What to do when school are not meeting one area of needs?

OP has already said it isn’t as simple as getting private tutoring at home.

There is nothing legally stopping schools of any type providing provision in excess of what is included in EHCPs. Schools are highly unlikely to receive funding for the SEP not in F and LAs sometimes do not like it because parents and schools may then use a review to try to tighten the EHCP but that isn’t the same as not legally allowed. Other pupils’ EHCP provision is irrelevant. The school providing more to one child does not automatically mean they are not providing what is detailed, specified and quantified in another pupil’s EHCP. There is more nuance than that. SS must still make reasonable adjustments. They aren’t exempt from the Equality Act, and some special schools still receive pp funding. MAPs are not national things, not all LAs/schools use them.

Actually as someone who not only has children with EHCPs but also worked with a council on providing them and now works with parents who need help advocating for their children with EHCPs I can tell you it is absolutely true that special provision schools can get in trouble for providing more than is in the EHCP.
The way the funding for those schools works is every child is given a specific amount of funding depending on their needs and the school is only allowed to use that money for that child. If the child hasn't been given the funding for 121 then the local government can argue that the school has taken funding from another child.
Mainstream school funding is different and quite often they'll use the extra money they get for children who get free school meals and that are on the SEN register without an EHCP to subside the reasonable adjustments. It's the reason why a lot of schools are now pushing parents to apply for MAPs (my actions plan) rather than EHCPs because then the school gets extra funding rather than the child.
What a lot of people don't know is you can ask your school to release some of your child's EHCP funds for educational provisions outside of school; because it's your child's money not the schools!

That's not true and clearly ridiculous.

Any school can put in reasonable adjustments or specific provisions over and above those written into the EHCP.

OP, please disregard this poster.

Your son missed 2 years of school and his EHCP doesn't have 121 written into to therefore the school are already doing more than they're budgeted for. This should have been appealed by you when he first wanted to start working towards his GCSEs.
My suggestion would be get a private tutor for him at home.
EHCPs are legal documents and if you mention at the review that he's been getting any 121 the school can get into trouble for that as they are only meant to do what is in the document.

To guarantee online provision, you would need to have the provision in F. However, it is worth asking the school now and reminding them they said they could meet all needs, including academically. You may get lucky.

Maths and MFL GCSEs/iGCSEs have a foundation tier (giving grades 1-5) and a higher tier (giving grades 4-9).

If the school is teaching the content for the foundation tier, it will mean the school isn’t covering some of the content on the higher paper. So it will be harder, although still possible, for the teachers to differentiate the content to the level of a pupil working at the level of the higher tier within the same level. Whereas, for say English, there is only one tier covering grades 1-9.

Science is also tiered, but the grades available for that are a bit complicated because it depends on the type of science.

To complicate matters further, MFL has a qualification called Foundation Certificate of Secondary Education (FCSE) which are not GCSEs but the grades (Pass, Merit and Distinction) correspond to the old National Curriculum levels 4, 5 and 6.

ICT would need to be an iGCSE or some other qualification rather than a GCSE.

A couple of further thoughts. If the school would source online schooling/tuition, the good news is maths and MFL are easier to find. And, if DS is mathsy, Maths should also be easier for DS to study independently/with support to stay on task etc. but with less direct teaching.

Does the school teach MFL at all? If not, that might make it a bit harder because of the speaking part of the assessment. But it isn’t impossible, it will just taking more planning.

IT or computer science? This is one of the harder areas to staff. Not all subjects have tiers, so other subjects such as English, history, geography, DT, music, etc. shouldn’t be as difficult to differentiate within the lesson.

It not being simple could be for numerous reasons including but not limited to finances (families with disabled DC are more likely to live in poverty and SEN specialist tuition can be very expensive) and DS’s SEN (some DC are unable to cope with tuition on top of a school day and some DC are unable to cope with tuition outside of school because school is school and home is home).

Why?

It will be easier for the teachers to differentiate within a lesson or support independent study within a lesson for subjects where they are teaching GCSE/iGCSE subjects that aren’t tiered. So it will be harder for maths, sciences and MFL if they are teaching others the foundation content. What subjects is DS wanting to sit? Do you know what tier the schools teaches/enters pupils for.

If it would work for DS, I even know DC who have had online tuition/schooling while on-site at their existing school during part of the school day.

It definitely sounds like B&F need improving. C&L is about more than just being academically behind.

It is the LA you need to request an early review from. I would do this yourself even if the school has said they will. IPSEA has model letter you can use.

It is nothing like some parents of DC in MS choosing to arrange tuition on top of the teaching their child is receiving at school.

Surely you could just get some private tutoring for him? That’s what would be done with children in the mainstream schools that are either far ahead or far behind

In terms of something to discuss in addition to the annual review (and I agree that this is needed, as you need to formalise the support he needs), what is he currently doing for the 23 or so hours that he doesn't have 1:1 teaching? As striving said, could some of this be transferred to independent study in the classroom he would otherwise be in? Or do they have/could they get access to any computer based learning programmes that he could work through and then use the 1:1 time for support on the bits he was stuck on? It would be really good for them to find what works before the annual review, as otherwise it might name provision that doesn't actually work for him.

If it might work, there's the option to do some GCSEs next year and then more in year 12, if the college is on board with this or it is written into his EHCP (ideally both). This could give him confidence this year that would set him in good stead next year.

It's a difficult one because when students are working at age related, they usually don't have much in the cognition and learning section, which is often not an issue at mainstream schools, but is a huge issue at schools where others are not working at this level. But all schools should be differentiating to the needs of their students, and they don't really have an excuse not to. That's just good teaching in any setting.

Rather than home education, I was wondering if DS would be able to work independently at school or with staff support to stay on task but not direct teaching. As part of the 2 hrs 1:1 teaching targeted at DS’s level he currently receives, the school could set some independent study he could complete during the lessons that are targeted below DS’s ability. Then review the work during the next 2 hours 1:1, do a bit more direct teaching then set more work.

Going forward, follow up all verbal conversations with emails so you have a paper trail as evidence.

How good is DS with independent study? Could he work his way through textbooks/revision guides? At least in some subjects. I know that won’t work for many with SEN.

Do you have evidence the school originally said they could meet DS’s academic needs?

I would speak to the mainstream setting DS wants to attend. Is it a level 3 course he wants to do? Would doing GCSEs in Y12 (and maybe Y13 too) and then attending the mainstream setting for Y13 or Y14+ be possible? The EHCP can last until 25, or 26 in some cases, so there is still time.

The school may provide other provision. It is worth asking. However, if it isn’t in the EHCP, they don’t have to and they may not because they are unlikely to receive funding for it. You could ask about some online tutoring if that would be suitable for DS. Does the school have a relationship with any mainstream schools?

Evidence from the school and an EP report can demonstrate DS’s academic ability. Although if it is already included in the EHCP, those needs may not need amending (although it sounds like B more widely does need improving) and it may just be the provision to meet the needs which needsamending.

Does the placement you are thinking may work for post 16 take pupils before 16 too? If so, you could pursue a move sooner than pot 16 transfer.