A couple of questions!

[MayorMumbum]

Hi, I was directed here from my other thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3753231-DD-is-so-unhappy-at-school-Dont-know-what-to-do?watched=1&msgid=91893765#91893765

To cut a very long story short (see other thread if interested) we are looking to pull DD out of her current high school. She is going through a lot right now and we are seeing the GP for a possible ASD referral. She is currently a very emotionally unwell little girl .

I have some experience on the home ed process as we had to remove her from year 6 due to bullying however I'm not sure how this works now she is in secondary.

Can I remove her from school whilst still remaining on a waiting list for a different secondary? The one we are looking at has 24 on it currently which will shrink after the new year.

Could I remove her for a year until we have her assessment/therapy etc and then apply for high schools in year 8?

Any info/help you could give would be really appreciated. The council were very bullying and intrusive when I removed her in year 6 and I am quite worried about going through all that again, but I need to take action soon for DD's sake.

Assuming England, yes deregistering her shouldn't affect her place on waiting lists elsewhere. You can reapply for a school place whenever you want - obviously the school can only take her if there is space so you may be offered alternative which you can decline and ask to go on waiting list for preferred school if you prefer.

Your daughter's status on the waiting list for the other high school will be unaffected by where she is currently educated. You do want to make sure she stays on the waiting list. They shouldn't make assumptions about whether you still want the place, but they might.

So just dereg in exactly the same way as before, and send a letter to the council's admissions team telling them that you want her kept on the waiting list for the other school. You could also enquire whether there are places at any other schools you might consider, though I personally would delay doing that until your daughter has had a good long break from school to recover and feels ready for it.

If you think she might qualify for an EHCP, you can push that forward yourself while she is being home educated. As you probably know, it is a long process so might be best to get it underway soon.

As for your bullying LA, do you have support in dealing with them? I strongly recommend this Facebook group: "Home Education and your Local Authority: Help with dealing with officialdom". There are some prodigiously well-informed volunteers there who have extensive knowledge of home ed law. They will advise you to accept no visits from the LA but insist everything is in writing, and will help you to write a good report on your educational provision.

That approach has several advantages. First it puts you on the best footing legally. Second, it keeps LA staff at arm's length so you can protect your daughter from any unreasonable demands they may make or unwarranted threats such as the threat of sending her back to school.

You can definitely deregister and then apply for an EHCP yourself. It would be useful to have a diagnosis for the process, as applying for an EHCP is all about giving lots of evidence and then the council saying that they will or won't assess. Are you able to go down the private autism assessment route, and/or private Ed Psych, to build your case for an EHCP quickly?

I've had to Home Ed my autistic son as school wasn't at all suitable and we are in the process of getting his EHCP so that he can attend a specialist autism school in the future. He loves being at home and we have been lucky in that most of the groups we attend are kind and inclusive, with plenty of other autistic kids.

Just to add that EHCPs really can take a very long time to complete. Appealing a finalised EHCP takes 12+ weeks for example, waiting for tribunal, and that is after the 20 weeks it takes to get to that point if the council does everything within time limits as they should. If the council doesn't agree to assess, that is another appeal right at the beginning. It is a real slog but the light at the end of the tunnel for us is knowing that my son will likely get funded to a specialist school that we'd never in a million years be able to afford ourselves. So it is worth the fight. Good luck and let us know how you get on @MayorMumbum