nerarest qualifying school

[pumpkinpie]

For over 12 mths little p has been at a BRILL SEN SCHOOL AND WE ARE VERY HAPPY.

 

Our problem is re transport. Or lack of it

 

When this was resolved we conceeded transport as it avoided further delays and I was led to believe there was no problem getting a transfer to an office nearby from work. The LA however agreed to pay us £15 a week towards our costs.

 

On her statement the La has named the nearest special school as the quyalifying school and added the bit that she can go to x school as it is our preferred school and they will apy £15 a week

 

The transfer didnt happen and as my career break has ended I am left doing an 100 mile a day round tri[p.

 

I appealed for transport went before our panel and was turned down.

So really it is where to go from here

 

the letter from the panel says they cant determine which is the qualifying school as this is set down in the statement and any dispute should be referred to the tribunal service.

 

I thought pt4 (school)transport wasnt a ground for appeal.

 

I would really appreciate any ideas.

 

[Sally44]

When our LEA agreed to a Statement and drew up the proposed Statement they named the placement as the Enhanced Resource school I had already moved my son to. I managed to move my son through getting him a mainstream place as all the ER places were full and basically told the LEA I would use Disability Discrimination Law if they tried to take away this mainstream place on the grounds of his ASD. The LEA's position at that time was that my son could go to any mainstream school, but recognised his current placement (SEN ER mixed mainstream) on the understanding that we transported him to/from school and that if at any point in the future we were unable to do this he would be placed at the nearest mainstream school to where we lived (which incidently was not the school he was initially moved from). I was not happy with this. I felt we needed a clear decision that my son either could or could not attend mainstream school. And we had to gather further evidence through private reports to get that evidence.

We went to Tribunal under parts 2, 3 and 4. We felt that the needs in section 2 were not clearly identified or the severity of them reflected in the reports produced by the LEA. In section 3 we felt that recommendations had not been made to sufficiently meet those needs as we had evidence through IEPs that not only was he not progressing but was losing skills. That in turn reflected on section 4 the placement. And if my son needed an ER placement then we argued that the LEA had to fund an extra place at this ER school or we proposed a private school. And if my son needed an ER place and this LEA ER school was the only one in our area (which it is), then the LEA had to fund transport under their own policies because we fit the criteria. Panel ruled in our favour under sections 2, 3 and 4 and we agreed to the LEA ER school and dropped our proposal for the LEA to fund a private school place. This was actually agreed out of tribunal as the Panel instructed us to go away and discuss our differences. It was clear that the LEA would not win and so they conceded.

It maybe, that the issue regarding placement is a reflection of section 2 and 3 of your child's statement. To go to your preferred choice of school you would need evidence that all other schools that are closer are not suitable. If that is proven then they would have to fund transport. I presume this school is not a mainstream school?

I would advice you speak with the NAS, IPSEA or ACE about this. It maybe that if the Statement has been agreed that you will need to go to tribunal again at AR by requesting the placement in section 4 is your child's current school. That school should by then have enough evidence that they are the only school that can meet your child's needs - if that is the case.

What about looking at other options like collection by an out of school club and collecting your child from there?

Or paying a child minder to do that for you.

I don't know if the LEA can be flexible on transport. My son travels with another child in a taxi to school. Are there any other children from your area going to/from school by taxi. Would the LEA allow your child to travel with them and you forfeit this money payment? I don't know, but I think it's a case of either trying to change the Statement, or looking at other transport options available to you, or changing jobs.

[pumpkinpie]

There is a child who lives near us but across the border who goes to the same special school.Both Las have agreed we could share transport but the issue is cost.

my la say we have to pay the costs minus £3 a day which they contribute. I think this contribution is too low especially as thye had said this would be reviewed and it has never happened.

[Sally44]

There is a child who lives near us but across the border who goes to the same special school.Both Las have agreed we could share transport but the issue is cost.

my la say we have to pay the costs minus £3 a day which they contribute. I think this contribution is too low especially as thye had said this would be reviewed and it has never happened.

 

It sounds like the issue is that the school your child is at is classed as 'parental preference', and is not classed as 'the nearest suitable school'. That is why part 4 of the statement is worded as it is. But get that clarified with your LEA. Ask them why your child is not eligible for transport to/from this SEN school and ask them to put that in writing to you. Then I would check that by speaking with the NAS, IPSEA or ACE. If your child is at an SEN only school, then I don't understand why they are not funding transport. Can you confirm what type of school they are at and that your child has a SEN place within this school, or is it a mixed school and your child is classed as a mainstream pupil?

If the difficulty is down to a weak Statement, then you need to see how you can get that strengthened so that the current school is recognised as the nearest suitable school. Then the LEA should be funding transport (can you also please confirm the distance to/from school to your house). The current school should also be able to demonstrate through their own reports and assessments that your child needs a placement there and the specialist experience and expertise they have. And you may need to use that at AR. But please check all this because I am no expert.

Also when did the LEA say transport would be reviewed and do you have that in writing?

You could also talk to your local parent partnership about this to get an understanding of your council's local policy.

[Karen A]

Hi.I think the LA should also have a transport policy.It might be worth obtaining a copy and checking whether they are acting in line with it.Karen.

[pumpkinpie]

The school they are classing as the qualifying school is the nearest special school approx 4 miles away.

My child attends a special school 28 miles away in a neighboring La.

The silly thing is they said(I dont have it in writing ) that they only fund up to 15 miles and this hidden rule seems to stand up as other kids with sen are funded to out of area mainstream schools up to this distance.

I have used the transport policy and went through it point by point before the transport appeal panel but they wouldnt consider the qualifying school issue as they say its a matter for the sen dept

[Karen A]

The school they are classing as the qualifying school is the nearest special school approx 4 miles away.

My child attends a special school 28 miles away in a neighboring La.

The silly thing is they said(I dont have it in writing ) that they only fund up to 15 miles and this hidden rule seems to stand up as other kids with sen are funded to out of area mainstream schools up to this distance.

I have used the transport policy and went through it point by point before the transport appeal panel but they wouldnt consider the qualifying school issue as they say its a matter for the sen dept

 

I think this one might be one for Kathryn.

I think from a previous post that Kathryn got the LA to backdown on not been in line with their policy.However it looks like they were on route to a judicial review before deciding.

 

[Kazzen161]

It does sound as if they are refusing because it is not the nearest suitable school.

 

You could appeal (or ask for a re-assessment of his needs), in order to get his current school named as the nearest suitable school (ie: by proving the other school could not meet his needs), but that also opens up the chance of the LA deciding that he can no longer go to his current school or that they will not even pay the £15.