School acting unlawfully?

[emmapemma91]

My little girl started a new school Monday, she’s 6 and starting year 2. She has SEN and is waiting for assessment for possible autism.
Today she was only at school for an hour and I got a phone call saying to pick her up as they ‘can’t deal with her needs and she’s disrupting the class’.
Now she’s been put on reduced timetable, only doing mornings. Obviously I’m concerned about her mental health and how she’s coping but isn’t sending her home ‘unofficial exclusion’?. And should I call them out on this? They’ve said they’re going to need her picked up again tomorrow if she doesn’t settle. And it seems a bit extreme to put her on a reduced timetable after only 2 full days.

I will start the EHCP process soon but know the school need to use their resources to try settle her first, but it seems like they aren’t prepared.

@Ellie56 your help has been very useful and that’s what I was hoping to hear. I have read on SCOPE website that they do need two terms so it’s very conflicting.
School saying they don’t need reintegration plan or any other type of plan as they still haven’t been to Fair access panel but have had contact with them and they agree with the timetable.

Also on my LA website ‘ Requesting a needs assessment does not guarantee that a needs assessment will go ahead or that an Education, Health and Care Plan will be provided. It should be noted that the local authority will investigate whether a graduated approach at SEN support has already been undertaken before deciding if a needs assessment is necessary ‘

@emmapemma91

Also on my LA website ‘ Requesting a needs assessment does not guarantee that a needs assessment will go ahead or that an Education, Health and Care Plan will be provided. It should be noted that the local authority will investigate whether a graduated approach at SEN support has already been undertaken before deciding if a needs assessment is necessary ‘

Has your DC been seen by a Paediatrician yet OP? Or any other professional - SLT, OT, EP, etc? Was there any information from your prior educational setting?

They can investigate all they like, but if they turn you down because the "graduated approach" hasn't taken place, this would be unlawful.

The Tribunal will not be interested in their policies and around 90% of parents win their appeals for refusal to assess.

Anyway, "the graduated approach" is unlikely to help your daughter if she's not actually in school.

@Ellie56 thank you for your help it’s really been invaluable, I was starting to doubt myself and feel a bit silly applying for a EHCP after only one week after the phone call from the SENco.

It's not only week though is it? She had difficulties at her other school as they were talking about getting the EP in.

Did she scream there too?

Yes she had the same behaviour there too, screaming, refusal, aggression. The EP did go to observe her there, although didn’t finish assessment due to lockdown. He’s been in touch already about seeing her at her new school sometime next week.

That's good that you're getting the EP in.

You'd better tell him to pick his time carefully though, as she might not be there for him to see.

@emmapemma91

Yes she had the same behaviour there too, screaming, refusal, aggression. The EP did go to observe her there, although didn’t finish assessment due to lockdown. He’s been in touch already about seeing her at her new school sometime next week.

That's great news that EP will be visiting school setting soon and you will have recommendations for school to implement. Your current school should also have previous setting's info, assessments, etc, so it does seem odd that they would suggest that EHCP would be denied/not to make application just yet. Have you considered a Statutory Assessment?

@JustSaying101 the SENco said it’ll just be denied due to her not having two terms of SEN support. Sorry what is a statuary assessment? The school don’t seem keen on having outside agencies involved.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I can not understand how someone can look a child who is only able to access school part time and then say they won't meet the threshold for an EHNC assessment, That the child doesn't deserve an re-integration plan to help her build up from part time and that the school wont get outside agencies in to support her.

I would be very inclined to email back and say 'further to our phone call I just wanted to confirm that there is not a plan in place to support my child to increase their hours from part-time to full time as you believe this is not required due to there not having been a fair access panel' Please email a response if this is not correct

(I think that's what you've been told)

I just like to get everything down it writing.

I hope your daughter had a better day today.

Yes that’s exactly what’s happened @MillieEpple. That’s a good idea although every time I email to document things they just call back or catch me face to face at school.

Bit late to the party (and sorry if someone has already posted this) but from what I understand regarding the part-time schooling is as long as the parent agrees there is no need to make it an official explusion/suspension. If the parent states they don't agree then the school have to make it official with paperwork.
Also as your child doesn't have an EHCP in place yet here is a link to Goodschoolsguide about what the school should be doing for your child in the meantime.
I have a child with SEN too and was in the position of actually having to defer her primary school start for 12months as the local mainstream stated they couldn't handle her needs even with her EHCP in place. She has just last week started a SEN school in reception when she should be going in to Yr1.

The LA is entitled to ask schools to try two terms of the graduated approach before applying for an EHC Needs Assessment (formerly known as a Statutory Assessment) as the information gathered during those two terms can be evidence that an EHCP is required.

However, they are not permitted to apply blanket policies like this and if the child is already on a part-time timetable, there is already clear evidence that the child has significant additional needs and an assessment is required. It would be unreasonable and not in the best interests of the child to require such an unsatisfactory arrangement to continue for two terms because of an illegal blanket policy.

