Worried about ds going to secondary

[Imagoodperson999]

Ds will be going into year 6 in September. Im really worried about him starting secondary school. He has autism is on an ehcp. He's had his ehcp updated recently. He's working at year 1 level.

He's very sensitive and can get withdrawn emotionally/mentally. He will completely close down and won't/can't communicate.

SENCO have said he will be ok at mainstream secondary. With support and neutering.

I find it hard to believe a secondary school can be understanding of him . Have the time and patience to listen to him and be neutering.

I have spoken to one secondary school which my dd still gos to and my adult son went to. They said Ds would be put on the lowest level which makes sense. Home work must be done. The thing with this is they do sparkx? Sorry I may have got the name wrong and if they don't get 100% right they get detention.. so ds will get punished for not knowing answers . He also can't obtain information very well . So he could have been helped with the answer in class but he won't remember that by the time he gets home. And that would be in school at well so he would come across as if he's nkt paying attention. He can't start hus work on his own so he will just sit there and not communicate.

He's ok socially with friends.

But also I know SEN school would not be suitable for him.

I just want him to be happy . Not scared of going to school. Not punished for having special needs.

Home education would not be suitable and private is out of the question

Even in a primary, it is still too vague and woolly.

The reply from the mainstream is right DS will struggle. However, provision detailed, specified and quantified in F of an EHCP has to be provided regardless of other DC.

It sounds from one of your previous posts that he might not even be working at a year 1 level? As you said he can't write sentences on his own and asks the TA to write it and then he copies it. So possibly not even a year R level if I'm understanding that right?

I have 3 with autism and I would not be accepting mainstream if I were you. There are lots of different types of specialist school and I'm sure you could find one with a suitable peer group if that's your main concern.

No I dont think i will accept mainstream i suppose im sort of building evidence that say the schools are not suitable.

There are not many sen schools in my area.

You aren’t limited to schools in your area. You can look out of borough. The maximum recommended travel time for secondary is typically considered 1hr15, although some travel further.

I know but its getting there. I don't drive. I know transport can be provided but that's a but in it. Im going to find it and post

Transport isn’t a but. If the LA refuse, you can challenge it.

Not all children and young people with special educational needs are entitled to help with home-to-school travel.

To be eligible, a child or young person must:

be aged 5–16 or have an EHC Plan and attend an educational placement named within that plan

go to their nearest suitable educational placement (as determined by us)

live further than the statutory walking distance from their school.

The statutory walking distance is:

up to two miles for a child aged 7 or under

up to three miles for a child aged 8–16.

However, in some cases walking distance is not relevant, and the needs of each individual child or young person will be considered. In these cases, we may need to complete an observational assessment to judge a child or young person’s ability to travel.

Thats from my council website.
The bit that says :

go to their nearest suitable educational placement (as determined by us)

So if I choose a place further away. And there are schools saying we are suitable and i choose not to take that place theu will refuse transport?

If DS attends the school named in his EHCP and the EHCP doesn’t include a caveat stating it is parental preference (and if it does this, you should appeal the EHCP), he would be entitled to transport. LAs sometimes try to refuse, but you can force them. It is worth looking at SENTAS if you need help with transport.

For transport applications for DC who can’t reasonably be expected to walk because of their SEND, the statutory walking distance is not relevant.

This is one of the most supportive threads l have seen on MN. I think every single one of us who have posted is behind you and really wants the best outcome for you and Max. You sound like a really good mother.

Thank you yes everyone is great. Yes every post has been so supportive and helpful. Everything i ask or don't understand people explain it. So hopefully I will understand enough to get ds what he needs.

The plan the LA have written is very poor as others have said. You may be in for a fight if the mainstream secondary are being optimistic- it’s an easy win for LA as they don’t need to find a place in special and fund it. However, what will likely happen in reality is that the secondary would end up doing a poor job of meeting needs without little come back as the plan is so wooly. Definitely fight it now. You don’t want to be in a situation a couple of years down the line where your child’s wellbeing is suffering and they can attend due to lack of support.

Im waiting to hear back from sensos. I didn't know the ehcp was written so badly because I didn't know any better. Im really hoping they can help.

If the shit hits the fan I will take ds out of school even if its temporary.

Whatever you do, don’t deregister and electively home educate. If you do that, the LA has even less incentive to name a specialist placement. They know a proportion of parents will continue to electively home educate rather than appeal.

What would I do then ? If ds gets sent to an unsuitable school. And he's really suffering i dont mean just academically but mentally and emotionally to. That would mess him up big time. And I wouldn't be able to leave him there like that no way.

Not deregistering to electively home educate doesn’t mean you have to send DS if he is unable to attend. Just like keeping DS home because he can’t attend because of a physical illness doesn’t mean you have to deregister and EHE.

It is unrealistic to expect him to fit in secondary school, if he will be year 6 but still works on year 1 level. A special school will be much better for him, where he will not be feeling bad about himself all the time.

Main schools is simply just that, serves for majority. It will only lead to disappointment, discontent and disservice for all to expect main schools to be able to accommodate to such extent.

Could i not get a fine/court if i did that ?.

And what if I say the school can't reach his needs but the school say they can. Theater council say to ne there you go you sint need him to stay of school he has a suitable school.

Such absences should be authorised. Only unauthorised absences can lead to fines/prosecution.

You saying the school can’t meet DS’s needs and the LA/school disagreeing is why you appeal the EHCP if the LA doesn’t name your preferred placement.

https://brentknollschool.co.uk/about-us/admissions/

The admissions seem so complicated and ds primary is not supportive of it looking at sen school. It just makes me think professionals gorgeous together have a chit chat abd say no.

I mean it does say it's for children with complex needs im not sure if ds has complex needs

It doesn’t matter the primary school isn’t supportive.

That page says the typical cognitive level of those entering Y7 is P8 to Y3. DS falls into that category.

The p8- year 3 thing confuses me . Im not sure what it means. I knlw it's something to do with levels? But i don't understand what .

But would they want ds to fall between p8 and year 3. Plus complex needs on top.

Do I just put that school down and no others? Im thinking if I put others would that mean im agreeing other schools could be suitable .

I explain what P8-Y3 means in this post.

On the link you posted, there are non-cognitive explanations of who the school caters for. They don’t say complex needs. From what you have posted, DS falls into that cohort.

Despite what LAs sometimes say, you do not have to state more than one school, include a mainstream, use another LA form, or state your preference before you receive the draft proposed amendments.

It might help you to re-read the thread.

I have learning difficulties myself. So I find it hard to take things in and fully understand and then keep the information in my head. That's why I go in circles abit.

I find long posts hard. Because time I have got to the bottom of the post I don't remember what the top says. I read the words but they dont go in.

I know you have learning difficulties. That is why I suggested re-reading the thread. It wasn’t a criticism. It was a suggestion to help.

That's ok. I didn't think it was. I just didn't want anyone to think im ignoring/not listening. Sorry if I came over badly.