DS Expelled - drugs

Under no circumstances should you consider just withdrawing your son from the school. If you do, the school walks away with no record of the permanent exclusion having happened and most importantly the LA will also not have any pressure to find an alternative education for your son. You will be on your own trying to find education for him, which will be difficult.
The school are trying to get out of their responsibilities and you need to make them justify the decision to permanently exclude both to the governing board appeal panel and to an independent review panel. At the independent review panel, you are entitled, if you ask for them, to have an SEN specialist present to comment on what SEND provision is like in the school and whether your son may have expected more from the school. An SEN specialist saying the right things could go a fair way to getting this exclusion sent back for review. It is a risk but in your circumstances a risk worth taking.

Also the LA would appear to have made a decision in the other case of PE that you refer to, to home educate until the exams are over. That has got to be a better bet than trying to find another school.

Just read talk of a special school in another post.
There are some state schools for autistic children but I believe very few.
I know of one in North Wales and one in Cambridge.
My nephew went to the one in North Wales.
It was a unit attached to a mainstream high school and the aim was to gradually integrate the children into the mainstream while still having a safe place to return to.
He has Aspergers and did very well there and went on to uni.
I also heard of another parent living in mid Wales who drove her child for 3 hours each way every day so he could attend the school.
In the very slight chance you are in North Wales, it is in Denbigh.

His Tapas
Bojorojo is correct. Schools do have to pay for SEN children's support unless they have an EHCP (previously called a statement).
I was thinking with your DSs difficulties he would be eligible for one.
We got a diagnosis immediately from the paediatrician but then of course he had to write a letter/report. In our case it went to the GP and was received very quickly. We asked for, and were given, a copy of it.
When we got our DD assessed privately for dyslexia we were given a very comprehensive report at the end of the assessment. It was done at a university with a department specialising in and researching dyslexia.
I agree that there won't possibly be time to get an EHCP before the January meeting but the reports from psychologists should be taken into account. However I have no idea whether they alone will be sufficient to obtain an EHCP.
In my experience it is common for education psychologists to say things like possibilities of and traits of rather than giving a firm diagnosis.
I really have no experience of autism being diagnosed by other health care professionals so am not sure if they would be more definite in their diagnosis.
Is there an online Autism society with a helpline who you can speak to or email ?
I believe there is also an online ADHD society.
DGS had a clinical diagnosis of FAS and ADHD (caused by FAS) when he was 3.
On starting school he had an EHCP and is now, at 11, doing very well in a mainstream school with support. His EHCP is reviewed annually and there has never been any suggestion of it being removed.
We took the decision to medicate him for ADHD when he was 6.
Mainly because he was becoming upset that he couldn't control his behaviour in school although he was never reprimanded or punished for it. His teaching assistant used to take him outside to ride a bike and release some energy. However he was getting to an age where he didn't like being seen as different and he actually wanted to be able to work and concentrate as the other children were doing.
Ritalin, the medication, does not sedate him. I don't think anything could !
It is actually a stimulant, like speed, which activates the faulty neurotransmitters in the brain. The only side effect was him not being able to go to sleep at night. An adjustment of the dose sorted that out.
I was told by a friend that ADHD does not always cause hyperactive behaviour. Her DS has ADHD and often goes into a dream like state.
In common with DGS he finds it difficult to follow instructions and is often unaware of the consequences of his actions.
The only other suggestion I have is to possibly speak to the SEN coordinator at the LEA. We recently moved to a different LEA and ours was very helpful in getting DGS into a school which had previously told me had no places.
You really have a lot to deal with and I hope so much things work out for you and DS.

I do agree but the waiting list for Cahms is long.... months.... and time is of the essence. Keep an eye on procedure though, they have to provide work and paperwork for your ds.
There will also be a senco now, there has to be it's the law. Just be a stickler for paperwork and keeping a note of everything. Be in mind he can go to College now too, it might be worth approaching them. We send them from 14 if necessary.
Don't beat yourself up about this it's wasted emotion and what he did was wrong.

Ok. Whatever you do do not withdraw him. I was on your previous thread and I was the one who questioned social communication - I see yiu question AS. I recognised a lot of what you said re impressionable as my Ds has ASD.

What does his ep report state he needs that he hasn't been provided? What paperwork is there to show a behavioural plan or something?

Now, what your Ds did was serious and certainly is a expellable offence. However you may have a case to appeal it. I've been through situations where Ds has repeated - quite frankly horrific racist language - and has fixed term exclusions. School tried to say no student ever had used that language before in school but I could appeal permanent exclusion because Ds gave a verbal statement about where he'd heard it (including an re lesson on racism ) and I was able to prove that Ds would repeat it less subletly than other students!