The LA may we turn down the application for an EHC Needs Assessment and, at that point, you need to appeal to the SEND tribunal. It is free to register an appeal and there are online guides for how to fill in the appeal paperwork. It isn't very difficult. Something like 85% of appeals against a refusal to assess are successful and the LA is very likely to concede long before any hearing date.

That’s a good idea although every time I email to document things they just call back or catch me face to face at school.

Just send emails saying things like:

Thank you for our telephone conversation this afternoon, in which you informed me that xxxxx. I understand that you intend to do xxxxx and then Mrs xxxx will do xxxx. In the meantime, I have agreed to do xxxx. Please do let me know by return if I have missed or misunderstood anything.

If they don't reply to correct anything, you have emails that can be used as evidence for a tribunal.

Just to re-iterate what other posters have said, the LA are applying an unlawful blanket policy. You have asked for an EHC Needs Assessment. Once the assessment is agreed/ordered, the LA have to carry out the assessment...if after they carry out the assessment, they decide that there is not enough evidence to issue an EHC Plan, you can mediate/appeal on a refusal to issue.
This two often get conflated by LA's and schools, but should be separate... ..the evidence should be gathered during the assessment, otherwise, what are the LA actually assessing?

[quote emmapemma91]@JustSaying101 the SENco said it’ll just be denied due to her not having two terms of SEN support. Sorry what is a statuary assessment? The school don’t seem keen on having outside agencies involved.[/quote]
Sorry, yes the Statutory Assessment = EHC Needs Assessment. Any reports or detailed information that you have will help towards this and your recent EP involvement will certainly aid this. Agree with @Poppinjay completely - there is clear evidence that your child requires assessment. Two terms to await this does not benefit the child at all and just prolongs the process unnecessarily. I am perplexed why the school do not wish to have any outside agencies involved either 🤔

I do hope you pursue the assessment regardless of what the school suggest and if refused, do go for the Tribunal route. And definitely get all correspondence in writing so you have a paper trail for Tribunal and/or governor involvement.

So this school which 'prides itself on working in all areas of SEN' goes from zero to illegal exclusion in 3 days at the same time announcing a reduced timetable and also telling the OP to stay by the phone in case they need her to collect her dd, effectively stating that they are prepared to continue to do it.

This happened to us more than 10 years ago and I am saddened but not surprised that it is still happening, the Equality act 2010 and the SEND code of practice mean little to those schools and local authorities that continue to flout the law.

It's a long and complicated backstory but my son was on a part time timetable. I became aware I should have been given paperwork. When I got it it really was a work if fiction. But he was back in and there were reasons to not make a formal complaint.
Things deteriorated. When I did a Subject Access Request to the LA I discovered the school had lied about why I hadn't signed it.

I have no idea about the Fair access panel etc but I'd be very surprised that you don't have to sign to consent.

Part time timetable can be useful however it can also be a slippery slope. I know of one child who is in school for 20 minutes per day, the LA have increased funding but apparently this is an acceptable amount of time. Parent has to stay on site, the child sits in a room with a TA for the 20 minutes.

Continue with the EHCNA, take advice from IPSEA etc. Consider doing a Subject Access Request to the LA but I'd give it a couple more weeks to see how things are developing with the school.

I am perplexed why the school do not wish to have any outside agencies involved either

I would imagine this is because they would have to pay for them and following the resulting advice would likely mean additional expense. Understandable, considering how tight school budgets are but not excusable when a child is so distressed and is unable to access their education.

Tell them you will need to have the paperwork in place to agree to part time. No paperwork, no agreement from you

I'm mixed in this one. I can see your point but you were happy with the reduced timetable. Also what about the impact upon the other children trying to settle into school already disrupted by COVID. Sometime "rights" are less important than finding a pragmatic way forward.

Sometime "rights" are less important than finding a pragmatic way forward.

Simply sending a child home isn't a pragmatic way forward. The measures described in this thread like working with parents to agree a plan, identifying needs, implementing support would be such but the school is not doing any of this.

It is entirely inappropriate to support the rights of 29 children to access their education by denying the 30th child that right.

The school could have lawfully excluded the child, it's not an either/or situation. My son's school asked me to collect him a couple of times as he was out of control; the the next time I said the only way I was collecting was if he was being formally excluded. Which they did. The informals are denied and don't show anywhere, which from an appeals point of view is frustrating as it's lost evidence.

I'm trying desperately to get my son out of mainstream but I'm not feeling too hopeful. The LA has a barrister, professionals and the old school saying he's fine in mainstream. Is love to line up 30 odd complaining parents who beg to differ but the tribunal restricts witnesses to 3!

In times of stretched resources it may not be appropriate to disadvantage 29 due to the terribly unfortunate circumstances of the 30th. The school did suggest a reduced timetable to help settle in the beginning. If a child has become so unsettled that the staff can't calm them then yes its probably best to call a parent. I know it's difficult but surely there is a balance somewhere. Ideally there would be enough resources both within the mainstream education system and specialist centres to support everyone, my cousin's parents had to fight tooth and nail for support for years it just shouldn't be so difficult.