Moving back to UK with autistic 9yo DD

[WelcomeToMonkeyTown]

We currently live in Europe. DD is in mainstream school but has had a dedicated 1on1 support person 3 days a week since Sept.
She has weekly psychotherapy (paid by our health insurance) & a weekly 1on1 dyslexia support sessions (also paid by health ins).

School are nice, but uncommunicative. The way of life here is that kids take themselves to/from school so there isn’t a daily interaction between parent & teacher. I was under the impression that she was doing OK until her support worker told me that she really isn’t, and she is massively struggling on the 2 days she’s alone. We are pushing to have the support 5 days a week; but school is only til 1pm and we both work full time, so afternoons are a mess of trying to attend meetings and entertain her. The nature of her autism means she can’t just go off and play by herself.

I am finding the (lack of) communication hard, not least because we have to do everything in another language (we’re OK at it, but not fluent. DD is bilingual).

We are seriously considering moving back. We could both work remote in the same jobs so not tied to any part of the UK. She already has a diagnosis and our country’s equivalent of an EHCP but I suspect that would be irrelevant.

Please tell me - how bad is the SEN provision? I’m scared we’d end up in a position where there’s no SEN school place but she has to start mainstream school with no help. I don’t think she’d cope and would potentially get excluded or just refuse to go. But we would at least be able to fight for her properly which I don’t know if we can do here.

If you're going to do it then I think it would be much better to do it now than when she's secondary school age. Primary schools are much smaller and that will be easier for her.

I don't think there are any easy answers though, I'm sure you know that things are pretty bad here and EHCP wait times are long. I'd imagine her best bet might be a very supportive indie school - but would you be able to pay for it? Psychotherapy and 1to1 dyslexia support is not going to happen at a mainstream primary.

It might be a case of just looking very closely at schools and finding somewhere that would be a good fit for her and moving there - keeping in mind secondary schools as well as primary. A school with an autism unit might perhaps work (no idea how many there are though or where). I think there are dyslexia specialist schools but maybe only private - but there are dyslexia friendly schools which might be worth checking out - they may have more experience.

I think it's a difficult choice and you can't really know the outcome till you do it. Maybe the first step is to research schools, see if they have space and then speak to them about your dd and her needs. That's how I'd approach it.

Unfortunately, many have to fight for support.

A special school placement as soon as you move back is vanishingly unlikely. The LA will be responsible for ensuring DD receives a suitable full-time education. In the vast majority of cases, they will fulfil that duty by providing a mainstream placement. If that isn’t appropriate (in the legal sense, not just you don’t think it is best for DD), the LA will have a duty to provide an alternative education. It is unlikely that will be via a special school though and many parents have to fight for alternative provision.

State mainstream schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments and make their best endeavours to meet DD’s SEN. Without an EHCP full-time, 1:1 is incredibly unlikely. 1:1 three mornings a week is also unlikely. Without an EHCP, psychotherapy via education is not going to happen. Dyslexia tuition is also very unlikely without an EHCP.

You would be able to request an EHCNA. The EHCP process takes 20 weeks if you don’t have to appeal, but many do, sometimes more than once. LAs also often breach the timescales and parents either have to challenge the LA to force them to act or wait.

Reading IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites and the SENCOP will help you start to understand the SEN system in England.

This is all assuming you mean England since you mention EHCPs. Scotland, Wales and NI all have different systems. They have just as many and in some ways more problems.

Thanks for the replies.

I am guessing I can’t request an EHCP until I am actually there and with an address. So she’d have to start without any support.

I know we won’t get the same level we have here with her therapies; I’m trying to weigh up if losing that is worth it for what we would gain in terms of specialist schools and the communication.

You won’t be able to request a EHCNA whilst living in France.

Therapies can be included in an EHCP. Although you might have to appeal for them. It is without an EHCP, they won’t be provided.

In our LA there is a centre for international new arrivals.
Children attend classes there until a school place can be found. Children with SEN
( paperwork is sent and translated) are observed and assessed by an EP and specialist teacher. Parents are asked about developmental history, needs and previous schooling or support.
A joint report then recommends whether a mainstream or special school place is required. Sometimes support is funded for 2 terms in mainstream.
You need to do some research before moving as provision varies greatly. As PPs have said it’s usually a long fight for support.

Oh that sounds helpful! What LA is that please?

@WelcomeToMonkeyTown PMd

We did kick off an EHCNA from overseas but are crown servants- although I'm not sure the LA made a thing of that (there's no legislation covering it), remembering. We did have a property in the LA. So it's not a flat no but might depend on your circumstances and why you are moving to that area.

There's a great Facebook group called ExPat Kids Learning Differently which could potentially give you advice on navigating the system you're in and/or the relative merits of moving.

Children of service personnel and crown servants are generally dealt with slightly differently because they are recognised to be at a disadvantage. For admissions via the normal admission process, rather than EHCP admissions, these DC are specifically covered by the admissions code - there are duties placed on LAs that don’t apply for other DC abroad. Slightly different situation, but there is also case law covering ceasing to maintain an EHCP when a child accompanied a serving parent oversees.

Otherwise, the LA only becomes responsible for a child when they are in the local authority’s area as per section 21 of the Children and Families Act 2014. There are a few bits of case law covering what this means in practice; it isn’t always as simple as being in the area. These are explained in the Noddy guide for anyone wanting further information.

The admissions code only applies to the children of crown servants insofar as they don't need a confirmed address to be admitted, just a decent idea of the area. Fair access protocols apply in the usual way. They're not recognised in law to be at a disadvantage.

It's really different for service personnel who are covered by the Covenant and are recognised to be at a disadvantage in law.

Having said that, once you get a confirmed address, even if you're not a crown servant, it's worth a call to see what the LA suggest (also bear in mind the timeline will probably run in years rather than months). It will be useful to gather evidence from your child's existing support workers and get it translated and notarized before you leave. We used substantial evidence from overseas in our refusal to assess appeal that we just wouldn't have had from the UK as we'd not been here long enough. Likewise check out what the NHS will need to recognise any diagnosis and get any diagnostic reports and letters translated.

I didn’t mention anything about the law in relation to that part of my post. I mentioned statutory guidance, which isn’t the same thing as law - although parts of it are underpinned by law. Children of service personnel and crown servants are recognised to be at a disadvantage in terms of school admissions. Which is why they are specifically catered for in the admissions code. I mentioned both DC of service personnel and crown servants together because the section of the admissions code covers both.

We aren’t crown servants or service personnel.

We don’t have a UK address and aren’t really tied to any particular area so SEN provisions would likely be the main driver of where we choose to move to.

This is still very much just an idea right now. We are struggling here (my own mental health is completely shot) and so are looking at every angle to see what might make things easier.

We may be better staying where we are, right now I don’t know. But thanks for the advice

@WelcomeToMonkeyTown sorry to hear that negotiating everything can really take its toll.
Making a decision will be tough and must be piling on the stress.