Flexi schooling - 1 day a week - ASD & SEMH

[chickenwraps]

I want to flexi school my daughter in Year 5 for one day a week. Asking if anyone else if doing it and if it was approved by the headteacher.

I am a teacher. I can’t do more than one day a week, financially.

The reasons for flexi schooling are a bit more complex.

Daughter is 10, coping less and less in a school environment, even the headteacher said this to me, she has autism and struggles quite a lot with her mental health in school.
She is miserable and upset so often. She gets overwhelmed in school, distressed, she struggles to calm herself down. And when frustrated or dysregulated, it usually goes physical when really bad and she might punch someone.
She often withdraws herself from lessons and does very little work in the school day.
Ive had a lengthy meeting with the headteacher, and despite me throwing lots of SEN code of practice and Keeping children safe in education at them, they just don’t want her there. It’s very sad to see.
It would be easier for them if she’s not there. In that particular class, they already have one with ADHD, one with GLD, definitely 2 with ASD and another two on the pathway.
If money was no object and I had won the lottery, I would take my daughter out full time. Tomorrow. But I haven’t won the lottery. Her dad and I are divorced and I’m working really hard to keep a roof over our heads.

In our case, I can’t see how the headteacher should or can say no to flexi schooling for 1 day a week. It would benefit her quite a lot. Her mental health! And she would almost certainly do more work with me than she does the rest of the week at school.
They might say no if they don’t put her needs first and think about themselves (!!), their attendance figures.

What has the school done for support? They throw risk assessments and behaviour contracts at her, to cover themselves for PEX.
They’ve suspended her for 1.5 days.
The pastoral support is poor.

other options?
I’ve talked at length with a mum of a year 5 child (with an EHCP!) in the neighbouring prrimary school in town, and the support there is even worse, especially in terms of the time that a TA is present in class. She strongly discouraged me to move my child there. Plus my daughter has a really good friend in her school and she would find it hard to move school, coping in a new environment, lots of changes to deal with and no friend.
I can’t see how this school can’t put a TA in the class 100% of the time with a caseload of GLD, ADHD, 2 x ASD, and at least another 2-3 on their way to get diagnosed.

Get an EHCP for my daughter?
In this particular LA schools get NO funding for a child with an EHCP. Absolutely nothing. This creates the perfect scene for a school to reject a child, once they have an EHCP, at consultation phase, because they don’t have the funding to provide the support stipulated for an EHCP in Section F. (I don’t work in this LA and thankfully in the LA where I work, things actually work!)
And being so close to secondary school, I fear having a poorly written EHCP will just put her in a position to be rejected by schools. Because the EHCP will be sent to them and they will be asked if they can meet her needs. So in this LA, you end up with the school
who didn’t reject the child. Or no school
at all. I think it was on the BBC the other day, that 1 in 8 children with ASD are without a school.

What would you do? Are you doing flexi schooling? How is it going? What did the school say?

If the school won’t agree to flexi-schooling but DD cannot attend school full time because of her mental health, you could look at pursuing section 19 provision.

Whether you flexi-school or not, it is worth reading up on the actual law around EHCPs. The provision detailed, specified and quantified in EHCPs must be provided and can be enforced. As much as LAs and some schools like to think it is, it isn’t optional. The LA is ultimately responsible for ensuring it is provided and that includes ensuring there is sufficient funding. Schools can’t just reject DC with EHCPs. There are very limited exceptions the LA can lawfully rely on to refuse to name your preference. Non-wholly independent schools can, and must unless one of the limited exceptions applies, be named even if they object when consulted. You don’t need an offer of a place or for the school to agree. And you would be able to appeal if the LA refused to name your preferred placement.

I would request an EHCNA whether you get agreement to flexi-school or not.

If you have an EHCP with 1:1 the school will have to provide first 15hrs per week after that it’s funded. Secondary is usually 2:1 in special needs, does she need special needs school? She can’t punch people because she’s disregulated. That’s never ok, you can’t gloss over that. I have a severe special needs child and that is not tolerated, even in SEN provision.Even if you home school, are you going to say ‘sorry my kid punched you she’s disregulateded’ that won’t fly in the actual real world.

@ExistingonCoffee Thanks so much for this.
The EHCP route is a very poor avenue in this particular LA.
I am actually a SENCO in a different LA where things work and where Section F is provided for the child by the LA, and delivered by the school. The school gets either £8 or £12k per child on top of the notional Sen funding, and with this they employ a SALT from all the EHCP children’s funding etc.

I regularly help parents appeal and I fight their corner quite hard.

But in the LA where I live, shockingly, there is no funding at all for an EHCP. There is no EP or SALT in schools. Yea, legally the LA is responsible for providing the support stipulated in Section F. But they somehow have their own set of rules! Hence why I’m not looking to work in the LA where I live.
In this LA, parents with barristers appeal
and end up eventually, after a long long fight, with an independent SEM school.
I can’t pay a barrister.
My daughter will end up with a poorly written EHCP with no SALT requirements (I know in the LA where I work, the bog standard in C&L alone would be social communication delivered by a qualified SALT. The bog standard!
It would also have no provision recommend by an EP because there are no EP’s working directly with children in families.
Part of my frustration is that I see every week at work how it should be done.
But my own daughter is being failed so miserably! Of topic but the new white paper and the terrible leaks would actually be good for this LA, because at the moment they have their own set of rules.

Back to the flexi schooling. I feel that the 1 day a week that I can offer will her quite a lot.

You don’t need a barrister to appeal. The vast majority of parents do not pay for representation for appeals.

The law is the same in all LAs. Yes, some are more difficult to deal with than others, but the law and enforcement is ultimately the same. You may have to appeal to SENDIST, potentially more than once, to get a well written EHCP, then enforce the provision, but it is possible wherever you live.

Could you home educate full time by teaching her one day a week plus weekends and having childcare maybe grandparents on the days you work ? So three full days of learning and four relaxed days for her.

This. You could teach her one full day and then two evenings and one weekend day if you have childcare for the time you're at work. Otherwise I don't see why they would refuse Flexi schooling but you won't find out until you ask. I flexi-school my son with ASD and an ECHP (we're in NI so here everything is slightly different)

Speaking as a parent of an older teen with AuADHD I have been through a lot…but a long story short I would devote 100% of my efforts into getting her CAMHS support and,ultimately, medication, if she’s this distressed at this age, I would pay privately for play therapy and OT now (where I am in London you get can this privately - appreciate that is not nationwide) while you wait a couple of years for nhs support. Professional mental health support will get you through the teen years.

Play therapy, SALT, psychotherapy, psychologist, psychiatrist - we’re now at the stage where my DC can attend school and function thanks to all this support, therapy and medication. We borrowed money from our parents to do this.

im 9 years ahead of where you are and wishing that’s the advice someone had given me. We’ve never gone down the EHCP route - just paid for the targeted support ourselves.

I know a few children who have a day at home and it helps them manage the rest of the week as their nervouse system gets a rest. I dint think teaching is the aim if the day. I also know a few who one day turns in to total school avoidance as they realise how much they arent coping - but maybe that would have happened anyway.

i second trying to access medication, therapy etc outside of the school system as a day at home might give her a chance to rest but really you need her actually able to cope. You cant cure autism, but good OT, SaLt and other therapies can really help people not get so disregulated. Are there any charities near you that can help. My son did equine therapy from a charity down the road and it was great.

An EP would provide provision as part of their advice as part of the EHCNA process . Are you saying that EP’s aren’t part of this process in the LA where you live?