ASD & Mainstream?

[Bianca3308]

my twins both ASD due to start school in september. For my son i feel specialist school will be best outcome for him he wont cope at all in mainstream even with support. His sister however i dont know when i visited SEN schools i didnt feel they were right for her shes very socialable. Mirrors behaviour loves being in busy room at nursery with lots of other children. She currently does swimming lessons with nursery and is thriving her speech and understanding has improved alot although for her age still delayed. But has anyone has any positive experiences of children with ASD in mainstream with EHCP support. All i read is bad experiences

Hi OP,

We have moved this for you in the hopes that you will receive useful support from other users.

Following this. One of the issues we now have when we attend SEN sessions eg softplay is that DD is starting to socially verbalise but it’s all one way as the other children can’t respond. So for us it’s about finding the balance of things that don’t work for her in mainstream but also not stunting development in specialist.

If this is for September it is late to be deciding school preferences. Phase transfer EHCPs for starting primary must be finalised by the 15th.

Have you spoken to the mainstream schools? Not all mainstreams are the same. Have you looked at all the special schools within travelling distance, including any out of area and independent?

It is not universally guaranteed that all struggle. Some DC thrive in mainstream with the right support, especially in primary.

@SearchingForSolitude both EHCPS should of been finalised by 20th January that was the 20 week date given to us. LA blamed a shortage of EPs and after involving a solicitor an EP suddenly became available so they have given us a new date of 12th April for final plan. I spoke with multiple SEN schools none have advised me that cut off was 15th Feb? I will point blank refuse to send my son into mainstream it would be cruel so not sure where i go from that point on! Its so frustrating and stressful all of this!

@SearchingForSolitude also sorry to bombard with questions what if this EHCP states specialist provision can this still try to force me to accept mainstream?

There are two separate issues.

1. The 20 week deadline for finalising an EHCP following an EHCNA request. An EP shortage is not an adequate excuse for the LA to shrug their shoulders and say nothing they can do about them not complying with the statutory timescale and give April as a deadline. Email the Director of Children’s Services reminding them of their statutory duties. If that doesn’t work, email again threatening judicial review. Then, if that fails, you need a pre-action letter.
2. The 15th February phase transfer deadline for existing EHCPs being finalised naming the placement for September. You can read about that here.

In your case, the LA should have finalised an EHCP by the 20th Jan, but they don’t have to issue an amended EHCP naming the placement for September until the 15th Feb. Although when issuing an EHCP for the first time so close to the phase transfer deadline they will often name the placement for September anyway.

It is important you act now because if the LA refuse to issue or issue but refuse to name your preference you need all the time you can get to appeal. Also, whilst being full is not enough of a reason to refuse to name your preferred school in the EHCPs, there comes a point where the LA can prove placing another pupil in the school is incompatible. The LA is more likely to be able to prove this the further into the year we get.

If the EHCP names a special school then the school must admit.

@SearchingForSolitude thanks. Honestly not sure what i can do at this point 15th is literally days away and we only finally managed to get an Educational pys in a week ago due to them claiming there was nobody to do it. So now we arent looking at final until April 4 months later than it should of been and i suppose no matter how much i shout now its never going to be finalised in 4 days. It shouldnt have to be this hard. If it says specialist in April what happens then if its too late for September intake? Would he have to wait until september the following year if i refuse to put him in mainstream. This is so cruel!

Have you followed your LA process for a mainstream primary place? We did that and applied for an EHCP that wasn't granted until May but we had a place already and then the support was available from September when he started. Only in Year 1 but so far so good for us... he has a full time 1 to 1 which he needs and the school is proactive in supporting. We are taking it a year at a time but at the moment we are happy he is in the right place. We heard a lot of positive things about the mainstream we are at and their approach to SEN there are others in the area that don't have that reputation so worth asking around about that too if you haven't already.

The 15th is irrelevant if you don’t yet have finalised EHCPs. Right now you should follow what I posted in my first point in my pp about emailing the Director of Children’s Services to pressurise, via JR if necessary, the LA to finalise ASAP. Unlikely to be within 4 days, but it can certainly be before April and the sooner the better.

If an EHCP is finalised (anytime) naming a SS for September, DS can attend the SS in September.

