SEN College URGENT HELP

[Zashdi]

Hi all, I really need some advice about what steps to take for my child who has complex special needs; he has autism and severe anxiety and is nonverbal. Sorry, this is going to be a very long post.

He is 19 and has been disengaging from education since his last two years of secondary school due to his anxiety. In his last two years of secondary school, he started to refuse to go on and off the school bus and enter his classroom, so he would work outside the classroom in the hallway with a TA.

Last year he started his first year of college however he never actually went into the college, he accessed home learning with a tutor due to his anxiety and no transition taking place between the secondary school and the college. The college tutor would come to the house twice a week for about 20 minutes to work with my son, which was challenging for him at first but became more productive as he began to build relationships with the tutors. This college offered home learning packages as part of their curriculum, and never worked towards transitioning my son into the college building. After two terms, out of nowhere (to us) they said that they would be ceasing his college placement due to his lack of in-person attendance, despite never raising this as an issue or working towards getting him into college.

This year should be his second year of college, however due to his previous placement breaking down he has been left without a college placement and is now just at home with his mental health deteriorating due to a lack of social interaction with others.

I have contacted his EHCP coordinator who has said there are no college spaces at the moment and have offered a home tutor for one day a week who works on early learning skills. However his EHCP has provision for his anxiety and social skills and this is not being provided. There is also no mention of getting him a college place for September or working on his anxiety and social skills which are the main barrier to him accessing his learning.

I am distraught with the lack of care for him and the fact that he only has a few more years left of educational input. Please can someone provide me with some guidance on what steps I can further take and what responsibilities the LA have to find my child a college/educational placement and help him to access this?

If you managed to read until the end, I greatly appreciate your time.

he is 19 OP
i think perhaps close the door on schooling and look at other options
what does he enjoy doing? good at?

At 19 he doesn't need to attend school. Does he want to do some vocational training, a job. What does he like doing, what's he good at. I'm not knowledgeable re sen past 18 so maybe ask on the sens board. Good luck in whatever he decides to do

I think you need to take the LA to judicial review for failing to implement Section F.

His EHCP runs to 25 and they should be offering provision that meets all of Section F until then.

As he is over 18 surely the LA has no responsibility to find and help him attend an educational placement as there is no requirement for him to be in education.
Does your son also have a learning disability and was he accessing specialist education or mainstream?
Would you be happy sharing what area you live in as that may help?

It does sound like he has really been let down by his last placements which is such a shame for him.

I have two adult children with similar issues to your son. After the age of 19 there was no special needs education at either school or college. However, as I had always known this was past the school leaving age this was not a surprise to me. Therefore we were left alone and wondering what to do next and looking at other options (of which there was almost none other than some very basic voluntary work through a local charity). Probably not helpful but just wanted to let you know you were not alone and now in their 30s neither child is able to access either work or education.

When was the last AR? I presume not within the last year, so you need to request an AR from the LA.

Unless the colleges are wholly independent being full is not enough of a reason to refuse to name them.

If you go down the EOTAS route the package should be more than 1 day a week.

Is there anything detailed, specified and quantified in F or is it all vague and woolly? If any provision is detailed, specified and quantified and DS isn’t receiving it you should email the Director of Children’s Services threatening Judicial Review. If that doesn’t work you need a pre-action letter. SOSSEN can help with that.

Those saying DS is over 18 so the LA doesn’t have responsibility or you should shut the door on schooling are incorrect. DS has an EHCP that can remain in force until 25, or 26 in some cases.

What do you think will help address the anxiety around social interactions. Sounds tough. Did you have an ultimate goal in mind for his educational experiences, maybe he could access these goals in a different way, through a charity or after a complete break from education.

Thanks for all your input.

Sorry if my OP didn’t make this clear, but his SEN/disabilities are very severe, meaning he will not be able to work. He has global development delay and although he is 19, he is more at the age of a 5 year old with no sense of danger or ability to communicate even with sign language as he has motor difficulties.

When attending college previously, this was a specialist college placement. Are the LA under no responsibility to find my son a college placement or some kind of placement to meet his needs even though his EHCP states his needs and has provision for these? Which are not being provided by his current home tutoring sessions which just consist of him matching letters on an iPad for 20 minutes.

My main aim is for his social anxiety to be reduced and for him to be able to interact with other young people like him, as I can see signs of depression due to his lack of interaction outside of the family. I also want to work on his independence skills (e.g being able to shower on his own and even wash his hands independently which he currently cannot do)

I was in a similar position with my 19 year old. He’s currently receiving 10 hours home tuition a week with a view to him starting a new college placement next year.

children with EHCPs can remain in education until 25 so he still has the potential for 6 years of college. Are there any specialist colleges near you? Have you considered a residential placement?

the local authority are failing your son hugely but I don’t know what the next steps are. Do NOT allow them to cease his EHCP. I think perhaps sending might be able to help, the NAS may have support/info on their website. There are a number of Facebook groups that offer help and advice but they will be generally appropriate for the county you live in.

much love, this is hell ❤️

Seen your update. There are some amazing supportive knowledgeable people on the sens board who probably be able to help better than Aibu. Might be worth asking mnhq to move this. Hope you get the schooling and support he needs x

The LA has a duty to ensure anything detailed, specified and quantified in F is provided. They have a duty to hold an AR at least every 12 months - this will open the door to your right of appeal, either for a college placement or a better EOTAS package.

