AIBU that the system is leaving a whole group of children behind.

[Sendhelp20]

I know this will be down to location to but wow my mind is blown. We are in the middle of being allocated a secondary school for DD11 and there doesn’t seem to be a school that exists for her 🤣( I should not laugh but If I don’t I will cry )

she is academic although not advance and has gaps in her learning which does mean she is mildly behind this is due to missing 3 and half years of primary school.

all the schools consulted in a radius of 1 hour of our home which including

Sen schools - with different specialities
mainstream schools with units
and mainstreams have all come back
they can’t meet her needs

some she is “too academic “
others she is too complex

so now they are suggesting a mixture of home tutoring / online education but she wants to go to school 😭

where are the children who are inbetween going 😭😭

I would not say autism was her primary need - impacts in some way like the sensory element of the noise etc but she is very good and knowing and getting her defenders etc
I would say her CP/ speech and communication is but I saw her thrive even in these areas when she is able to attend school and her independence.
the ED psych report suggests a small school setting not no school at all.

We have had many conversations with many different people
even her medical team etc

No not at all. But that makes the prospect of a small mainstream non selective independent a not impossible prospect if you were absolutely heart set on an in person schooling.

Tbh though I still don't think they take her and you would run the risk of them managing her out if they find they can't catch her up to speed by end of year 9.

Absence is an odd problem. It can just be that, it can also hide a myriad of other issues that then aren't addressed until later that they should.

If you want mainstream mainstream you need to persuade the Ed psych to remove the phrase small. There may be a couple of other triggers that would also need alteration.

What provision was in place during shielding?

Same as she has when she is off for any reason
1-1 tutoring - with work from school on what they are currently doing.

And why wasn't it successful

Not a loaded question, genuinely

I don’t know
it wasn’t that it wasn’t successful, as you can see she managed to still bridge the gap and not fall too far behind but there is other aspects her speech and commincation / social skills and overall I still believe she progressed academically in school better. She was also happier which then in turns made her thrive more.

Did they do any progress testing during covid?

Moving LA with an EHCP can be risky. Although there is the right of appeal, parents should be aware the new LA will review the EHCP and potentially amend, reassess, or even propose to cease to maintain. Moving can be even move complex if children’s continuing care funding is in place - I don’t know if there is in this case but there may well be given OP's DD's needs.

EHCPs can last until 25, or 26 in some circumstances.

Gah of course If the EHCP finalised and the ed psych report accepted yo are very unlikely to get the Ed psych recommendation altered. Small school rules out any mainstream meeting need realistically.

Whatever you do or don't think, that bird might have already flown

We home ed but we'd be in a similar position for my 8yo if she were to attend school. Academic and SEN, her paediatrician agrees that she would not cope in mainstream and has actively stated that the team who work with her feel that it would be massively detrimental to her mental health to go to mainstream school, but there are no SEN schools locally that would take her as they're all massively oversubscribed and also don't cater to "academic" children. Our closest options are over an hour and a half away and would have to be self funded for a long while because the LA would fight tooth and nail to not fund it so it's unaffordable for us.

It's ridiculous. There are a whole load of children and young people who are being forced into home education. I actively chose this route but it can be suffocating to know that she/we don't have a choice in the matter.

Less risky with a medically tested demonstratable difficulties and the school confirmed in tribunal.

You should be Eotas if you don't actively want to homeschool. Lea should still be funding

Does she have any outside hobbies?

I suspect she's going to need something.

Less risky, but not without risk. Especially when it isn’t uncommon for LAs to act unlawfully, force parents to appeal and know parents will be successful, but it kicks the can down the road. Hence my comment that it is something OP needs to be aware of.

@Sturnidae if you didn’t want to EHE, you could have appealed for EOTAS/EOTIS. If this is something you would still be interested in, you can request an early review of the EHCP. Alongside this, you can inform the LA you are no longer EHE and they need to make arrangements to provide a suitable full-time education and anything detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP.

Oh agh.

The explain clearer if you have a consultants letter evidencing that main stream is inappropriate and the SEN schools have confirmed can't meet need/inappropriate peer group, the LEA still have a responsibility to provide an education appropriate to your childs needs. If you want it you are home run for EOTAS.

LEA should not force you into taking responsibility for the education yourself by home education. Of course If you want to that's great but that should be your choice

Eotas could be as simple as funding your textbooks if actually you are happy running the schooling yourself, online schooling such as interhigh, small tutoring units, or one to one tutoring. They also then have responsibility for securing and funding exam provision.

If you already now all this please do tell me to shut up!!!😁😁😁

You're right. But wouldn't the safer option to be secure the school placement into the ehcp then move? Continuing care would assume significant social services involvement. Hmmm... Although it does beg the question whether the OPs DD is a child in need and should be entitled. But if her neurology nurse is activie this should already be discussed surely

Of course all just academic interest as the OP might not even consider that an option.

Wrong quote

But wouldn't the safer option to be secure the school placement into the ehcp then move?

Not necessarily. On transfer, the new LA will become responsible for the EHCP and placement in it, but they will review the EHCP and that could result in the new LA amending, reassessing or proposing to cease to maintain. Of course, OP could challenge that, but it is still a risk.

The OP’s DD meets the legal definition of a child in need as set out in Section 17(10) of the Children’s Act 1989.

Eotas could be as simple as funding your textbooks

It would be an extremely poor EOTAS/EOTIS package that only provided textbooks. Or even only provided academic tuition. EOTAS can be so much more.

We have continuing care - but not social involvement. No disability worker or anything other social involvement.

Different between private tribunal and lea education psych (although your Ed psych seems ok)

There was also a key case law that went through about year and half two years now where an LEA got caned for failure to assess and provide within a reasonable length of time. Meant they could no longer put off by provision by saying NHS had a waiting list and therefore they were waiting for them to assess. Commissioning bodies have been created in many LEA s and private companies are more likely to be on-boarded for both provision and assessment. You used to only get straight LEA professionals and corresponding reports if you were reliant on LEA, now you wait less time and get a mix of average reports and decent. So for example DS SLT provision was LEA nhs assessed is currently crap, but the LEA actually commissioned a decent private OT company to assess so his OT provision, whilst not as good as the report recommended isn't bad at all (better than he has ever had) and is now one year later is recommending physio. Your kids now are benefitting from years of past sn parents tribunals!!!

So I know from the tests you've told me that I'd guess your reports are all local therapy services (6 in person sessions a year) but they did all least complete some cognitive and cognition testing and OT testing. So they are at least trying

All of which screamed physical disability (guessing you have a decent consultant) which was confusing as you listed ASD first.

For future reference, start listing the ASD last.

Her OT and SLT are LEA based
started originally in development services before school age and then referred after.

😜 of course physical disability. We were in a very different position when we were going down the continuing care route😂😂