In Year Transfer - Requested school has said "no"

[ImitationOfDignity]

Hi, I wonder if anyone has any advice as I am currently totally floundering and very upset. My DS has an autism diagnosis and an EHCP. He's currently in Year 6 in a mainstream school but really not coping and is mostly out of the classroom and not making any educational progress. He is also out at an alternative provision one day a week, which he likes and helps generally. He finds the classroom with 30 students too loud and chaotic. He is also so far behind and aware of this that he gets very anxious about work and so is avoidant.

As he isn't coping in school we started the process early in Year 5 of requesting a transfer to a specialist school. Unfortunately, the school that we requested has gone through their admissions process and just today has come back to me and said no to his transfer. This is on the grounds that their "current cohort would not be compatible with his needs". Unfortunately, this was also the school that we named as the Year 7 transition school as well, and they have said that it is unlikely that they will take him then either.

There are very few schools that are suitable for him that have places. He needs an Autism specialist school but one that is sufficiently academic and has pupils with a similar profile to him. This school was basically our only option, so now I really don't know what we can do or even what the process is for this year and for Year 7. There was one other, but it already has no space in Year 6 or 7.

Any general advice on the process would be so helpful, as at the moment it feels like the wheels have fallen off the wagon and I have no clue what to do to help my DS.

The normal in-year transfer process doesn’t apply to those with EHCPs.

When you say you “started the process early in Year 5 of requesting a transfer to a specialist school.” What exactly do you mean? Genuine question, I’m not being funny.

Do you mean you had an annual review meeting at the start of Y5 and the LA breached the timescales (and may even still be in breach)? The AR process should be as follows:

1. Updated advice and information must be circulated at least 2 weeks prior to the AR meeting.
2. Then you have the AR meeting.
3. Within 2 weeks of the AR meeting, a report must be circulated.
4. Within 4 weeks of the AR meeting, the LA must inform you if they propose to amend or not. If they aren’t, you get the right of appeal. If they are, they must send the amendment notice/draft/notice of amendment/proposed amendments (whatever the LA/you want to call it) at the same time and you must be given at least 15 days to comment on the amendments and state your preferred placement.
5. Then if the LA is going to amend, they must finalise within 8 weeks of sending the proposed amendments, so max of 12 weeks from the AR meeting. You then get the right of appeal.

Did that happen?

Once you have the right of appeal, you can appeal. And if the school is not wholly independent, you can appeal even if they objected when consulted.

Is the school wholly independent or not? I presume not from your wording. If not wholly independent, the LA must name your preference unless:
-The setting is unsuitable for age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs
-Attendance would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others
-Attendance would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

Full is not defined in law and on its own ‘full’ is not a lawful reason to refuse to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full placing DS there is incompatible with the efficient education of others or use of resources. Incompatibility is a high bar to prove. Higher than LAs and many schools admit. It has to be something tangible and specific and is more than an “adverse effect”, “impact on” or “prejudicial to”. Unless the school is wholly independent the LA can, and must, name the school regardless of the school’s objections unless they can prove one of the reasons I posted above.

You should ask for specifics about the incompatibility with the efficient education of others. You need details (e.g. what incompatibility, what children/resources, what is the current standard of education, what effect, is it really incompatibility with efficient education or just a higher than that standard of education, what reasonable adjustments could change that/overcome it or is it unavoidable…) rather than vague reasons LAs often rely on. It is worth reading some of the case law around this.

Have you spoken to the school directly?

Moving to transition to secondary school, you should have had a phase transfer review meeting since the start of Y6 or very soon. If you haven’t, you need to chase this ASAP.

The normal in-year transfer process doesn’t apply to those with EHCPs.
When you say you “started the process early in Year 5 of requesting a transfer to a specialist school.” What exactly do you mean? Genuine question, I’m not being funny. - I have no idea of what the correct process is or should be. I am very overwhelmed today, and my thoughts are all over the place. I have probably not used the correct terminology and wording to mean the right thing. In Year 5 during the first term, my DS was not coping at school. He was getting extreme anxiety, school refusing and becoming physically unmanageable at school and not learning at all. It was agreed with the SENCO that we start the process of requesting a move to a more suitable school i.e. a specialist Autism school.

We had the annual review meeting as well as other meetings about changing setting. The LA agreed to naming the school that we named. The school is totally independent, it is not Section 41 approved which I think is the crucial issue here.

We have not yet had a phase transfer review meeting in Year 6. There is an issue with the LA being extremely uncommunicative and not contacting me directly at all. They barely respond to the school SENCO and often only after extreme chasing by her.

We named the same school for Year 7 transfer, and they have already said no as part of refusing the Year 6 transfer.

Thank you for your response, @hibernatinghedgehog , apologies if I am not explaining it well enough.

I think we will need to look at identifying another school that would be suitable, rather than trying to force an unwilling school to take him. I don't know how that works with the LA though when we have already stated the school that have just rejected him.

No apologies needed.

Unfortunately, you are right. If the school is wholly independent, that is crucial. The school cannot be named if they do not agree. You could ask the school why to see if there is anything that could be provided to change that and to make sure they have an accurate picture. I would do this alongside looking at other schools in case the school doesn’t change their mind.

For the secondary transition, you still have time to state your preferred process. The phase transfer AR process follows the same process as the AR process I described in my pp with the added rule that it must also be finalised by 15th Feb of Y6. That includes you being able to state your preference when you relieve the amendment notice. This applies even if the LA requested you completed a separate form by a specific date, which you didn’t have to do.

Speak to the primary school about the phase transfer review meeting. Also speak to the LA; contact the Director of Children’s Services if you haven’t already.