DS14 permanently excluded for drugs

[winterrabbit]

DS is 14 (year 10, diagnosed with ADHD) and was excluded for 5 day last week for bringing edibles into school and eating them with another friend. We've been told the exclusion will be permanent but the school is trying to arrange a managed move to avoid this. Although I've been in email contact with the Head of Year 10 all week, I haven't received any paperwork from the school nor had contact with the headteacher. (it's now been over 5 days since DS has been excluded). Obviously I'm worried sick and trying to work out next steps. The Head of Year 10 said that they'll give it another week to find a managed move before they'll permanently exclude him. I have no idea what the likelihood of finding a school that we're happy with is so can't work out if that is likely to be an option. Obviously this is disastrous for DS as he had just started his GCSE courses, however, this is the latest in a long line of things he has done although nothing related to drugs although he has had several 2 day exclusions for vaping, another for truancy and others for not following instructions. The school have tried to support him and were in the process of submitting an EHCP for him to get extra funding which they'll now submit next week. I'm not hopeful here but I wondered if there was point in trying to ask the head for another chance (I actually already asked the Head of Year 10 this and she said no) or even appealing the decision, but I can't see how we'd be successful given that drugs were involved. DS just stands to lose so much as he could end up either in a PRU or a much worse school where he'll probably continue on a downward spiral, not to mention all the stress and alienation that goes with a permanent exclusion. He knows he has done wrong but obviously it's too late now. There is also the status of the edibles that he brought into school. I've tried to get him to tell me where he got them and claims he and a friend found them in a hedge. The school does not seem to have retained the packaging so I am not sure how they can definitely establish they are edibles of the illegal variety although DS told me that he and his friend felt "high" so it sounds like they work. I know I am clutching at straws but wanted to ask for constructive thoughts and advice. Anyone looking to have a dig or make mean comments, please DON'T!

So if you read my post why on earth do you think I think DS needs to attend the PRU if it isn’t suitable? Nowhere have I said that!

We clearly do operate in different worlds. My world is the one governed by statutory duties and legislation and where parents can enforce provision. Not just sit back and accept things as they are and unlawful practices.

There is noone offering ANYTHING at the moment and no guidance on what to do or how to access the alternative provision you are talking about.

No one is going to offer anything unless you force them to, via judicial review if necessary.

Over this thread and previous threads posters, including me, have advised you on how to access s.19 provision and how to enforce the provision. They also advised you on how to pursue provision via the EHCP process.

It's all very well listing all the things he could have but there is no advice on how to access them.

Again over this thread and previous threads posters, including me, have advised you on how to achieve this.

When you do send emails to the LA it takes weeks to get a response on anything.

So email the Director of Children’s Services threatening judicial review which often gets their attention, if it doesn’t contact SOSSEN for a pre-action letter which mostly does work, but if it doesn’t follow through with JR.

I'm honestly not sure what else you expect me to do.


Oh I don’t know, follow the advice you have be given. I mean it took you months to even apply for an EHCNA after being advised to more than once. Then you allowed the unlawfully exclusion to continue longer than you needed to.

Not sure what you mean by a qualified SENDIST either or by any of the other acronyms.

Not a qualified SENDIST. But unless the education consultant is qualified SENDIST won’t pay much attention to their evidence as any ‘advice’ they give will be considered outside their remit.

Also, if he is permanently excluded, the LA will send him to the PRU. You don't the right to request alternative provision.

You aren’t understanding the law. Again, if the PRU isn’t suitable the LA must provide different provision. The law requires them to provide suitable, full education. If the PRU isn’t suitable and the LA are refusing to provide alternative provision you can force them to, via JR if necessary.

Thatsnnotmycard, JR takes years!! DS is half way through year 10! I need a solution now that allows him to continue his education. I have not "allowed" the unlawful exclusion to continue without good reason, i.e to facilitate a managed move and keep him out of the PRU. If I had pushed the school to exclude he'd be in the PRU now. That's a fact.

As for applying for an EHCP, noone has ever suggested this until last September when the school thought it worth a shot to see if they could get funding for counselling. Despite your depiction of him, he is not completely disastrous and had good predicted grades, was in the top sets and had made some improvements with behaviour. Even now I am not sure he'll get one.

JR takes years!!

No it doesn’t. It is a relatively quick resolution compared to SENDIST. The advice to pursue JR is what SOSSEN, IPSEA, and any decent specialist SEND solicitor would advise.

That's a fact.

No it isn’t.
 If the PRU isn’t suitable the LA must provide alternative provision.

