First day back after 5 day exclusion...

[pinkandsparklytoo]

And DS gets himself excluded again but just for the rest of the day this time. He hit his teacher, I'm not sure why. It has been suggested that she got too close to him. It happened within the first half an hour of being in school. DS is 6 and is suspected to be autistic but has no statement or diagnosis yet. I have posted about him before and gotten lots of good advice. Whenever I have mentioned getting a statement for him the headteacher has just gone on about how long a process it is and how they need to have strategies in place while it is happening. I don't know what has changed at school, he finished last term and started this term really well and it has just gone downhill in the last few weeks. He only does half days as it is and he doesn't seem to even be able to manage that at the moment. I am fed up of this school and how it is going but I'm not sure that changing school will make any difference. The headteacher didn't seem to think so. She said he needs a school with fewer students and more teachers, or an autistic unit but there aren't any in our town. Sorry for being all over the place, I don't even know what I am asking for. I just sometimes wish I could go back to him being 3 and never sending him to nursery or school. Not very practical really.

The entire situation stinks. If he's only in school for half days, that's illegal. I take you've asked for statutory assessment?

IPSEA - apply for an assessment today.

The evidence for a statement is already in place. (the exclusions, only being able to attend part time yadda, yadda).

Do ask for a sensory OT to look at him as part of the process, - that's the bit I didn't know about first time out the gate & it cost DS dear.

He's been on half days for over a year, any attempts to extend his day tends to fail. He did do full days in reception. The school want to have him in full time but they don't feel he can cope. They said as it is part of his PSP half days are allowed.

He has seen an OT, she was meant to be seeing him at school before half term but because of his exclusion they had to postpone it.

Of course he can't cope with full days in a crap school who are unwilling to get in the expertise to help him.

That is why you must apply for a statement.

Once you have one, you can name pretty much any state school and you increase your chances of an independent or one in another LA with transport.

Did you put that in writing to them about pep allowing half days?

You need to tell them it is fair enough but they have to arrange where he goes for the other half days as you are otherwise disposed.

The thing is I don't work and the school know that, so I am able to pick him up early every day, and whenever he gets excluded. I'm not sure how they would manage if I did work, or couldn't pick him up.

We've 'chatted' before about this.
The LA know that they cannot keep a child on a part time timetable for that long.You need to put your foot down and say that you can't have him at home every afternoon and ask how they are going to ensure that he gets a full time education which is their duty to provide.
I know it's difficult and puts you under pressure but that's what they rely on so they get away with it. My ds suffered like this for a year and it ultimately transpired that staff failure and the environment contributed to him not coping - they just failed to see it .
You need to make some noise about this.Put in an official complaint if necessary.

My old LA kept me out of the workplace for three years, only to use it against me when it suited them. You have the same right to earn a living as every other parent does - government policy strongly supports you in this area nowadays (all the benefits changes are deffo about pushing ALL parents into work!).

Please, please don't fall into that trap. They have a clear legal duty to educate him between 9 & 3.30. trust me, if you said "i can't be arsed to send him in" they'd have you in court & no mistake quick enough. It works BOTH ways.

They are FAILING to educate him, as per his legal rights. being disabled does not rob him of the same basic rights to food, shelter & education that ALL children in the UK are entitled to.

As this school can't teach him, it's time to work with the LA to find somewhere/someone that can. Does a tutor come to your house every afternoon, paid for by the school? Until you have that dialogue with them you do not know what's out there in terms of provision,( cos trust me they keep anything useful well hidden lol!)

The IPSEA website gives you a model letter to follow to request a statement from the LA. Incidentially the LA may have NO IDEAHE IS BEING TREATED SO BADLY, as schools LIE. They cannot get him the appropriate help if they don't know he needs it, and it's your role to inform them asap.

If you don't stand up for him, NOONE will.

