Reduced timetable and full-time education

[ghislaine]

Hi, I'm hoping I can draw on your collective wisdom as I've rung my LA SEN team and haven't had much clarity on this.

My six year old son (Y1) is currently on a reduced timetable of 2 hours day. This is off the back of a 2 day exclusion which he served a day either side of the Easter holidays. I understand that it can't last for more than six weeks. The school want to refer him to the LA Ed Psych to start the ECHP process and they also want to refer him to the PRU, which I'm uneasy about.

My question is about his entitlement to full-time education. Who is supposed to provide this when he is not physically in school? I work full-time and it's not sustainable for me to be off work for much longer. Have I effectively agreed to home ed him when he is not in school by agreeing to the reduced timetable? The school haven't provided any work for him to do at home.

We are currently on a reduced timetable too. Similar reasons. The way the inclusion officer described it to me is that all children are legally entitled to a full time education but when you sign the reduced timetable contract you relinquish that right and you're saying that for the time he's not at school, he's being education at home (or whatever wording is used on the form). School still have to give you the work that he's missing but the rest is up to us. That's why it shouldn't last more that 4-6 weeks (I think ours will last a lot longer because nothing will be in place.

We've had to rely on reducing work hours and family to help. It's a total nightmare and I can't see a viable end.

This is illegal exclusion whether or not you have agreed to a "part time timetable". Children are either legally in school full time or excluded.

Your son is entitled to a full time education and the school should be providing it. If there are problems, they should put in the necessary support. Any exclusions should be made by the head teacher and you should have a letter informing you of the length of the exclusion and the reasons for it.

www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/exclusion-from-school

www.ipsea.org.uk/file-manager/SENlaw/common-misconception-informal-exclusion.pdf

It sounds as though your son would benefit from an EHCP.

More information here:
www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/ehc-needs-assessments

If you need more information or advice ring IPSEA or SOS!SEN for advice.

Agree with everything Ellie said as well. The only reason we agreed to a PT timetable is because ds really REALLY needed to get out of the school situation as his mental health was spiralling and I didn't want to withdraw him completely and lose all the educational agency support around him. The reduced hours are working and school have got the breathing space to work with him on strategies and techniques while he's in a good place mentally. It's bought us a bit of time to get the inclusion service to get some funding for some therapeutic interventions and the EHCP assessment has been agreed and underway and he's edging closer to his appointments for other services. If he'd stayed full time he would have been permanently excluded by now and we'd all be in a worse situation as the PRU round here is being shut down as the service is SO poor so he would only get home tutoring and we'd never get him back in school.