Notification of Secondary schools- AIBU? Imagine your LEA didn't bother to YOU what secondary school your child was going to attend from next September.

[PeppasNanna]

My ds is in Yr6 of a special school. He has a Statement. The date I should have been notified of his secondary school was 15th February.

Nothing from the LEA. No response to my emails or phone calls.

This is very common in my LEA. There are lots of other parents in a similar situation in this LEA.

Can you imagine if your LEA decided to ignore the 1st March notification date?

Imagine they just didn't bother to tell parents where their dc would be going to secondary school as of next September?

Then the LEA ignored all the you & all the other parents when they called them & emailed them?

Can you imagine MN's response?

AIBU to expect my LEA to do their job???

Sorry for typo in title!

Was that date given because of the type of school and/or his statement?

Because I though all LEAs had to do it on the same date.

My LEA told us in the Thursday before the date last year. We were applying in the neighbouring LEA and there was hell on. Our LEA had to issue a formal apology, because it caused chaos as we were appealing in an lea that hadn't even sent theirs out so weren't ready for appeals.

I am just shocked they would give you a different date, unless it's for the reasons above.

The date the LEA gave for notification of Secondary school placements for all Statemented/EHC plans was 15th February 2016.

1st March is the date for all other secondary school applications. (For all mainstream /non statemented/no EHC plans dc).

I don't even know why I'm surprised. Very typical of the treatment of SN dc in this borough.

That's really really shit.

I don't know what else to suggest other than what you have done. Can you go down?

In the confusion over our appeal we went to the appeals office in the lea where we were appealing.

Is he going to a mainstream or special secondary school?

As a pp has said his school will be named on his statement and in the vast majority of cases that is the school they will attend. My son attended a MSB at primary and then went to a mainstream secondary. I did fill in the paperwork but is was totally unnecessary as children with statements get (or did get) priority. I do agree that the LEA are being sloppy and out of order and can't understand why .... Surely these are legal time frames regarding the appeal process.? I wonder if there is anything about this on the IPSEA website

Hi OP nope, not U at all. It's unlawful, and your LA knows it.

They will argue pressure of workload. That's a dishonest sack of shit; transitions are always first priority business for any LA SEN team.

This is almost certainly a deliberate LA tactic - as you probably know, you cannot appeal to the SENDIST Tribunal until you have the final amended statement from the LA.

If you're a London LA, then SENDIST Tribunal hearing slots are in short supply. The longer the LA can spin this process out, the more chance there is that you won't get a SENDIST hearing date before September - and if it's a non-maintained special school, that'll save them money.

Here's what I would do:

• E-mail your LA again, making it clear that you know that they are in breach of their statutory duties, and that in doing so they are depriving your family of their right to seek legal redress via Tribunal;

• Tell them that as the LA is acting unlawfully, you are in the process of drawing up a pre-action letter to seek judicial review of your case;

• Tell them that you know that the Department for Education has ordered Ofsted & the CQC to start inspecting of local area SEN services. As you know that lots of parents are in the same boat as you - and as the first Ofsted/CQC inspections are due to begin within weeks - tell the LA that you will be copying this e-mail to the Deputy Director for SEN at the DfE and the lead Ofsted HMIs for SEND, as evidence of the LA's repeated failure to abide by its statutory obligations to children with SEND. PM me if you want the contact details for these people.

• Tell the LA that this e-mail constitutes the first phase of their internal complaints process (if you haven't started a complaint already. Copy the e-mail to the LA Director of Children's Services.

• If they carry on giving you shit, mosey on over to the MN SN boards for practical help, hand-holding, and a space to vent.

Thankyou Ugger!

I am certainly thinking along similar lines.

IPSEA are already working with us as the transition from Statement to an EHC plan has been literally outrageous.

Your obviously very familiar with SEND issues by your response.

Its infuriating how poorly SN children are treated bu the 'system'.

I have 2 ds with SN. Both attend Independent AS schools funded by our LEA.

I know the tactics used. I 'get it'.Ive been dealing with this stuff for 6 years now but it still makes my blood boil that they treat children & parents so badly!!

DS is in yr6 and also has a statement (Autism). We have applied for a mainstream secondary and have had no official confirmation of his school as yet. I thought that this would be in March (I can't remember the date, but I did read it somewhere on the LEA website).

Should I know by now then?

We have had a letter from the council regarding making changes to his statement to say he is currently in school X but will be transitioning to school Y in Sept 2016. School Y is the school we have chosen. It wasnt a formal your child is going to Y school, jsut more of a change in his statement letter. Is this what we should have received or should we have received something official?