How to evidence DS needs specialist at annual review

[Ricecakesaremyjam]

Hi, please could I ask if anyone has any advice on how I can best evidence my DS needs specialist school at his upcoming annual review?
He is in reception at mainstream and even with a 1:1 he is only being allowed in for 2hrs a day at schools insistence (I am well aware how wrong this is).
They are going to agree they can’t meet his needs and have told me they don’t see him being there for year one. I am worried the LA will try and send him to a unit within a mainstream when I think he would be better at a fully specialist ASD school.
Does anyone have any advice on how I can best evidence this please?
Thankyou x

Do you know which school you want him to attend? I would get this put into the EHCP at AR.

Have you not just had an early review?

The placement named in section I is the logical conclusion of B&F, so look at ensuring B&F are accurate and watertight. B&F are based on evidence. Things like SALT, OT, EP. Also ensure you follow up any verbal conversations with emails. Ultimately you may have to appeal.

You don’t have to allow the school to continue to unlawfully informally exclude DS.

Hi @StrivingForSleep the annual review meeting took place where they said they couldn’t meet need etc but it hasn’t actually all been written up etc and there’s a second meeting next week about it, basically school are doing it in bits.

so the school I really want him to go to is a specialist independent really close to our home. They don’t take until year 2 and he is only in reception so it’s 18 months until he could go there (!!!) - it’s the best option for him for so many reasons. aside from the massive plus of me being able to drive him there every day as opposed to hours on school transport there and back, I have spoken to or visited (the ones I’ve been allowed to visit) every maintained specialist and mainstream with unit within an hour of my house and they’re all oversubscribed or genuinely not suitable for him (PMLD rather than high functioning ASD for example)

I don’t know how to successfully evidence this school would meet his need better than any other could?

And re the timetable - it’s disgraceful, it really is. I am going to speak with my (new) case worker this week about it all. I accept DS may struggle with full time but 2hrs a day is awful. I feel like they gleefully accepted all the funding that came with his enrolment without ever allowing him into school or delivering a single intervention they were funded to.
I don’t want him there if I’m honest as it’s so obvious they view him as a problem to be got rid of rather than a true member of the school community, but I can’t just take him out with nowhere to go as that also wouldn’t be right for him. At the moment at least he has the daily routine of going into school and some opportunity to mix with other kids.

Is this actually a formal early review? Because if so, there are timescales that must be adhered to. While the school may undertake some elements of the review process, the LA is responsible for the review. And the process doesn’t include a second review meeting.

As explained on your previous threads, specialist schools aren’t oversubscribed in the same way as mainstream schools can be via the normal admission process. It isn’t a case of a school saying they are ‘full’ means no more pupils can be placed there.

It isn’t just about one placement being ‘better’ than another. Case law demonstrates there is not a duty to provide the best education, best outcomes, or educate the child or young person to their maximum potential.

As explained previously, for a wholly independent school, you need an offer of a place and to prove the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs (not just the other one is better) &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure. You do this via professional evidence. For example, SALT, OT, EP. Evidence from the current school can also be helpful, which is why following up verbal conversations with emails will help and why putting a stop to the unlawful informal exclusions will help.

We've just had a SEND place confirmed for DS (11) after two years of fighting. You need to provide robust evidence. We used our DLA money to pay for independent SALT and OT reports, the school SENCO wrote a statement and school got the LEA's school inclusion partner to write a report. Plus we made it very clear to the LEA that we would fight it all the way to tribunal if necessary.