A pru may work for him. There are plenty about where the pupil gets 1:1 and there are sections for behaviour and also vulnerable students. Don't assume or imagine he will be in a unit with students who can lead him astray!

Anyway back to appealing. Do a SAR for ds file. It will cost you £10. Then if they haven't supported him and shown they've support him, including increasing/changing support if it's not changed behaviour you can argue they haven't followed the SENDCOP. You may not win and that may be time consuming but you can certainly use it to get the la to get him in a supported place.

Right now you'd be better off getting him some specialist that can support him to pass the 5 GCSE he needs for college and help with social skills to secure him a better future away from crime. I'd also ask about a referral to Camhs to be assessed for ASD.

Some of the information you have been given on here is out of date. In my opinion you are shutting the door after the horse has bolted re SEN. It takes ages to sort that out and you should have pushed before. There are no statements now. they are health Care Plans.
PRU's are not hideous and bare in mind managed moves normally require your sons school trading someone for him in a similar situation. We have just done one. They are normally last chance options and if one goes back the other school can send the other child back. It can be problematic.
Pru's can be ok depending on the one he would be allocated. I would look. My eldest attended one with what was a statement which is not strictly allowed but he got a whole raft of GCSE'S very quickly, went to a normal school for sixth form and has just gone to uni.
Try and see the bigger picture although I appreciate it can be difficult.

I think it's odd the HT has said the PRU would not suit. It would be far easier for him to say that your son would do well there. Very strange.

I am sorry to read of this situation.

On a totally black and white note, the school will be looking to have this sorted before the 19th January, that is the School Census day and any students on roll at that point count in the school figures for performance tables.

Just something you might want to think about, don't let them rush you into something that is not the right solution just because they are keen to have this done and dusted by this date.

I think it's important to raise at the permanent exclusion meeting that you share the HT's concerns about the PRU, especially in light of the Ed Psych reports.

The problem with a MM is that the other headteacher may not agree. If they have a turbulent year group or staffing issues or just feel unhelpful, they are under no obligation to accept. However, it does also work the other way - if they don't accept him then they won't get the favour returned that easily either.
Wishing you lots of luck. How's your son doing?

I think there will be not be an EP available between now and January, but you could try privately.

What support should he have had at school that he did not get? Have you had meetings with the SENDCo where the role of the school and interventions were planned and agreed?

Schools do pay for SEN by the way. The budget for SEN is delegated to them. They only receive extra funds for a child with a "Statement". All the way towards getting this, the school will need to support the child from their budget and their resources. What discussions did you have with the school about his needs and why has he not had any further Ed Psych intervention since the age of 7? What were his SEN transfer arrangments at the age of 11? What did the primary school do regarding his move to secondary in terms of SEN?

You also said, I think,he had only been at this school for 18 months. Why did you not press them for help when he went to this school? How come he left his previous school? Usually parents with SEN children are continually pushing schools for help. Did you do this when you thought he was not getting enough help? What help did you want? What did the school say they were doing at Parents' Evenings? Or, because the reports were so out of date, and his needs were not adequately flagged up, they did very little because they could get away with it. I personally think the SEN angle regarding the exclusion is clutching at straws but I am happy to be wrong. Very many SEN children are excluded if they break very clear rules.

I think the LA will struggle to find him another school to be honest (I used to do this job) but it is not impossible. It is very hard and other schools will not want their cohort disrupted in Y11 just before exams. I would accept a managed move if you are offered one but a report when he was aged 7 will not carry much weight now. It is what has been happening in the last few years that matters. I think the onus will be on you to talk to any new school and try to get support in place. Leaving it to them just will not be enough and there should be an introductory meeting that you can attend.

From the school's point of view, his SEN will be adressed by classroom intervention. It is not really in a position to address whether he smokes weed (you are) and tries to make money out of selling something which he is saying is drugs. Although it wasn't.

I think a MM to but I am surprised that the HT has not contacted the partner school yet, they have had 3 days to pick up the phone and make a phonecall. I am surprised that the HT is so negative about the PRU's, people have commented on heir experiences on this thread and they all seem positive.

Would I withdraw my DS from the school roll - absolutely not if that meant cutting off support he and I might be entitled to - surely that is out of the fat and into the fire, but very easy for the school.

If my DS I would take the MM, if offered and make the most of it, pay for extra tuition where needed. If permanently excluded, I would research the PRU and what his/our options are, again pay for extra tuition where needed.

With 20 weeks of education left would I use my time to fight the exclusion, (you can still ask for an appeal upto 15 days after the first permanent exclusion meeting) or would I use it to find all the help he could possibly receive to support him with his SEN?

As far as I am aware, you cannot delay the meeting, there a statutory guidelines with timelines that the course of a permanent exclusion has to take place, did someone mention upthread.

LA's are still open, up until Friday I would imagine. I agree with the poster who said to contact the exclusion team and get their advice.

