can my LA behave any more badly..... yep its bjk.....

[bjkmummy]

final evidence today.

we want indie

LA want mainstream - 2 schools have said no and given good reasons for saying no. La then name 3rd school with dire Ofsted and many miles away purely I guess as no where else to name, this school say they can meet her needs even though they have less provision than the other 2 schools.

paperwork came today - LA are furious 2 schools said no , 3rd school not happy 2 local schools said no, LA say my indie school not suitable as got an adequate for its boarding provision - LA school choice is 'requiring improvement'

LA want to rock up to tribunal and tell the judge about these 2 mean schools saying they cannot meet her needs and for the judge to then decide which one of the 3 mainstream schools should be chosen

am I being really dumb or can they really do this? go with one school but try and hedge their bets with 2 other schools who don't want her and I don't want them!

Surely if the 2 schools are saying they cant meet needs then the judge will take note of that!! They dont not want to take her, they know they cant meet her needs!! I applaud them for being so honest!!

As you say the 3rd school maybe saying that they can meet need but they have significant issues in the sen department and the whole school needs to improve!! Also its big and your reports say she needs small!!

Dont panic, they are panicking and are now going to try anything to intimidate you!!

I agree with ineed - the LA sound desperate and your case for the specialist indie is strong. None of those mainstream schools can provide (consistently) small classes in a small school setting. I think that got us a mainstream indie for our DS2.

the letters giving reason why they are saying no are very very detailed and explain clearly why - that she need so much input she would need to be removed from too many lessons plus the sensory side of things as well so I do actually applaud them for their honesty and one of them is the main flagship academy for sen and they are saying no - LA are really angry about it and saying there reasons are not valid!

viewed 3rd school today - was dire as I expected and absolutely cannot meet her needs - just cant believe the LA have got the balls to ask the tribunal to even consider the other 2 schools given what they have said - maybe its cos the school they have named has just had the dire Ofsted.

The LA really sound desperate! But it must be good news that the other schools have given such detailed reasons for their refusals.

Could you get late evidence from the indie school to say in writing what they've done to address the adequate boarding report, along with any improvements they've put in place to the boarding since the report?

I could try towie but the school are so slow at responding aren't they! my EP has visited and wrote a brilliant report - her opinion is the school is in reality the only school who could meet her needs plus as she says other La place children in the school with no such issues plus there are my dd written views on the school as well

Ultimately yes a Tribunal can make a school take a child if the tribunal decides it can meet needs and your choice is 'over provision'.

Its good the reasons for refusing are detailed and genuine - & you agree with them - but there are Academies who will say no to children whose needs they can meet so yes ultimately the LA can 'test' this at Tribunal.

The LA can also throw extra money at the problem on the basis mainstream + a bit extra is still cheaper.

But it does look desperate.

If you look at recent govt stats no. special school places going up fast - driven by Academies refusing to take children they would have taken in the past.

Still it makes a change for LAs to know what it feels like not to have control

I think the LA are now in the state of desperation and doing anything they can to muddy everything - taking a step back we have overwhelming evidence mainstream cannot meet her needs - the LA just say mainstream can but have no evidence to back this bold statement up.

remember this is the La already had the 'being unreasonable' label thrown at them so they really are doing themselves no favours whatsoever.

the fact is that a mainstream school no matter which school it is cannot meet her needs. my LA just need to accept that

and don't get me started on the LA costings............

The LA has to opt for one school only. It sounds from what you are saying as if it's the crap school that they are going for. If there's any doubt about that, ask the tribunal to make an order directing that they make their case clear. But if they call a witness from the crap school that will make it pretty clear that that is the one they're nominating.

If they've filed the stuff from the good schools saying they can't meet dd's needs, I would have thought that can only be helpful to your case. It's a pretty strong argument that two good schools that know what they're doing say they can't meet her needs in the mainstream and the only one that says it can has been judged to be inadequate. You can argue that the reality is that they're desperate to fill their places and keep the LA happy and that's the only reason they've said yes. The LA will argue that they're putting all sorts of resources into crap school and, if they can't keep their numbers up, that will provide a quieter environment and a higher staff/pupil ratio.

Are you calling a witness from the independent school? They obviously need to be able to tell the tribunal all about the Ofsted issue and what they're doing to address it.

im not calling anyone from the indie school as their policy is not to send people to tribunals. my EP has been and wrote a report on the school - the issue with my Ofsted is the residential part not the academics and its a weekly boarding school.

I am going to try now and get something in writing and try and get it in as late evidence = the schools main Ofsted is fine. my dd loves the school and was so happy there.

the two schools that have turned her down are both outstanding schools. the LA have named a school witness from dire school so looks like that is the one they are going for