GCSEs online if no place in school can be found

Hey - we have been with Nisai for the last couple of years and have loved it. My DD suffers from high level anxiety and struggled with her mainstream school. She has really excelled in this new environment. The lessons are all live and only 15 kids in a class. The teachers, mentors and student support staff are fab! They all got to know my DD and us as parents so well and it’s so obvious how much the Nisai staff all care about her and her daily struggles. She really has come out of her shell and it’s so nice to have my daughter back in our lives again. She is achieving academic results we never thought she would reach.

I know Nisai are the only section 41 approved online provider which means they can be named on an EHCP. My DD’s classmate has gone down this route and their parents told me how great Nisai were in helping them through the EHCP process. Their son is loving Nisai life and how individualised their lesson plans are for them. They also physically meet a mentor regularly to help through his plans.

DC who take iGCSEs can go on to do A levels. Although it is possible to do GCSE science.

For the GCSE science subjects which normally require practicals (or for subjects with coursework) you would take iGCSEs which are fully exam based…

But would that set her up for doing practical work in science A levels?

Or she can study at home all day, on her own, coping with her mental ill health issues as you wonder why she is not achieving 9's in science.

You don’t have to allow the LA to get away with acting unlawfully. If the LA has refused to provide alternative provision under s19 of the Education Act 1996, have you taken enforcement action? If not, email the Director of Children’s Services threatening judicial review. If that doesn’t work, you need a pre-action letter. And if that fails, JR proceedings will work.

Because DD isn’t in school full time, you can request an expedited hearing. There will still be a wait, but it won’t be a year for a SENDIST hearing.

And in the meantime the LA is still responsible for providing a suitable full-time education under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 and once it is finalised anything detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

I know, I'm a fair access officer. The local authority has a statutory obligation to provide a 'suitable education'

Appealing a schools decision doesnt take a year, contact your local authorities Fair Access team for advice on this point. If the EHCP is still in draft then they can assist with alternative provision whilst you're waiting for it to be finalised.

Are you able to work from home more days - if only in the short term. I just keep thinking about a yr 9 girl, with no friends, selectively mute and having the additional responsibilities of a severely disabled sibling - on her own all day at home- studying. @Talkingshop sorry, but it is the 92,000 young people studying from home that I would worry about not the schools.

There's an article in the Times Education Supplement this week saying that in England and Wales 92,000 kids stopped going to school in 2024 and switched to elective home education. I think the schools are really in trouble tbh.

My DC was in exactly this situation and the mainstream school said they could could keep him on as long as he attended some lessons. Then he'd have to have alternativey provision tutors for english maths and science at home. DC couldn't go in at all so we switched to EOTAS.

I'm home full time so totally dedicated to his teaching with correspondance courses, but even with me there it is very isolating.

I would request up to date social care assessments. A carer’s assessment for you and assessments by the children with disabilities team for both DC. If you have to appeal the EHCP, you can include social care needs and provision in an extended appeal.

Hi. I understand you work full time and plenty of HE parents do too, particularly if the children are older like yours. Can she be at home to work alone? She will find online friends in classes (you can be muted and no video, and work up to using them if wanted) and perhaps that will allow her the freedom to engage more. Home Ed meetups and days out are all inclusive and generally have lots of SEN children involved, but I can understand that would be difficult to navigate. My kids do those, as well as join in evening sports classes which other kids attend. There are Saturday meetups you could go to together. You may well find, with being at home and the stress being less, your child is able to relax and be able to let some of the difficulties go. I wouldn't worry about 'socialising' right from the start but allow their mental health to recover. Are they the kind of child who can be at home alone - online classes/reading/videos/textbooks/worksheets - and then after work you can discuss the day? Education does not have to be school hours at all - takes place whenever! Whether a parent is needed at home is tricky to answer as of course 'it depends'!

Push for more information around the academy’s consultation response. Have a look at this case law. The bar is high, higher than an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”. This is why so many appeals are successful because the LAs arguments don’t meet the high bar.

Have you also looked at placements in any other LAs within travelling distance?

Support for things like selective mutism, social anxiety, accessing the community, etc. should be included in the EHCP. Is there therapies and other provision around these included in the draft?

Similarly, if DC requires support during the day as well online schooling, that can be included in the EHCP.

Is DC known to the young carers service? And have you had social care assessments.

If the academy is your preference, the LA must name it in the EHCP unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

Being full is not defined in law, and on its own being ‘full’ is not enough of a reason to refuse to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full admitting DD is incompatible. The bar for this is higher than LAs and many schools admit - there are numerous reasons for that. The school doesn’t have to agree to being named. They can be named against their will.

Are the independent schools wholly independent or section 41 independent schools? The latter are treated the same as the academy and an offer of a place isn’t required. An offer of a place is only needed for wholly Independent schools.

Plenty of places to access online/at home GCSE or IGCSEs. We home educate, and you can learn with online classes such as £2 Tuition Hub or private tutors or online but 'at your own pace' recorded video classes. The great thing about this is - you can go at the pace of your child. There is no time or age limit on GCSEs, and IGCSE sciences do not require the practical sign off so go for those for sciences. A great place full of lots of info is the HE Wiki - https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki
Your child won't be stuck at home in a bubble; socialisation happens with every interaction out in the world and outside classes, or meetups if they would like those, online buddies, after school classes/hanging out with their friends etc. The wonderful thing is - you can go at your own (their own) pace. Not just summer of Year 11 for sitting GCSEs in a block. My son sat 2 last year in Year 9 age 13, 2 for this year, and a bunch more next year. Spreads the stress and allows real immersion in a topic so the enjoyment is there. You do have to pay for the exams yourself though. Education is compulsory but school is not, and you can fit the education to your child's needs and abilities. And there are so many exciting GCSEs out there to study; schools can't timetable the hundreds of options out there but you can.
In the meantime, there are plenty of free resources out there such as Oak Academy, Seneca, Khan Academy; your child can start today if they are desperate to be learning in that way!
As for mental health - we found this improved no end away from the restrictions and stress of school; you can go to the toilet/have a drink/eat/go for some fresh air or a run/read a book - all whenever you want to, and go back to studying refreshed and ready. I wish you all the luck in the world.

Are the schools you think are suitable wholly independent? Knowing if they are or not is important if they are claiming to be full.