slow. Chase the LA again. Email the Director of Children’s Services reminding them of their legal duty and the timescales. Inform them if they fail to provide provision ASAP, you will be forced to pursue judicial review proceedings. If that doesn’t work, you will need a pre-action letter. SOSSEN can help with this, but there is a wait so you may want to look elsewhere.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good, but many are not. Many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies. They receive LA funding so aren’t completely independent and many will ultimately toe the party line.

Sorry, I hadn't read the full thread. Nightmare- the no response thing happened to us with these letters too.

I think if you follow the LA complaint process (probably go to a "stage 2 complaint" now), eventually you can go to the Ombudsman who will investigate and potentially offer a small amount of compensation. Doesn't really help your DD though who's now missing her GCSE years.

As anxiety can be a disability and the school is failing to provide reasonable adjustments under Equality Act 2010 (such as access to smaller groups, relaxing of truancy policies, changing classes, providing work when she is out of school), could you complain to the school it's disability discrimination? It might actually be faster than attempting to go down SEN routes.

I'd speak to your local IASS (Google '[Your LA area] IASS') for free, impartial, legally trained advice.

Yes. You've written exactly how I feel. Sadly at least two children from the same school have ended their lives in the past year.

Bloody hell!!! I'd be looking into taking this higher and higher if I were you!

I'd also strongly suggest sending in this letter ASAP to Director of Children’s Services at LA to cover yourself re prosecution and get ball rolling on alternative education: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/asking-the-local-authority-to-arrange-alternative-education-model-letter-22

The evidence can include: dates of GP visits, date CAMHS referral sent, details of the private counselling you sourced, a couple of specific incidences with your daughter at school, any pastoral meetings she has had at school.

Legally, yes they should provide suitable alternative education. Even with medical evidence they're not allowed to insist on things (like my LA did) like 'evidence myst come from a Tier 3 CAMHS consultant' [from a particular service that didn't exist yet!!!].

Honestly, is there any way you can home educate her? I know that's giving up, I know it's what these mainstream schools want and have been doing for decades, and I know that legally you don't have to do this, but in my experience it does often just make everyone happier and stabilise the situation.

Op any updates?

I feel for you and your DD. I doing the LEA will do anything. Could you put school fees for online schooling onto a zero interest credit card and pay off gradually over a number of years? Any family who could contribute. I know two families who did the online schooling as their DC couldn’t cope in mainstream. But it’s not cheap as you know. But I’d do all I could to try and pay for it

OP I hope you and your DD have been alright today. Hopefully the LA will get back to you early next week.

You really need to check your privilege. There are some breathtakingly airy assumptions here that people can just take time off work, that they all drive, that they can easily move, that they are not already working their socks off just to pay the bills and therefore can afford online schooling. Get realistic.

Bear in mind that elected governments have imposed duties on local authorities and schools that they simply are not complying with in OP's case. Why is it up to the parent who is already struggling with a traumatised child to do their jobs for them?

Well, yes. But do you imagine that is all there is to it? She is traumatised and having panic attacks. If anyone thinks she will just trip merrily into another similar school with no further anxiety, they are deceiving themselves. You can't assume that OP has the funds for private therapy or that that on its own without extra support in and out of school will be enough; nor can you assume that a doctor will be willing to prescribe medication or that it will be effective.

You refer to councils being inadequately funded, which is of course true, but the answer to that does not lie in assuming that parents can pick up the bills for them, particularly given that it is frequently the case that one or both is unable to work due to their child's needs. You also have to look at the bigger picture: is it better that we invest in the education of children like OP's now so that ultimately they can achieve qualifications and become productive members of society, or should we ignore them and commit to the far greater expense involved in having them dependent on benefits or in the criminal justice system for the rest of their lives?

Are you seriously objecting to OP's local council being required to comply with the duties imposed on it by Parliament? Why should it be exempt?

@Blueybanditbingochilli I hope that you are not suggesting that there is anything wrong with children having their education and health needs met.

A lot of children with EHCP are autistic and the employment rate of autistic adults has been rather low historically. That is not a good thing for anyone, not least the taxpayer!

EHCPs are Education, Health and Care Plans. They are legal documents that set out a child’s special educational needs as well as their social care and health care needs, the provision they reasonably require to meet those needs and the type of placement and name of placement they will attend (if they are to be registered at one).

It isn’t as simple as 1.5 pupils in every classroom have an EHCP. The picture is far more nuanced than that.

There are 25135 schools and colleges in England. 1850 of them do not have any pupils with EHCPs in the whole school.

9.1% of children and young people with EHCPs have EOTAS/EOTIS, are EHE, or are not registered at a school for another reason and 32.3% are in a SS.

In state mainstream primary schools, the percentage with EHCPs is 2.5%. In state mainstream secondary schools, the percentage with EHCPs is 2.4%.

OP, just wondering, where is your daughter going during the day then if you're both at work? You say using online education's no good as she'd be home alone, but isn't she home alone mostly anyway, if she's been out of school for thr best part of a year?

So 95% of children in average UK classrooms don't have educational or health needs outside the norm*. At least, according to the official statistics.

*It's probably higher than that as the small number of special schools tend to be accessed only with an EHCP that names them.

What are the EHCPs for?

You don't need to be "severely disabled" to have an EHCP. They're for DC with educational or health needs outside the norm.

This might boggle your mind but I teach an academic subject that many people consider quite challenging and I have both GCSE and A-level students with EHCPs. And they will get good grades. As their needs are met.

Not perhaps that relevant to the subject of the thread, although the research on EBSA does show the majority of children in that position have un-met SEN needs.

Less than 5% isn’t ‘teeny’. It’s slightly more than half a million children, or 1.5 in every classroom. How do we have enough severely disabled children to fill 1,000 schools? What is going on?