Moving home but remaining at same school

[justine1]

Hi everyone

 

I just wanted to know where to turn for this really.Right, we are due to move home November(20th or so)this will be in a nearby county, I have been contemplating what to do with regards to Sam's schooling. I havent contacted either LEA's(the one where I live OR the one I am moving to) not sure really who I am supposed to talk to

 

Anyway I am now thinking that I really want him to remain where he is,the school is really good with Sam and he is doing so very well,I worry that the move of home plus change of school could cause him to regress at a time when he seems to be doing so well.

 

I checked distance from our new home to the school which will be 21miles,where we live at the moment its 15miles so its a 6 mile difference.Not sure if this will make a difference

If he does change school how do I get support and make sure he gets support? I am finding this very hard.

[JsMum]

Hi everyone

 

I just wanted to know where to turn for this really.Right, we are due to move home November(20th or so)this will be in a nearby county, I have been contemplating what to do with regards to Sam's schooling. I havent contacted either LEA's(the one where I live OR the one I am moving to) not sure really who I am supposed to talk to

 

Anyway I am now thinking that I really want him to remain where he is,the school is really good with Sam and he is doing so very well,I worry that the move of home plus change of school could cause him to regress at a time when he seems to be doing so well.

 

I checked distance from our new home to the school which will be 21miles,where we live at the moment its 15miles so its a 6 mile difference.Not sure if this will make a difference

If he does change school how do I get support and make sure he gets support? I am finding this very hard.

 

Sam has a statement doesnt he, and this would be the nearest school that would meet Sams needs, as he is in a specialist unit in school, therefore if he recieves Transport already then he should still recieve it, even if it was a hundred miles away, it wouldnt matter, what you have to prove is that it is the nearest school that meets Sams needs.

 

JsMumx

[chris54]

You really do need to get in touch with the local councils involved about this. (Google them to get contact details).

As you are moving from one council area to another it would be necessary for both councils to agree to an out of area placement. I have seen nothing in your post that states that there would not be a nearer suitable school withing the council area you plan to move to.

 

As has been stated you would have to prove that the present school is the only suitable school withing reasonable travelling distance of your new home and that an out of area placement was justified.

 

My advice is get on the LAs ASAP.

[justine1]

Thank you everyone <'> I know of a school that has a unit but I dont think its suitable and the alternative would be special school,again not sure thats suitable.

 

I am finding it hard as I am at Uni everyday 9am-5pm and the mobile reception is awful,this makes it difficult for me to make all these calls. I have the email for the SEN officer in this county,who was in charge of processing the statement,I think I may contact her instead and see from there.

 

Thank you all very much

[justine1]

I got a very hurried email from the SEN department in my county to say they have handed everything to the county I will be moving to.They have given me no advice and have basically washed their hands

[madsadie]

Hi Justine

Sorry to hear that. Hope the new LEA will be ok.I have heard some are better than others.

 

 

I suppose you have got to look at what's available in the new county, but i would have thought that you could argue that so many changes for a child with ASD would be detrimental. (even if they're not, if you see what i mean)

 

Have you talked about it to the school he's at?

[av16]

We are due to move in less than 2 weeks, DS is in yr9 and about to choose GCSE options. (Didn't think he would be in a position to do this a few years ago )

 

I have let the sen dept in the new LA know and have received a reply. DS goes to a mainstream secondary and he wants to remain there (has a group of friends, staff have more understanding of him), we also want him to remain. The move means there will be a commute but he will travel with me and DH - we work fairly close to his school.

 

The new sen rep said that senior officers of LA may not be happy about the distance to school, I have explained that he will travel with us also he can't be left on his own at home - gets very anxious and if he went to a local school he would return to an empty house for at least 4 days a week. I would also worry about him going to school on his own, especially a new unfamiliar one.