As you will know, preparation for adulthood provision is classed as educational provision and should be in F.

Rather then focusing on education in a learning environment have you thought about switching to having a pa? You can direct what they do together like shop visits, fun days out, days in learning social and independence skills (my 2 youngest children will also never leave home and this is our plan as they both have gdd too)

Where is the country are you? Would you consider a residential college?

I recommend a provision where they use a structured approach for dealing with behaviours of distress (such as PBS). Structured support plans that focus on quality of life and dealing with the causes of the anxiety should help with the anxiety.

I recommend you pursue an education placement for as long as you can. Said silly one that supports work experience and developing independence with activities of daily living.

Very unusual to get college funding for more than three years or four.
Whatever you find now.... educational facilities do end maximum at 25
What then?
What does his day look like?
Work towards that
Is there a day service or centre? Music or sports for adults with disabilities?
Does he like outdoor?
Farm or horticulture nearby?
Which county?
Arts?

Very unusual to get college funding for more than three years or four.

Not with an EHCP it isn’t.

Ehcp plan review can mean that if learner is not progressing / meeting targets they can stop... this happened for my ds altho LA had been OK to fund another year it was the college which refused after three years (though he was 23) . Yes some provisions go to 25 and yes some get full funding to 25. But is not automatic. Up to age 25 does not actually mean every young person gets a full time fully funded college place from 19 to 25. (Some few do) .
If op s young person is not accessing this college anyway a different setting might prove better in the long run?
And whatever happens.... by 25 there is no ehcp so some thought on what comes after has to happen sooner or later. Explore non college options.

Or go tribunal route etc but it may be more worthwhile to build a package that will be valid through post 25 and beyond....and fight for that. 25 to 60 or more is a long time....

There is no automatic entitlement to continued educational support after reaching the age of 19. You may find that your local authority proposes to end or “cease to maintain” your young person’s EHCP after they reach 18. However, LAs must not cease an EHCP simply on the basis that a young person is over 19. They must assess whether the educational or training outcomes in the EHCP have been met. This means your young person may need to be reassessed now they are older, to ensure that their needs are still being met.
Eg
https://educationlawyers.co.uk/send-info/ehcps-16-25/

P s for communication as he can match letters has he tried AAC ?
Gridplayer or proloquo for example?

The benefit of a college or EOTAS with provision in F over provision provided by social care or health is it is more easily enforceable and appealable. Social care provision is also mostly means tested. And often less support is available via other means.

An EOTAS package can be like the support DC receive as an adult. It can include the same provision e.g. that would be via social care as an adult just without the means testing and include more provision on top and be more easily enforceable/appealable if necessary.

They must assess whether the educational or training outcomes in the EHCP have been met.

That page clearly needs updating because while LAs should have regard to whether outcomes have been achieved when considering whether to cease, achieving the outcomes does not equal it no longer being necessary to maintain the EHCP. This is written about in the Noddy guide if the OP wishes to read about it and the case law further. However, that point won’t be relevant to OP’s DS now who won’t have met the outcomes if he hasn’t been in full time education for years (unless the EHCP is poorly written. In which case even more of a reason to appeal. While E isn’t appealable directly she can request consequential amendments). That page also makes no mention of EHCPs lasting up to 26 in some cases which further highlights it needs updating to keep in line with case law.

Ehcp plan review can mean that if learner is not progressing / meeting targets they can stop... this happened for my ds

You could have appealed to LA proposing ceasing to maintain because of lack of progress. Even if further progress is very small case law states it is still necessary to maintain. A lack of progress of any kind also indicates the SEP perhaps needs amending rather than stopping.

Only wholly independent colleges can refuse to admit when they are named in an EHCP. Not only specialist colleges are wholly independent.

i don’t know about EHCP’s, as it was statements in my day. I’ve always had to research and find a suitable place and fight for my DS to go there. School, residential college, day college then placements at a care farm and community project. He has direct payments to pay for support workers. If you don’t have direct payments, contact the council for an assessment. Contact the National Autistic Society for advice too.

The poster says he is non verbal and has complex needs. EHCP’s run to 25, in fact the day before their 26th birthday. The LA do have a legal responsibility to find him a placement.

OP, look for the autismcareandshare account on Twitter and contact Adam who runs it. He is very knowledgeable on this subject as he’s been through it all with his autistic son.

Get in touch with IPSEA . Also find a solicitor. Your son will get legal aid in his own right.

we were in the same position 4 years ago. LA said it wasn’t a good use of public funds to fund the residential college placement my son needed. They planned to cease to maintain his EHCP. We got a solicitor immediately. We spent tens of thousands fighting it (didn’t know that he could get legal aid) but it was 100% worth it. We obviously won, the LA had no case, no evidence and never complied with any of the tribunal directions. They just stretched it out hoping we’d back down. It ended up costing them another year of funding. The college was the making of our son, he absolutely thrived there.

if you go this route you will probably have to pay for professional reports yourself though. You’ll definitely need an EP report.

Agree seek advice as well as look at all options