School want to trial a part time timetable after just 2 weeks at the school - WWYD?

But then surely he will have work to do in the afternoons at home so he will not get away without doing school work as they should be providing work for him to do.

So he does his morning at school, finishes the day on a positive. Comes home with his work for the afternoon and after lunch cracks on at home.

Be careful if you agree to mornings only. Insist it's reviewed every month. I agreed to do part time only for my DS (although he is a lot younger than your DS). Two years on and the school, who are actually very good with him, still won't let him do full time. It was only because I nagged them that he's up to 4 hours a day now.
Work with the school but get a timetable in place for reviewing his progress first. They aren't saying he can't stay in school, just he can't do full time yet. What happens if you refuse. Is there a risk he could get excluded again?

100% understand why the school are offering this.

BUT it doesn’t work in a lot of cases.

I.e Mornings only.

English Monday AM - Great, English Wednesday PM - Missed Lesson. English Thursday AM.

The student missed Wednesday so….. they are a lesson “behind” causing more stress, more anxiety.

That is very divisive thinking.

All children deserve to have their needs met and all deserve an education. For some, that requires a lot of planning and thinking from the school and the LA, which doesn't seem to have happened here.

In the inclusive comprehensive I used to teach in, there would be the equivalent of a whole class with these kinds of difficulties every year but we certainly weren't sending them all home every afternoon!

No. Why does one child’s needs overrule the needs of all the others?

It sounds like the current arrangement isn’t working and, from experience with his primary school and PRU, that it isn’t going to work. He can’t cope with the full day in school.

I think your only option is to try something new, allow him a reduced day and see if that helps him get through it.

At this stage, some education maybe better than none, even though I know the ideal would be all day engagement.

Go with it. My 8 year old was on a part time timetable for about 2 years and it meant he could cope with school

Yes, but parents only have to concern themselves with their own.

It's not this or nothing though.

The school has already shown poor transition planning. It was entirely predictable this child would struggle to cope.

There are various options. This is the one that involves the school in the least work and the parents in the most, though...

I would try it as a very short term thing with plans in place to get an emergency review done as soon as possible and a plan to increase hours.

is his adhd medicated? Ds used to be very similar and much worse in the afternoons so now has a top up dose at lunch time and that does make the world of difference for him.

So are you saying you'll say no? In which case he'll continue to kick off, his behaviour will affect all the other kids as well as the staff and then he'll be permanently excluded anyway

The child carries trauma from his previous school experiences, and has just had a major transition into a strange and daunting environment where he is shadowed by a stranger that he has not learned to trust. It’s not surprising that he is terribly unsettled. It’s not surprising that he can only mask for a few hours.

What does his timetable look like? Is he expected to be with his class at all times and to complete all homework?

Have the school considered reduced demand, rather than reduced timetable? Build in decompression times to his daily schedule. Have a safe space he can go to, with calming activities (whatever they look like for him). Offer escape routes before he reaches explosion point: a Get Out Of Jail Free card that he can show when he needs to leave a room, and which the 1:1 can show him to offer an escape route non-verbally.

Are there any subjects that he can drop, to give him more downtime? MFL for example, if he already has communication difficulties.

Sounds sensible to trial as they want him to end on a high note not end on a bad note. So he goes home due to being good! So it switches to a reward and then he wil associate school with being good and supportive.

the risk is if you try to power through and break the cycle then he’ll get sent home anyways or expelled.

as he has additional needs his needs to be the focus. He can’t cope with FT. He’s not been in FT school for ages and the jump from primary to secondary is massive for any child.

it’s likely overwhelmed and struggling to communicate with words so uses other behaviours.

id try the PT for now as its under your control and not his.

He is entitled to a full time education but so are the other 29 children in his class and schools have to think of every pupil.

it does sound like he manages fine in the morning but in the afternoon he isn’t coping. This could be because he genuinely isn’t coping or he could have realised if he kicks off he gets sent home.

I would agree to the two weeks of part time school with a meeting set up to plan for after the two weeks. I would also make the afternoons at home really boring no computer, no Wi-Fi but reading books (though in my house reading books would be a great thing) or doing school work. Being home from school when school is on isn’t meant to be fun.

If you haven’t heard anything at all since the school supposedly requested an EHCNA, I would check it has actually been done. I suspect the did t actually request an EHCNA. If it hasn’t, request an EHCNA yourself. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter.

If it has, you need to chase the LA, they are in breach of the timescales. If chasing doesn’t work, you need a pre-action letter.

Is alternative provision in place as well as part-time school?

If he was exluded from.primary school and was at a PRU, I think it is setting him up for a fall expecting him to be able to go to.secondary school full time without any issues. The school will want him.in school but are acknowledging that it is not working. I would work with the school. I have been teaching 30 years. I have rarely taught someone who was in this situation without needing adjustments

What else do you suggest they do?

Follow the correct processes rather than try to informally unlawfully exclude.

I don’t know why you think that. The Equality Act definition hasn’t changed since the Equality Act came into force.

I think someone else has said before me, they will just follow the behaviour system if you do not engage with the suggestions (which sound well thought through and supportive) He will end up PEX again and before that suspended regularly for his behaviour. That means disruption for his routines and less structured progress. I would be doing pt timetable and see how that goes.

I would work with the school in the short term and agree this and urgently start to seek a non mainstream option.

'Them deciding mainstream wont work'. Well - mainstream is not working? Be more proactive. Imagine being the teacher getting swore at - completely unacceptable. Imagine being the kids sat trying to get used to their new school and trying to learn and a kid is walking out - that is not a quiet interaction. That is likely his 1:1 support, his teacher, potentially a head of year or head of department and possibly SLT all needing to support and interupt learning. Your child has a right to learn but this setting is not the correct one.

His behaviour must be unsafe in a mainstream setting to go to a PRU in Primary. It is unfair to staff, other students but also your son who will always feel like he is failing to insist on a mainstream setting when it clearly is not working.

I guess they need to think about the disruption he’s causing to the other pupils too, it’s not fair so this seems a good compromise surely

I think they are the professionals and you should trust and try what they are suggesting. It sounds very reasonable and logical.

It sounds like school are really trying to make adjustments that help make it a positive experience and allow him to learn. Worth a try.

The OP is not responsible for the well being of the rest of the staff and pupils and also cannot simply pull her son out and get him into a more appropriate setting. This is all the responsibility of the LA, who seem to have messed up badly by trying mainstream for a child who had already displayed significant issues at primary school.

OP, why did they go for mainstream? Did you insist on it? What does his ehc say about his needs?

If he can't cope the answer is not part time schooling but rather a move to a school or unit which caters for children like your son. You need to speak to the LA about making this happen. I would contact SOS!SEN for advice.