To be beyond fed up with the lack of school place for ds?

[ApignamedJasper]

My ds2 is severely disabled, no physical disabilities or mobility issues so 'access' as such is not a problem but severe mental disability (autism) has a statement, needs 1:1 at all times and is still in nappies at 7. It is felt that currently he is coping in mainstream school and isn't currently eligible for a special school (waiting list a mile long).

We recently moved areas, necessitating a change of school for him and older ds. Because the area we moved to is much busier, ds1 is in a 'junior' school whereas ds2 needs to be placed in an 'infant' school until september when he too will move up into juniors. They school they were in before had both so they attended the same school. Ds1 was placed in a school within a week of moving, we specifically started applying for school places before we moved to limit the amount of time they both spent out of school.

Ds2 still has not been placed. We applied for a place at the same school as ds1 but at the infants part across the road and they were very reluctant, stated they couldn't get a 1:1, they wouldn't have anyone 'trained' to do nappy changes etc. They have since formally rejected him for a place. Ds2 Therefore has not been offered any school place and I am so angry! How can they even refuse him a place, I didn't think they were allowed to! How can they possibly say they cannot accomodate him? Since he has a statement I thought they were obliged by law to accomodate him! The longer he spends out of school the more difficult it will be for him, we specifically started applying before we moved to try and make the transition as smooth as possible but he's now been out of school for over a month and it's just not bloody acceptable to me. I'm 99% sure that the main problem is his disability, given that ds1 got a place so quickly.

Aibu to be pissed off!

can you appeal the decision?

I would be contacting citizens advice and the Lea office for guidance and explanations

YANBU...I have no advice really but post this in education. There are a couple of posters there who are experts on school admissions and maybe able to help you.

Good luck

God how awful! Go over to Mumsnet Special Needs section OP....they'll help you!

I think you can wheres but infant appeals are generally very likely to be unsuccessful :(

We appealed an infant decision & failed - but it did get the council moving and ended up with a good place at another school.

Tbh I thought if you moved after the school year had started then it was "your problem" so to speak. Budgets and everything will already be sorted so it'd be hard to find the money for the one to one.

You could try writing to your MP or going to their surgery if they have one close by. I don't know what the rules are re schools saying they can't provide facilities for a child. But really if he'd be going to that school if he didn't have special needs then the school is discriminating against him because of his disability which is illegal.

Could you try 'reporting' yourself to the council for not sending your child to school? Obviously with strong explanations that this is not your choice, you don't want to HE him, but that you would like to send your dc to school and that they need to provide a school place in order for you to fulfill your side of the bargain to send him to school every day!

I've heard through other threads on MN that it can be quite an effective way to get things moving and find you a place. Not sure how effective it will be if you need to find a school which will accommodate his sn - or rather, find budget to do so in the middle of a school year, if they are able to use them as an excuse to reject you even if they did have a space available though

You need to ascertain exactly why they have refused a place.

If it is because they feel they cannot accommodate his special needs (despite having space for him) that is unacceptable (illegal?) and you should absolutely appeal.

If it is because the school is full then that is another issues. You can still appeal of course but they won't have broken any laws in refusing you a place. Is your DS2 in yr2? Infant class sizes are limited by law to 30 children.

There are limited reasons why a child with a statement could lawfully be refused a place. The reasons they are giving do not seem to be good enough. Have they given you the reasons in writing? Have you been directly in contact with the LA?

You can go over 30 for a child with a statement.

I understood that a child with a statement has to be accommodated, and they need to create the extra space if they are full. Definitely post on the special needs boards, I am pretty sure the school is at fault here.
They would receive the funding to provide the care he needs so that shouldn't be the problem.
Contact the LA ASAP, it may be up to them to overrule the school.

Might be a good idea to call the National Autistic Society Education Helpline for some advice.

Need, I'm pretty sure that isn't the case, they are still obligated to provide a school place for a child somewhere even if it is inconvenient for them.

Vivienne, I'm fairly sure he would be going there if he wasn't disabled, especially since his older brother goes there and it is the closest school.

TheWhite, I'm almost certain it is because they don't want to accomodate him, considering the conversations with the HT.

This is all so disappointing as we has massive problems with his previous school too, the HT there used to bitch and moan about having to accomodate him all the time, used to send him home 'sick' all the time when they had no reason to, refused to let him attend school full time for months, get me to come along on school trips so they could use his 1:1 for other chidren, refused access to after school clubs that everyone else was allowed to use, they even suspended him for an incident of totally normal autistic behaviour. I was really hoping the new school would be better but it seems to be even worse it's so depressing.

Ah going to out myself here lol.

I work in School Admissions.

Each area is very different and some schools are in charge of their own admissions and some give that responsibility to the LA. Either way the process is generally the same.
As a statemented child, your DS would be given priority over other applications for the same available place. However, if the school have reached their maximum numbers for the class then they can legally decline you a place.

It seems you have been left without any school place at all, so I assume you applied directly to the school? You need to apply to your LA, they have a duty to provide you with a school place for your child within 2 miles walking distance (3 miles if the child is over 8) of your home address (or if further, provide you a means of transport). Your preference of school will be considered, however they may have to allocate you to a different one.

Classes can exceed 30 in certain circumstances, however, there will be a procedure for this. It may be the case that if there are no suitable places anywhere in your local area, then the LA will decide which school is best able to accomodate an extra child (but they can't force a school in charge of their own admissions) - this may not be your preferred school though i'm afraid.

In any case, I'd definitely consider an appeal - the appeal panel will be able to override class numbers if they feel this is the best setting for your child.

Unfortunately this can vary from LA to LA so best to give your local council a call and double check how they would go about this. Good luck!