Write that statement letter to the LA, copy it to the HT and the chair of governors. write another one saying that as of next Monday it will not be convenient for you to collect him at lunchtime and that you will be collecting him at 3.30, the same as his peers. Mention that they have have a year to make appropriate arrangements. Copy the second letter to the LA, and the governors to. Sit back and wait for the fireworks .

When I complained about the ICO dragging her heels to the SEN Officer, she took me very seriously and was most miffed that a child like DD1 (special school, very obvious SN) hadn't been flagged at the earliest opportunity.

If I were you, I'd do all of the above but also phone the SEN Officer and express 'concern' that your DS is getting excluded because of his SN, school are doing 'everything they can', but he's still on a part-time attendance schedule because they can't cope with him for full days and you just don't know quite what to do....is there anything they can suggest??'

DS was excluded again today for the rest of the day plus tomorrow. I think I might just not send him next week, the school is clearly not working for him. Today it was assault against a child. DS walked into a wall and the other child had laughed at him. He has been wired ever since he got home. Thankfully he has gone to bed and is already asleep.

1. Who suspects him to be autistic? Get him assessed if this is just the school/ you. GP referral.
2. Apply for a statement. Use the IPSEA template.
3. Ring your Inclusions team at the LA - he should not be part time only. The difficulty in insisting full time without involving others is that he may end up excluded most of the time.
4. Check the Exclusions Guidance/ring parent partnership - has he been excluded enough times that there must be a governors hearing? (over 15 days in one term and they must meet, over 5 days and you can insist they meet, 5 and under, you can ask them to consider your views).

1. He has been seen by various people who all suggest autism. The SENCO this year said it - I thought they weren't meant to? I have been to the GP, he is being assessed by the Umbrella Pathway but as far as I know this is not a statutory assessment. I went to the GP and I think this was who he was referred to.
2. Whenever I have mentioned the statement/statutory assessment the school just goes on about how long it will take. It is my understanding that it shouldn't take more than 6 months. We could have done it by now if they had just started straight away.
3. I've rung Parent Partnership, they weren't particularly helpful but that may be because I already knew all the things they were suggesting. This week he has been suspended from 10 on Monday, nearly excluded Wednesday then excluded from this morning until next week. Plus there were the 5 days last term. The only reason he wasn't excluded more was because the headteacher was off ill for a week last term.

Sorry about the numbers, it's easier for me to think!
So there is nothing you can do to speed up the paed process: the umbrella pathway sounds like a diagnosis process.
Statutory assessment. Your local authority may well make schools jump thro hoops to okay an assessment. Eg two in school reviews, level x in year y etc. this is fine but is local criteria and not national. Apply yourself, inform the school out of courtesy, and appeal if necessary.
PPS - I'm sorry they weren't more help.
Governors hearing- you can ask them to meet once you hit 6 days in a term, and put your views and reasons as to why the exclusions weren't fair. You can ask them to meet under six days but they don't have to.
Erm, what else? Inclusions - do you have regular meetings to discuss the part time timetable? What is the plan to building up attendance? This is not okay, but bear on mind the need for appropriate support otherwise you will just have (probably) more exclusions.
Bear in mind I'm on my phone and can't give detailed info - ipsea or coram children's legal centre can give telephone advice.

That's ok, I though it would be easier to answer that way! I don't know if a Governors meeting would work, as it is school policy that if a child hits an adult or threatens another child they go home. However I think he is acting up because of their lack of ability to manage him, I don't know. We have a PSP meeting every fortnight to review it. It was meant to be extended slightly so he could do a gardening activity at the senior school next door but obviously he didn't get to do that. They've tried extending it before, at first I had to pick him up for lunch then take him back for the afternoon, then I suggested me just staying there to have lunch with him. It was only one day a week, possibly two. They took it away when he started hitting out again. I've tried ringing IPSEA but can never get through to someone.

The behaviour policy may well say so but if a child is behaving because of unmet needs or there aren't strategies to support them, you can argue that it wouldn't have happened if he had been better supported. Try coram children's centre they have free advice sheets and a helpline.
I do think you need a stat assessment to allow him to access full time education- this can't go on.