ASD child reduced timetable primary school

[Redwineandcheeseplease01]

My ASD diagnosed son has just started reception at a mainstream primary. Has an EHCP and 1:1 due to impulsivity and lack of danger awareness. Since he started 2 weeks ago he has been on a graduated start, so he spends a couple of hours in school and then I pick him up. The other children are obviously in all day.
just wondering if any other parents of ASD diagnosed children who have also started school in this way would be able to please
advise on how long this approach usually lasts? I have had to leave my job to facilitate this and can’t afford for the household to be
down an income for long!

There isn’t a straightforward answer to this unfortunately, it depends on lots of things. Did you agree to this with the school? Have the school given you reasons for this decision, or was it your decision? Have the school explained what the difficulty’s are which prevent a full day, and I’m assuming the school haven’t said “this will be for X weeks”? Is there a plan in place for getting this up to full days? If not, you need to ask them for one and discuss with them to get one agreed.

It’s so variable. My son has just started a specialist school (in the equivalent of year 2) and now attending full time in terms of 5x school days. Previously, including pre school he has never attended for more than 4 hours a day, at its worst it was for 30 minutes. Typically it would be 90mins.

They can’t legally enforce a part time timetable so you are more than within your rights to insist on full time. If they can’t meet his needs they need an emergency review of his EHCP and you should consider if this is the right school placement setting for him. Even with an EHCP and 1:1 mainstream isn’t always the right choice for a child.

Legally they can't enforce this, ask them to go full-time if that's what you wish. If they can't provide the right support they must look into sorting that asap.

It's not a one size fits all approach. If he gets the right support as per ehcp and is able to cope full time, I wouldn't agree to a part time timetable. But obviously depends on your child. Any change the school put him part time to make their life easier as opposed to helping DS? Happens to often sadly...

It's unlawful. Tell them he's coming full time next week and do it.

Enforced part time timetables, albeit cast as in your interests or the interests of the child, are still illegal exclusions if you don't agree to them. You can't continue limping on part time and he needs a school setting that can meet his needs from 9 to 3.30.

Ask to see the senco and put a plan in place that either gets him full time and happy or look at specialist provision. Good luck.

It really depends on whether he can actually manage a full day- regardless of what the law says. If he goes in, can't cope and causes the rest of the class to be unsettled, you run the risk of the school simply refusing to have him and saying they can't meet his needs. It is a fine balance.

Agree with this. It’s all well and good saying “just send him in they have to have him full time” but actually if he isn’t able to cope with that then it can end just as badly.

Is his 1to1 full time hours? If so then there is no reason not to work up to full time fairly quickly. Lunchtime tends to be the biggest issue as hours rarely cover it. Ask the school to meet to make a plan and go with a clear idea of how long you can go on for. There should have already been some increase really.

Not what you want to hear but DS wasn’t consistently in a full time table until he started at a specialist school in year 9. He had periods of a few months when he would be full time but not every school year.

The school might be doing this just to make their lives easier and it might not be in the best interest of your child. My DD2 is ASD diagnosed and started mainstream reception last year and she also has an EHCP for a 1 to 1. Before she started, the school told us about a reduced time table and we shut it down immediately. I know my child and she’s very capable of being in school full time as she has been in nursery 4 longs days a week for 3 years. They have not even allowed her to come in before they were already asking to make her come in part time and it’s like they forget that it’s a spectrum and each child needs to be accessed in their own right before they start proposing what’s not legal.
The school had a reduced timetable for the first 3 weeks for all children and that was all she did. She went in full time at the same time as everyone and has had a fantastic year even though she doesn’t get the 1to1 every time. M She even goes to the school’s wrap around care 2 days a week and she’s happy there.
You need to ask the school what their plans are and don’t let them fob you off.

DS can attend full time now if that is what you want.

The school cannot “simply refuse to have him”.

Or you can choose for DS to attend part-time until he is compulsory school age.

I agree with @Kitkatfiend31 If his EHCP specifies 1-1 then he should be in school for the time that he is allocated that support. If it’s full time, the school is funded for that and should be able to provide a support plan full time. If it’s less than full time, there should be a plan for when that support is targeted and what the school will do for any time that 1-1 is not specified.

In any case, any child who starts part time should have a plan for increasing to full time over a short period.

What do the relevant sections of the EHCP say OP? Is it a precise document, as it should be, or does it say things like ‘help to’ or ‘support needed for’.

I can’t remember all the sections, but it would be useful to know what is written.

Knowing they have a child coming into Reception with an EHCP, I would have expected the school to have met with you, particularly his class teacher and the SENCo, to plan exactly what they will do to support your son, what will happen if there’s a problem and how they intend to review his progress.

Simply limiting him to two hours a day, with no plan for increasing that, won’t do.

Ime it's that school can't cope ,not the child
In which case the school need to be looking at a more specialised setting.

He's got an EHCP. They don't get to choose 'not to have him'

He is entitled to a full time education, the idea that he can 'cope' for 2 hours and then suddenly can't cope is unrealistic. More likely the school don't want to or can't cope which is not his fault.

They can't just refuse to have him any more because he's too hard work! They will need to show they've tried everything to support him and then look at a school transfer to somewhere more suited if they can't.

I think it would be a good idea to have a meeting with his teacher, the SENCO and the head as this doesn't sound like a suitable school for him if he's only doing 2 hours and all the other children are full time. I think you need to insist that he deserves a full time education and find out what they are going to do to make that happen.

My asd son has to finish at 1pm every day. This is because as well as the 1:1 situation he refuses to eat, drink or use the toilet at school. I can't see this changing anytime soon

It’s a bit early to say that the school can’t cope, because there’s not enough evidence to show whether that’s the case. He’s only been there for a short time each day and there doesn’t seem to have been a prior or current plan to demonstrate how the funding he gets is being used to support him.

It may be the case that, ultimately, the school can’t meet his needs and that a different setting would be preferable. That isn’t the decision of the school and must be taken when support has been in place and via either an annual review or an emergency annual review.

It’s a bit early to say that the school can’t cope, because there’s not enough evidence to show whether that’s the case. He’s only been there for a short time each day and there doesn’t seem to have been a prior or current plan to demonstrate how the funding he gets is being used to support him.

It may be the case that, ultimately, the school can’t meet his needs and that a different setting would be preferable. That isn’t the decision of the school and must be taken when support has been in place and via either an annual review or an emergency annual review.

As others have said, it is up to you as to whether you agree to this reduced timetable or not. The only thing that I am not sure of is with him being in reception and (I assume?) 4 years old whether this would still apply, as I know that unfortunately some obligations in relation to children with additional needs (such as transport) is only enforceable once they reach compulsory school age. But to answer you questions ‘reintegration timetables’ should not exceed six weeks, plus the school should be reporting information about the hours that he is doing to the local authority (you can ask them for details of what the school has provided the LA).

I would also recommend contacting SENDIAS asap, they often have a wait for advice but are really helpful when you get to see them and once you are on their radar it is a lot quicker to get support.

Be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good, but far too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies.

Being below CSA does not mean the school can force OP to send DS part time. The admissions code makes it clear DC can attend full time from the September and that it is the parent’s choice whether to send part time until CSA or not.

It isn’t enforced or unlawful or whatever else people are saying to put blame on a school again. It’s a soft introduction so he doesn’t get overwhelmed, it’s supportive. Just ask for an action plan with dates on how they will phase it out.

This.

It is unlawful. Legally it is not the school’s choice. The child can attend full time if the parent wants them to.