In year admissions -complicated situation

[Emochild]

Dd is currently in yr 9

She's being home tutored by medical needs team due to school based anxiety
She has a diagnosis of aspergers and EHCP has been submitted but heard nothing as yet

I've come to the conclusion that returning to her massive school is not an option

In my local authority it's an average size school with 1600 pupils (and growing as they've increased the intake by 60 for the current year 7 and will continue this level of intake)

There are no small schools locally but I've found 2 in the neighbouring LEA which from their websites look like they would be a good fit

So questions...

Can an out of area school be named on an EHCP?
Can I get any help with transport (schools are 8 and 9 miles away)?
Can I apply for a school outside the area and are they obliged to take her if they have space?

I don't want to go too far down the road of visits etc if they aren't going to be a possibility

If you have no ehcp you can contact the school and complete the mid term admissions process.

Once you have an ehcp this should be done via your Sen department.

So far as I am aware, you can apply to the school of your choice in the same way as any other in year application, but without an EHCP, you would not have a better chance of success.

An out of area school can be named if there is evidence that it is the school that will best meet the needs of the student and that the admission doesn't disadvantage other students already at the school.

Again, if there is an EHCP and the school is the nearest one that meets need, you could apply for transport. If there is no EHCP and your child is offered a place because you would be deemed to have made the decision to move your Dd, when there is a school nearer that can meet her needs.

Can an out of area school be named on an EHCP?

Yes. You can ask for any school you want.

Can I get any help with transport (schools are 8 and 9 miles away)?

Possibly.

Can I apply for a school outside the area and are they obliged to take her if they have space?

If the school is named on the EHCP space doesn't enter into it. They have to take your daughter even if they are already full.

This is causing me major headaches

Her current school in theory says it can meet her needs -although obviously not because they can't get her there anymore than I can

There solution is to educate her in the learning bridge which marks her out as different -raising her anxiety

Camhs have said she needs a smaller school with a strong pastoral team and one that will develop her social skills

Other than the small part, all schools will claim to meet her needs

The one i'm looking at has 650 pupils registered, is a CofE school with SEN specifically accounted for in the behaviour policy and a wide range of non-sporting extra curricular clubs in areas that she is interested in and will develop her social skills
The majority of the clubs at her current school are sports clubs -she can't play team sports as she has a fear of being touched

Is this enough of an argument to get a school named on an EHCP?

At the minute she's only doing English, maths and science as that's all the medical team offer -she needs to get back into a school environment

*Their solution

-gah!

I think you need to apply - and take it from there

There maybe more help on the SEN boards - as others may have tried

Is this enough of an argument to get a school named on an EHCP

You don't really need an argument. The LA must name the school you choose unless it can show that it is not suitable, would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children or would not be an efficient use of resources. If the LA does not want to name your choice of school the onus is on them to justify their position.

Ah thanks for that bridge

I was led to believe the EHCP would name a school and I would have to argue against it if I didn't want her to go there

Her needs are very much social rather than academic -when she's in school she doesn't require additional support in class

You can choose the out of area school to be named on the EHCP. I named a more distant school on my DS's statement. You will be very unlikely to get transport funded though. If your closest school 'can meet DD's needs' then it wouldn't be cost effective for the LA to fund transport to another school. Your only chance is for CAMHS to state categorically on their input to the EHCP that a small school under 700 pupils for example is necessary.

Good luck.

The issue for you is to convince the LA that the school named on the EHCP is the one you want and not the one that the LA want, which would probably be in the LA, not outside the LA.
Is CAMHS via the school or privately. If it is the former then it probably strengthens your case.

Camhs is via the GP

School only saw school refusal and were more than a little shocked by the camhs report and diagnosis

If you can get CAMHS to write a letter of the form "X needs to goto school B because..." that should help an appeal or to get it on a EHCP.

However if they write a letter saying "X needs to go to a smaller school, and Mrs Emo says school B fits this criteria, so we recommend school B" I don't think that will help.

For an EHCP the parents are asked what school they want named. There are only limited grounds on which the LA can refuse to name the school chosen by the parents. If the LA insists on naming another school the parents can appeal the decision. The onus will then be on the LA to justify their refusal to comply with parental choice. In that situation either wording mummytime suggests should be fine. However, I agree that in an ordinary admissions appeal the first wording would be better.