divorced parents disagree on school place - tribunal

[radmum81]

My partners DS1 has autism attends a privately run school for very complex needs. His DS2 has adhd and has attended mainstream up til now (year 9) doing a reduced timetable and alterative education. LA have agreed he needs specialist setting and have named a wonderful school with children very much like his DS2 which partner thinks will be perfect.

Partners ex disagrees and wants him to go to same school as DS1. Partner is shocked at this as his DS2 wont have a peer group or any friends there due to the severity of the needs of the kids that attend.

Partner has emailed his views to the tribunal saying he disagrees with his ex wife and would like him to attend the school they nominated. Tribunal have agreed to take his views into consideration

What are the chances of the LA agreeing to send DS2 to same school as DS1? My partner is very worried this could happen. For info the school DS1 attends is very expensive - almost double the cost of the school the LA nominated because they give everyu child a 1:1. DS2 does not require this level of care...

If there is an ongoing appeal to SENDIST, ultimately it isn’t up to the LA anymore. Ultimately, SENDIST will decide.

Is DS1’s school wholly independent or a section 41 independent? If the former, has the school offered a place? Because the school has to agree to being named and they are unlikely to do that if they don’t think they are a suitable school. And, in order to be named you have to prove the LA’s proposed school can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure. For the latter, the parent’s preferred school 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 be able to prove this is high, but it sounds like it could be possible in this case.

It can get complicated where parents disagree over the preferred placement. Much depends on the individual’s specific circumstances and SEN law doesn’t cover parents having different preferred placements. In some situations, it can result in the Family Court needing to be involved, which can make the case even more complex due to the jurisdiction of SENDIST and the family court and how they interact (or not). The Noddy guide covers where parents disagree about the preferred placement and covers the case law (SG v Denbighshire CC [2016] UKUT 460 (AAC)). The case law is slightly different in that your situation is about a specialist placement is required.

That's great thanks for replying - its a section 41 indy school.

Whilst we do agree he needs a specialist placement the thought of him going to a school that isnt right for his needs is worrying.

Disregarding the difference of opinion about the preferred placement, even if DS1’s school could meet DS2’s needs, if the named school can meet DS2’s needs too, if when all the costs are considered it is nearly double the cost, it may well meet the threshold for inefficient use of resources, anyway.