Is it good thinking for year 11 (GCSEs)

[Nixxy73]

I'm at a point where I am considering H/E for my child who is nearly 16!!! She has health complications which has impacted her attendance at school massively so she is missing out. I don't know what to do for the best at this point. H/E or keep trying to get her into school and hope she catches up. Her Mock GCSEs start on the 29th.

I see myself as lucky as I was able to give up work for three years to support my daughter. I truly feel for those who can’t. The system simply doesn’t work. I’m a professional and couldn’t get through……. I formally complained………. Nothing……. Their apologies aren’t worth the paper they’re written on as nothing was changed

@Thatsnotmycar is right. DD2 went from full attendance before Christmas of year 10 to complete school refusal by Easter of year 10. The process of getting her help was horrible. I had to make a Subject Access Request because school refused to help apply for an EHCNA. Once the LA agreed to assess, I had to make several official complaints to the LA for various parts of the EHCP process to ensure that DD2 was assessed properly. She was going to be attending a PRU, which wasn't ideal. However, by September of year 11 she had been placed in a wonderful independent specialist school, and the LA have just agreed to allow her to repeat year 10 so she gets a full KS4.

It's worth the stress to try and get what your child needs and deserves. The LA won't want to do anything but they have to.

But this is what I’m saying, formally complaining isn’t the right route to go down as it takes too long. In the immediate situation you needed to threaten judicial review and then follow through with the threat.

Afterwards you could go through the complaints process and then complain to the LGO. The LGO can order a remedy including a financial remedy.

You could have also applied for an EHCNA for an EHCP for longer term provision including therapies that wouldn’t otherwise have been available. The vast majority of families won’t be able to fund all the support available via an EHCP. DS1 has provision costing more than £100k pa.

But my point is I didn’t know!!!
I had no one to help.
I spent most of year 11 in and out of hospital with DD with absolutely no help from anyone.
When I went to school they said drop subjects.
When I went to LA they said they were busy.
Medical Consultants wrote emails to LA but got no response.
It was October year 11, exams in 6 months, no one was interested.
We had to to it alone, inbetween hospital stays.
There was no other option at the time
They admitted they failed us
Its not good enough
Unfortunately unless you’re in the know, which most people aren’t, you’re going to be failed.
Its not good enough
But nothing has changed

But my point is I didn’t know!!!

I had no one to help.

Which is why I said “parents should be supported to enforce their DC’s rights…” and why posting the legislation and how to enforce rights on threads like this is important. Accepting the LA’s unlawful practices doesn’t help anyone.

I’m pleased it worked for some, I truly am. But the schools need to be informed and be able to advocate for their pupils. Until that happens, parents will struggle. I have three children, run a business, one child suddenly need significant medical care ( ITU, long term rehabilitation ),
I had no idea I needed to fight to the extent I did, I didn’t have the time, knowledge, resources. It’s an appalling system. My child should have been helped, without me having to need to threaten anyone with anything!

I agree with your above post.
I didn’t accept their unlawful practice, which is why I complained. Like I said it was upheld, they apologised.
But the sad reality is that actually I haven’t managed change anything for any future child

Yes, your DC should have received the support without a fight. Yes, it is exhausting and unrelenting. But it is the system at the moment and won’t change any time soon, so parents should be supported to work within the system rather than accept not receiving the support they desperately need. Parents should never rely on schools, LAs or medical professionals for SEN advice. They often give incorrect advice, intentionally or not. Charities such as IPSEA and SOSSEN are a much more reliable source of information and advice.

Also I just want to say I’m not criticising you or any other parent. As you say you (and many other parents) didn’t know and you don’t know what you don’t know. It is a criticism of the system because it shouldn’t be that way. What I mean by supporting parents to not accept the unlawful practices is enforcing DC’s rights, so in this case via judicial review and subsequently via the LGO and an EHCP.

The whole system needs to be made clearer and open.
Currently I think it fails too many. When you’re dealing with a sick child you can’t fight a system which is designed to be as difficult to navigate.
The fact that the OP is considering withdrawing her child and home schooling just shows how it’s still failing.
I wish I could help

I agree, but the system isn’t going to change any time soon. And deregistering wont help DD receive the support and provision she requires.

No it won’t, maybe finding people like you, and this site will.
Good luck op

If you have the time to home Ed then I would. Ensure you have the funds to start the year 10 course again and repeat the year. Sign up for an online school and possibly get some additional tutors. This could be the best thing you do for her.