To re appeal tribunal's decision to send DS to a specialist school?

[HereticsSpork]

Hi all,

I'll try to keep this as short as possible as it's a few years long story.

DS is 6, diagnosed as Autistic at 4. Had no end of problems in nursery, he could only ever be on reduced hours there doing less than 2 hours a time due to his challenging behaviours. He likely has ADHD and demand avoidant profile as well which explains why behaviours are often very challenging.

I managed to get his EHCP sorted before it was time for him to start primary school and requested with the LEA that he attend a specialist school as I didn't think he would cope in mainstream. They said no, that he would be fine in mainstream with a little bit of extra support. He lasted 4 weeks before the school moved him to recuded hours and threatened exclusion.

Over the next two years he continued on the recuded hours of 2 hours a day for 4 days a week but after a year they managed to secure funding for support workers to take him out in the mornings before school. In his mainstream school he was segregated from the class and kept in a side room with a TA so never got much opportunity to interact with other children or learn social skills.

However, for the last year of his mainstream the school employed a wonderful TA as his one to one who had a SEN background. She has been fantastic with DS and really pushed for his inclusion within the school and helped him come on in leaps and bounds in terms of behaviours.

Before this TA started the school had said they would like to begin proceedings to move DS to a specialist school so we agreed with that. All the specialist schools available rejected DS saying they couldn't meet his needs but gave no real explanation as to why which left us very confused as we were being told by the mainstream school and the LEA that this particular school would be perfect for him with other children very similar to him etc.

So we appealed the rejection and waited 8 months for it to go to tribunal. While we were waiting for his the new TA started and things improved massively at mainstream school and DS really came on in terms of everything but his hours were never increased as the school always said "let's wait for the outcome of the tribunal".

On the day of the tribunal, we received paperwork from the specialist school stating that they were not appropriate for DS as his class would consist of non verbal children with very different needs to his and that this is the reason they rejected him.
I don't know why they waited the whole 8 months to tell us this as we had no clue and had believed what was told to us that the school would be the perfect fit for him.
However the judge ruled that the specialist school would take him but would make adjustments to put him in a different class of children with similar needs to his. This was back in April and then we never heard anything for months until the school said they had filed the paperwork incorrectly and put him down as a September starter.

Communication from either the mainstream school, specialist school or the LEA has been terrible. We have basically been kept in the dark about everything going on and only getting vague answers after chasing. They waited until the last 2 weeks of term to do his transition to the mainstream school which hasn't gone very well at all.

On his first day when I went to collect him, his teacher was marching him in by the arm and he was clearly very dysregulated. She was saying to him "your behaviour right now is a choice" and looked visibly angry. DS completely dysregulated on the handover and dropped to the floor outside the doors where I was trying to calm him down to be able to walk to the car. The teacher stepped past me and was trying to drag DS to his feet by his arms which he was resisting as when he is in a state of dysregulation he does not want to be touched and this will only escalate the situation.

She kept doing it though so I told her to stop and said that will not help as I was quite shocked at how she was being with him. She told me she has to do it to keep him safe in the car park but he wasn't in the car park yet and wasn't trying to run away as he was on the floor.

Over the next 2 weeks DS has been asking me when he can stop going to this school and go back to his old school as it turns out the school have put him in the year below his year as there is no space in any other class. The class he is in is all non verbal children and DS has been asking me every day why no one will talk to him and doesn't understand.

He has also come out of the school with finger mark bruises on his arms from where I'm assuming he has been grabbed again to "keep him safe" and has told me that he got scared and hid under the table but that the teacher kept shouting at him.

I have been trying to no avail to get in contact with anyone about all of these goings on but as it's the last 2 weeks of term all I get back is that everyone is very busy and will try and get back to me.

I don't feel good about sending him to this specialist school as I feel they are not right for him. The children he will be with have very different needs to DS. The idea of him moving schools was so he could finally build a peer group and learn to interact with other children as he has never been able to do this even though he desperately wants to. He won't be able to get that in the class he is in and I don't have a good impression of the school so it seems pointless to move him.

