Primary school appeal

[Mummy2boys123]

Hi,

Wondering if anyone can offer advice.

I appreciate there are a lot of questions on this but would like specific advice.

My ds got turned down for a place at his current school nursery. He is due to start reception in Sept 2021.

The class size is 30.
I dont think the LA has made a mistake and in terms of criteria we got in due to distance. But because we live a little further away he was not offered one. Last 30th child admitted lived 0.4 and our distance 0.6.

My ds is being assessed by the child development team and being assessed for autism. He was on their waiting list since last year March and has not seen anyone from the service due to Covid just phone calls.
He has speech and language delays and we see someone private as still waiting for the NHS waiting list to be seen. His transition into this nursery took several months of tantrums at the school gate, me leaving him and during his 3 hours there. He has made a lot of progress since with the teacher and staff there
He is very routine based and takes a very long time to get used to any changes. I suspect he is on the ASD spectrum or autistic but waiting for confirmation which could be sometime in June.

The school he has been offered is right opposite the current one he attends which would be even harder as he would not understand why he is going there and not his current school.

The current school he attends is small ( one class for every year) and I feel he would do much better there. In addition they have an autism unit but this is for children not in main stream education. I have asked his current school to start an EHCP plan which takes some time to come through also.

I would appreciate any advice on this. I know the chances of getting an appeal agreed is very hard but want to try as this specific school have supported so much with his transition here I feel moving him will have a severe impact on him.

Any advice is welcomed.

Many thanks

Your difficulty is that as things stand (no diagnosis, no EHCP) you have no grounds for appeal. Unfortunately they can't be flexible because that would be open to abuse - they have to implement the criteria to the letter, which they have done.

Obviously if things change you could apply to change school at any time, including before September 2021.

There are admissions experts on here who should be able to help you.
I will tag one of them @admission but others may be along to help soon.
As the previous poster has said, it is hard to win appeals for Reception due to Infant class size regulations.
When is your son's birthday? Would it be possible to defer entry and wait for his assessments / EHCP application to be completed?
Would there be a way of managing the transition from nursery to reception in a way that he may understand?

The school that you prefer has a PAN of 30, so as they have allocated 30 places any appeal for entry in September 2021 will be an infant class size case. Reality is that you will only get a place at such an appeal if the LA have made a mistake and should have allocated you a place. I think that you should check the distance to the school to make sure that it is 0.6 away but after that I cannot see from anything you have said that you will win a place at an infant class size case appeal.
The next thing you need to do is make sure that you are on the waiting list and establish where you are on the waiting list. If you happen to be top of the waiting list, then there is a reasonable chance that between now and September somebody will decline the place and you would be offered the vacant spot. However if you are 5th or worse on the waiting list, you have to be realistic that the chance of so many people declining places, when there are only 30 is remote.
The autism unit at the school you prefer will be a unit for pupils who have an EHCPlan naming the school and I think that you have to try and push the school / LA into agreeing an EHCPlan based on your son's needs. That is not going to be easy I suspect but you need to try as if you have an EHCPlan then you can name the school that you wish your son to go to. In this circumstance the infant class size regulations does not apply.
Having said that I do believe that you need to try and prepare your son for going to the other school as it seems likely that may still be the only option come September.

Thank you all for your responses.
@catndogslife if we did get a diagnosis or EHCP would we get priority? Were on the waiting list at 10 so realistically wont happen unless I go through appeals and win.

@admission yes I will check the distance to double check.

It's been difficult to try and start the EHCP as school feels this should be started by child development but because of the pandemic there has been a huge waiting list finally got them to agree to start one very soon.

It looks like the chances of him going to the same school are slim which means another few months of transitioning and settling in the a new school.

Thanks

Usually a diagnosis wouldn’t have a bearing on admission but an EHCP would. You can request a needs assessment yourself.

You don't just get priority if you get an EHCP. You get a place. If you have an EHCP naming the school they have to admit your son even if they are already full. In your situation, unless they have measured the distance incorrectly an EHCP is your only realistic route for getting him a place at this school.

