EBSA support thread 2

[Luddite26]

Hopefully this links to Brambley Hedges EBSA support thread.
A community to discuss the processes and support each other when children are experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance.

He's Y13 now doing 2 A levels. He essentially missed Y10 in the end, it's been a difficult few years.

If he can't stay in class you should be able to secure different provision for him through school/LA under Section 19. You can invoke this when it becomes clear that he is going to miss 15 days (ie you don't have to wait for the 15 days to elapse) but it may be fewer hours and less good quality than you can find privately. There may be other "third ways" you can find and secure for him through his EHCP or section 19.

@RoxieLoxy sounds like you need an early review of the EHCP. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

Other than 1:1, what support, including therapeutic provision, is in the EHCP?

Was alternative provision in place last year?

Have you considered other schools? If it is inappropriate for provision to be made in a school, there is EOTAS/EOTIS, but you will need evidence for that and many have to appeal for a good package.

If DC can only access online provision with you sat next to him, unless you are going to pursue online provision via the EHCP, with staffing alongside that (and other provision because online schooling alone would be poor provision), online schooling doesn’t sound feasible.

Waiting to see if they will issue. When we tried before they felt the school could support him without a ehcp but they couldn't and they felt they had a strong case providing further evidence. So waiting to hear back it's been a very long time. Started the whole process in reception with assessment waitlists 😴

If the LA refuse to issue this time you should appeal.

Is the LA sticking to the timescales? I suspect not if you are saying you have been a long time.

Has all the necessary advice and information been sought? The reports should cover what support DS needs. The school probably won’t be able to provide it all without an EHCP, but they should be able to provide some of it.

Yes we will appeal.
No they sent a email apologising for not sticking to the timescales.
We have just moved countys so that will be another delay I'm sure unfortunately.

@MightyGoldBear has the new LA said they will assess or was it only the old LA who said that? When you move during the EHCNA, the new LA decides whether to assess or not. They should take into account the old LA decided to assess and any information already gathered should be considered. SENCOP 9.162 covers this. So if it was only your old LA who agreed to assess and the new LA hasn’t already agreed to assess, there is a chance the new LA will refuse.

If you have only just moved, the new LA isn’t in breach of the timescales.

For the future, the LA sending a letter saying sorry for breaching the timescales doesn’t make it OK. You don’t have to accept their unlawful behaviour.

DS has gone in today. That's 5/5 and he now wants to be on time. I think I am going to get DD in today so why now am I feeling so worried and tearful? It makes no sense. Any of you experienced that?

It's DSs last day in mainstream today. This morning was so hard, he did not want to go.

We had to take the car despite only being a 5 minute walk, and even in the car he was saying how much he didn't want to go to school when we opened the door he took his shoes, socks and trousers off so there was a battle in the playground.

Apparently not all TAs were aware DS was still permitted to take snacks in which explains why a lot of the days last week he came home and none of his snacks had been touched. They did put out a bulletin saying absolutely zero food should be being brought in from home due to anaphylaxis allergies present in the school, so poor DS had a lot of days last week where he wasn't even offered a choice.

His new headteacher rang today to just make sure I had chosen the right days and times for his transition slots next week and I had a good chat with her about his access to food and she seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet as me. Every contact I've had with the new head has been nothing but extremely positive and she sounds so caring.

It's an emotional day because a lot of the staff really love my son, I will never forget how above and beyond many of his teachers and TAs have gone to support and advocate for him, and I just know in the playground I'm not going to be able to hold back the tears.

I really hope that his new school can just offer the level of support we had to fight for as a general baseline and we know it will be consistent every day.

Good luck @Jimmyneutronsforehead. My DD has just started at specialist and it is really good - but I too will always remember the staff at mainstream who went above and beyond for her. They were amazing and they had so much to deal with - really much more in a lot of ways than her specialist school does.