So sorry for your situation and hope you still manage to enjoy Christmas.
I do think it is important that your son is not made to feel that he is a hardened drug dealer. While I understand the school's policy on drugs, and do not think drugs should ever be allowed on school premises, he was not 'dealing' heroin or crack but cannabis which, according to my children, a great many teenagers experiment with at some time. I know I did.
ASAIK there is no evidence it leads on to hard drug use and it is being legalised in some places.
The school seems to have been negligent in not taking into account and providing support for your DS's SEN.
All schools can ask for a child to be assessed and then, if necessary, finance is provided for whatever support the child needs. It does not come out of the school's budget.
Unfortunately, in these days of constrained budgets, they are often under pressure not to do so.
I have recent experience of this as two of my grandchildren have SEN. One was diagnosed by a paediatrician after a GP referral . The school accepted the diagnosis and support was provided immediately. We have custody of this DGS.
In the the other case the parent asked the school to get the educational psychologist to assess the child. The school kept saying it was not necessary and it was years before a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome was made.
In your position I would be trying very hard to get a diagnosis for him before the meeting in January as this certainly may affect the outcome.
LEAs are duty bound to make provision for children with SENs. They also receive preferential treatment in admission to the school most suitable for them. In the majority of cases this will be a mainstream school with extra support provided. FE colleges can also provide this support.
If this is not possible over the Christmas period, might it be possible to delay the meeting for a short time until you have a diagnosis ?
Possibly your GP may be able to tell you of a reputable doctor who can do this.
Obviously this will have to be done privately and will be expensive but I would think a far better step than giving up your job.
We had to do this for our DD when we believed she was dyslexic and the school educational psychologist said she was educationally subnormal. We were correct and on receiving the report the school then miraculousy diagnosed her as dyslexic.
Please PM me if I can help, further as, from experience, I do know quite a bit about schools' SEN policies.

The HT is actually not allowed to make a recommendation about removing him from roll to avoid exclusion. The MM sounds a possibility.

Technically the meeting is for the governors to review the exclusion and decide whether to uphold it or not, not to rubber stamp it! And I really would suggest that they be asked to look at whether the school dealt adequately with your son's SEN. Try contacting the School Exclusion Project linked upthread.

OP I don't have much to add because I know nothing about these procedures, but do you know that there are solicitors who specialise in education matters like these. I'm sure that they are expensive but, compared to giving up your income to home educate, it's probably not so bad.

I think the school are looking into a managed move and are probably talking to the LA. It is far too big a leap to get into a special school and also very late in his educational career in that children needing special schools are picked up years earlier than Y11.

The Head should have immediately given a letter to you notifying you of the details of the exclusion. In the circumstances, fixed term is normal pending investigation to ascertain the facts. Then he could change it to permanent if the investigation confirms your DS was dealing. Many schools vary sanctions for dealing and buying. However, the school must act in accordance with their policies. If other children who have been dealing have been permanently excluded, then this would be consistent. If not, then there is a debate to be had.

I think the Sen is of less importance, in that if they had supported him better, educationally, would that have stopped him trying to get money from dealing? Possibly not.

You also seem to be accepting that he smokes weed. He is not therefore a whiter than white child and trouble was just around the corner - you just didn't see it coming, sadly.

The school's in difficulty if it's accepting that your son has SEN, as it rather implies that they should have done more to support him. If they don't think he should be in a PRU and want to exclude him, that sort of suggests they think that something along the lines of a specialist school or unit is needed, but that isn't going to happen without an EHCP. If they think that's needed, they should have applied for it months ago.

The school have to give you a written explanation of what is going on and the fact that they have not done so up till now is very worrying. Your son is currently stuck in limbo. He cannot just be at home, either he is excluded either fixed term or permanently or he is in school.
I assume that they finish wednesday or later this week. I would get on the phone to the head teacher tomorrow and ask him what he is going to do, as your son needs to be in school on Wednesday if they have not made their mind up to exclude him either fixed term or permanently. Whilst that will almost for sure produce a letter permanently excluding your son, you need to have some closure on it before Christmas.
However what the head has said so far does tend to suggest that he is looking for a way out of this. The fact that the school sees drug dealing as a higher crime than buying drugs does give a bit of leeway because any independent review panel is going to look carefully at how previous instances have been dealt with.

The school has a legal responsibility to provide course work for your son for the first 5 days of the exclusion but after that it becomes the responsibility of the LA to provide education. That will probably start with some home ed but given the nearness of the exams the LA need to get him into some provision very quickly, which would normally be the PRU.

He has to make the decision to do a fixed term exclusion - he can't just tell him not to come into school. I can see him not being 100% sure of the permanent one but he should have issued a 5 day FTE letter.