However as his mainstream school basically ignored me for the last two weeks of term so I couldn't talk to anyone about my concerns, he is now finished at that school so only has this specialist school to go to in September.

I don't know what to do for the best other than try to appeal again and say that the specialist school isn't appropriate for him.

I'm sorry this is so long and I'm not sure it even reads well as it's hard to explain the story without adding years and years worth of details.

Any advice from anyone with knowledge about this would be very welcomed!

I’m afraid I don’t have any knowledge, but it seems clear from your op that going to the specialist school will be a retrograde step for your ds. The school sounds awful. The teacher you encountered doesn’t sound like she knows what she’s doing. I don’t really know how these things work, but is there anyone involved with your ds who could go and observe him in the new school to see just how unsuitable it is?

I think the first step should be identifying a school that you think will meet his needs. Have you looked at independent specialist schools? Once you have this decision name you can request a review and appeal. I would not look to the mainstream fir the simple reason that the TA is just one person. She may leave or be moved to work with someone else. You can't base the provision on one person.

It doesn’t sound like this new setting is the right place for him but I agree with @cansu you should perhaps look at a few private specialist schools local to you so that you can go in well informed on your appeal. I really can’t advise on the process itself but contact IPSEA, they have free legal advice helplines to navigate all this. Or can you perhaps pay a SEN solicitor to steer you in the right direction?

I agree with pp that you shouldn't base your decision on the specific TA. What if she leaves?

Yes that's a good point about the TA that I have also considered. I'm just really struggling with feeling this bad feeling about that school but continuing to send DS there. That's why I feel like I want to stop the transfer and just keep him in the mainstream for now as even though he's only there for 2 hours 4 days a week and has no socialoation with peers, at least its a safe and more positive environment for him then what I have seen of the specialist school.

As for chosing a school that I think will meet his needs.. that's almost impossible. Before I had a special needs child I had no idea how little support is actually out there. All the schools are either tailored to really profound learning disabilities or the more "high functioning" end of the spectrum. My DS falls inbetween as he is very verbal and social and is keen to learn and build relationships with peers but struggles with overstimulation, demand avoidance and ADHD traits. Also as he has never been allowed a chance to work on these things he has learned no social skills in his life apart from what I can offer him.

So it would seem yes he needs specialist provision but an actual provision that's suitable for him doesn't seem to be out there.

Due to his age there are only 3 schools available and this was supposed to be the most suitable one.

I would not send my kid to a school where a teacher acted like that towards him. It sounds frightening.

My concern about current school is that the TA you like may already have been allocated to someone else by now.

What an incredibly stressful situation for you.

Even if it is what you wanted, it wouldn’t be as simple as returning to the MS in September. As the SS is now named in section I, an early review of the EHCP would need to be requested (which the LA doesn’t have to agree to) and the EHCP amended (or if the LA refuse to amend you would have to appeal again).

I think you need to speak to the headteacher and LA, decide what you want and then potentially request an early review.

If there isn’t a suitable school, have you considered EOTAS?

You say DS hasn’t had support with building relationships and socialising, is there not provision for this within F?

The school was unlawfully informally excluding DS. DS should have been in school full-time, formally excluded or alternative arrangements made to ensure DS received a suitable, full-time education.

You need to look for another school. I'd also look at getting adhd diagnosed and consider medication. My asd child with adhd is much calmer and much less disregulated on a a non stimulant and stimulant combo regime

I think relaxinghammock is right about the process.

The school doesnt sound right and id be really concerned about bruises. I also would be concerned that a disregulated adult isnt going to help a child re-regulate.

I also think more special schools open up the older you get and EOTAS is worth looking at.

In the meantime all you can do is meet the head/senco and LA and see if there is anyway the named school can work

My DS has been discriminated against right from the start of receiving education. The worst we experienced was in the first nursery he attended. Before he had his diagnosis they would complain about DS's behaviours in front of other parents, exclude him from everything happening in the nursery but at the same time say to me "there's nothing wrong with him, it's just your parenting." Once I got his diagnosis and told them they actually suggested I had lied during the assessment just to obtain a diagnosis.

