EHCP and permanent exclusion

[SMO212]

My son is in year 7, EHCP and been permanently excluded.
He was in mainstream and I was trying to get a change of placement but the LA had not put the paperwork through in time and told me to wait. In which time he was PEX. I'm not appealing the PEX as it's pretty pointless, he lasted 10 weeks in Mainstream school.
Now the PEX has prompted a change of placement under section I. I have named a specialist, the LA are consulting on Parental preference. But they feel his needs can still be met in Mainstream and consulting with them.
Due to the PEX he is now educated outside of school and the LA have set him work online with a tutor online. Which obviously does not meet provision F. I also work full time and after next week I have zero childcare. I have complained to the director of children and suprise, nobody cares.
I have two questions with anyone that has been through this:
1.When the LA name a school that is not parental preference I have the right to appeal under SEN tribunal, this is currently a 9-12 month wait, is this triaged as more urgent as he is not in school? Also will the 'tutoring' remain in place whilst I appeal?
2.I have contacted every solicitor I possibly can to proceed with judicial review, can anyone recommend anyone that could take legal aid and has availability?
I actually have no idea what to do and I don't actually no how I'm going to keep my job. Anyone that's been through this experience and could share would be much appreciated, I can't find this situation online anywhere.O

Must just be your LA. I’ve worked in 6 LAs and none will take CYP with EHCPs

Not all sixth day provision is made via PRUs but some is, including sometimes for DC with EHCPs.

Whether PRUs can be named in EHCPs depends on how it is registered. Despite what they are known as, some PRUs are registered schools so can be named in I.

Our local PRU takes children with an EHCP for either a 16 week “reset” placement or a placement after exclusion as long as the intention is that they remain in mainstream provision afterwards, they won’t generally take them whilst looking for specialist provision ( although an occasional exception has been made)

That’s very sad. In my experience most cases parents have accepted the PRU’s offer and it’s been helpful to keep the student in a ‘school’ setting. Granted those who accept have normally been excluded for behavioural reasons. It never crossed my mind to say no when I got the 6 day call from the LA. Good to know my LA are proactive in this respect anyway.

My DS had the primary PRU named on his EHCP, he was there for 3 years.
LEA have to provide full time education from the second week after exclusion.

I’m struggling to see how your comment could be interpreted as helpful?

Nowhere has the poster said her son is ND or waiting for an ND assessment. He already has an EHCP and most of us with kids with SEND really couldn’t give a shit about the cost of them on the education system. We’re far too caught up in trying to keep our jobs so that we can keep a roof over the heads of our children while the education authority fail to meet their needs.

Its surprisingly common for at least one parent to lose their job and I’ve know a number of parents that have had their homes be repossessed and forced into bankruptcy due to the lost income from being forced to take time off work to care for children who should be in school.

And as for him having to “have done something pretty bad” you have no idea of how low the tolerance level of a school
that doesn’t want to meet the needs of a pupil.

In year7, in a failing setting, my son was picking up chairs to throw at other pupils. An act that would get most suspended at best. The response was merely “we don’t have chairs over our head #sonsname” …

And as result of being forced into an unsuitable setting and then being blamed for its failure these children then develop ptsd and are too traumatised to succeed in education anywhere.

But, we must think about the taxpayer when considering the needs of SEND pupils.

Fuck!!!

Update- So no school, out local PRU is KS4 only so that's a no. Specialist do not have any space or can't meet need.

I've given up my job and he has tutors funded for 6 hours a week by the LA...so I'm essentially forced homeschooling, they won't even fund a day a week at a forest school.

I have to await to appeal which is 12-18 months.

I have had a solicitor, the lot, there is literally no answer at all. There's so many children in this situation that even court doesn't faze my LA, I think they must be taken a lot.

For the unkind comments you are obviously rather uneducated, cold and heartless. I've worked in schools for years, the threshold for young people with SEN to be PEx is very low, SEN kids do not produce the data wanted, so the first chance of getting rid of them is jumped on.

When my son was in the PRU they had 5 year olds coming in an hour each way. They should find him a place elsewhere.

Can you ask SENDIST to expidite your appeal since your son has no school place.

Has the LA really consulted with every specialist school? In my LA they will insist on consulting with maintained and academy specialist schools and claim they won’t consult with independent specialist schools (they don’t even mention they exist on their website).

Good luck with your appeal OP. The SEND system completely broken.

If your solicitor has said there is nothing you can do whilst appealing, they are, frankly, rubbish. The LA has a duty to ensure DS receives a suitable full-time education and anything detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP. 6hrs hours tuition per week is not that. And you can’t be compelled to give up work and facilitate it. If the LA is refusing, you need a pre-action letter. If that doesn’t work, you can move to JR proceedings themselves.

As pp said, you can request an expedited appeal hearing too.

In case you are unaware, unless the school is wholly independent, on its own, being full is not a lawful reason to refuse to name a school.

Sorry to hear what you’re going through. Have you spoken to charities to help? There’s a charity in my area called The Autism Apprentice who will consult with you. They’re very experienced in these sort of things.

I’m sorry to read your update. The systems are so completely broken. I’m also surprised by some of the comments around PEXing SEN. The thresholds are the same when it comes to safety and violent/threatening incidents?
My only advice would be to keep hassling, keep asking, keep making a nuisance of yourself in every way possible. Are there any other options school-wise in your area? Some mainstream schools have separate ‘centres’ for students (I work in one of these) and so although they have the mainstream label, actually their facilities are treated separately & can be much less ‘intense’ as a result. I’m guessing you’ve looked at every option though :(

Is there a school you believe can meet needs and have you stated it as parental preference? If they can't find a school for him, they should be funding eotis.