Secondary school place ASD/EHCP already falling apart

*mental health needs

She says she only has the EHCP main doc not the underlying evidence like the EP report. But yes, it seems unlikely to me too. Although I've heard from other sencos that it does happen sometimes with our LA.

The EP and ADOS touch on his sensory, communication and health needs (there are more issues than just ASD) and did recommend communication and mental health interventions, so I think there is enough evidence for therapies. We also had a discussion/assessment with an OT not related to the EHCP, so I can add that report for the appeal.

The EP's recommendations are in section F in general formulation and I think school will try to catch up so it seems they've been met. Lesson definitely learned. I'll appeal for changes to make specific the ones that are still relevant now.

He's rested a lot over the past two days and we have a Pokemon Go day today which he likes, so hopefully he'll go in tomorrow and we can pull things back on track for now - as long as school is okay with dialling down pressure. He is okay with doing the lessons, so with adjustments to make the environment less stressful he'll hopefully make it to the appeal without dropping out completely.

Do you recommend I allow him to stay home on the days he seems really worn out? It's hard to find the balance between preventing burn-out and slipping into complete school avoidance.

@overworkedrobot Thank you so much for your detailed questions. Some are hard to read because they show how naïve I've been for the past year but I need and want to hear them so I can pull the plans on track.

The EP report should be in the EHCP in section K, is it not? Yes, it's part of the appendices, but senco says she's not received it.

If the transition provision was in the EHCP and hadn't happened you could have insisted on it by threatening Judicial Review.
The provision should be very detailed, specific and quantified. Nothing should be left for the school to decide. Who, what, when, where, why, how... The provision was definitely not quantified but they haven't even met the unquantified provisions which could have only taken place before teaching started. He hasn't been introduced to teachers, doesn't know who his key worker is, there's no quiet space to go to during breaks other than form classroom and he's not been allowed to stay in on at least one occasion.

The EP recommendations were quite specific and would have been common sense anyway for a child at risk of school refusal (which his whole EHCP is based on, really). I went to an EP drop-in this week and the psychologist couldn't believe her ears. The only actual adjustment made seems to be that he's in a small class. He seems to be one of the more independent children in it and just been left to get on with it until the meeting a couple of days ago.

My feeling is that the school is simply not ASD informed enough. They hear the bell of the need for adjustments but don't seem to get that these need to be embedded from the beginning and throughout - not just as interventions that can take place at some point after we all settle into the new year.

During the needs assessment did DS have SALT, OT and some sort of mental health assessment (psychiatrist &/or clinical psychologist)? No, he only had an EP assessment and an ADOS. Can I insist on adding these to the plan or would I need to organise these myself?

Be careful with the advocate, not all are good and some can make matters worse. If you are short of funds prioritise independent reports over an advocate. I get what you're saying and as I'm learning more I guess I'll be able to. I got the advocate because I needed to keep the appeal process going while I was stuck in anxious paralysis and our local SENDIASS was not great at helping with this. But I can see that after these first EHCPs are settled (my other DC is also in the middle of this process), my money is better spent on reports etc.

I'm not eligible for legal aid and struggle to get the help from organisations that I need because of my own communication needs. I seem to come across as this argumentative but on-the-ball person, while actually I'm the complete opposite: too easily swayed by the other side's concerns and completely hopeless at managing more than one process/task at a time. My written submissions are clear and detailed, but it takes me months of anxiety to start writing them. Masking at its finest, I suppose.

The TAC is probably too long away. If DS is still unable to attend by then I would be worried he will struggle to ever integrate in to MS secondary. I agree. If he still refuses to go in on Monday, I'll call for an emergency meeting with the HOY there, to formulate a plan of what to do while he's struggling and until the appeal.

However, if he is absent for 15 days the LA must provide education for him outside of school. Is that 15 days total or consecutive?

Thanks, @overworkedrobot for all the suggestions.

The appeal is in two months. It's also for section I, although I'm not 100% sure I want to follow through with that since my preferred school (closer, ASD aware with a resourced provision if that turns out to be necessary, maybe it already is, and generally a good school) is over capacity already and quite adamant they don't want more students. It would also mean another transition process, which I'm not looking forward to, obviously.

The current school has a good reputation for supporting students with SEN so the lack of process has been quite a shock. The EHCP was issued very late and I'm completely new to what is involved both for the plan and just SEN provisions in general. My DS's primary was adamant he didn't meet the threshold for an assessment and hardly made any adjustments. So I don't really know what he needs and what is possible.

I didn't know how detailed the provision could/should've been. I've found it hard to find advice/support in these socially distanced times. I have an advocate now and she's helping me to formulate what is needed. But this is obviously too late for a gradual transition.

There were some general transition provisions in the plan but most of the concrete suggestions were in the EP report, which the school says they hadn't seen. And either way, I don't know how I would've insisted on them since contact has been basically 0. I tried to have a meeting with school to discuss transition from before the plan was issued, but only after intervention of the HOY this week did we actually sit down for a bit to talk. We now have a team around the child meeting scheduled for next month. Would that be the place to try and rescue things?

You had some more questions and I'm realising more and more how naive I still am in this process. Legal processes drive me deep into anxiety and I don't have the money to get all kinds of independent advice. I feel I'm in deep over my head, trying to keep the family running and having to do all this legal stuff at the same time. I've also come to realise that autism runs in our family, including me, and having to advocate for my DS as a disable child is throwing up all sorts of feelings.

I'll focus this weekend on regulating DS, getting his views on paper, and will try to set up direct communication with the HOY on Monday.

Thanks @Toomanyminifigs, sorry to hear your DS is also finding it hard. It is a really big adjustment.

I've kept the school up to date with emails throughout the week and we have an appeal already scheduled because the plan is really thin.

It's a good idea to sit with him and write down exactly what is bothering him.

For me the biggest issue is that I don't know how to communicate with school about this. In primary I would speak to his teacher or the Senco and we'd work together from there, but that kind of back and forth doesn't seem to work now really.

I guess you're right and should just allow the process to happen. Keep a paper trail and see if the formalities can be tightened. It's just frustrating to feel we're not doing this together. I feel like a whining child!