Urgent advice needed. Meeting tomorrow.

[Devsmum13]

Hello,

My son is not enjoying T Levels. Not enough people signed up for his original IT course, so sixth form put on a coding course in September. (He should have been told on results day but they forgot). He has moaned non stop to his sixth form tutor and at home. Sixth form have asked me to go in for a meeting with the council tomorrow afternoon. I know they will ask for him to leave immediately.

It is a specialist Technical Sixth form.
The council suggested it because it is small and has the academic.

He would have loved the original course. No where else can meet need, and he hasn't got the grades for a school sixth form. He will be placed at a college for autistic students that requires improvement possibly without the IT element.

Things would have been different if his original course has run.

I understand why we need to have this meeting. My son is very bright. He will not learn if he doesn't buckle down and work but If he doesn't like the course and it isn't something he wants to do, he isn't going to try.

He passed all his GCSEs but with much lower grades due to the crappy Senco not understanding the EHCP at his secondary school. He only got in to sixth form because of his EHCP. He won't be able to cope with a school sixth form, and hasn't got the grades anyway..

Any advice would be appreciated. I feel like a failure.

Many thanks.

He was on reduced timetable from the middle of Y8 to the start of Y10. The Sen team reduced it to make it easier on themselves, not for my son!

Schools are only allowed to reduce timetables for a certain amount of time and with good reason. A child with a disability is not a good reason. They have to put everything in writing with a clear end date. I didn't get anything like that. I was told by Contact a Family to end it myself.

I had meeting with the Sixth Form TL from the LA last year. They said that they didn't think that colleges and sixth forms would be suitable. Because he has an interest in IT, they found him this small specialist sixth form. Unfortunately they did not run the IT support course he wanted this year so they put him on a programming course as it was similar.
He really likes the place but doesn't like the course. He can't get past the fact that it isn't tech support.

Where would you/he like to go now?

He has an EHCP. The LA finds a place (or the parent does). The LA have to do many consultations until they find a suitable placement. The college has to be able to meet need and in my son's case, they had to have the higher academic.

@Devsmum13 they had to have the higher academic.

This phrase again - what do you mean?

They said that they didn't think that colleges and sixth forms would be suitable.

But what do you think?

Did you/DS think the other settings could meet his needs? Just because a setting objects when consulted doesn’t always mean the setting can’t actually meet needs or that the legal threshold is met. Placements that are not wholly independent can be named even if they object.

Did you look a specialist places outside of your LA, including residential if that would be suitable?

If you thought provision in a school or college was inappropriate, did you consider EOTAS/EOTIS/C?

You keep saying over and over again: “the majority of them do not have the academic”. What are you talking about? This makes no sense at all. Do you mean they, “the colleges”, don’t have enough academic staff to teach the course? Or they do not run the academic course? Or the courses aren’t academic enough -too low a level? Or the courses are too academic for him?

what does 'the academics' mean?

what needs does he have / need

If mainstream secondary was able to meet his needs and he didnt need a specialist school, and he managed to pass most of his GCSEs with good grades, apart from needing a retake in English, why do the LA think he cant handle a mainstream 6th form or FE college (and if he is thinking uni, he doesnt HAVE to do A levels - btecs and T levels have the UCAS points)

It seemed that they think he would struggle with free periods? But would he?

The place he is at now is the perfect fit. It is a small specialist STEM sixth form.They are not running the course he wants. They tried him on this different course but he can't get past the fact that is programming and not tech support. I don't think many able bodied students would happily do a course that didn't interest them.

Loads of them do courses that don’t particularly interest them - often because they’re not allowed/able to get on the course they’d really like. It’s quite common. Eg, you can’t pick history and geography because they are in the same block, so you are forced to pick from music, art or D and T.

It was our preferred setting. On the day he started he was taken into a room with some other students to say that they where not running the IT support course and that they would be moved to a programming course instead. We should have been told on results day but they forgot.

He can't get passed the fact that it is not IT support .

The place is fantastic. It is outstanding and small which he needs, but he isn't engaging because it isn't the course that he wanted. Nobody else could meet need when the LA consulted.

The majority said they couldn't meet need when the LA consulted.

What does ‘the higher academic’ mean? Lots of people have asked you to clarify this but you won’t?

Nobody else could meet need when the LA consulted.
The majority said they couldn't meet need when the LA consulted.

But is this actually true or just what the placements/LA said? Did you/DS think the other settings could meet his needs? This is very important to think about because just because a setting objects when consulted doesn’t always mean the setting can’t actually meet needs or that the legal threshold is met. You don’t need an offer of a place for non-wholly independent placements to be named in section I.

I have come to assume that she is saying that the specialist ASD colleges are for those who are learning disabled and therefore not A/T level or Btec, as he has GCSEs under his belt.

Yes a small college may be preferable, but as most mainstream secondaries are large nowdays, and in my opinion, far far more chaotic than FE colleges, I am struggling to understand (beyond her only statement so far which is that he wont cope with free periods) what needs he has exactly that were able to be met at a mainstream secondary but cant at a mainstream FE college, who often have pretty active support departments in place.

What needs are on the EHCP that the colleges are saying they cant meet?

Does he have 1-2-1 support? does he actually need that now? his needs have obviously changed since he was diagnosed at 8 and Ive found that EHCP changes to reflect that, and to encourage independance and coping strategies rather than classroom help

It means that it is a school/college that is focused on students achieving high grades and preparing them for university. Being surrounded by high achieving peers can be a motivating factor for some students which can also be an important factor when placing very bright students with ASD and ADHD in mainstream education. That's why he started at this Specialist STEM sixth form.

