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 😭😭

No but schooling doesn't necessarily have to happen in a school environment. For a child who can't attend a school environment 40% of the time, it's logical to consider an education she CAN access a higher percent of the time.

Every schooling option is a compromise for children within the most complex needs.

Cognitive testing? Dyslexia/Dyscalcula testing? How is the ed psych recommending overcoming her barriers to learning

She doesn’t have dyslexia etc
she has speech delay which has impacted her abilities in certain areas, she poor fine and gross motor skills which has effected her ability in some areas mainly literacy has been most effected but she is a fluent reader.
she has severe anxiety sensory needs which impacts her learning in large classrooms she can’t physically write with her hands but dictation doesn’t work because her speech delays so she requires a scribe.

I don’t Believe at all that she wouldn’t benefit from a school and being apart of a school even if she has time off when needed. She will have her tutor for 2 hours to Implement the work that is being done.

I don’t Believe at all that she wouldn’t benefit from a school and being a part of a school

Why?

You now have multiple schools advising they cannot meet need. School is presumably not recommended by the Ed psych.

We are very indoctrinated in this country to belive the only way you can learn and socialise is within a school environment.

There are many many shapes school, education and schooling can take.

Did they specifically cognitive and dyslexia test. I genuinely don't understand how they can define average ability if they haven't tested.

If DD has the needs you describe, the therapies you mention are included in F don’t sound sufficient. You make no mention of any mental health therapies to support DD’s anxiety and 6 sessions a year of OT (does this include SIOT), SALT and physio are not sufficient.

I have the horrible feeling the the LEA have convinced the OP that the provision is exceptional knowing full well the OP isn't going (and doesn't have time now) to challenge it.

The big sign/impact is usually the level of cognitive testing in the Ed psych report.

They have however suggested the most obvious choice for education. So they are not entirely the villans of the piece for a change.

OP still has time to challenge any decision about the placement for secondary. It doesn’t even sound like the LA has finalised the amended phase transfer EHCP yet. When they do, which they must do by the 15th Feb, she will get the right of appeal and phase transfer appeals are prioritised.

Hi op.
Iv 2 in mainstream secondary eith 1:1 TA. The only thing I would be wary of is that in our area TA cover is patchy at times. So if their TA is sick they don't have a TA. If the TA needs time off there's no cover. That would be my concern with mainstream.

From your description I can see why mainstream would say her needs are too complex. I know my kids secondary school is struggling to recruit and retain TAs as its badly paid (and tbh teens suck at times)

As mentioned in my previous post I would imagine the mainstreams wouldn't be able to meet her needs if she needs a scribe etc as they can't always guarantee TA cover to help her.

@BrightYellowTrain

Last time i was in tribunal the wait was something ridiculous over a year. We were entirely out of education at the time!!! That was only a couple of years ago and would have been phase transition into Alevels (if he hadn't been too ill for GCSe)

A year for private Ed psych, Although OT was quicker.

She has the usual schools tests and a cognitive test via the development centre, abc movement test via OT and her schools reports and ed psych evaluation of her in school.

do you genuinely think every child in the country who hasn’t got a school placement because needs unmet means that’s because they shouldn’t be in school or because of the lack of funding and sen provisions ?

oh an some assesses done by the ed Pysch when she saw her in school

has percentages centiles on things
like processing information
visual perception etc

As I said, phase transfer appeals are prioritised. OP would not be waiting well over a year. Some will not be settled by September but they will not be over a year away. And secondary phase transfer will be able to appeal before post 16 transfer since the deadlines are different.

Ah see we were lucky she needed an hoisted ed psych and it was given with in 3 weeks of us requiring it from LA.

Now we are getting somewhere.

So she tested average ability in the cognitive testing from the development centre? What did the ed physc put the variation between cognition and performance down to? How was the short and long term memory when tested? When she recites times tables does she also apply them? Can you change the order and she still do them? What did the OT say about fatigue and wellness? Did OT do sensory assesment and scoring? Is it receptive speech and language difficulties or just receptive.

And back to the other question. Why do you believe she will benefit from being in a school environment?

