Just heard from the indi school which i want named in statement, too good to be true???

[claw2]

When LA gave draft statement, they also said they "would approach indi school" after i wrote to them stating ds had a place there and could start as soon as they provided funding. They then issued crap draft statement, which i am disputing with them currently.

Anyhow indi school have just email me to say "they have received consultation from LA" and how would i like to proceed?

What are they suggestion? A visit? Ask them what their procedure is.

Well I think what happens next is that they need to say that they can meet his need with one or two minor adjustments to the wording of the statement (providing they can).

Then you and the school work together on the wording of the statement, reach and agreement, and the school sends it to the LA.

Make sure any adjustments that the school say they need to make to the wording are clearly identified as adjustments that ANY MS school would DEFINATELY need to make iyswim, and one or two that ONLY that school could provide. So for example, you could mention a smaller class size as a way to address some of the sensory issues.

They usually offer that ds visits the school for a 3 day period.

Advice from indi EP is that ds receive a period of home tuition from receiving school and then attend part time.

Even LA EP and CAMHS are recommending a 'reintegration plan' (without actually being forthcoming with a plan)

So indi school are now asking what do i want to do

Well, can you ask them what they recommend?

They also need to see that you will support them etc.....

I suppose what i am asking do i grab this with both hands and go along with the visits to school for a 3 day period, but ask that it can only be on a part time basis to begin with?

Or follow indi EP recommendations?

Or ask CAMHS would be the other option, although i dont have much faith in them. They agreed to a reintergration plan, without even having assessed ds previously, in my absence.

What do YOU want? What do you think is best for him? If you think he will need to go part time, then say that.

I think the first part of the process is for them to assess him and see if they can meet his needs. If they can, you can discuss what is, in effect, re-integration in to schooling.

This school seem to saying the same thing as you. They would usually write to the LA indicating a desire to carry out an in-school assessment and indicate the fee. It is important that they get a clear picture of ds, his needs and how they will be able to meet them.

I suppose i should show some faith and go along with this.

and see IF he manages to cope.

Tbh claw, you've had so many people all over you and DS, giving advice, making recommendations blah blah fecking blah, you may need to take a day or two to rediscover yourself as the ultimate expert on your DS.

Figure out the absolute best scenario and once you have you can find a way of arguing why it is/isn't or completely irrelevant to someone's professional opinion. BUT, the school will most likely have some experience of this kind of situation so it won't do any harm to ask them if they have, and how they have addressed it.

And don't be rushed. I know it's a long time even getting this far but don't just agree blindly to anything with the relief.

I suppose what concerns me is that a 3 day period wont really be enough for ds to get that distressed. What has had happened previously is it takes ds about a month for things to detoriate to the point of him not coping, being smothered in injuries, suicidal thoughts etc, etc.

However i am hoping that this school will put the appropriate support in place for ds, so we never get to that point again. BUT will a 3 day assessment be enough to get him the support he will need to be able to maintain ANY placement long term.

claw, as a mum who has come out of the other side of tribunal and got an independent school, my son had an extended transition period and went part time. he has been out of full time school since last june. today was the start of his second full time week and yes we are having wobbles but the school themselves are putting in all the extra support and he is happy to go each morning which is a huge achievement. i think we forget at time that as they have autism there will also be wobbles, its how the school deals with it that makes all of the difference. my son is still extremely challenging and i dont think i can change that but i have done everything i possibly can do to try and get the right placement for him which i now have. as his mum, you know what will work so i agree take a step bake and decide what you want to happen without the oddles of constant advice you have had from various professionals along the way. also be open with the school - they wil want to make the placement work as well

'its how the school deals with it that makes all of the difference'

Exactly this. This new school won't solve all your ds' problems but it will hopefully become a safe and stable place for him which will give him a baseline to work from. He has got a long journey ahead of him regardless of the path he takes, so you need to choose the smoothest from all of the options available.

DS' behaviour got worse after about a term in his new indi school. I suspect like your ds, he is able to 'perform' for a limited period but when the situation became his ongoing reality his guard dropped and I was beside myself worrying if it was all going to fall apart.

