can the LEA force us to pick a school wether we want it or not

[XxAlisonxX]

the woman from the LEA phoned me today and basically said that my DD will have to go to 1 of the 2 schools they have recommended, even tho both schools as it stands at the moment can NOT meet my daughters needs.

the SN school they have said even with extra provision for my DD, they still feel that they will be holding her back. ( this is less than 3 mile from where we live and without transport i would not be able to get her there)

the MS school are still currently unsure on what to do or what will be needed so that they can meet my daughters needs. even if they managed to figure and work all that out, we still feel that she would not mentally be able to cope with a MS high school. ( this school is 12.9 mile and about 40 mins travelling in a car- she also has mega issues in car travel)

but on the other hand i have an appointment with Dawn House tomorrow to take the DD and see what they can do for her. If they offer her a place ( this would be residential due to it being 58 mile away, but the travelling issue wouldnt be such an issue - only 2 car trips a week).

Alison, honestly, I don't know. If neither school feel they can meet your DD's needs and will put that in writing, you would have a good case for appeal, I would think. Hopefully those more knowledgable will came along.

yes they can, then its up to the schools to say they can't manage, although in my experience the LEA can still place them in the school. If you don't agree then you go to tribunal and argue it there. If the schools say they can't manage then you have more chance of winning or the LEA backing down before you get there. If Dawn house can offer a place you would still have to argue that the other schools can't meet the needs as it sounds like Dawn House would be more expensive.

the 2 said schools have allready said that they cant meet my daughters needs, the LEA woman is trying to work out exactly what the schools would need to make it acceptable for my DD to go, at the mo the SN school has been ruled out untill the MS school gets back to her in what extras they would need, now going by what they said to me, im rather sure that its going to end up where it doesnt matter what the LEA do neither school is going to be able to meet her needs.

Yes they can. Ours said they would only support and fund 1 of the 3 schools we were interested in, my 3rd choice. Thankfully it turned out to be the best choice in the end.
IIRC they will still provide transport if it is in her statement, even if it is under 3 miles away. not sure if thar is still right though

Yes they can. You can ask for your pref (say Dawn House) to be named. They won't agree and will name a different school. She may then have to go there pending tribunal. Is she supposed to be going in Sept as secondary transfer? If so they should have named a school by 15 Feb under SEN Code of Practice so you had time to appeal before Sept. Tribunals are condensing the period for appeals to 12 weeks as they recognise parents need to know where their child is going. So if they offer you a place tomorrow write and confirm you want that named in Part 4. Say they should issue the stmt asap as they are already late and if your choice is not named you will need to ask for an expedited appeal. You cannot appeal until you have the final statement.
Whichever school is offered sounds like you should be eligible for free sen transport as she cannot use public / school transport. Look at IPSEA

iv allready emailed the LEA SEN saying that i want dawn house, i did have a final statement issue naming the local SN school, but at a meeting at the end of march they changed there minds and said that they couldnt meet daughters needs after all, and that they will hold her back in her education due to the way the school works. I have not long been home long after a very long day, iv spent the best part of 6hrs in total on trains today to take the daughter to Dawn House ( and OMG!!!!!! what a school, that place is amaizing the things they can do for my daughter is unreal,)

I know now that im going to have to get some serious legal advice and im ready to take it to court, for she needs to be in that school, if needs be i will even consider moving house just to get her in,

Thats great you have found somewhere. As you say now you just have to get her in!
If you are eligible for legal aid you can get a Solicitor to do the appeal for you.
[[http://legalaidcalculator.justice.gov.uk/calculators/eligiCalc;jsessionid=787679CF5C3A4D63D43F94F8DE158CD6?execution=e1s1 legal aid calculator] tells you if eligible.
When was the final statement issued? Or are they planning to issue a second final statement? Are you within 2 months of the first final statement? If so appeal now as well as negotiating.

the final statement was issued in oct 11. iv all ready got my legal aid and all that sorted out, so im good to go basically, but the solicitor seems to think that our local LEA is nicely digging them selves into a grave that there not going to get out of IFYNWIM.