How to determine what school would be best

[nothappytobeheretoday]

Good morning,

This may sound daft but how do you know if your child should be be in a mainstream school with support or a special/specialist school?

I started another thread about nursery exclusion and received some very helpful advice. My concern is now related to responses I have received from nursery and a LA Send Advisor.

I don't feel like I can trust the LA to make the best decision but equally, I don't know what would be best either.

So the consensus seems to be that my son will receive an Autism and ADHD diagnosis - we are on the MDA pathway but waiting for assessments & appointments. He will be 4 in two months and his nursery have said they cannot cope without 1:1 support. This is the second nursery to say they cannot cope with him. Nursery have suggested the best place for him is mainstream school with (hopefully) 1:1 support. They have said his needs are not profound enough for a special school and there aren't any places (but have sort of wavered a bit on that in our last meeting with nursery and a special school outreach person). We've been to the SEN stay&play group run by the LA (that they keep pushing down our throats even though it is on a Monday morning and not compatible with working) and compared to the other children, my son does seem to be more able in certain respects e.g. speaking and wanting to interact. He does have enormous outbursts and cannot concentrate on anything for more than a couple of minutes even if you are helping him - especially if there is a lot going on around him. I honestly don't know how he will be in a class of 30.

When I spoke to the LA Send Advisor, she informed me that school isn't statutory until he is five and I shouldn't expect him to attend 9-3 until then (and even then maybe not was indicated). Won't that put him even further behind his peers though?

Should I look into a private EP to make sure we are making the best decision as to what sort of provision would be best?

Thank you very much.

Does DS have an EHCP? Some LAs have assessment places for nursery age pupils going through the EHCP process but without an EHCP a SS place is unlikely for reception onwards. If you haven’t got a finalised EHCP did you apply for a reception place via the normal admissions procedure? If you do have an EHCP have you not already stated your preference as phase transfer EHCPs have to be finalised by 15th Feb.

Visit the individual schools, both MS and SS, speak to the staff, follow up with emails. What do the assessments reports indicate e.g. do they suggest a small class size, embedded therapies throughout the day?

They have said his needs are not profound enough for a special school and there aren't any places (but have sort of wavered a bit on that in our last meeting with nursery and a special school outreach person).

I would take what the LA, nursery and schools say about SS with a pinch of salt. DC don’t need to have profound needs in order to attend a SS. And unless the school is wholly independent being full is not enough of a reason on its own to refuse admission.

she informed me that school isn't statutory until he is five and I shouldn't expect him to attend 9-3 until then (and even then maybe not was indicated).

DS is entitled to attend school full time from the September of reception. Not being compulsory school age until 5 means you can decide to send him part time, but if you want he can go full time. The school cannot force you to send DS part time without formally excluding him otherwise it would be an unlawful exclusion. Even if DS doesn’t attend full time, if he has an EHCP the LA must provide anything specified and quantified in F. Once DS is CSA the LA have a statutory duty to ensure DS receives a suitable, full time education. If he can’t attend school full time the LA must make other arrangements.

Before reception age full time provision can still be included in the EHCP.

Thank you @JustKeepBuilding - I really appreciate your guidance!

We are in the assessment part of getting an EHCP. Though I've just had a "courtesy update" to say they are currently waiting for an educational psychologist report in order to complete the Educational Health Care Assessment for your child and our case officer will let us know as soon as we have a date to share with you. By my calculations we will be in week 14 next week.

We have had one SLT assessment and one OT assessment today. Neither have received anything from the case officer requesting these. They both kindly said they would write up their assessments in "EHCP format". Our paediatrician has now left her role and we don't know who her replacement will be - the case officer did not contact her for her input before she left.

We did apply for a mainstream reception place via the regular process. So without these reports I don't really know what I should be looking for - and every professional I speak to has a different opinion.

Would you be able to direct me to where I could point out the legislation to them that I can send him full time otherwise they would be unlawfully excluding him?

Thank you so very, very much again.

If you are week 14 next week the LA are going to breach the statutory timescales. Email the Director of Children’s Services stating anyone asked for advice or information as part of the EHCNA must respond within 6 weeks (SEN Reg 8(1)). Waiting lists and staff shortages are not lawful reasons not to comply with this duty IPSEA page confirming this. As a result of the LA’s failures they are at risk of breaching the 20 week statutory deadline for finalising, and if the LA fail to comply with the timescales you will be forced to begin judicial review proceedings as they are frustrating your right of appeal.

2.17 of the admissions code covers pupils being entitled to a full time place following their forth birthday. But the parent can choose to send part time or defer until CSA if they so wish.

Paragraph 19 of the suspension and permanent exclusion guidance covers not being able to exclude just because of a pupil’s SEN and that informal exclusions (which is what insisting DS attends part time would be) are unlawful.

Thank you @JustKeepBuilding - that is so incredibly helpful. I am very grateful for your knowledge and kindness in responding.

Hi @JustKeepBuilding - I love reading this amazing advice you give parents. I'm very interested in this topic particularly. If a special school had 2 pupils, both obviously with EHCPs, who were not getting along very well, leading to behaviour incidents, and the school decided as a solution (short term or otherwise), to have one pupil in for a half day, then the other pupil in for the other half of the day - is that lawful?

It's not recorded as an exclusion. The pupils are not being educated off site. (It's being recorded as authorised absence). Presumably the parents have agreed, but I wouldn't say it was their idea, and it's unlikely that they realise they can just say no - it's likely to have been presented to them as a solution to a problem. Unlawful? And is there any situation where this would be lawful, where some discretion is allowed by the headteacher, parents, or otherwise?

I'd love to know your views on this...😀

@TattyDevine no, it’s not lawful. It is a unlawful exclusion whether or not the parents have agreed.

Part time timetables should not be used to manage behaviour (paragraph 29 in the third link above and paragraph 43 of this link). Again, whether or not parents agree to it.

The pupils should be in school full time or formally excluded.

It doesn’t sound like it’s the case here because there’s many things that could be tried e.g. having them in school for the other half a day but with other provision outside the class or transitioning one to another class or putting additional support in class etc. but if the pupil genuinely can’t attend full time the LA should be making suitable alternative arrangements to ensure they a) receive everything specified and quantified in F and b) a suitable, full time education if CSA. But this only applies if it is genuinely in the child’s best interest to attend part time. Not because it is easier for the school or the school can’t manage.

The parents should email the HT and inform them they are currently unlawfully excluding DC and they will be attending full time unless formally excluded. Don’t worry if they do formally exclude as it provides evidence of unmet needs, there’s a limited on the number of days they can exclude for and the parents can challenge it. Inform them if they continue to discriminate against DC they will look at pursuing a disability discrimination case.

They should also email the Director of Children’s Services informing them of the situation, requesting an early review and threatening JR for failure to provide a suitable full time education (if CSA) and everything specified and quantified in F (if the EHCP is specified and quantified not woolly and vague and assuming the part time attendance means they aren’t receiving everything in F).

Thank you @JustKeepBuilding. I wish these parents would challenge it, but it hasn't occurred for them to do so. Hopefully it's just a very short term fix but I did feel it probably wasn't right...

Depending on how you know the parents/your relationship you could mention to them they can challenge it. Sadly many parents accept similar because they don’t know it shouldn’t be happening and if they do they don’t know how to go about challenging it.