Ehcp child refused first choice

[Aya1979]

Hi,

My son has been refused his first choice school and offered his second and only other choice. The problem is I know this school cannot meet his needs because I have had 2 older children go there and we had a very difficult time there. My children not supported in that schl snd we are still traumatised by the lack of support especially in my older son's mental health.

My son's first choice school is where all his friends are going including anither sen child that my son is very attached to. They've both been quite distraught about not going to the same school.

I do want to appeal the decision but I'm not sure if it will be worth getting his hopes up.

Please help!

It only came as a surprise because it was not his first choice but his second choice.
I did not get the letter dated 12th Feb but the emailed copy I recieved today is dated 12th. I've been told it doesn't matter as I have 2 months to appeal.
Also, just been told by sendias that the appeal hearing would be a year from now and that if the school have said they can't meet his needs the judge will throw it out.

That’s what I’m saying - as I understand it, you should have been involved in the discussion about which school could best meet his needs and so you should have known that the ECHP was going to name school 2. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

Thank you for confirming this for me. This is what I thought too.

There’s a guide to EHCPs on gov.uk. You should have been sent the draft plan and given an opportunity to comment on it.

I am not up to date on this as our tribunal was so long ago that it was on the old Sen Code of Practice - but the advice from Sendias doesn’t seem right. I thought phase transfer appeals were prioritised so although some appeals may take up to a year nowadays, this one shouldn’t. IPSEA are really good, it is hard to get hold of them but it is worth the effort. Their website is great and has loads of info.

Tribunal dates can be up to a year, but as yours is a phase transfer year, you will likely be able to expediate the hearing date.

I've also heard of recent appeals coming back with a May hearing.

But first things first, get the appeal lodged. You might find the LA concede once you've done that.

SENDIST are prioritising transition year appeals so it shouldn't take a year - a friend has appealed recently for Yr 7 entry in Sept and has an appeal date for end May

As far as I am aware it is not correct that the judge will throw the case out if the school has said it can't meet need - however I do think it's vital that you get hold of a copy of the school's consultation response asap so you understand why they say they can't meet need.
Lougle has posted the only reasons that the school/LA can use to refuse to name parental preference mainstream so it's important to understand which (if any) of these they are using to justify their decision. You can then potentially build evidence to challenge them on it

I'd also give some thought (depending on what the consultation response reveals) as to whether you want your child to attend a school that doesn't think it can meet need/doesn't want him there...

I think you need to use the two-pronged approach, as mentioned by @PanelChair upthread.

1. Contact the mediator and ask for a mediation certificate or a mediation meeting.

At the same time

1. Lodge an admissions appeal with the LA. Use every reason you want school 1 as your grounds for appeal.

I would also

1. Make a formal complaint to the Director of Children's Services to say that you weren't given the EHCP, did not ask for school 2, and were not given reasons why school 1 was not accepted.

I was able to get my DD2 various assessments, a place in the special school she needed, and deceleration from year 11 to year 10 by politely but firmly complaining every time the LA made an error. It was exhausting but it did get my DD what she needed.

Thank you so much, everyone. Every yine I speak with the LA, I'm being discouraged, but you have all encouraged me to give the appeal a shot.

Don’t listen to SENDIASS. Some are good, but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful practices. IPSEA and SOSSEN are far better.

The LA may be completely right, and the school may have given compelling reasons why they couldn't meet need. You have the right to know what those reasons are, so you can appeal against them.

Very poor advice from SENDIASS. As others have said, you should be able to get a hearing within a year. The judge will not throw it out just because the school say they can't meet your son's needs. The judge will want to know why they can't meet your son's needs. If they can't come up with compelling reasons, the judge will tell the LA to name this school on the EHCP, which will give your son a place.

I agree with Lougle and PanelChair regarding your next steps.

I would also ask for the evidence that school 2 are going to be meeting need. We have had a mainstream school say they can meet need and then say they are not going to follow the plan (because having daily 1:1 30 mins session, was disruptive to her integration in the school and she can do some of the work at home as no time to do it in school, amongst other things) (we are appealing), but it took nearly 6 months to get this information, also why school 1 have said they can't meet need (which is difficult and may be because they had already accepted too many EHCP children and their would be too much impact on others. Also consider other local schools and consulting them.

My son is now 13. Has echp updated from his last one when he was 8. High functioning autism with adhd. Was sent to a special needs school where it was a residential unit for, with all due respect, extremely autistic kids and he just didnt belong there. His mum has pushed for, and finally got an updated ehcp so we have applied with the assistance from the LA to get him back into mainstream. He has been out of school for 18 months because of all this. The 5 schools, 3 private, 2 mainstream point blank refused and we are left optionless with our son stuck in his room all day. Hes a polite intelligent kid. The behaviour of some of his peers outside the local school is unbelievable and our capable son, who wouldn't do, or get away with it, is stuck in his room for almost 2 years. His mum and I are exasperated. Sorry for the rant. Surely this cant be legal.

@PaulOdad you would be better starting your own thread.

What, if anything, does the updated EHCP state in section I?

Have you appealed? If not, are you still within the appeal window? If so, you should appeal. If not, you could request a late appeal is accepted. In case it isn’t, you should also request an early review.

Out of the 5 schools, the 2 that are MS, are they state mainstreams? If so, you don’t need an offer of a place for the LA (or SENDIST) to name them. On what basis is the LA refusing to name them?

In the meantime, the LA has a duty to ensure DS receives a suitable full-time education and any provision detailed, specified and quantified in F. On their website, IPSEA has model letters you can send to the LA about this.