To loose my cool with the SENCO?

[Larrythecatforpm]

Wondering if I can have some other SEN parents advice please.

DS10 is a fairly complex case, he has type one diabetes & high functioning autism along with a few other things.
It can really hinder him in school with the combination. Most of the time he refuses to do work unless it’s maths (maths he’s top 5 % in the country) as he thinks literally.
English he’s okay at SPAG and has good reading skills but when it comes to writing and answering questions they said he just cannot do it due to not being able to think abstractly.He sits and zones out this happens in other subjects too. He also requires adult help for his diabetes in terms of injections & keeping a eye on his numbers.

He’s had sen plans all through school and has a lot of adjustments. Now going into year 6 his teacher has said he needs an echp as he’s not going to manage in a mainstream senior (also backed up by a autism specialist & diabetes team who don’t think he will be able to self inject by year 7 which is required.)

So I put in for an echp and it’s come back while they agree he has significant SEN and medical needs the SENCO failed to put in sen plans so they couldn’t agree.
Spoke to the SENCO who said she hasn’t bothered to do one this year even though he has a lot of adjustments etc! She said she would get it done back in June.
2 weeks later still wasn’t done so I requested a SAR which they managed to speak me out of doing stupidly on the promise they would do it as a matter of urgency as I need to do mediation.
Well you guessed it the SENCO is now ignoring my emails regarding the evidence I need.

What do I do now? i’m really upset.

With the SEN plans etc and all the other information you have re his medical needs etc, you should be successful at mediation. Many refusals to assess are overturned. It’s really helpful to be able to describe the issues face to face rather than just submitting the paperwork. Good luck!

While evidence from school is helpful, and it isn’t helpful of the school not to provide it and OP has the right to be frustrated about that, it isn’t lawful for LAs to refuse because they don’t have it. Obviously it depends on the case, but in lots of cases it can be possible to demonstrate the legal test is met even without school evidence.

It is even possible to secure an EHCNA if the school hasn’t (for whatever reason) provided any support.

As you have said, it depends on the case….Should be fairly straightforward now in this case. I’ve overturned many RTAs at mediation.

Yes, it obviously depends on the case. I was merely pointing out it isn’t lawful for the LA to refuse to assess because they say they need evidence from the school but don’t have it. That isn’t part of the legal test.

He’s in year 5, he has another year to go yet.

Thanks all, I’ve read through the evidence and the latest plan is actually a lot more well described & has a lot more information on ( I’m guessing they added more to try and help and felt bad about not having it when originally asked.) so hopefully it’ll be straight forward at mediation.

If he is in Y5 now, you still need to be looking at and speaking to secondary schools now/at the beginning of next academic year in preparation for secondary applications. Unless you have a finalised EHCP by the normal admission deadline in October, which is unlikely, you should make an application via the normal process. If an EHCP is subsequently issued, the placement named in there will override the normal admission application process.

Unfortunately, LAs sometimes act unlawfully despite being faced with overwhelming evidence.

Yes. I applied for an EHCP in October of year 5. Two tribunals later, I got it in June of year 6. By then obviously we'd had to use the regular school application process which as you no doubt know involves applying by 31st October of year 6. I now advise people who think they may need one to start in year 3.

Here lies problem number 2
No secondary will take him if he’s not self injecting without an echp, I have been told this by the diabetes team and senior schools in the area.I was told I can apply, but they cannot meet his needs if not self injecting by year seven.

I am fully prepared to have him at home for some time while it goes through, already looked at home schooling groups etc. obviously I wouldn’t admit home schooling while he’s out of school to the LA.

That would be unlawful. Have a read of the Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions statutory guidance which is underpinned by the Children and Families Act 2014.

And for the admission part, have a read of the admission code.

Diabetes in Schools | Diabetes UK https://share.google/ljaDOIx7bO6QJMVO1 unfortunately this is a common problem (I used to work with a school nurse who'd previously been employed by Diabetes UK) BUT schools cannot refuse to admit your child because of diabetes nor is an EHCP required to meet the needs of a child with diabetes (although it sounds like you need an EHCP anyway).

Unfortunately it sounds like a lot of people have misled you or plain lied. I am really sorry. Some of them probably had good intentions, but you must take everything with a huge pinch of salt unless a neutral organisation has said it (IPSEA are good) or you have actually seen it in the SENCOP 2014 or in government guidance such as that linked to by a previous poster.

Not having the EHCP yet actually works to your advantage as you can apply for your preferred school in October and they can't take diabetes or anything else not in their admissions policy into account when offering the place.

I don’t have a preferred secondary school, he will not cope at all with it. I’m just going to pick the local one at this rate but have emailed local sencos today asking if his needs could be met which is highly doubtful as he shuts down in busy environments and theres no small secondaries by me.
We will see!

Yes it appears I have been lied to about needing to be able to be self independent with injections, by the diabetes team and schools. I am really p*ssed off and will be having stern words with them when I see them.

If DS had an EHCP, would any mainstream be your preference? Or would your preference be a special school?

If mainstream, I would put down that mainstream even if DS wouldn’t get in via the normal admission process from where you are. Then, if you don’t have an EHCP by national offer day, you can appeal via the normal admission process.