Thinking of naming independent school at appeal?

[flowwithit]

Most of you will know our circumstances already as you have been very helpful in the past. My ds is 12yrs ASD and has not settled into secondary ms school. He was only dx in yr 8 and I have learnt a lot since then so he is much more settled at home because I no longer battle with trying new foods, going out to different places etc. I let him enjoy the computer and do his routine, tell him plans in advance and I understand him much more so we are all happier and he can be his own person.
He has many sensory difficulties and the big school is a huge source of anxiety and panic attacks, he has been like this since for over a year and they are not supportive and despite lots of meetings still wont make any reasonable adjustments. He is struggling to keep up in class but hates change and doesn't want to move at all.
The other ms school are even bigger and we are at the SA appeal stage now. The application was turned down because the LA said they should meet his needs at school A plus but no one enforces this so we will continue to get no help.
So I'm thinking it's not worth naming them because they have been so useless. There is however a small independent school nearby that has a good reputation for SEN but getting LA to pay fees is a huge long shot. Maybe the current school would help with SA if we name this other school. What do you think about our chances?

At this stage you need to concentrate on proving that the current school can not meet his needs without a statement and then SA will be undertaken. Once that has happened then hopefully you will be issued with a statement. It is at that point you can request to name your choice of school. If you want independent there is a very high chance that you will have to go to tribunal to get the LA to put this in a statement though. Unless the school you want specifically caters for his sort of problems you may have a hard job convincing the tribunal that this is the only school that can meet his needs as the LA will argue any mainstream (+/- ASD unit perhaps) could also meet his needs. You need to look at what mainstream provides vs the school you want. You also need to look at the schools that the LA suggests if these are not mainstream and see if your school can offer something that the LA choice doesn't, and that you have professional recommendations based upon your DS needs for that particular provision to be available.

You will also need to visit the school(s) you are interested in and ensure that your DS has an offer of a place in writing before you can name it in a statement.

Great advice thank you very much for your help!