Not been much better in primary education either. They make the right noises about inclusion but it never actually happens.

DS was put on the waiting list for an ADHD assessment when he was 4 but they don't actually do it until the child is at least 6 so we took him this year for it but his attention span is so short and due to his other needs from being Autistic he couldn't actually complete the test to be diagnosed so they just said to me "we can't do it. Wait a few more years".

I know it won't be that simple to get him back to MS, that's why I was desperately trying to contact them before the school year finished but I feel like they deliberately avoided me so that the school year would finish and he would be off role with them and not their problem any more.

It's been the same problem at the specialist school... no real information given at hand over about how his transition has been going. Try to ring them to speak to someone about it to get told "we are really busy with end of term, someone will call you back" and no one does.

This school as the worst ofsted rating you can get due to safeguarding concerns.

I just feel really stressed and awful about the whole thing. I would rather keep DS at home than send him there but I am pregnant and due in November so incredibly worried about how I would manage with DS at home full time and a newborn.

Whatever you do, don’t deregister. By making suitable alternative arrangements via EHE, you relieve the LA of their duties to provide provision.

Even if the MS had replied, at that point there wasn’t much they could do other than help you liaise with the SS and LA. SENDIST’s Order means the SS is now named in I. To change that you would need an early review, which the school can’t just hold.

It sounds like the content of the EHCP needs improving. Is there anything in F about transition and such like a home-school communication book? Rather than calling email, so you have a paper trail as evidence.

I suggest you have a read of IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites. Unfortunately, DC whose parents know the system and can advocate for them get better support. It shouldn’t be like that, but sadly, it isn’t going to change any time soon.

You were fobbed off about an ADHD assessment. I would request a referral to a more specialist clinic.

As @Relaxinghammock states, because the provision type has changed in Section I, the MS school would have to be consulted with and are unlikely to say that they can meet his needs. Because SS is stated in I, it would be difficult for the LA to challenge that decision.

The first thing I would do is to make an official complaint to the school and copy in the Head of Children’s Services for the LA. Wherever possible, children should not be handled. Where it is likely to be needed, a handling plan should be written and agreed with both you and DS. Proper handling should not leave finger bruises (or really bruises of any kind). Please photograph further bruises for evidence. This is a massive safeguarding concern because these children are some of the most vulnerable and if others are non-verbal, how are they going to share these negative experiences. I would consider reporting to Ofsted.

The responsibility for your DS education lies with the Local Authority. This is not suitable provision and they must support you to find other options. Go back to your SEN officer and ask them for other schools, including private, that could be suitable.

Thanks for your advice @Relaxinghammock and @LooksLikeImStuckHere. I will have a look into all of this this afternoon.

DS had a communication book for his support workers and MS school to write in but I found that mostly people would write "went here. had a good day." Sort of thing but this obviously isn't the case as I know they were all struggling with him. I don't really see the point in a communication book if no one is going to be truthful.

I will also contact DS's paediatrician again regarding the ADHD diagnosis as the option of trying medication if it's needed would be good to have as it could really change things for us.

So sorry to hear everything you and your family have been through. I used to be a teacher and then management in a special school, different areas/ local authorities vary massively but I have a few suggestions if you decide to continue with the school currently named on the EHCP.

It sounds like the specialist school has been giving you the run-around to avoid sorting things out before the end of term. I know it’s not ideal now to wait over the summer but I would suggest ringing again on the first day of term (maybe a training day) and asking for the designated safeguarding lead as you have a safeguarding concern (the unexplained bruising). If they’re still not able to get back to then you can either ask for a copy of the complaints policy or say you will be speaking to the LADO (pronounced lad-o) which is the Local Authority Designated Officer (some areas will use different terminology so you could Google to check your area but they should still know what you mean), because you are concerned a member of staff may have caused the bruising and the school refused to even speak to you about it before they broke up for the summer. The LADO might not be the most appropriate avenue as it happened a while ago but hopefully the mention of it would be enough to get the school to communicate with you. I would also take photos of the bruises now, if you haven’t already.

