SEN tribunal appeal over part 4 school placement HELP any advice appreciated

[BettyHeslop]

My 11yr old has been in a special needs primary school since he was 3yrs. When the time came to apply to secondary school I visited the 2 SEN schools closest to me, one 2 miles away and the other 3.
The school which is 3 miles away can clearly meet all of his needs and is very similar in all of its approaches to his primary school, lots of communication help and life skills which are important to us. Altough the closer school can meet some needs, it cannot meet all and is very focussed on the academic side and far less on life skills such as independence and self care.

When applying for school I chose the one further away but was refused it by the Local Authority and given the closer school. Also his school transport has been taken away. I know from speaking to my preferred school that they had told the LA that my child was suitable and they could provide a place for him. The LA told my preferred school that he is too able and will be going to the other.

Is this even allowed or do they have to take into account parental preference? I am not sure how my child can be too able, he was born extremely prematurely and is developmentally delayed in all areas, the highest level he is working at is national curriculum level 2 but this is only in one subject.

I have sent off my appeal form to the tribunal. I have also spoken to the LA and asked why my parental preference was not being met but they just kept saying my chosen school is unsuitable which I strongly disagreed with. Also the school wouldn't have offered him a place if he was unsuitable. The LA mentioned that if I did push for parental preference then I would still lose transport, I told them that is not my issue at the moment. I want him to go to the school that will best meet his needs and help him thrive in all areas of life.

Just to add, the LA did not tell me in writing or give me any reasons for refusing my school of choice which I know now by law they are meant to, I found out when we got final statement. They have apologised for this but the fact is they still omitted to tell me.

Sorry if message is very long, trying to explain it the best way possible.

Has anyone see experienced this?

Any comment will be much appreciated.

I haven't experienced the same exactly but my main tip would be to get the Head of your preferred school on side.
If they've already told you they are happy to take your child they may be happy to help with your appeal.

I know my ds's head would do the same. And has done for other people.

I wouldn't do too much 'speaking' rather than 'writing'. Any queries you have put it in writing because if you are talking to them over the telephone you have no record of that conversation and they can pretty much say anything they like.

As far as I am aware, if you won at Tribunal and your school was named then you would be entitled to transport as THAT would be the preferred school.

If you are going through the process of Appeal also put in a Subject Access Request. The forms are usually available online and in our authority it costs £10. The authority will have 40 days from receipt of confirmation of request to provide all information that is kept on your child.

I hope you haven't just appealed against the school? It's essential that you also appeal against parts 2 and 3 of the statement, because the LA will have written part 3 in such a way that their school will fit the bill. I'd strongly suggest you contact SOS SEN and, if you can, book for one of their workshops on SENDIST appeals.