How do you feel about hfa/as children in special schools?

[TheOnlyTrollOnTheForum]

My son is 5 and we're currently going through the dx process and is thought to have asd (high functioning), dyspraxia, adhd, and he has hypermobility and hypotonia. He is having a lot of trouble in school (in reception year) and has been sent home repeatedly too.

The teacher can't leave him to sit on his own and has to sit next to him for the majority of the day, and his work is sent home with him to finish off. He is also hitting other children and being very defiant with teachers, and he has also hit a teacher too. He isn't on any IEP and has no 1:1 teacher either, school haven't offered much and send him home when he becomes too much. If anything changes at home (big changes but also any changes to the morning routine like giving him a shower instead of a bath, cutting his nails, etc) affect his behaviour at school too.

There is a mainstream school with an autistic spectrum base close by that caters for children on the spectrum and those with Aspergers syndrome. Once he has an official diagnosis do you think it would be worthwhile pushing for a referral to this special school or try and stick it out with the mainstream school as he is high functioning?

Have a look at IPSEA's website re these informal exclusions; there is a column there for no statement and it is worth reading. School could well have been treading on shaky ground legally speaking. They may be ultimately looking to permanently exclude him as well:(.

His needs are clearly not being met and he is being failed.
It sounds like this school could and should be doing far more but you are your child's best - and only - advocate here. You need to make them act for your son's sake as well as your own. Appalling as well there is no IEP; the 1 to 1 may well not be provided unless you get him a Statement of special needs from your LEA. Have you seen the SENCO to date?

I would apply for the statement for your son asap; if you want your son to go to the school you cite with an ASD base he will need a statement to access that place.

www.ipsea.org.uk

you probably won't get a place at the base without a statement. you need to start the process of applying for one (you do not need a diagnosis).

the fact that your ds' current school cannot cope with him, and send him home each and every time he is disruptive works in your favour.

log each incident, what happened (both at home and at school), what was said/done/not done; what advice you have previously given for these situations, etc. get it in writing that your school cannot cope (write to 'clarify' the incident, and what the outcome was - being sent home). the more paperwork you have, the better.

My son has attended units attached to mainstream and they usually integrate for certian activities when it is possible to.
This kind of provision has worked well for us, my son attneded infant unit, mainstream juniors and is now in a unit at secondary.

Go along and look at the base, you should get an idea if it is suitable for you ds then.
Also,does he have a statement as he wil very likely need on to get base place, or at least be undergoing the process.

He doesn't have a statement, I wouldn't even know where to start with one, would I need to go through the school? The exclusions haven't been properly logged as exclusions iykwim, the HT said it would be better for me to unofficially take him home to 'calm him down'. I asked for these exclusions in writing but was refused, I've asked for a lot of things in writing like the log book they have on DS which they use to record his behaviour, I wasn't even allowed to copy it down myself.

The main problem I have is that HT keeps saying she thinks he is a mainstream pupil and downplayed his behaviour to the paediatrician when the paed was making her reports, the paed called me back and said he wasn't as bad as I had been making out so I'm not sure if the HT denied his exclusions as they weren't all above board. When I mentioned to the HT that I felt that they weren't coping with him (this was on a day where he had to be physically restrained by members of staff and then sent home) and maybe the school with the asd base would be better equipped she said that they could cope with him .

You goto the IPSEA website and call their helpline and read the info on applying for a statement yourself. You refuse to take him home to calm down without it being made official and having a letter in your hand about it.

What disadvantages would it bring to have the exclusions on his record? As that is what the HT said she wanted to avoid, an exclusion going on his record at such a young age.

your side of a papertrail works for evidence.

so, each time he is sent home, email the school and 'clarify' why he was sent home. note the date, and time of day. do it every time. the school does not need to respond, you are still putting it on record.

try to outline the reason why as well (poor behaviour - is that hitting, grabbing, pushing, not listening, etc), and ask why the school cannot provide space for him to 'calm down' when he is there.

look at IPSEA to see what to do re: statementing. you do not need to go through the school, and if the school are being unhelpful, then it is best if you do ti yourself. it is a simple template letter.

of course you can access your son's records. you can always do a Freedom of Information request (I think) - the school have to then allow you access to everything thy hold concerning your son. you are also allowed to ask for copies, but they are allowed to charge a fee (but I think maximum £10 or similar)

the school are messing you around, and you need to start showing them you won't be pushed around anymore.

it isn't the type of exclusion that would harm your ds' record - it is more harmful for the school, and the LA to have on record that they cannot meet your ds' needs. that is what the HT is trying to avoid. because if they admit they are not meeting his needs, then they need to do somethign about it (School Action, School Action+, 1:1, social skills groups, etc) and that is what they are trying to avoid.

your son has a legal right to be in school fulltime. you have a right to send him to school, and expect they will meet his needs. it is not for you to be at the beck and call of the school when they decide they cannot cope anymore. they do not have this luxury (especially if they are not even trying to put things into place for him)

The exclusions look bad on the HT and the school for not meeting your child's needs and they are extra work for the HT in terms of providing for him and paperwork.

Schools are rated on league tables for exclusions it has nothing to do with his record, but theirs. Who is going to look at his record anyway?

You could of course refuse to collect him esp if they won't put it in writing.

You need to start statementing and get a paper trail.

Yes I would aim for a place in the base. This school sounds a dead loss. Does the school with a base have places in the mainstream part of the school? If so think about moving him to that school even if you have to wait for a place in the base.

Are the staff trained to do physical restraint? I would be making an FOI request for file, log book and details of what courses the staff have been on and if they have had proper training to implement restraint. Why does he have no 1:1? Ask the Local Authority SEN officer how many hours of 1:1 the school are expected to put in without a statement - here its the first 20 hours.

Just by sending the letter requesting statementing will mean the school with have to do the IEP etc. They will also have to call in any help eg autism outreach, behaviour support etc & put in 1:1. Many Local Authorities will tell you that your child has to exhaust action and action plus before they can be statemented or get a place in a base eg they have to have failed big time at mainstream first. This is not true if your child has complex needs you can jump action and action plus. Of course then people argue about what complex means. In my view any child with ASD and behaviour problems is complex. Action and action plus were not designed for children to be forced to fail in an inappropriate placement if an other more suitable placement is available.

You need to get your own copy of the SEN Code of Practice - if you google you can download it but get a hard copy as well if only to take to meetings and show you mean business.

My son is in mainstream PT with ABA support, he has moderate-severe autism but normal IQ but there is no way he could be in mainstream without specialist support, he would be running out the class every few minutes and they have no time to teach him.

An autistic base attached to a mainstream school is not a special school - it's still a mainstream school setting.