As for applying for an EHCP, noone has ever suggested this until last September

Bullshit! You were advised on a previous thread to well before September 2022. I know that for certain because I advised you to under a different name

Despite your depiction of him, he is not completely disastrous and had good predicted grades, was in the top sets and had made some improvements with behaviour. Even now I am not sure he'll get one.

I haven’t depicted DS to be anything. It is more than possible to get EHCPs for academically able DC. I know as I have 2 such DC and have helped hundreds of others with academically able DC to secure EHCPs.

From SOSSEN to the FAQ of whether JR is slow.

“If, as happens in the majority of cases, the issue is very clear and the LA concedes on receipt of the pre-action letter, that could mean the problem being resolved within two or three weeks. If you do have to take it to the next stage, solicitors can apply in urgent cases for emergency legal aid - and where a child is not receiving education or SEN provision, the Legal Aid Agency is prepared to treat it as urgent. That means that legal aid could be secured within a week or two of solicitors being instructed. It might be limited to something like requiring counsel's opinion in the early stages, but again that can normally be dealt with quickly. If or when Legal Aid is granted, notice of that fact has to be served on the LA and sometimes that alone persuades them to concede. If you have to start proceedings, how long it will take depends on the circumstances and the court's backlog. In theory a fully defended claim may take several weeks to come to hearing, but this is rare; only a tiny proportion of defended JR cases get that far because they tend to be settled. However, if the issue is urgent, you may be able to ask for 'interim relief': i.e. a temporary order granting what you need - for example tuition at home - until the main action itself is heard. This is normally arranged by way of a shorter hearing which could take place within 2-3 weeks of the action starting, or even sooner in a really urgent case.”

Noone in RL I meant, as in people/teachers/psychologists who know my son well.

Very easy for you to blame me for everything. Have you considered that perhaps your job and position enable to you have achieved successful outcomes? It's well known that it's difficult to obtain an EHCP. Even the SEND team at my LA told me that it's very difficult where the issues are behavioural - over 90% fail apparently.

Professionals often don’t mention EHCPs. It is not unusual for them not to. I haven’t said it is easy to get an EHCP, but you definitely don’t get one no-one requests an EHCNA. The vast majority (more than 95%) of appeals to SENDIST are successful.

Don’t listen to the LA, they will tell you what they want you to know and their version of the law. It is not difficult if the only difficulties are behavioural, but that is what they want you to believe as it saves them money.

I haven’t blamed you for everything, but sadly parents need to advocate for DC and enforce their rights otherwise DC rarely get the support they need. If parents sit back and allow unlawful behaviour their DC won’t get the support they need.

My DC have the support they do because I advocated for them and enforced their rights and continue to do so. I have learnt the process as I have gone along. When I started the process for them I didn’t know anything about the SEND system and I didn’t work as I had had to give up work due to their needs. I do now work but my DC don’t have the support they do because of that as all their provision was in place before I started work so that part of your post is just bizarre.

According to one of your previous threads the school mentioned an EHCP before September. At the beginning of July you posted about it.

School suggested it at the end of the summer term and we applied in September. Noone had ever suggested applying for one until then.

I would absolutely love to give up work and support DS but that's not possible for financial reasons. I don't really understand how anyone can afford not to work unless they have a partner who can support them (I don't - my partner's entire salary wouldn't even cover the mortgage payment). Let me know how you manage it as I feel like I am at the point I need to resign from my job, sell the house and be at home to support DS and focus on supporting him and I just can't do this with the type of job I have.

For many parents of disabled DC giving up work isn’t a choice, there’s no other option, which was my situation. According to Contact 61% of parents with disabled DC gave up work to care for them. Parents manage by muddling through there’s no other option, and no not all have partners who can support them.

Do you claim DLA for DS?

Under another name I suggested an EHCP a few months before then, as did another poster.

Not sure what DLA is but highly doubt we'd qualified.

DS has ADHD which is a disability but I don't consider him disabled as such. It's just the education piece of his life that has been such a battle and where he needs support.

Not sure why it matters when you suggested we apply for an EHCP. Obviously we'd be guided by the school and various specialists we've consulted over the years including CAMHs, a private ADHD specialist, a private psychologist (x 2) autism assessment, none of whom ever suggested it and my understanding was that he had to be more impaired than just poor behaviour (which is basically what it is). Its only in the last 6 months that things have worsened so much for him.

DLA is disability living allowance, and someone with DS’s needs could qualify.

I posted when I and another poster recommended applying for an EHCNA because you keep insisting no-one mentioned it until later, when you were advised to apply 6 months before an application was actually submitted. Professionals often don’t suggest applying for one. An EHCP can be secured for SEMH needs alone.