To refuse a "managed move"...

[MagersfonteinLugg]

on the grounds that the school they want to move DS to is too far away?

The problem is that if you don't accept the managed move the next step could be a permanent exclusions which would look much worse on his record. And he may end up in an even more unsuitable school. Is there another school locally your think might suit him? Are the ways you manage his behaviour at home the sort of things that would be practical in a school setting?

I asked school if it would be possible for DS to leave each class 5 mins before everyone else in order to go to his next lesson on his own. Majority of issues that occur seem to always be in unstructured times such as moving from one class to another, break times, home time, etc. School say this is when scuffles and incidents occur.
I thought if he was allowed to go from each class alone in quiet corridors with no distractions it would remove any triggers for DS.
School refused.

Wouldn't that be quite distracting? And wouldn't he just arrive at his next class as the previous group were coming out?

Have you thought about other local schools? Is there anywhere you think might suit him better?

The school seems to have zero knowledge of autism. There is simply no point having someone ask DS why he behaves as he does: the person in question should do some finding out - there is a wealth of information out there. The very strong likelihood is that it is because your DS is finding school very stressful because of sensory and social communication difficulties, and in particular problems with transitions. If you can keep him on an even keel at home by identifying the triggers, why doesn't the school do that?

They are also absolutely wrong to suggest that your child be punished in any way for behaviours that are the result of his ASD not being properly recognised and his needs not being met. If they are refusing your request for him to leave lessons early, and are refusing to do anything else about helping with transitions, they are clearly failing to make reasonable adjustments for his disability.

They're also wrong to say he doesn't qualify for a statement - now an Education Health and Care Plan. The Code of Practice makes it very clear that that educational difficulties will not be solely academic. If the reality is that he is in danger of permanent exclusion, quite clearly the school is not meeting his needs. He really does need a full assessment so that everyone is fully informed of exactly where his difficulties lie.

Please make a formal request for and Education Health and Care needs assessment. There's a good precedent on the SOS SEN website. Even if it doesn't lead to an EHC Plan, it will mean everyone is much better informed about him. You might want to get further advice on Special Needs Children board further down the page.

I had this with my son, he has asd, adhd and odd. He moved from a mainstream to a mainstream with an asd unit who still couldn't meet his needs and he ended up there 1hr a day. He now has an 80 mile round trip daily to a specialist school and is doing so much better. If the school he is currently in can't meet his needs properly there's no point pushing to keep him there, they don't want him and at the meeting i would be asking to view the other school and ask for him to visit for transition etc. Whats to lose? He may get a better education in a better environment

Apply for an ehcp, it doesn't matter how bright he is he is clearly struggling and needs more support than what school are providing. My son has asd and is bright and has a statement.
It might be worth giving the managed move a try some schools are much better than others at managing sen but get the LA to provide transport. If you don't give the managed move a try then they may permanently exclude.
Have you looked at the proposed school?

You haven't said if he has seen an EP?
I ask as I was in same situation I think they just wanted DD gone but did nothing to support. EP gave them a bit of a shock and strategies to support DD which is working. The EP also said she would not recommend a move . She made school realise DD's negative behaviour was anxiety driven due to not understanding work and certain situations.

Am going to apply for an ehcp regardless of the schools opinion.
The school they want to send him to is enormous which would lead to more noise, crowds and more triggers for his behaviour. I researched all the schools in the area before DS moved up to secondary and none of them particularly had any SN policies that stood out.
Would it be better to remove him from school then look for somewhere else rather than go with the managed move?

With regards to the EP: I did request this but school said they could not justify the expense.

I think the biggest concern of you refusing the managed move is that he could be excluded, as a managed move is usually the 'last straw'. There is normally a time limit on them - for example a 6 week trial and if it fails they are referred back to the original school who will then often exclude them (this has been my experience anyway, although it may be different in different areas).

However, they cannot exclude on the basis of behaviour that is the result of unmet SEN. So, if his disruptive behaviour is because they are not meeting his needs, they should not be excluding him. If you do wish to contest the managed move I think this needs to be your focus - what could they have done differently that would have removed the problems? They may say him leaving lessons early is a health and safety issue, but I don't think it is as when a student is on crutches they are normally allowed to leave early to avoid the crush.

I don't think managed moves are a good solution for children with ASD as I can't imagine the change helps the problem. Definitely apply for an EHC plan, as if it is successful you can name a school that you want your child to attend - I believe it can be out of borough.

I would consider taking him out for a while to home educate while you look for a solution - if the school are intent on removing him they will support your application! Just check if this would have any implications re: EHC application.

Do you think he's completely run out of rope at this school? How many exclusions has he had and what year is he in? If both he and you want him to stay, it's worth talking to the governors about that at the meeting, and suggesting ways that might make it work. Governors have over ruled the Head at our school before and insisted on a kid having another chance..........

for a while to home educate while you look for a solution - if the school are intent on removing him they will support your application! Just check if this would have any implications re: EHC,"

Just to clarify -you don't need to apply to HE and you don't need the school's support- you can just de register. BUT you may not get a place in a school of your choice if you want him to go back, AND you may have to pay for any assessments and so on that might be useful to him.

HE might be an option depending on your circumstances and if you would be able to do it. Your ds might do well at home if he is the sort of child who likes to study and you can manage any behaviour issues and get him to work on his schoolwork when he needs to.

Have just checked re: applying to HE - Hakluyt is right (you only have to ask permission if it is a special school and your child has a statement). Apparently some LAs believe you need 'permission' - I suspect I work in one of these LAs as I was under the impression you had to ask - I always thought it was something to do with ensuring the child would receive a suitable education.

Definitely check out the implications of taking him out though.

Afterthought- that's really worrying. Could you go and tell whoever in your authority thinks it's their role to authorise HE that they are out of a job?

Have you taken parent partnership to meetings?! They are very good free service.I would suggest waiting for them to come before attending. So they can't pay for an EP but just want to remove him?! Thats crap they need to prove they have tried x many strategies before giving up.

My dd (ASD) falls asleep in class, it's not because she's tired it's because she is shutting down because she is having a sensory overload. Just on that basis I would find my own school because that one is clearly shit. I hope you manage to sort it out op.

Parent partnership/iass, as suggested up thread are a good place to start getting advice, also your located authorities local offer website should have details of their inclusion policy as well as details of all the schools in your area.

It is astounding that some schools are still giving out the same bad information as they were 10+ years ago.

A lack of knowledge of SEN and a lack of understanding of the SEN code of practice are still 2 of the reasons why children with additional needs are failed by mainstream education.

Private messaged you.

BTW my son has a statement, he is in a specialist school, he spends approx 2 hours travelling to and from school daily in transport with an assistant.

We were told in yr1 that he wouldn't get a statement because he's too bright, we were told the same thing in yr2 and again at the beginning of yr3 by the end of yr3 the school backtracked and applied for statutory assessment which resulted in a statement of SEN, the reason was nothing to do with academic ability but because of BESD. He has a diagnosis of AS.

The SN chat board is a great place for advice, support and information.

Good luck.

Reply posted at 16:08 should read local authorities not located authorities, damn this predicted text malarky, I dislike it immensely.

Thanks for all the advice.
I don't feel quite so overwhelmed about the meeting now.

My advice is to think long term

Rightokthen what do you mean long term?