I really Need Your Help

[SparklyVampire]

A bit of background...

I have a 10 year old DS who has been diagnosed with Autism, the school he currently attends what was our local school which just happened to have an autism specalist unit. Although he isn't bad enough to be in the DSP unit he gets a lot of help and support from everyone at the school. He is very settled there and is doing well.

The problem is that we moved home 5 miles away, my son desperatly wanted to stay at his current school so his teachers and I thought of ways to enable him to stay there. They recommended i Apply to the council for free transport which i did with the schools full backing and all relevant information.

I got a letter today from the council saying that they are unfortuantly unable to help as he isn't at his nearest qualifying school. My partner and I don't drive and we can't really afford the £50 a week it would cost us to get him to school. Our only option it seems is to remove him from school and send him somewhere local, My DS is heartbroken at this possibility.

I have the option to appeal which we are considering, So i guess my question would be how likely would it be that we would win an appeal, and should we just start applying to new schools now?

So not to drip feed we did ask at the local school about places and there is no more room for another child in year 6 in September, so wherever he went we would STILL have to travel anyway

Hope you dont mind me asking this question

why did you move?
did you not consider the school issue?

I dont drive but hubby does.
but it has limited number of schools i applied for.

i know a couple in daughters primary who take bus every day so £25 a week as they normally get 1 adult day rider but think at 10 child would have to pay too.

I would appeak on grounds of his autism.
seems silly to remove him from school where he has a place to closer school where there are no places?

is this all the same local education authority?

only other suggestion I can think of is

if one at home home school him for year 6 and apply for best secondry not ideal?

Is he only child? no siblings to consider?

I have been looking into free transport too recently and no, the LEA are only obliged to offer you free transport if the closest school which has a place available for your DC is more than 2 miles away, even then it could be free bus fares for DS but not you, his accompanying adult. So if there is another school closer than 5 miles away with space for your DS, even if it's not local, they don't have to offer you free transport.

Did you tell the LEA you wanted DS to stay there because of the audism unit? If no you may have grounds to appeal ( though I'm not an expert, don't take my word for it! ) but if there is another school with space and some form of SNECO support closer than 5 miles you might have to accept that either you'll have to pay for transport or DS will have to move.

Ill try and answer all your questions

1. We moved as we needed a bigger home, I have two DD's as well as my son. It's social housing so basically we had to take what was offered. My eldest DD (7) was offered a place at the local school where we are now, we decided this was kinder to move her so she could hopefully make local friends.
2. Regards to the cost of taking him to school we live rurally, it would be 2 busses there and back ( a 2 hour round trip for us ) and as the bus doesn't start until after 9am we would have to take taxi's to take him there anyway
3. Yes it's all the same LA
4. Home schooling not really an option as i have DD2 who is 11 months and demands a lot of attention.

I'm in a slightly different situation to you but the school I have been offered for my DD2 is also a 2 hour trip on the bus, also would be near impossible to get her to school on time and I also don't drive. The LEA told me they only provide free transport on buses in my area, not taxis. So your only free transport option may well be by bus, even though it's competely impractical and ridiculous- that's the situation I'm in at the moment.

The reality is that the LEA are never going to agree to free transport to a school 5 miles away when there is another school with a place available 2 miles away.

Have the LEA offered you a local place, or another closer place at all? And are there any closer schools with audism/SEN support?

They have offered me no other alternative what so ever i seriously don't know what to do. My DD is now in a school 2 minutes away which is fantastic...but Wherever they will send my son im going to have to travel and somehow get 2 DC's to two different schools at the same time

In the Area i am there are 4 specialist schools, The one where he is now and the other 3 on the other side of the city. All are seriously over subscribed, they have a SENCO at the local school where my DD is now but as they told me there is no space for him the chances are he will be very unlikely he will go there.

I think im going to have to go down the appeal route if it gets rejected then we will have to do our best or move him. It's only for one more year until he goes to secondary school, which is the main reason we wanted him to stay, it all seemed so rediculous to move him, then as he gets settled in he has more upheaval and goes to yet another school

If they have told you that the school DS is at is not his nearest qualifying school so they can't provide transport but they aren't offering you a place at a closer school then there is a clear contradiction here- you need to push them for a place at a local school or free transport for DS, but bear in mind bus transport could well be all that is offered.

If DD has been given a place at the local school then can't you appeal there, on the grounds that DS has a sibling there and the school can cater to his autism?

I'm sorry, but it sounds like you're very unlikely to get the arrangement you want RE free transport to DS's current school, I think appealing to DD's school is probably your best shot. Is DD's school a feeder for a secondry you were considering for DS? At least then although he would still be moving schools twice in two years it might not feel like such an upheaval IYSWIM.