Experienced tribunalists - Starlight needs help!

[StarlightMcKenzie]

This is my situation.

DS did well on ABA.
We lost ABA at tribunal. After 6 months independent EP ruled DS had stood still.
We are 6 months on. DS has been doing some unofficial ABA since July when I pulled him out of nursery 2 weeks early. He has made good progress but the programme is a bit messy.
We started formal programme beginning of Sept. DS is making excellent progress, especially in social skills which is the key reason we lost last time (he hadn't).
Our tribunal is mid Jan. EP booked for early Dec after almost a term of good ABA to hopefully be able to vouch for programme.

Now this is the problem.
DS was supposed to start the school that is named on his statement in Sept. We wrote to the school and LA telling them we are deferring until Jan due to his autumn birthday. This wasn't imposible for them to fight but the didn't as the law is complex re statement vs legal attendance.

So he is due to start in Jan. But the tribunal is in mid Jan, add 2 weeks for decision, add 6 weeks for statement implementation and you're closer to Easter. In the meantime they will 'probably' insist that he starts in Jan (the school will as they have made it clear they don't want him, so anything to put us off will appeal). But, assuming we win, he'll have inappropriate support for a whole term, whilst in the meantime I'll still have to pay the tutors to retain them, and I really DO need the ones I have employed, as it is their CV's and costs that will convince the tribunal.

Now I have the option of bringing the tribunal forward. However, due to a holiday that would mean the EP could see ds at the latest 4th October instead of December, and I believe that 2 months is quite a substantial amount of time in my ds' ability to progress. If he spots progress in Oct, it will be hard to seperate it from the input he had from hs last placement. The EP would be unable to do a update visit closer to the tribunal due to his 6 week holiday.

What would you do? And thanks for reading all this if you have.

Thank you Agnes. My ds has done brilliantly in so many areas but I so wish he could sit on the carpet without stimming or poking the other children.

I wish he could understand that the teacher at the front is saying something that he needs to pay attention to.

These skills are easily within his reach, but has been unable to learn them at Nursery due to the inadequate support.

They put him at the back - wrong.
They put him next to the TA who was sitting on a chair above him - wrong.
They put him next to the naughty kids who were placed next to him so his TA could keep them in line too - wrong.
They placed him on a pink spot - wrong.
They arbitrarily decided to remove pink spot - wrong.
The reintroduced pink spot - wrong.

I wrote to them suggesting that they use other strategies to pink spot. I offered them my consultant, a qualified teacher.

They refused on the basis that they were already experts.

Sounds like your ds is doing fabulously btw. I won't hold it against you if you'd rather postpone our thingy. I absolutely can imagine what these next two weeks are going to be like for you.

'And after 1 week of proper ABA support in nursery the nursery just said its nothing like what we were told and had no problem with it at all'

That is just it. If only the damn HT would give us a chance? It doesn't even need to go to tribunal. She could have done it for this term and then gone to tribunal saying how rubbish it was. I gave her that opportunity, fully funded, with a chance to input and influence a model that may get ordered now without her.

your ds cannot go to school 2 weeks before tribunal...the Ed Psych will be in...say ds is ill...then relative ill after...I did this as was in same boat with timing and refused to undo good work at home!
Now forget about this minor thing and concentrate on tribunal:)

We're fine for next week
We have to do the AR assessments / parent report this week but then its in and we just sit back and wait
It will be useful to compare notes i expect anyway

DS is doing well - but is still needing to be rewarded on a token system for doing the things I describe. Getting your DS to do it will be easy with the right reward system its fading out the system thats harder. But like I say for motivating activities eg singing DS can do that now - maybe only for a fe minutes but its a start.

Looking at the term dates my children don't go back until 9 Jan with the way Xmas falls. Then you could always just take him for very short 'visits' eg one hour for three mornings - I would think you could also refuse visits in his first week on the basis he has enough to deal with. So that would deal with the visits.

Could he go part-time for the first term? eg come to a flexi school agreement pending the tribunal outcome - presumably the school don't want to employ a TA the tribunal may end up replacing.

Agnes, our term dates start on 3rd Jan .

And they have already employed a TA for him (2 in fact as that is what is statement says to avoid 'dependency' on 1). They are currently sorting the lost property or something

But you know I might suggest that he skips the first week as part of the transition process, in order to 'settle' the other children first.

I have a meeting with the HT at the end of this term and I can make it clear that I have to make a decision as to when the most appropriate time for ds to start, and that I have been advised he doesn't need to until provision is in place post tribunal. And on that basis, he is only starting if she can guarantee that nobody. No SALT. No EP and No Autism Advisory person comes anywhere near him as for the first couple of weeks as I am anxious that the pending tribunal does not affect him negatively with bombardment of 'specialists' in order to gather evidence.

I don't see that there is any harm in being honest and up front about it. Setting transition is not an issue for ds generally but I am genuinely worried about more people than absolutely necessary descending on him whilst he is adjusting. And I will not subject him to that.

OK Starlight what if ds starts on 3rd and then LEA Ed Psych decides to go in and so 'school observation' and because ds appears to be coping writes a fantastic report?

Or Ed Psych goes to go and you refuse access for tribunal report?

Or school asked to write report aas late evidence of 'observations' of your ds which will say he is great as not settled and starting to degress in an inapprop unsupported envivonment.

I am being devils advocate here!

Star who told you it was ok for ds to start post tribunal?

It is law that the child should be in education fulltime (unless removed and signed out of education system) the year of their 5th birthday ...ds started age 4yrs and birthday was in summer hols but still had to go to school age 4 yrs.

The law says that a child is of "compulsory school age" on the term after their 5th birthday so, e.g. 1st January, 1st April or 1st September.

This means that children becoming 5 years between 1st September and 31st December are of compulsory school age from the beginning of the term after 1st January.

I understand that schools may have a problem with late starters and funding but the law allows it.

I would have been reported and action taken if ds had not gone to school that school year although 5th birthday in August...would have missed all reception year also.

But back to Starlight's problem. Ds will have to start in January ..best to say he is ill...if you be honest now you will not be able then to keep ds off school. Why be honest with a system that has clearly treated you awful and will do anything to stop the ABA including glowing last minute reports.

Star, these people ASD outreach, SLT etc can only see your son with your consent so you are perfectly entitled to put in writing that he needs a planned, phased introduction to his new setting and that you will need to give your written consent to any interventions.

Of course, the school could say they are the ones who need the intervention as they need 'training' and support when he starts and to delay it is is not in his best interests etc.

As for the head, she will be under pressure from the LA to reject your attempts at offering independent support from ABA. After our experience, the LA told our solicitor that 'no school in crapshire will ever accept an independent S&LT working in school again'.These kind of LA edicts make things very difficult for head teachers even if they have the power to do what they like, they really don't want to end up in a battle with the LA.

Seriously, the law says they have to be in school from the beginning of term after their 5th birthday and the school is require to hold open a place if the parent chooses to defer PROVIDED it is not to a new academic year. Your LA would have had no legal basis for pursuing you until the following Sept but to keep your space he would have had to start at the beginning of the summer term.

The reason it is okay to start post tribunal is because if I arrange an alternative educational provision, the school is still named in part 4 and will be until the annual review. As long as he is there before that he'll be able to stay there.

Appropriately you are right. I have submitted in writing screwiest for her reasons. I hope she says 'because the LA says so.