Still no reception place for September !!

[Lululime2024]

My daughter has just turned 4 and has diagnosed autism, they did think GDD too but for now they're waiting to see with that and I'm struggling massively to get her a school place for September. She has the understanding and communication development of an 18month old also.

we have named a unit provision with a mainstream school as our preference who have been consulted and said they can meet her needs but the LA are of the view that mainstream would be suitable for her so they won't place her there

LA have consulted with 7 mainstream school over the past few months and every single one have said they can't meet need, I spoke to my case worker today and he said they're gonna still try and push the mainstream school to take her even though they can't meet her needs. I'm furious how can she go there if they can't meet her needs and also how can they say mainstream is suitable and yet every mainstream school in our town have said no.

I am appealing but her appeal date isn't untill September after she would have already started

If you are appealing you must have a finalised EHCP, so what, if anything, is named in I?

Have you asked how the LA is proposing to ensure anything detailed, specified and quantified in F is provided come September?

Nothing is named, we named this unit provision at draft stage but they didn't place her there and left it blank. I will ask him that

Getting hold of him is mission impossible

Your case is strong if the LA hasn’t got a school to name. If the LA doesn’t have a school to name that won’t go down well with SENDIST. But, yes, a non-wholly independent school can be named even if they object.

If I is completely blank the LA still has a duty to provide anything detailed, specified and quantified in F. So the LA need to be providing that now and in September.

My next step at this point is to contact my
local MP

Unless you are very lucky, MPs are usually useless when it comes to matters involving EHCP appeals.

They're just trying to be cheap aren't they? LA wankers. I hope she gets the place she deserves that can properly meet her needs. It's so stressful for parents to be put through this crap, I have no advice I'm just sorry you're being put through this.

So I've just received all the consultations back from all the schools that said no. It's all very much the same but the school we want actually went in on the case worker 😂 and wrote a really long and detailed reply to the consultation.

I feel like a right Martha 🦌Ive emailed my caseworker 3 times this morning because I keep thinking oh and another thing. The Senco who wrote this actually called me this morning to see how we're getting on with it all. She's horrified that they are doing this.

just blocked out my daughters name and school to not be too outing

Hi @Lululime2024 , just wanted to let you know you left your daughter’s name in on the first attachment in the second paragraph.

In case you want to get them taken down.

Oh Thankyou! That's okay I was more bothered about the school anyway 😄

Focus on ensuring B&F are accurate rather than funding. On its own being full isn’t enough of a reason. The LA (or SENDIST since you are appealing) can still include the ARP in the EHCP.

The school still even at this point aren't full the school themselves are saying yes the local authority are saying no. They're trying to push for mainstream even
though it's obvious it's the wrong setting for her and 5 mainstream schools have all said they can't meet her needs

If the LA is proposing MS and doesn’t have a placement to name (they could name a school who objected when consulted) they stand no chance at appeal.

Case worker just called me her case is going back to panel on the 27th of May to hopefully overturn mainstream to unit provision 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Panel was successful, so mainstream has been changed to specialist provision 🎉🎉

now to actually find one with space

Unless the school is wholly independent, the LA must name your preferred placement unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

Being full is not defined in law, and on its own being ‘full’ is not enough of a reason to refuse to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full admitting DD is incompatible. Obviously there is a point the LA can prove this, but the bar is higher than many LAs and schools admit. It is more an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”. Unless the school is wholly independent the LA can, and must, name the school regardless of the school’s objections unless the LA can prove one of the reasons above.

The school we've named as our parental preference is a specialist unit with a mainstream setting, it's an academy enough is that independent?

the unit have said yes to consultations twice! But they haven't been able to place her because her EHCP said mainstream, now it says specialist hopefully she will get in, but I've been liasing with the senco of the unit and she said she's already flagged my daughter to the unit and provisions team and sent another consultation response of yes in anticipation of a positive panel result so 🤞🏻

Within a mainstream I mean, so basically it's called rainbow room, and it's a part of the mainstream school my son attends.

its 2 class rooms a sensory room, a soft play room and a separate playground just for special needs children, she would spend half the day in rainbow room and half the day in a mainstream classroom (dependant on how she does)

they have children doing
50-50
20-80
100 rainbow room

they try 50/50 to
start with though and see how the children get on.

Academies aren’t wholly independent. You don’t need an offer of a place. They can be named against their will.

For most ARPs, the mainstream school is named in I (because the unit isn’t a separate registered setting) and the provision the ARP provide in F.

So the unit provision inside the academy have actually been consulted twice, once with her diagnosis included and once without and both times they've said yes, it's the local authority who wouldn't name it because her EHCP said mainstream, now it says specialist so hopefully that'll change.

the senco from the unit is lovely and she's flagged my daughters name to unit and provisions team and already sent another consult reply of yes

If you want the ARP, for most ARPs, the EHCP shouldn’t state specialist school. For most ARPs, it is the MS named in I and the provision the ARP will provide included in F because most ARPs aren’t a separate registered institution.

I have no idea what an arp is

All I know at this point is her case went to panel on Wednesday and they changed mainstream to specialist, there's still nothing names in section I and the unit and provisions team are now working to find her a place, hopefully in the unit we named and have already said yes twice

A unit/base/provision within a mainstream school. Additionally resourced provision. Also sometimes known as an enhanced resourced provision/base or by local names such as a cabin.

It is worth reading IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites to understand more about EHCPs and SEN law.