My DS bad behaviour

[Purple1x]

Hi,

My DS just started Year 1 in a new school as we moved from another county before summer.

He has a language delay and he also was supported by the Senco team in his previous school

In all different settings he attended he was behaving badly in order to get attention from adults.

His first 3 weeks were not good, he had a conflict with another c
Boy, but also hit an assistant teacher. This has reached to a point where the school today said to us that our son requires an adult with him all the time, and the school doesn't has resources to provide that.

On this basis we were asked if our son could attend the school half day, for a short period of time for adapting better to the school.

They will also start some referrals with the pediatrician for seeing if there is any underlying condition.

I'm concerned that a referral and assessment can require long time to get, and I'm wondering if the school can wait until my son has a confirmed diagnosis, so they can request the appropriate resources to LA.

What are your thoughts?

Can the school expel my son for requiring much attention / resources?

Is only year 1, and not sure how to proceed.

Thanks
Purple

The school must make their best endeavours to meet a pupil’s SEN whether they have a diagnosis or not.

Unless the school are going to formally exclude DS each afternoon they are illegally excluding DS. Don’t allow them to. Part time timetables should not be used to manage behaviour.

Does DS have an EHCP? If not you should apply, and in the meantime the school can apply for high needs top up funding.

No, my son doesn't has any EHCP, I thought he needed first a diagnosis, is it possible to apply for one yourself or this needs to be requested by the school or GP?

How it's the application process?

I believe my son needs to be kids, instead at home with me alone each afternoon

Recommend you apply for a EHCP assessment and the fact that they've requested that he go on a reduce timetable provides strong evidence that it's required. I would suggest you look at IPSEA and SOSSEN websites for more information.

It may be that what you understand as behaviour problems to seek seeking attention is actually difficulties with his environment with respect to noise and other senses as well as frustration about his speech disorder. The fact that he has been diagnosed with a speech disorder or obviously has one is another factor that suggests that's an EHCP assessment would be appropriate.

Reduced timetables are only meant to be a short-term intervention and require that the school set out a plan for how they will reintegrate your child back into the setting, but they can sometimes turn into semi-permanent arrangements. I think you need to come to a judgement as to whether your son can manage everyday full day in a school and behave sufficiently well with the support that the school can and will put into place. If not, a reduced timetable while you're applying for the EHCP assessment might be an alternative to exclusions and separation within the setting. L

You're likely to need to do research on sen support in schools and EHCPs as outcomes are often better if parents drive the process rather than seeking at the school does so

You don’t need a diagnosis to apply for an EHCP, they are based on needs rather than diagnosis. You can apply yourself - IPSEA have a model letter you can use here. The EHCP process is explained here.

Inform the school in writing (this bit is important as it gives you a paper trail should you require evidence at a later date) DS will be attending full time unless they provide formal exclusion paperwork. Don’t worry if they do exclude it provides you with evidence DS needs more support, gives you the chance to challenge it if you wish and means there is a limit on how long the exclusions can continue.

I know you said you think DS needs to be in school, but if your opinion changes and you feel DS is unable to attend school full time due to his SEN the LA have a statutory duty under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide alternative arrangements to ensure DS receives a full time education.

Reduced timetables are only meant to be a short-term intervention and require that the school set out a plan for how they will reintegrate your child back into the setting, but they can sometimes turn into semi-permanent arrangements. I think you need to come to a judgement as to whether your son can manage everyday full day in a school and behave sufficiently well with the support that the school can and will put into place. If not, a reduced timetable while you're applying for the EHCP assessment might be an alternative to exclusions and separation within the setting.

Not in this case. The guidance is explicitly clear, part time timetables should not be used for behavioural management. The pupil should be in school full time or formally excluded. Otherwise it is an illegal exclusion, which is never in the pupil’s best interests. Even if part time timetables could be used for behavioural management, one shouldn’t be used until an EHCP is in place as that wouldn’t be short term.

Thank you @Thatsnotmycar yes, I had in mind that the timetable would be in place to support the child adjust to new provision to help meet his SEN, rather than it being a tool to manage difficult behaviours.

I can see where you are coming from, but even if the reason for the behaviour is the pupil’s SEN, using part time timetables in the way the school are proposing is still about managing a pupil’s behaviour, so it shouldn’t happen. If the school need to reduce the time the pupil is in school due to their behaviour they should follow the formal exclusion procedures, not illegally exclude.