Thanks all. Yes we have applied for primary place as per the LA procedure. And the twin we are looking at mainstream for has visited the school and we have discussed all needs i am also going to email the senco the draft once i get it. They already have some children on 121 and actually get private SALT into school for the ones with higher funding due to the nhs being too infrequent so hoping it works for her. Toileting is one of my big concerns with mainstream dd is still completely in nappies. Although we do still have some time until september to hopefully make some progress x

If an EHCP is issued (there is still the chance the LA will refuse to issue) and SALT is required it must be detailed, specified and quantified in section F of the EHCP. That way it must be provided. Has a SALT assessment been undertaken as part of the EHCNA?

Toileting can be managed in MS. Easier with an EHCP, but possible without. Schools cannot refuse to accept a pupil because they are not toilet trained and they should not request parents go in to change.

@SearchingForSolitude both are already under SALT nhs. And SALT did take part in the EHCNA They sent me a copy of the report they put in for both twins which was very lengthy and detailed. God its so stressful isnt it! Will ring them tomorrow and see where its up to. I actually have the number for the EP i may give her a call and check if the reports are in. They have given the EP a MONTH!!! A full month from visiting twins to put her reports in. The whole process just seems ridiculously long. Especially given we are already way past the initially timeframes!

Don’t call, email, it creates a paper trail. Email the Director of Children’s Services.

Even though DC receive SALT via the NHS, it must still be detailed, specified and quantified in section F of the EHCP. That way it is legally protected. Provision available via EHCPs can be more than (longer sessions, more frequently, and not just for blocks of intervention) is given via the NHS.

I have similar concerns re mainstream/special school for my DD, she’s almost 3.5. She’s non-verbal, awaiting an ASD assessment and due to start school in September 2025.

I’ll be sending the EHCNA request off next week and am worried she’ll just end up struggling in mainstream. I’ve been told the special schools in our LA are for ‘more complex cases’ and there are very few mainstream schools with additional resource provisions.

I feel that even if she gets an EHCP and maybe a 1:1, mainstream will still be sensory overload for her. If she starts off in mainstream and it’s too much for her, I can imagine it will be a long battle to get her into a special school.

@SearchingForSolitude thanks for all the good advice, I’ve made notes regarding timescales and contacting the LA re delays.

@Ponche who told you that about the special schools? If they are any within travelling distance, look special schools in neighbouring LAs and also any non-maintained or independent special schools.

It was someone who works in the LA’s early years team, she first came to see us with my DD’s portage worker on her last visit to discuss the transition to nursery a few months ago.

We spoke the other week as I was looking for special nurseries in my area and wasn’t sure if there were any as couldn’t see anything online so she called me and confirmed there are none.

Then we spoke about schools and she mentioned that many children with EHCPs end up in mainstream due to limited non-mainstream options plus the demand for those.

I will widen my search to other non-mainstream options in neighbouring LAs as there are some others not too far away and I also have a couple of back up mainstream options for the normal application process.

We’re not in catchment for my first choice mainstream option (it has a good reputation for supporting children with additional needs) so my DD would most likely only get in if it’s named on an EHCP.

My DD is currently in a mainstream nursery and she’s under an enhanced ratio of 1:4 and the nursery get some extra funding to help towards this.

She has some bad days and some good days, which is why I wanted to get the ball rolling with the EHCP process as soon as possible and I started looking into alternative settings in case her EHCP (if she gets one) comes back with provisions that her current setting may not be able to meet.

@SearchingForSolitude that same lady also mentioned there’s a 9-12 month wait for EHCPs in our area due to a shortage of educational psychologists so I will definitely make a note of dates etc for when I need to chase them and remind them of the deadlines.

As she said even if I need to consider special nurseries in a neighbouring LA, it won’t be for another year as that’s how long the EHCPs are taking. The special schools in our area only take from age 5 in most circumstances.

@Ponche it will save you a lot of stress in the long run if you realise now that you shouldn’t believe everything the LA tells you. They will tell you what they want you to know and their version of the law. Check everything they tell you.

The EHCP process is governed by statutory timescales. Unless you have to appeal, the process takes 20 weeks. The EP shortage is not a lawful excuse for the LA to shrug their shoulders and say nothing they can do, it will be 9-12 months. If the LA breaches the timescales you can enforce them, via judicial review if necessary.

You should look at what school are available and see whether what they are saying is actually true.

Thank you, I’ve taken this all on board