I suspect the main issue is that he didn’t pass English. My dd has asd, she went to sixth form college with Sen support (basically a break room for free periods) - council tried to place her in a specialist unit several times and I fought it as she is academically gifted and needed specialist music provision. Her academic school required minimum b in all subjects at gcse and minimum a in the subject you were studying, fail a single gcse and they don’t take you.

i know several youngsters in tech support as a career and all have computer science degrees, with a levels in maths, physics and computer science typically, you also need to be a people person as it’s very hands on, is he aware of this? Electrical engineering on the other hand, my dd is convinced most of her university course were autistic

To all the people who think that a Senco couldn't possibly mess up:-

• Reduced timetable for years
• Not going in to English classes and putting no in alternative in from Y8 until Y11 (A tutor could have gone into school to help even without an EHCP)
• Allowing my son to get out of the school building and into the community after putting him in stressful situations
• Putting everything on the EHCP coming back with a different setting then having a tantrum at me when it didn't
• Having tantrums at me because he wasn't getting his own way
• Forgetting that he had arranged meetings
• Forgetting to contact outside agencies resulting in delays
• Not fully understanding instructions from outside agencies
• Asking me to go into school for the same thing over and over again
• Asking me who he needed to speak to at the council
• Calling me countless times a week to say that my son was having a meltdown, rushing into school, only to be told when I arrived at school he had calmed down and we would have a meeting instead.
• Asking me to call organisations, only to be told by every one that that I shouldn't be calling them and it was the job of the Senco.
• Not letting me see any subject teachers at parents evening, then spending the whole appointment moaning at me.

When I went to appeal the EHCP, I was advised by Sendiass to get some information from school for evidence because he had done everything verbally. He said that I didn't need it even after I told him that the cut off date to appeal was in August

It came back rejected in late August as I didn't provide enough evidence.

In the September I got an email from the Senco "We can continue to challenge the EHCP decision". It was a month after the cut off date! If would have taken less than 10 seconds to find out on Google how long I had to appeal. He then went to the council complaining only to be told by them that it was his own fault for not sending the things I needed to appeal.

•The Senco said that my son needed to attend counselling and asked me to contact Mindmate referral service. I put in a request on Mindmate website. Mindmate came back and said that it was the Senco who needed to do it. When I told the Senco, he said they where mistaken and attached the initial referral our GP did when my son was 9. He even highlighted it (How did he think he was diagnosed?)
I had to forward it to the head of children's services to get help.

When he eventually went for counselling, the lady said straight away that it was school. My son told her that he was board at school.
She said it was down to the Senco not understanding the EHCP, they where not doing enough for him, neglecting a student was a safeguarding issue, school should be taking safeguarding seriously, and nothing she offered would work if he was going back to the same school environment.

• Refusing requests for careers advice for 16+.
Sendiass asked for a meeting with 16+ providers to school had a clear plan going forward. School said it wasn't needed.
I was told by the Senco to apply for school sixth forms myself, then told by the council not to do it because they needed to consult themselves.

• Constantly being told that my son had 'missed' so much education. How is that anyone else's fault? They could have requested private tutors with an EHCP. Every school in the country have SEN students with EHCPs. They can't all be having experiences like this? LAs wouldn't continue with them if they did.

• Our caseworker at the LA refused to hear a word against the Senco. SENDIASS asked for her to step in countless times because they didn't think the Senco was up to scratch. Every time she refused. When it all came out last year she was removed and we got a new one.

He gets a fresh start for sixth form and straight away it's a mess.

None of this is the fault of my son. None of this is my fault. Who do parents go to in situations like this? Should parents deliver missed education at home themselves on an evening ?? I have done everything that has been asked of me. It is a miracle that he passed his GCSEs.

Our caseworker from the council was supposed to call today. Suprise suprise no call or email.

the cut off date to appeal was in August

Just so you are aware, the cut off date to submit an appeal to SENDIST is never in August. If the deadline falls in August, you have until the first working day in September.

An appeal submitted to SENDIST in August wouldn’t also be concluded in August.

Without an EHCP, having a tutor going in to school to teach a child is unlikely.

You can’t change the past, you would be far better to future on moving forward. For that, it would help you to read IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites to help you understand the SEN system more.

Has an early review been requested?

What is the course that he wanted to do? Is it a BTEC? Does anywhere else near you do that course? Are there any other courses that interest him?

My concern is that - having effectively given up a place at a really good college on a course that is not exactly what he wanted to do but not too different - he may end up being forced somewhere completely inappropriate or to do something inappropriate.

That’s what an EHCP is for.

EOTAS?

My dd was on universal credit at 17 rather than child benefit. It paid more and she got the LCFW thing.

Would that help with him extending his education? Give you more financial headroom?

I’m a bit confused by this word academic and only one school in Yorkshire that does academic….

I live in Sheffield ( Yorkshire) Kenwood Academy have a lovely 6th form. They do A levels and other stuff. They are a special ND school.

You can get child benefit if you child is at college until they turn 20. I was on a low income and received bursary help towards equipment and uniform, for which I was very grateful. Children with SEN often do need extra time to complete courses.

I've worked as a systems administrator for over 2 decades. There are lots of autistic people in this field.

I can understand not wanting to do programming as a career; it doesn't suit me, it's why I'm not a developer. But I had to do coding at university and I've had to write scripts as part of my various jobs, and being able to understand code is an invaluable part of my skillset.

Yesterday, I was interviewing for a vacancy we currently have, and among the questions we asked was one about scripting, which languages have they used, and how they have used it to support their systems and customers.

Not understanding how coding works will hold him back in a tech support career. He would not be wanting his time doing it at this level.

Is this the course he wanted to do? UTC Leeds - T Level Digital Support & Security