School holding back

[QuaintNavyBeaker]

Has anyone experienced an independent specialist school or LA trying to delay GCSE entries and progression to college, despite specialist teachers confirming their child is more than ready?
My son is in Year 11 with an EHCP and wants to sit his GCSEs next summer and progress to college with his peers. Due to the limitations of the setting, rather than his academic ability, he is only being offered 3–4 GCSEs.
The school and LA are now suggesting another year at the setting, despite his wishes and our concerns that it cannot adequately meet his academic needs.
We also have an upcoming phase-transfer annual review, but are encountering resistance to our request for school to obtaining full professional reports from his specialist tutors. Both have confirmed his capability, yet the school is requesting only brief paragraphs for his ILP rather than comprehensive reports to inform his EHCP and provision. GCSE entries also remain unconfirmed.
We feel his wishes, parental views and professional evidence are not being properly considered, and are concerned that his future opportunities are being unnecessarily restricted.
Has anyone successfully challenged similar decisions, particularly around GCSE entries, college progression or the exclusion of professional evidence from an annual review? Any advice would be appreciated.

Has DS been studying the GCSE courses, but the school is saying he can only be entered for 3-4 GCSEs? Or has DS only being doing the GCSE syllabus for 3-4 subjects and you want DS to do some more subjects in less than a year?

I think the latter would be hard and would be difficult to convince the school of. If the former, I think you have a much stronger argument. Some manage to get the school to offer a more bespoke offer. Is the school is wholly independent or a s41 independent? Is any of this covered by the content of F of the current EHCP?

In terms of the AR, the LA is the one ultimately responsible for the overall AR process. If the correct procedures are followed, speak to them. While updated advice and information must be sought and circulated prior to the AR meeting, unless time for this is specifically covered in the EHCP, it is unlikely to be a full comprehensive report. I’m not sure what you by specialist teacher/specialist tutor, but if you mean subject teacher rather than e.g. dyslexia tutor, it would be unusual for a full individual report from each subject teacher within the school to be sought.

If your/DS’s preference is for mainstream, the LA can only name special school if the LA can prove mainstream would be incompatible with the efficient education of others and no reasonable steps could be taken to avoid that. This is set out in law.

When the LA finalises the phase transfer EHCP, if they don’t name your/DS’s preferred placement, you will be able to appeal.

He went mainstream, missed 6 months due to EBSA. He had English & maths tutor when off and LA placed him into the section 41 infependent specialist. They only offer 3

If DS hasn’t been studying towards more than 3 GCSE courses, sitting more than 3 subjects next summer is likely to be very difficult. There is less than 7 months until the summer 27 exam season starts. Not even 2 full terms. That doesn’t leave much time to start and get through all the content.

They are saying he may not be entered for the

Do you mean the school has said DS may not be entered for the 3 the school normally offers? It is difficult to help when your replies are just short snippets.

When did DS start the school? Was he also working towards them before he started the school?

Have they said why ? That is important information.
What GCSEs is he doing, what grades do they expect?

What does he want to do at college?
Will his current set of GCSEs enable him to do it?