Ed psych due bit suggest school was not appropriate in the slightest
her profile in the centiles was spikey
so there was suggestions on how she may learn in terms of processing
her weaknesses and her strengths
spoke about what she would need in terms of transition and also GCSEs

Because she thrives at school in the right setting it with the right support, enjoys school and she is eager to attend to school so why would it not be a place that she should attend ?

I simply do not believe education only happens in a school environment. Ds' lovely SLT told me at 4 "you know education doesn't necessarily mean school" it took me another 7 years before I understood

I don't believe sensitive, vulnerable gentle children with sensory and physical needs do well in a mainstream environment full stop.

I believe we tell the lie that children must be in school for education way too much. The rapid growth of Eotas packages is because they work. For the right child.

So no I don't believe that every out of child shouldn't be at a school, of some description.

But I simply don't see how any school can educate a child who can only attend on average 60% of the time. They can give your child a mainstream experience, kinda. And that might he what you want. Hence me asking what you want for you child. But they cannot educate your child.

If you want education you need a package that works around your child not vice versa.

But (and i know this is very very harsh) she's still testing delayed. With provision that we know works incredibly incredibly well at primary. So academically no she hasn't thrived. You have testing that shows a mainstream ability child who is not testing mainstream attainment. Demonstratably currently, and with the best will in the world, you do not have a regime that has succeeded academically.

If your goal is the best education for your or child why would you continue with an academic provision that has failed especially into an environment where it has, when researched, shown to be a very poor secondary intervention.

That quite aside from talking to those who've done it or taught it who will tell you at secondary your one to one will be nicked. Most of the very many schools I've supplied at the "one to one" couldn't tell me who they were there to support (even when I could without even looking at the SEN register). I had to threaten DS' one to one with judicial review to reduce the frequency hes one to one was knicked and tgat was when there was an active documented safeguarding risk. At any exam time they will be scribing in the exam halls because schools do not have the staffing.

Your DD may have thrived socially and personally and that is a different matter. That's not to say it wasn't an incredible place for you DD at primary. But secondary is a very very different place from primary school. Your children and the children around her will be very different. The timetable is harder and the expectations are harsh. You stand in a hall during the exit from assembly or during a fire drill (which a 5 minute early card wont alter) and you pretty soon realise how hostile an environment a secondary school really is.

Did they test short to long term memory?

The literacy aspects of your DD profile scream Dyslexia, which is why I'm asking if it was specifically tested for. Counter that is your DD'S times tables ability, but I'm wondering if thats script learning or genuine utilisation

She absolutely did progress academically ! 100 percent more during school than she did say during shielding.
this is why provisions exist for children who have additional needs
she has a brain injury - she’s had 2 and yet predicted in maths the same as her peers at sat levels which yes required extra support
So yes she has difficulties but doesn’t mean she isn’t suited to a school education.
I personally think considering the education system has done a great job with her up to this point and we won’t know how secondary school will go until we give it a try and see what doesn’t work and what does.

her reading is great
she is behind in the writing aspect because initially in her primary school she didn’t have access to things she needed to implement writing.
she can not physically write with her hands and was left along time not participating as well as she could because she couldn’t so she fell behind on the literacy skills.
once we had other things in place like a programme on the laptop etc she has made strides but it’s catch up
but for example she has gone from reception level in year 4 to year 4 level in year 6.

What provision was in place during shielding?

Ohhhhhh!!!!! Really not asd primary need. Have you looked out schools that special in brain trauma/neurological function? You want one that excludes behavioral difficulties. Can you move!!! If you can get a speciist school that will go through for the next 7-14 years (Ehcp goes to 24) it's well worth considering

Primary is fab with SN generally. It's much harder to fuck up and the challenges are far far simpler. Do not judge likelihood of success at secondary by likelihood of sucess at primary, they are very very different beasts

Please please do listen to your Ed psych. The provision your LEA is offering is expensive but I do now understand why they have offered it straight. I would put a very large bet on secondary being a disaster.

Right

So you now have a very clear example of something that was successful.

Who or what agency proposed the laptop system? Was it clicker 6 (or whatever number they are up to) or something more specialised