I've already posted this in Education SN but have been advised to post hear as well for advice.
A bit of background... J's 9, dx of AS, in Y4 of mainstream primary. We moved him to his present school in September and it's fantastic, everything we wanted - small classes, children who like him and want to be friends, autism-aware, friendly and supportive teachers and he's happy for the first time in his school life. His old school was totally the opposite, didn't particularly want SN on the premises, had no patience with behavioural disorders and did very little to support him. Frequently talked the talk but did little to back that up. J's a typical 'coper' on the surface, would get through the day in school then erupt afterwards at home from the stress. There were countless examples of him cracking up but school regarded it as a 'home problem' and offered no practical help.
In both schools he's done academically very well, top sets in everything, loves learning. Even in the old school he thrived on the classroom environment because of its order and predictability, but struggled to cope in unstructured times such as playtimes and lunch. Other children soon learned how to press his buttons, he was bullied and teased but always got the blame because it was mishandled.
Although he's only in Y4 I've spoken with the Choice Advisor from the LEA about appropriate secondary places and she's advised me to apply for a statutory assessment to widen his options. I've explained to her that J is calm and settled in school right now (and afterwards ? no stress-induced meltdowns) because he's in the right environment, and that's why he's presenting no immediate problems. However, in his old school he would lash out in aggressive outburst almost daily, he had no friends, no social boundaries and it was very difficult to teach him how to behave more appropriately - theoretically he understood right from wrong but could never apply those rules when he became emotional. In the time he's been at the new school he's learned so much because he is so much calmer and receptive. However, all the work that's been done with him is at home, apart from a weekly social skills group in school. He's currently on SA+. My aim is to prove that although he's settled now, it's because of a considerable effort to get him to that point and because he's in the right environment. I want to use past evidence to show how severe his behaviour was when his needs weren't being met, so that they can understand the importance of getting him into the right secondary school.
I've been going back through notes and correspondence from the old school and have been quite alarmed at how much I'd forgotten about how awful things were for him there. Countless incidents of him hitting other children in frustration, bullying that wasn't addressed, and the comment from the Head saying that J was 'the most violent child with AS she's ever encountered', and questioning whether that was the right place for him, shouldn't he be in special school.
I would like to think I've got grounds to apply for a statement for proactive reasons, as it's clear to me that his progress and happiness this year have been largely due to the appropriate environment in which he's being taught. But would the LEA agree to assessment if he's coping so well at the moment? There would be no current evidence of his dificulties as he's calm enough to manage them. I want to avoid him sliding back into his old stressed pattern if I possibly can but I think he needs to be in the right school for this to happen. I can't just assume that any school he goes to will meet his needs - the one he's just left got Outstanding in its recent OFSTED and they were nothing short of barbaric at times. The irony is that his new school feeds into the best school in the borough but it's ridiculously over-subscribed and J isn't automatically eligible because we live out of catchment.
If anyone has advice or comments on this I'd be glad to hear them.
Thanks.