If you can I would then ask for a meeting with the school to discuss all of the issues that need to be addressed before your son next attends, you could ask:
Is the class your son has done his transition visits to definitely the exact same one he will be placed in in September? If so why do they think that’s the most suitable class? It’s possible they don’t have a more suitable class or that some children in the class might use sign or symbol communication so don’t use ‘spoken language’ but are communicating more than is immediately apparent.
Have they looked at your son’s EHCP and any reports (eg from occupational therapy) that might help the staff to understand his sensory needs? It would be good to help them understand what strategies have been helpful to your son at home and with the TA he previously worked with so that they can use them at the new school (your son’s EHCP might be really clear but I have seen some very out of date or just plain incorrect EHCPs)
Have the staff had training in supporting pupils with ADHD and demand avoidance? If not could they get anything like that from CAMHS or educational psychology service as a priority? It’s entirely possible that staff at the new school don’t have much understanding of ADHD and demand avoidance, particularly if the school had stated they couldn’t meet need because your son doesn’t fit their usual pupil profile
What’s in their behaviour management policy and how does it apply to your son? All the special schools I know of use some kind of system that provides training in positive handling (I.e. physical restraint) and de-escalation to try and reduce as much as possible the need for physical intervention to keep everyone safe. As you’ve witnessed staff touching your child to ‘keep him safe’ are they intending on having an individualised behaviour support plan for him and if so what’s that likely to look like?

Personally I do know of a few times the local authority agreed to a child continuing to attend their previous mainstream setting without an EHCP review even after a specialist provision had been named on the EHCP and the child had attended transition mornings in their new uniform. That was only when the mainstream school was happy for them to stay on roll however, in a situation where your son was only attending eight hours a week I suspect that’s unlikely to be an option. I also know of a few cases where there were essentially ’swaps’ of pupils between special schools in the same local authority (usually where trust between the school and family had broken down) so if there is any other option you would prefer you could try speaking to the local authority.

I don't have much advice OP, but my heart was thumping reading your posts as I could have written so much of this.

The state of education, let alone SEND education is so poorly funded and it's been truly shocking as a SEND parent trying to navigate the system.

Re the SEND school, I would be contacting your EHCP contact at the LA and making your concerns very, very vocal. Sounds like you can start talking about escalating to a complaint, and asking them for their complaints process (if you don't get a reply after a day or two, just look it up on the Council website and start the process)

Re the bruising, my son is in a SEND school and has never had a bruise from an adult. This is completely unacceptable, and I would personally be contacting Ofsted with photos.

Is there a local Council advice service? Usually called SENDIAS, and they give impartial advice. I've found them to be really useful.

Are there any local Autism charities, or parent support groups on Facebook? These are a wealth of information about local SEND schools, and I even managed to get the transport boss's email when my transport coordinator was ignoring my emails...copying them into emails to your EHCP contact really gets things moving!

I would also suggest getting a SEND advisor or lawyer - I have used SEN Ninja. She was brilliant, very efficient and she offers a range of services. It's awful that we need to pay for these things as parents, but we felt it would be money well spent to help us navigate the process.

I hope some of this is helpful to you - in the very least, you're not alone, even though you must feel that way right now.

Massive hugs x

I think the tiny amount of hours in MS, however successful with a TA, would be very very hard to expand full time. Add in playtimes and so many transistor manage and it would likely fall apart again. Most children can be managed for a few hours, but the fact it never expanded is telling. Either they feel they couldn’t, or wouldn’t.
The new school is clearly a mismatch.
Im afraid I’d request an emergency EHCP review, as well as looking at independent options further afield. It’s a long slog. Start now.

