Can I take my son out of school? ASD

[Surfacelevel]

For some background - DS is 8, and non verbal. He attends a Mainstream school. On the waiting list for a specialist provision. His brother is 6 and also attends the same school.

Every single morning my son will hit himself, kick and scream, try to push me, push his brother because he doesn't want to go in. We walk to school which makes it worse as I struggle to control him by myself. Sometimes I am surprised we all made it to school.

This actually starts as soon as DS sees that it's time to put his uniform on. He will throw himself on the floor and slap himself, kick me and so on. This has been going on for weeks.

If he is so unhappy going into school, am I allowed to take him out completely? He is fine to go everywhere else, but when he realises it's a school day, it all goes downhill

I am doing my best to not let my 6 year old get affected but it is getting him down, it makes mornings stressful for him and he now hates the walk to school. My husband starts work at 5am so I do the school run on my own which means I cannot leave my 8 year old at home and go drop my 6 year old off. The days that DH does the school runs (on my working days) he is able to lift him off the ground physically etc but I can't.

Not sure what to do here. Do I take him out of school and only go in to send my 6 year old? If not then how do I go about this? One day he may flat out refuse to leave the house, how will I then get my 6 year old to school? I am so worried

Any suggestions please?

I would consider homeschooling, but this is all new to me. He has learning disabilities and his days at school are spent painting/scribbling/being in the sensory room. Just not sure where to go

I have requested a meeting with the SENCO so hopefully will get some guidance from there too

@Surfacelevel
Are you in England? If so ask the senco to call an emergency EHCP review and ask if they can agree they can't meet needs, then put an appeal in through tribunal for a special school place and in the meantime hopefully you can get advice on alternative provision.

I ve been told that waiting lists are absolutely meaningless I m afraid and they could not give them a place for years if you don't force their hand now.

Completely understand if you can't at their age but are you comfortable lifting them into a disability buggy? Sometimes wheelchair services will fund them or there's charity grant.

When you say DS is on the waiting list for a specialist provision, what do you mean? Waiting lists don’t work in the same way as they do for admission to mainstream schools when there isn’t an EHCP.

Unless your preferred school is wholly independent, the LA must name it 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 DS is incompatible. The bar is high, higher than many schools and LAs admit. 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.

If the LA has refused to name your preferred school, have you appealed?

I wouldn’t deregister. Doing that means the LA has no incentive to name a special school. And by electively home educating, you relieve the LA of their duty to provide the provision in the EHCP. Instead, whilst you pursue amendments to the EHCP, if DS can’t attend school I would pursue alternative provision - the LA has a duty to provide this if DS cannot attend school full-time. Physically forcing DS to attend when he is unable to may well cause further trauma.

What support is in the EHCP currently? Are any therapies in there?

Thank you for the informative replies. Apologies my wording wasn't correct at all. We are currently waiting for the case to be taken to the Panel. We have been told that only a few days ago they had received all the evidence, and the next step is for them to present the case to the Panel. They have named a specific school and said that if the panel agree, then they will ask the school whether they can meet DS's needs, if they can then he will be on a waiting list for it which can take many years - this is what they told me.

DS has an EHCP in place. It includes 1:1 support , also a speech and language therapist comes in every week to provide therapy

We tried a puschair previously however it resulted in ds spitting and screaming, it was extremely unpleasant

@BrightYellowTrain when you say alternative provisions, as in other mainstream schools in the meantime?

I have asked whether we can have ds's support teacher meet us on the school road to help encourage him but the answer was no understandably as they cannot be expected to do that

Really dreading the school run tomorrow

the next step is for them to present the case to the Panel. They have named a specific school and said that if the panel agree, then they will ask the school whether they can meet DS's needs, if they can then he will be on a waiting list for it which can take many years

This is nonsense. I take it this is following an annual review of the EHCP? If so, within 4 weeks of the review meeting, the LA must inform you if they are going to amend. If they are, at the same time, they must send you the amendment notice. At this point, you can you can make representations and state your preferred school. The LA will then consult schools. Then, within 8 weeks of issuing the amendment notice, the LA must finalise the amended EHCP.

When the LA informs you they aren’t going to amend or when they finalise the amended EHCP, you can appeal. You should do this if your preferred placement isn’t named.

Unless the school is wholly independent, they can, and must unless one of the reasons in my pp applies, be named even if they say they can’t meet DS’s needs. You don’t need to sit on a waiting list.

Have a look at IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites. They have a lot of information about SEN law.

Transition into school is something that could be included in the EHCP.

Are any other therapies in F of the EHCP? For example, OT, play therapy, animal assisted therapy?

Alternative provision isn’t another mainstream. It would be some other provision. Whatever is suitable. It can be a number of things, e.g. a care farm, a forest school, a tuition centre (doesn’t have to be formal tuition), a gaming AP, provision at home. Whatever is suitable.