Hi @Mummy2boys123
One of the admissions experts @prh47bridge has already answered your question.
A diagnosis alone is extremely unlikely to be enough to help with admission to this school, you need an EHCP naming the school.
Most schools should be able to manage to support mild ASD and speech and language problems, but it is hard for parents to be able to make a judgement about what is needed. That's why you need a professional assessment. Hope that helps

I wouldn't wait for them to start assessment 'very soon', tbh. When my DD was in preschool, the inclusion coordinator wanted to 'see what she was like in the summer' before starting the statement process (old system before EHCP). I said that I knew all the places would be decided by then, so I wasn't willing to wait. I submitted a letter to the LA and 20 weeks later she had a Statement naming the Special School I wanted. Don't wait for diagnosis, either.

@Lougle

I wouldn't wait for them to start assessment 'very soon', tbh. When my DD was in preschool, the inclusion coordinator wanted to 'see what she was like in the summer' before starting the statement process (old system before EHCP). I said that I knew all the places would be decided by then, so I wasn't willing to wait. I submitted a letter to the LA and 20 weeks later she had a Statement naming the Special School I wanted. Don't wait for diagnosis, either.

Things have massively changed since Statements were issued I’m afraid. OP, first of all, it’s highly likely that your dc would struggle with transition even if he remained in the same school; starting the transition process now is crucial to a positive transition to the new school. Is there another child in his nursery that is going to the same school as your DC? If so, make sure you refer to them - ‘I see Alfie is going to be in your new school with you’ type of conversations. It’s a pity his Nursery haven’t already started the needs assessment process, is that because they don’t think he has a high level of additional needs? You can, of course, start the process yourself if you wish, that forces the hand of the Nursery to provide all the paperwork to the LA. However, in terms of getting a school named on an EHCP, it’s not as simple as the parents stating which school they want. The LA will contact the preferred school ‘ schools and submit a request for a place but schools can - and frequently do - respond with a long list for easing why they cannot meet the needs on the EHCP. I’ve had children with EHCPs not getting a place in a resource unit or special school because their needs are not as severe as other applicants and places are very limited. It’s not right, but it can be a long, hard journey to get the right support for a child at the moment.

You won't now get an EHCP in time for September 2021 admission which is something to be aware of.

You also won't get an ASD base without the ASD diagnosis, it is a bit catch 22. Nor does an EHCP mean you would need it either. You need to apply for the EHCP but it most likely at this stage won't resolve your issue.

Hello,
I was in your exact position several years ago. My DS was being assessed for ASD while at nursery. We applied for a one-form entry primary as I thought it would be best fit for him. I included reams of paperwork including a letter of support from the Senco at DS’s nursery. We still didn’t get in. We were offered our 3rd choice two-form entry school.

I can say this now he’s YR6 - I think he’s been better served at the bigger school. A 2 or 3 form entry school will often have more provision/staff to support children with additional needs. I know this seems a long way off now but I think it’s better for many SEN kids who are going on to a mainstream secondary to have the experience of a larger primary. The step up becomes less daunting and they’re used to rubbing up alongside more children.

On a practical note- have you spoken to the Senco of the school you have been allocated? I would say that this is key at this stage. They may be able to help put your mind at rest in terms of managed transition and how they’re going to support your DS.

When does your DS turn 5? You know that he doesn’t have to attend school until the term after he turns 5? If you’re really set on the other school, would the nursery agree to keep him on? That might buy you some time for the diagnosis and the EHCP assessment to get done. We seriously considered it but decided not to. There are several risks with this - getting an EHCP is hard. We have one now but it took several years of fighting. I imagine most of the DC in your DS’s nursery class will be moving on in September and he’ll have to get used to a whole new cohort. He would then have to transition into Primary after all the other children had been settled. For all these reasons, we decided not to.

I’m afraid I don’t have any advice about your appeal chances. We decided not to appeal - partly because we were advised it was very unlikely we would win and at the time I didn’t have the mental energy to take it on. Also once I’d met the reception team at the school he had been allocated, I felt a lot happier.

I can honestly say in our case it has worked out really well. Fingers crossed it does for you too.

It takes 20 weeks plus to get an EHCP. You won't get one over the school summer hols love...