 

I think that they are worried about costs - we would be willing to pay for his train fare but haven't said that yet. I know Justine 1 has had a lot of troubles with her move; getting this far has been really stressful so I'm hoping the school bit will be ok - any ideas if the new LA doesn't see our point of view? DS has a statement (band d) and things are going reasonably well at school - I think he would go to pieces if he moved now.

Edited January 22, 2011 by av16

[Sally44]

I don't know as much as others on the forum. But I know that transport for LEAs is very costly. They charge much more than a simple taxi fare. As you say you have a good reason for 'why' he is not able to be alone, or travel alone etc. I think that you should get advice from IPSEA so that you are absolutely sure what you would be agreeing to.

You could agree to have an amendment to the Statement which says that parents will provide transport. But, if I were you, I would want a written letter from the LEA stating the specific wording of the amendment before I agreed to any amendment taking place. That is because when an amendment is made to a Statement that could give the LEA the legal right to appeal any or all parts of the Statement or they may seek a total reassessment.

Have a look on the IPSEA website as I believe I have seen something about if parents do provide transport that they can get help with transport costs. That maybe something the LEA would agree to, and you would get some help with the transport costs.

[av16]

Thanks Sally44 - I will check IPSEA now.

[Kathryn]

The new LEA could reassess and name a local school - that's the worst case scenario. Hopefully they will see the wisdom of leaving him where he is settled. If the local schools in your new LEA are all full that may put you in a stronger position. You could also argue that because of the stress caused by a change in school he would be likely to need more support in school than he gets now, at greater cost to the LEA.

 

See if the LEA will help with transport costs before making a decision to pay for it yourself. Check their own transport policy which you will hopefully find on their website. This may tell you if they normally provide free or subsidised transport to pupils who aren't legally eligible for it. Some LEA's are more generous than others although in the current economic climate many LEA's are now cutting back on school transport provision, unfortunately.

 

You can't go to tribunal purely over a transport issue. You can, however appeal to your LEA about a transport decision: they must have an internal procedure for this. Not a lot of people know that because LEA's don't publicise it!

 

K x

[Sally44]

Once the LEA finalise the Statement and name the school and transport etc - if they are not prepared to provide transport you can appeal to SEND about that. It is likely that your child does meet the criteria as he has an SEN - again look on the IPSEA website about the criteria.

It is always worth appealing to SEND because many LEAs refuse many things (they refuse to assess, or refuse to amend, or refuse a placement, or refuse provision etc). By refusing that screens out all parents that are not prepared to go to tribunal. By appealing it shows the LEA that you are serious, and many times the LEA does agree to provide, or do, what they initially refused. Often that is days before the tribunal. For the LEA it really depends on the cost of appearing at tribunal and their chances of your not turning up versus just providing it anyway. It is always worth them calling the parents bluff simply because it does save them some money because some parents don't follow through.

I agree, don't offer to provide transport straight away. But if "transport costs" become the main issue (and the LEAs argument against your appeal for placement and transport is that providing transport would not be a good use of their resources), then you do have the option of offering to provide transport yourself, and get help with transport costs from the LEA.

[Kathryn]

if they are not prepared to provide transport you can appeal to SEND about that.

 

You can't appeal to SEND against a refusal to provide transport - it's outside their remit.

 

K x

[av16]

Thanks for your advice . The chances are that he may go to a local college or sixth form so hopefully the transport issue may be a fairly short time scale - it does depend on whether he can be left on his own or if I change my job. I'll let you know how it goes!

Edited January 23, 2011 by av16

[puffin]

I guess the main issue for the LEA is perhaps not somuch the issueof transport - but perhaps being unwilling to have topay another LEA the full cost of a school place that they perhaps feel they could provide in one of theirown schools

 

Hope it all works out

[av16]

Finally heard from new LA, they have agreed to adopt DS's statement but no help with transport. At the moment I'm ok with this, just glad he can stay at his school.

 

Can't say he's particularly happy with new home but hopefully he'll get used to it. (I love it!)

[Kathryn]

Good news av16 and quite a relief I'm sure!

 

K x

[av16]

Thanks Kathryn