I am lost and confused! EHCP school choice

[Ilovemsrachel]

Hello, will try and keep this brief but I’m a bit lost so would appreciate any help you can give.

Our child just turned 4 and we have just got their draft EHCP. Before we got it we had chosen six schools in order of preference as everyone does. Our top choice is a mainstream primary with a special autism unit.

We have our draft ECHP and the local authority consulted with our top school (different borough but still walking distance) and three closest schools. The top school said they can’t support child in mainstream (local authority disagrees as child has high level of funding) but that we should go via panel to try and get into their special unit.

Local authority is saying they can direct the school to take child. My concern is that if we don’t do this and go to the panel to try and access the unit, child might be turned down at that point (oversubscribed) and we are left without a place.

My question is:

• Is directing the school to take our child likely to mean the school has to take child, or is this just going to end up as a shit fight (they will argue it will disrupt others’ learning though the LA disagrees)?

• Can you access the specialist provision more easily if you’re already at a school with a mainstream place?

• Is it too late to consult with our second choice school (also out of borough), which is also a mainstream school with added autism provision? EHCP has a couple more weeks before we reach the statutory limit.

• If we decide to defer and keep child at nursery to start reception in summer 27 and then repeat reception, at what point do we try and do this? I assume when some sort of reception place has actually been organised.

Any input gratefully received. We do feel like this top choice school is very well suited to our child’s needs, but that the second school would also be fine - though bigger so the chance of difficulties with sensory sensitivities etc is probably higher. Our local three schools don’t really cut it though one of them would be ok enough if it came down to it.

Thanks,
A very tired, confused autism mum

The placement named in the EHCP overrides the normal admissions application you made.

With EHCPs, you don’t need to state more than one preference. If you do state more than one preference, you should ensure you are equally happy with all because the LA will name the nearest that can meet needs. It isn’t too late for you to inform the LA of your preference if you would like the LA to consult with another school.

With EHCPs, for schools that are not wholly independent, the LA must name your preference unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs 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.

Incompatibility has to be something tangible and specific and is more than an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”. Unless they can prove the high bar for one of the above, the LA can and must name the school even if the school (and/or the LA it is in if it is a maintained school in another LA) objects when consulted. Once the school is named, they must admit. It isn’t optional.

Most units within mainstream schools are not separate registered institutions. Therefore, for most units, the mainstream school is named in section I and the provision to be provided by the unit included in section F of the EHCP.

How units run varies from unit to unit. For most units, being in the mainstream class doesn’t confer any advantage to getting a place in the unit. In a minority of schools, the school places some DC in the unit when the place isn’t commissioned by the LA.

With an EHCP, if DD is to be educated outside of her chronological year group, you should raise this now when responding to the draft. It needs to be included in F of the EHCP and the placement DD is to attend named in section I.

Starting reception in the summer term of 26/27, then restarting reception in the autumn term of 27/28 would be uncommon, even with an EHCP.

Thanks for this, though I’m not sure I am any less confused! The LA is happy to name our preferred school and direct it to take our child.

I guess my question is can you consult with as many schools as you wish? Because if our second choice school just says yes isn’t it easier to just go with that rather than force the first school to take our child?

Especially as the LA directing them to take our child doesn’t mean our child will have access to their unit (I expect if we were to go to panel for their unit we’d be turned down as it’s already oversubscribed and I don’t want to risk going down that route and losing a place at this school entirely because we didn’t go for mainstream place).

Should add the LA is not naming the nearest that can meet need, they said they are happy to name our chosen school.

I guess my question is can you consult with as many schools as you wish?

You can ask the LA to consult with as many schools as you wish. However, it is risky if you wouldn’t genuinely be equally happy with them all.

Should add the LA is not naming the nearest that can meet need, they said they are happy to name our chosen school.

The LA may say now they are happy to name your preference even though it isn’t the closest, but what LAs say and what they do isn’t always the same. There is a chance they will name one of the others you have requested they consult. The chance of this happening increases if the other setting is nearer. Or they may name your preference with a caveat of it being parental preference and you are responsible for transport. Thus forcing you to appeal.

Because if our second choice school just says yes isn’t it easier to just go with that rather than force the first school to take our child?

No, not really. Consultations are just a part of the process. It doesn’t matter whether the schools return positive or negative consultations, there are only limited reasons the LA can refuse to name your preference. Once named, it doesn’t matter whether the school responded negatively to the consultation.

Especially as the LA directing them to take our child doesn’t mean our child will have access to their unit (I expect if we were to go to panel for their unit we’d be turned down as it’s already oversubscribed

The provision provided by the unit needs to be included in F. The school &/or unit being oversubscribed isn’t enough to refuse to include the provision in F or name the school in I. The panel may not be how you are imagining. It may not even exist at all. Regardless, the law remains the same.

I don’t want to risk going down that route and losing a place at this school entirely because we didn’t go for mainstream place).

This isn’t how it works. The school can, and if it is your preference must, be named even if the LA declines to include provision relating to the unit in F.

So if the local authority say that they are happy to name our preferred school and to direct it to accept us we should probably just say yes to that rather than trying to consult with another school?

They have said all along they were happy to go with our choice. I don’t believe they were being dishonest about that. The school right by our house might well have said they are able to meet need but they’ve still said they’ll go with our choice.

If your original preferred school is still your preferred school, I would stick with that as your preferred placement.

OK. I expect they will fight it though and I don’t know if I have the stamina for a fight 😢