EHCP tribunal and ap

[TheGladMoose]

I have sent off appeal form and evidence (worried about the lack) I pulled together what I had.

My ds mainstream place became so unsuitable last year he has not attended since November 2023. (2:1 and was only doing 2 hour days and not coping at all).

I am still waiting for ap.. I made a formal complaint and apparently its finally been sought just waiting for contact from the provider. From the name of the provider Im guessing it going to be tuition 1:1 which will not work/ suitable for him.

It feels a mess I am so stressed and I know the end is not close. He is 10 and needs the special school place. Ss was not named his current mainstream was but they have consulted and LA are in agreement of him moving. 2 ss's are full and have given the reasons

1. The child’s attendance is incompatible with the efficient use of resources. We have

no capacity in the appropriate class or Key Stage, therefore, cannot provide them an appropriate peer group, the required support and teaching, or the physical space required. As a result we are not able to effectively meet the needs identified in the plan.

1. Due to the current lack of available capacity (as explained in point 1 above), the

addition of this pupil would pose a health and safety risk to themselves and others. The safety of our pupils is our paramount concern.

I know this is a space thing. Can I push them to name at appeal? (I am appealing B,F and I)

The ap situation is a absolute joke, what can I do about this? Caseworker is useless.. the LA have taken over 'ap directly' whatever that means..

I wish I knew a year ago that my ds would not get what he needs/ entitled to without a fight.

Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 requires the LA to ensure those unable to attend school receive a suitable, full-time education. If formal tuition isn’t suitable then providing that doesn’t discharge the LA’s duty. If the LA fail to provide a suitable, full-time education ASAP email the Director of Children’s Services threatening judicial review. If that doesn’t work you need a pre-action letter. SOSSEN can help with this, but there is a long wait, so if you need you might want to look elsewhere.

The LA should also be ensuring anything detailed, specified and quantified in F is provided. Are they?

Regarding the EHCP appeal, have you requested the tribunal hearing is expedited on the basis DS is out of school? Have you considered whether independent assessments are necessary? Have you appealed B&F as well as I?

Is your preferred special school wholly independent? If so, you don’t need an offer of a place to appeal for them to be named. They can and must be named unless the LA can prove:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.

The bar to prove this is higher than many LAs admit and on its own being ‘full’ is not enough of a reason to refuse to name your preference. The LA has to prove the school is so full admitting DS is incompatible. Obviously there is a point where the LA can show this, but often LAs say the school is full when they can’t actually show incompatibility. The bullet points you have posts are standard arguments, but the LA will need to actually demonstrate incompatibility rather than the brief bullet points.

He has had nothing. I have sent many emails, phone calls only after a formal complaint has the ball started rolling for ap. So no they have not provided the provision in section F. I have heard they have sourced tuition, but this will not be suitable I have voiced my concerns but have not heard back.

I am appealing section's B,F and I. I only learnt yesterday about requesting hearing is expedited. I am going to email today requesting this, they are aware from the paperwork that he is out of school.

Regarding independent assessments I have looked into this but everyone is booked up for months. I don't have recent reports however the evidence I have submitted is strong and its very clear my sons needs are beyond that of mainstream. I have letters from professionals that have met and worked with ds that are very detailed supporting that view.

I feel a lot of pressure I am gutted he is missing out on the support he needs. (I am also going through the appeal process for my dd just waiting for mediation cert) she is asd with pda. Both have complex needs learning difficulties working years behind peers. She is only accessing 8hours a week in mainstream, she is 6.

The school is not independent so I am going to push for them to name it. How do I go about pushing them to do this if the school is 'full'? I do believe if he was in the right environment he would flourish regain confidence and be able to access education again. Therefore making the support he needed in mainstream far more than what he would need in ss, should I be saying things like this at appeal?

Is there anything in F that is detailed, specified and quantified or is it all vague and woolly? If the latter it can’t be enforced, unfortunately. If the former, email the Director of Children’s Services requesting provision. If that doesn’t work, email again threatening judicial review. Then if that fails, you need a pre-action letter. Do the same for s19 provision if that isn’t provided ASAP or what is provided is unsuitable. Same for DD, too.

You can request an expedited hearing using the SEND7 form. Don’t forget to seek the LA’s view before sending to SENDIST.

When you say not recent, how old are we talking? Does the evidence you have include all needs and detail, specify and quantified all the provision required. Keep looking for independent assessments. Professionals do have long waits, but the wait for tribunals is also long and cancellations do come up.

As a starting point, you need to ask the LA exactly why placing DS in the schools is incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others or the efficient use of resources. Cost of placements/provision can be part of appeals. As an initial starting point ask some of the questions in this booklet.

Vague and woolly tbh. There is a lot that is not included in B and changes that need to be made in F. It talks about him needing input from SALT (however vague). It mostly talks about how staff should interact with him, the training they should have. Modelling play and speech. Choice boards, visual timetables.
I sent an email this morning asking for expedited hearing as he is out of education and no ap. I will complete SEND7 how do I get the LA's view? Only received final plan 2 weeks ago and submitted appeal the day after.
I am waiting for a response from ed Psychologist as they would provide the most detailed report. He saw one 4 years ago so the report is quite old..
They have agreed to ss but not named one which I wasn't expecting.. its costing £41000 in mainstream with the support he needs. I don't know how much a ss place costs but I'm guessing not far off that.
Thank you for your replys, I am trying my best to get my head around it all and navigate this mess.

Get the LA’s view on an expedited hearing by emailing them. Still send a SEND7 to SENDIST even if the LA object. Just because they object doesn’t mean SENDIST won’t agree to an expedited hearing.

Have you looked at all schools within travelling distance, including independent, non-maintained and out of area special schools?

The cost of SS vary depending on the school and the provision in the EHCP.

Unfortunately, if F is woolly that can’t be enforced but the LA should still be providing a suitable, full-time education.

Definitely consider an EP report because at 4 years old it is dated.

Have looked at several schools. However there are only 2 which would be suitable both maintained special schools. I am open to either of these, both within 30 mins drive. There are a couple further away than these ..which I am worried about him being offered in the long run as they are over 1 hour away. Should I contact the school before to ask exact numbers in ds year group/class? Can I do this. As I have little choice but to get one of the 2 schools named.

You can ask the school or LA questions about the school. Some of the answers you want may be part of the LA’s case but don’t rely on that because you don’t know if/when the information you want will be disclosed.