loulou Report post Posted April 28, 2005 Hi everyone, I've been to a meeting today at the EBD school, where Kai has been given a place. The school said that they want to wait until he is asessed for AS next month, as they feel that the school may not be right for him. They want input from the paediatrician who asesses him. I'm glad that they have this attitude, and i feel that they only want the best for Kai. I don't want to send him to the wrong school and damage him further. However, the LEA SEN officer said that the LEA would not fund an out of county placement for Kai unless we have tried "in county" first. Can they do this? There are no suitable schools in our county . The problem is this is an EBD school, so if Kai has an ASD (which i'm sure he has), then this is probably not the right type of school for him. I feel as if we're all setting him up to fail (again). What is that going to do for his self-esteem? I feel completely lost and out of my depth with all of this. Maybe i'm being too protective and i don't want to see Kai upset (which he will be wherever he goes to school as he's so phobic). How i'm ever going to get him through the door i don't know . Loulou x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted April 28, 2005 Hi lou lou.The fact that the EBD school want to wait to hear the peads assessment is good news.If the DR and school feel the placement is wrong the LEA can,t force the school to take him(at least I don,t think they can ).If you have in mind a more suitable school out of county I would stress this to the DR that the provision there would be better, maybe he could do his report more favourably and point your son towards the other school in his report.For instance I would have thought an EBD school may bring a whole host of problems to someone with AS.My son could,nt cope with it but then you know your own child and they are all very different.Go with your instinct and don,t take 2nd best go for your ultimate goal, you,ve come a long way,but the right placement is crucial.Good luck <'> P.S., your son sounds really vunerable and I,d feel just like you trust your feelings you know Kai best. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted April 28, 2005 I think the LEA cannot legally say they will not fund an out of county placement even if there is a suitable placement in county. They are not allowed to use funding as a reason for not placing a child in an appropriate school. However, if there is a suitable in county placement then they can argue that paying for an out of county one is an inefficient use of resources (education act 1996, schedule 27) and they would probably win any appeal you made on those grounds. In your case there is not an appropriate placement so they cannot block your preference. If they think there is a suitable place they can advise you to accept it and even block your preference for an in county school but legally you have a right to appeal to SENDIS, even if there is another suitable school. If the EBD school thinks it is not suitable and that they cannot meet the needs the LEA can still force them to take Kai but they would be pretty stupid to do so as it would place them in a very bad position in a tribunal which would be looking at what is best for Kai not necessarily what the LEA can provide from their own resources - try to get the EBD school to put their conclusions in writing/email to you so you have evidence if you need to fight either now or later. our LEA tried to put Com in his nearest local school but there is no direct or safe route to this school, (you know those woods in Leeds they found two chopped up bodies in - one was a local prostitute - splashed all over the news a few months back? that is our route to the school!!!) and the school also returned his statement to the LEA saying they could not meet his needs, backing up our arguments about stability, a double transition and bullying - the school was under threat of closure and at that point the arrangements were already being put in place for Com's year group to be moved from school to school. We didn't know they had returned the statement at the time as the LEA decided not to tell us but we found out by accident when dealing with a bullying issue - it was a big plus in our case Do hold out for the school you feel is best for Kai - our instincts about our kids are usually right Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted April 30, 2005 >>However, the LEA SEN officer said that the LEA would not fund an out of county placement for Kai unless we have tried "in county" first LEA's say a lot of things are not possible - it is our job to prove them wrong! It is true that an LEA cannot just agree to an out-of-county placement willy-nilly (the LEA has a duty to use our money wisely) - but as the others have said, if there is not an in-county school that can meet all his needs, then they have to look out-of-county. As the EBD school is expressing doubts, you are right to be concerned whether it is the right place. Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
