Can a school insist on holding a child back a year?

[TwinItToWinIt]

If they’ve got SEN? A primary school, that is.

I understood the research suggests it’s generally not helpful, and it causes difficulties later on because if they’re held back in Year 1 (say), they then have to transition from Year 5 into secondary. Also, they’re always doing to have SEN, and holding them back a year isn’t going to make those needs go away or mean they suddenly learn better.

My DC’s school mentioned this as a possibility for my SEN DC; does anyone know if they can they do it without my permission? I’ve been Googling but can’t find anything!

Does the child have an EHCP ,a 1:1:etc ,the school should be doing everything to support the child ,not holding them back a year ,unless it's a mixed year groups school I'm not sure how this would work ?

The school have applied for an EHCP, and seem fairly confident that they’ll get it, but we’ll see, and if they can get that funding we’re hoping they’ll get 1:1.

And yes, that’s absolutely how I feel too, the school should be supporting them, not talking about holding them back a year! But I’m just wondering what I can actually do to stop it happening... I’m not sure what the legal position is?

You are quite right, hoding back by a year is not usually helpful. It can possibly make a difference in the case of a DC who is summer-born and with fairly mild SEN as they might thrive much better as the oldest child and similar development level in the younger yeargroup rather than being the youngest child with some development delays in the older yeargroup. If this is appropriate then the important thing is to establish with the LEA that the different yeargroup will be respected when applying for secondary school (so no transition from y5 to y7 which I agree would be disastrous)

Thank you! Yes, as I understand it, if it happens we need a guarantee that it would be respected throughout their schooling, including into secondary.

But I just can’t find out whether this is something the school can go ahead and make a decision on without our consent? Does anyone know?

Does your LEA have an independent advisory service ,if so you should be able to find the details on the " Local offer" ,they can come to meetings with you and advocate for you and your child if necessary,my son's in a special school so it's a different scenario ,are there local Sen groups and parent groups ,I find you can get a lot of information from parents going through similar circumstances

Look on the local offer the LEA should have a SEN department in place that can advise

They wont go from Yr5 to Yr7 - they'll put all the year group together so they can all move up together.

All but the top two classes in my DCs school are split years. I think most find it helpful, they get to mix with a wider range of children, and the work they're given will suit their ability. Its not viewed as a negative experience.

@BlindAssassin1 I think you’re talking about something different, or split years. Which would be fine - but my DC’s school are talking about keeping just my DC back 😭 and making them re-do a year.

@x2boys Thank you, that’s helpful, I’ll have a look.

I’ve left a message with the Autism UK education helpline so I’m hoping they may know more. To be fair, school are only mooting it as a possibility so far, depending on how the rest of the year goes, but it’s stressful thinking they’re even thinking about it to be honest! They’re only one term into Reception, so I feel like they’ve barely even time to settle (And it’s not even like they’re struggling that much, in the grand scheme of things; I work in schools, and I’ve known kids be way more behind, and never known a child been kept back a year!)

I’ve known children who have had to move from year 5 to 7. I think you need to find out what the policy of the LA is.

In my experience, secondary schools don’t like children out of year, because it has an impact on their results. You can’t count children out of year in the statistics.

I think , OP, this needs much more discussion with you and that a focus on getting the EHCP and supporting your child now and for the rest of primary, with the help of appropriate professionals, would be more beneficial.

I think it would all have to be done with your agreement and is done rarely IMHE.

Great that they have applied for an EHCP! Do you feel that the school have identified his needs accurately and do you feel they would be able to meet them within a mainstream classroom with the EHCP?

I ask because they may be raising the idea of repeating the year because they are very experienced in supporting SEN and feel this may help, or because they have no real idea of how to support and think this may be an easy fix.

I imagine this is being suggest because of covid and missed a lot of education? I can't see any other benefit of keeping a child back for a year.

How does your child fit in with The children in the class? Does SEN impact on just learning or social aspects too?

They can't do it without your agreement. They can suggest it but ultimately you have parental responsibility and will make the final decision. If they completely disagree with your choice and they believe it to be seriously detrimental to the child then they can report to authorities which will involved more professionals but the school in itself cannot make that choice for you.

My experience of staying with the year below is really positive. DC seemed only a bit behind the bottom of the new year group and and went up with new year group to secondary

It’s not to do with Covid - they’re in Reception and haven’t actually missed any time at all! (Been quite lucky, I know.) It’s to do with the SEN and the fact that they are developmentally behind, but obviously they’re behind because of the SEN, and keeping them back a year won’t make the SEN go away! They are also quite immature in social terms too to be fair, but that’s linked to the SEN (ASD).

@FrostedCupcake When you say they can’t do it, do you know what that’s based on? How would I actually stop them? I’ve been trying to work out what the law is on this, but I haven’t been able to, was wondering if anyone knew!

@Porridgeoat Can I ask, did you have to get a guarantee from the LEA that they would go up with their new year group? I’ve heard that you need to make sure that’s in place or there’s no guarantee it will happen.

Thanks for your advice everyone!

I work with SEN children in a SEN setting so it may be different in a mainstream setting but schools cannot make decisions for a child, only someone with parental responsibility can make decisions for a child. School can make suggestions and recommendations but they cannot go against your wishes.
I would meet with the teacher/head/SENCO, whoever is making the recommendation and discuss it, all share your pros and cons. There will benefits of course but also completely agree with you that it won't 'solve' their SEN needs.
Some schools just aren't equipped to deal with SEN children, lack of knowledge and resources. It may be that this school isn't able to meet your child's needs. I'd be asking them What happens at the end of the repeated year if your child still isn't ready for the next stage. Cant hold them back forever. What things do they currently have in place to support your child's needs?

If you get an EHCP for your child, and that stipulates that your child must stay in their 'out of year' cohort then they would move up to secondary school a year later than their chronological age.
However, keeping children back a year isn't something school can do without your agreement and if your child gets an EHCP with a 1-1 there is no reason for them to stay back a year. The 1-1 can support your child at whatever level/stage of development they are at in whatever year group they are in.
Hope that makes sense!

The problem as I see it is that you more often need the extra year at the end of education, ie three years in the 6th form.

This is useful if - you have SEN and need another year to get enough passes to move on to A Levels/BTECs. Or you might be unwell and need to restart. Quite a lot of students have used it this year to retake year13 due to covid.

Education is funded till age 19. If they are held back a year then that spare year of free education in your back pocket is gone.

How does that work with EHCP s though @BalloonSlayer as they go up to 25

Yes it was agreed before moving down