I was hauled into the HT's office, the behaviour person, head of house, SALT and his class teacher were there. They painted a pretty horrible picture and both me and dh were expecting the final sentence to include 'please take him somewhere else', so I got in quickly asking if he needs to leave.

They looked at me shocked and said 'no, we are just trying to reassure you that he is absolutely in the right place, we recognise the behaviours for what they are, we are trying to get to the bottom of them but felt we ought to keep you informed of what was going on'.

Despite this, the school is far from perfect. No school will be. There will most likely still be some grating as you and the school have differences of opinion about what he is capable of, how things should be handled and as always the issue of home school communication.

But ask. This is your time to ask. Ask the school what happens in a term if he has perfomed well during the assessment and then deteriorates (as he realises it is his long term school and you won't be pulling him out). Make a list of questions like that, really honest and practical ones and start asking.

Shit another email from indi school "they some concerns about our ability to meet ds?s needs given the anxiety that he is currently experiencing with the prospect of coming into school. I have no doubt about our ability to meet his cognitive needs but wonder whether ds would benefit from an environment smaller than this school"

LA have also mentioned special school in the draft statement.

Now what?

What happens if this school say they cannot meet ds's needs?

Did you suggest this school without going through an assessment with them or would they not take him until approached by an LA?

They are within their rights to say they do not feel they could cope with him. I have approached indy SS for DS who have said that already after seeing his statement so I've looked elsewhere as I don't want him to go somewhere which doesn't have the expertise to assist .

What are the other alternatives?

What has your EP said?

Can you ring them to chat this through and what options they may suggest?

Well do you think they can?

Do you think they will be able to in time? (as that could mean a part-time placement for a few terms perhaps)

I can't say whether this school is a right placement or not but ds' school said they couldn't meet ds' needs before they had ever met him, though I think what they actually meant was they couldn't meet the parents needs, such is the predjudice around parents who have chosen ABA. Could they have concerns about you, based on your history?

Are there any other schools that you would consider?

Have you considered Baston House?

IE, i mentioned this school to LA after i visited to look around and then ds and i went there and looked around.

I then told them i thought they could meet ds's and asked whether they had a place for ds, if LA would agree funding. I was told yes. I copied them into my letter to the LA.

So i wrote to LA stating that. LA then replied "we will approach school".

Got email today stating they had been consulted by LA and how would i like them to proceed, given their usual procedure is 3 day and EP recommended home tuition etc.

I replied after this thread stating I had reservation about ds attending for a full 3 days, given previous professional advice and the fact he has been out of school since June. However that i was sure they had experience of these situations and i would be happy to go along with whatever they recommended.

They then replied about having concerns etc.

Star i thought they could meet ds's needs, im not so sure, if they are having doubts already!

Ds only self harms due to anxiety about school and being in 2 schools which havent support him AT ALL. With some support and his needs met, im sure he wouldnt self harm.

Seems they dont want to take on a kid that could self harm due to school anxiety

Off to google Baston

Although his previous MS school would be happy to take him back, without any funding from a statement, go figure!

I knew this was too good to be true, the LA approaching a indi school without any fight whatsoever.

Could it be that their plan is going to be that the ONLY school who will take him, is his previous school, because he is still on roll there?

The thing about Baston, is that it only just opened and so there will be very few children (particularly at primary level) there making it possible for them to recruit for and resource up to the first few children iyswim.

We rejected it because it had so few peers for ds and they didn't seem to know what profile of child they were aiming for as being empty we felt they would be a bit less prescriptive though saying they were for the HF and non-behavioural issue end.

But the staff did seem nice and welcoming and I thought it was a shame that we felt it wasn't appropriate at that time for ds.

You could also ask your Indi if they have knowledge of any local schools that might have the resources that they feel they do not for your ds!?

I would ask indi school to meet him / assess him. They could start by a visit at home perhaps?

Explain that his anxiety in school was experienced in a scenario where his needs were not recognised totally denied or met at all. That you would expect his anxiety to be lower in a school where his needs were recognised. You could explain how his anxiety and ability to learn has improved while you have HE him and say you think the school would be using similar strategies to you and therefore that you are optimistic it would work.

However be wary of picking another school that is giving signals about not wanting him. If after visiting etc school are still being negative then keep looking.

If this indi school wont take him the next step is not m/s but a more expensive indi school