Can a school insist that a child is moved to a special needs school?

[Faciadipasta]

A child in my DC'S school, aged 7. Parent us being told the school dont have the support available and the child will have to.move to a special school. Parent doesn't want the child moved away from all their friends. Can the school insist? Obviously this isn't really my business but just wanted to offer this mother support and advice. Seems very unfair that the school can just wash their hands of a child like this.
For reference the child is not disruptive, and has no extra physical needs. Just requires extra learning support due to ASD as well as difficulties with handwriting and spelling for example. Don't the school have a responsibility to get the support in for a child with an EHCP?

The legal answer is no. A parent has the right to choose mainstream education.

Whether that the right thing to do or not is another matte

The problem is that there’s no guarantee a special school could meet this child’s needs considering that socially he is keeping up with his peers and especially if you’re right that all he needs is extra learning support with handwriting interventions. Special schools aren’t the automatic answer for every child whose needs aren’t being met at mainstream unfortunately.

"They do have a responsibility to educate your friends son, but if he really needs a1-1 and lots of interventions and the school simply don’t have the money or resources to provide it, what do you expect them to do?"

Tell the LA they cannot meet need without x, y, z in place or tell the LA it is impossible to meet need with the exact reasons why. Many schools will not do this. It is easier to push the child out by ' working' on the parents.

In theory no.

But schools rarely say they can't meet need and push for special education unless a) it's needed and b) they actually have a cast iron case.

Special school places are like gold dust.

We have pupils transfer mid juniors sometimes and it's the best thing for them. They are in a learning environment with leers learning at their rate and speed. They are part of the community both academically and socially and it can do self esteem the world of good not to feel like you can't keep up and everyone can do things you can't.

Special school doesn't mean no hope or no future or no education. It doesn't mean children have behaviour problems.

Our school has classes that are far more well behaved than some mainstream schools! Our pupils just learn at a slower rate and need extras such as salt and OT.

Different LA maintained special schools are there for different needs. Your assertion is incorrect.

"Different LA maintained special schools are there for different needs. Your assertion is incorrect."

Depends where you live. Where I live all the maintained special schools are for children with a learning disability.

Its usually not just up to the school. If LEA educational psychologist have reviewed and agreed a SN school is appropriate then as a parent I would seriously listen. Its incredibly hard to secure a SN school place.

Its becoming more common in one of the local schools I know well where its take the school staff years to persuade some parents that they cant meet the child's needs while the child(ren) are learning absolutely nothing, not developing any skills, causing chaos in classroom quite often so other children get upset all because the parents want the child to stay in mainstream with their friends and feel the school is failing them even though there have been 1:1 put in place, sensory time, extra literacy and maths etc. Mainstream just cannot meet their needs and parents wont accept that.

Most special schools are full and are dealing with a large number of tribunals (ie there are not enough spaces to go round).

Her child is entitled to a suitable education - not the best, but suitable. If the school are saying they cannot provide a suitable education then they need to look for a school that can. It would be worth looking at alternatives so parents know what is out there. Given the difficulties with places I can’t see anyone being forced into a special school against their will.

Incidentally imo (parent and professional) the right special school is usually streets ahead of the education available in a mainstream school - for the children who need special.

It's a very complicated issue, but no, it's not the school that makes the decision, it's the LA who have the final say.
I told the LA that my son needed an SEN school, his mainstream school said they'd done everything possible to support him but they couldn't meet his needs, he had reports from Ed Psych saying he can't cope with a mainstream school but the LA still named the same mainstream on his EHCP, 13 months of fighting later and we've finally been offered an SEN school.
Most LA's will try to keep a child in mainstream where ever possible because most believe that a child has the best chance of academic success in a mainstream with the correct support, so I think if the child is not disruptive and is making progress in a mainstream it's likely the LA would name the mainstream in section I but maybe they can get more funding, eg 1:1 TA/sessions at an alternative provision for more nurture etc.

School can't dictate where he goes, but can argue they are unable to meet his needs as specified in his EHCP.

He also has quite a strong right to a mainstream education if this is his parents' preference, but not the right to dictate which school that is. If his school says they are unable to meet his needs, and that stands up to scrutiny, AND if the LA can find another mainstream that says they can, then they will send him there. Or if no mainstream says they can meet need, then they will look for special schools. In practice this takes months or years in most cases, and until it goes through, his current school have an obligation to try to meet his needs as best they can.

I would suggest parents and SENCo work together to tighten up his EHCP and secure more funding for him. I would also encourage the parents to look round special schools. They just might be blown away.

Also just to add - although in Mum's eyes the child may be coping ok with mainstream school, they probably aren't coping inside. Imagine going to work every day and struggling to complete your work as fast or as accurately as all your colleagues, you're not as good as the others and you're reminded of it every day. That's got to be tough.
My son had undiagnosed autism through most of his time at primary school, he was bright and clever and hid it so well. I knew there was something different about him but nobody would listen to me, every teacher said "no he's fine in school". Until he hit a wall, he crumbled and couldn't carry on and we've just been through 3 years of sheer hell.
My point is - he might be 'coping' now but if school think that mainstream isn't the right place for him then I think it's wise to listen, they're saying that for a good reason. Forcing a child to attend a setting which isn't meeting their needs can cause lasting damage, it's so important that their needs are identified, understood and fully supported. Being on suicide watch because your autistic child is burnt out isn't much fun 🥲

Off rolling still definitely happens.

What happens is the child will be seen as disruptive etc , exclusions due to behaviour and after so many exclusions parents are encouraged to remove them or a managed move elsewhere is suggested so 'the child' does not have permanent exclusion on their record...this also allows the school NOT to have a permanently excluded child on their records.
Certain children ARE more at risk of this and that includes looked after, trauma backgrounds, disabilities /SEND.
If a child moves in y10/11 (I believe) then the school have to have it recorded, reasons etc because of off rolling and OFSTED will look into it, but many secondaries do this in y7-9 to weed out those kids that could become that statistic in y10 +.

At my previous workplace, there were several children who had been sent there by the LA. It was fucking inhumane what they went through, despite having 1:1 TAs and the school was absolutely right to insist that they couldn't meet the needs of all but two of the year 7s. It still took 7 months to find one a place in specialist provision (and they probably spent years trying to get over the trauma) and even longer for others to get that or have managed moves to far, far, better schools.

The LA had insisted upon naming them in the EHCPs despite the school stating from the outset they couldn't meet them, and then we found out that their needs were even higher than had been presented.

Sometimes it's obvious in a school environment that it just isn't right for them. It's not offrolling in the general use of the word when you know you're being expected to be complicit in damaging a child no matter job hard you try.

"Off rolling still definitely happens.
What happens is the child will be seen as disruptive etc , exclusions due to behaviour and after so many exclusions parents are encouraged to remove them or a managed move elsewhere is suggested so 'the child' does not have permanent exclusion on their record."

This happened to my friends child a few years ago. Child was young primary age and was awaiting Ehcp.Parent was told by the school to choose between home schooling or permanent exclusion. Parent refused to home school and was permanently excluded and out of school a year until special school place was found.