school choices

[english1]

DC has SEN - statemented.
Options

1 - sit 11+ - good grammar sch

1. Fail 11+ - local school with failing results for the past 4 years and a catholic school but we are not catholics so go to the bottom in the criteria.

3 . Oversubscribed school with ASD unit about 2.8 miles away - admission criteria is a) children in care, b) siblings, c) distance. so even with SEN cant get in as too far away - school prioritises the degree of disability of each achild applicant and takes 15 places each year - so a struggle to get in.
only option to get in here is to move less than a mile from the school and even then the LEA says no guarantee of entry - looks like a huge fight ahead for us.

1. move and then fight for a place.

1. go private - cannot afford.

What do i do. Annual review with LEA and SENCO will be in the autumn term - as DC is a new statement - need to know before then what to do.
very worried mum.

Does the statement not name that school for your DC?

I thought it was possible to have a statement that named a particular school and then the school had to take you?

That's what my LA admissions criteria are, and even the VA schools in our area apply that as 1st criteria for getting a place....

Our criteria are:

1 SEN with statement naming the school
2 Looked after children

then all the other criteria around religion (if faith school), siblings, catchment/distance

Obv I dont know your situation re the statement and the ASD unit, but is there nothing you can do to get him in to the mainstream school via the statement?

well, the admisiion criteria here is

1. looked after kids
2. siblings
3. then distance - to school.

So very likely - that a move to within a mile of the school is the only hope. I wonder how soon that move have to made. My LEA does not mention time - i guess likely when the annual review is done - Autumn term. Wonder if i dont move unitl Jan following year - too late then ?

If your child is statemented you can name your preferred school on the statement and unless the LEA has good reason then your child will get a place there.

well, i have sent LEA our preferred school choice but did not mention (omitted in error) that my DC will be sitting a selective test for grammar school.
The problem, i have is that the preferred school choice has dedicated SEN unit that will suit my DC and the selective grammar do not have a unit but can provide care. However the nearest school the LEA has suggested prior - we dont want our DC to go there can provide care.
Now how can i prove to LEA that our prefered is all or nothing, if i am considering entry into a grammar school without the SEN unit. as the level of SEN provided by the grammar is the same as the closest school.

Or do i wait until i am sure that my DC passes the selective then say to the LEA that he sat this as well - wont it be too late for LEA consultation - the grammar school is in a different borough. - feb 2011

Now that you have stated your preference and given reasons the LA only have limited grounds for saying no.

If it were me I say I want my child to go to the grammar school if he/she passes the 11+ and the school with the SEN unit if he/she fails the 11+. The LA can't turn round and say that they are going to ignore your preference and put your child into some other school which doesn't have an SEN unit just because the grammar school doesn't have one. They would have to show that the school with an SEN unit was inappropriate for your child, or that placing your child there would damage the education of children already at the school, or that it would be an inefficient use of the LA's resources.

Your justification is that you want your child to go to the grammar school if he/she passes the 11+ because you think they will be best able to help him/her fill his/her academic potential. However, if he/she doesn't pass the 11+ you want him/her to go to the school with the SEN unit as they can provide appropriate care. I would go into more detail than that but that would be my starting point.

thanks, i called the caseworker on friday and she said its is ok, do i have to put it in writing - makes it official i guess