Alternative to Form Time At School?

[Heavenorlasvegas]

I wonder if anyone can advise on whether what we’re asking for is reasonable and how to proceed if the school continues to refuse our request? My 14 year old daughter is currently being assessed for autism and adhd following a series of incidents at school where she will refuse to enter certain classes. This resulted in a managed move to a different school in the trust where she has been trying to attend for 2 weeks. She is now extremely anxious about attending her form before lessons and last week wouldn’t enter the room. The school has suspended her for “rudeness”. The rudeness is refusing to obey and her tone. We’ve asked if she can have an alternative space instead of form room or to go directly to lessons. When I asked on the phone the deputy head said no. They ignored my email request for several days while she remained at home but have now said they will meet with us. They haven’t specifically responded in the email to my request for an alternative to form time and I think they’ve been unhelpful and unsupportive. We seem to have reached a stalemate where they won’t agree to any adjustments for her at all and she won’t enter the form room. I don’t know how to proceed?

What is reasonable depends on the school, what space and staff they have available, and DD’s needs. Does the SEN department have someone DD could go? If not, do they have a library?

Have you requested an EHCNA?

I don’t know if they have anyone in the SEN department, we haven’t met them or been referred to them. I haven’t requested a EHCNA is that the same as a EHCP?

An EHCNA is the needs assessment that you first request as part of the process to get an EHCP. You should request an EHCNA. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use.

Request a meeting with the SENCO. If this hasn’t already happened, I would question why. Not providing support from the off sets the managed move up to fail.

Follow up the verbal conversations with emails so you have a paper trail as evidence should you need it.

Thank you. I’m pretty sure they want it to fail, sadly.

This doesn't sound like the right school if they treat SEN as rudeness. If you're in the process of assessments for ADHD and ASD they should be working on the assumption that it's SEN.

Every school has to have a SENCO - it's not optional. Their name should be on the school website as should the name and email of the governor or board member responsible for SEN (you may need to escalate to them).

How much do you know about managed moves? You need to speak with the SENCO and/or escalate this as a matter of urgency as if the managed move is deemed to have failed your daughter can be sent back to the original school, which I assume you do not want.

In practical terms (I'm a school teacher) the school could:

Allow her to come in late and go to period 1 (as a temporary measure)
Allow her to sit in the library or SEN space (if there is one) during tutor time (our librarian would be there at that time; we have a few desks in the SEN office where students might be allowed to sit and then a TA would take them to class)
Have someone meet her at the gate/entrance earlier or later than the regular time (at our school the year leader would normally do this)

There is lots they COULD do but if they won't, it will be hard to make them.

Get that ECHNA request in ASAP using the IPSEA template, as @ExistingonCoffee suggests.

I will see if I can find managed move info.

Managed moves - childlawadvice.org.uk https://share.google/ddndS8C6PhqZkZttP

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5297998-ebsa-support-thread-2?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share this thread may be useful

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5003192-the-ebsa-support-thread-emotionally-based-school-avoidanceabsence?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share and the previous one.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_educational_needs/5484488-ehcp-support-thread-no-6?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share and here is the EHCP support thread and links to old ones.

Thank you so much Needle. Reading this I realise it isn’t a Managed Move but a directed offsite provision. They were very clear our consent was not required.

Have you challenged the suspensions?

When is the off-site direction going to be reviewed? Have you had a review yet? How long will DD attend the other school for?

What support did the home school provide before jumping to off-site direction?

It is worth knowing that off-site direction shouldn’t be used as a punishment. It is supposed to be used with the aim of improving behaviour going forward. If you haven’t already, read the suspension and permanent exclusion guidance. It covers off-site direction too.

I challenged the suspension in the sense of asking for details, whether they had tried to deescalate, whether they had taken her suspected asd into account. They just replied to my email by saying they’d told me about her behaviour on the phone call.

I have now asked for a review of the provision. She’s been there two weeks and managed 5 days. She’s supposed to be there 12 weeks.

I would say that the previous school offered no support. They would say they spent lots of time walking her to class or chasing her around the school. We asked repeatedly to see the senco but she was very rarely available. We turned up for meetings but we’d just get the Head of Year or Deputy Head.

If DD is suspended again, you can make formal representations. Even when there is no requirement for the governors to meet, they must still consider your representations.

If the school is not providing SEN support, complain.

I think an EHCNA needs to be a priority. ASAP.

I suppose my worry about the EHCNA is that I don’t have much evidence because I have wasted a year waiting for the NHS queue for an assessment, now gone private and in the middle of the various appointments now, and because we have no SEN plan or involvement because both schools ignore my requests.

You don’t need a diagnosis for an EHCNA. You should have enough evidence to meet the threshold. If you don’t, SARs to the home school and the off-site direction school will see you do.

What sort of evidence do I need?

I’m remembering that it was the senco at the home school who first suggested asd! Prior to that because she had a lot of friends I hadn’t considered it. That was before she started to refuse to enter certain rooms.

For an EHCNA, you only have to show a) has or may have SEN, and b) may need special educational provision to be made via an EHCP. You don’t have to show an EHCP is definitely needed (although it is).

There are various ways of doing this, but you can use the referral paperwork, emails between you and school, paperwork from the off-site direction and suspension, notes from any other professional who is or has been involved. Any other paperwork from school - this is where SARs may be of help.

Thank you very very much for helping me