My DD at 6 was given a place at a wholly inappropriate specialist school. I rapidly, before she transitioned, came to the conclusion it was a more catastrophic idea than maintaining where she was. I enforced her legal right to a mainstream. Her mainstream were furious and refused. LA over ruled them. It was an awful 6 months but it was 100% the right thing to do. I know everyone pushes specialist as always a good option, but actually if the settings aren't a good fit they are no better. I also work in SEND at the LA and I know all the physically viable settings so had an advantage of knowing there just was not a fit that wouldn't be awful. She would either be too capable compared to the cohort or in a behavioural setting which she didn't need. There was no ASD settings that could cater for academically capable children.

If he was doing well in mainstream once he had the correct support, that shows it can work. I'd follow your instinct.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good, but too many aren’t and repeat the LAs unlawful policies and practices. They receive LA funding, so often ultimately toe the party line.

Personally I do know of a few times the local authority agreed to a child continuing to attend their previous mainstream setting without an EHCP review even after a specialist provision had been named on the EHCP and the child had attended transition mornings in their new uniform.

That shouldn’t happen if the SS is named in I, especially following Tribunal. Even if the LA amended without physically holding a review meeting it would take time as the SEN regs are clear even if the LA propose to amend without a review or reassessment the proposed amendments should be undertaken as if they were following a review. Therefore, changing I back to MS won’t be quick.

Slight side issue but Does your son have physical intervention in his support plan? Im concerned that he has bruises. As you will be aware this should only be used as last result and when all other distraction/de escalation techniques exhausted. If you are not happy with explanations then I would be contacting the LADO. Good luck. You sound like an amazing mum and advocate for your son, however you shouldn’t be doing this alone.

Before immediately going into an understandable panic mode I would ask for an emergency meeting with the HT and see if there is anything they can do to support your ds better. We had initial problems with ds1's specialist school but their response was very good and put things in place like changing classes to support him and the placement ended up being a success. On the other hand ds2's different specialist school pretty much ignored our suggestions and the placement failed. So if the school is prepared to work with you it may be OK even if the initial signs are not good.

There is a real need for more 'in-between' types of provision to suit children who can't manage mainstream school but also do not have needs deemed significant enough for more specialist placements. It all comes down to funding unfortunately, and it does not seem like this is going to change for the better any time soon.

I called the case worker for DS's EHCP from the LA on Thursday last week... 50 minutes on hold to be told the message would be passed on and she would call back.

It's like banging your head against a wall. No one wants to know or to help.

I agree with a PP who said its unlikely DS would have managed full time in MS school. I do agree with that but it's like others on here have said, there is no good inbetween provision for a child like my DS. I just feel like it would have been better for him to stay where he was even for such a short time than to be with a cohort who have totally different needs. All non verbal.

I don't even know how DS would be taught anything if the cohort he is with are a year younger and are not at the same academic level as he is. (I'm really sorry if anything I say comes across as offensive, I really don't mean it to.)

When we were told about transferring to a specialist school the MS said it would be a school with children like *
where he would be able to build a peer group and learn in an environment that suited his needs. This really isn't the case.

And on top of it I have had an awful impression of the school and some of the staff after what I saw.

No one has ever said anything to me about needing a plan to be able to handle my DS.. that is how bad the communication has been.

DS has also needed an intimate care plan for years and the MS school refused to do it so DS wouldn't go to the toilet while there.

Again, thank you for all the responses from everyone. I am making a note of all the things you've all suggested and will look into it all.

I'm just so tired of the constant battling at the moment.

Thanks to the person who said I'm not alone even though I must feel it, because I really really do! It's been such a lonely experience but even more heartbreaking for DS who doesn't deserve this.

*identifying details removed by MNHQ.

It just sounds so hard for you. And so so shit that the schools are ignoring you. I hope some of the advice on here has helped you at least feel less alone, even if it can’t magic up an easy answer.

Hi there, @HereticsSpork , sorry to barge onto your thread unannounced but it was flagged up to us that there was a name in one of your posts so we've removed it to avoid either you or your DS being identified off the thread. We hope that helps.

@LivMumsnet Thank you! I didn't even realise I'd put a name. 🤦‍♀️