Aspergers care in Southampton - senior school level

[SSFelton]

I am new to this forum and hope that someone can help me.

 

I have a 10 year old son who has been through screening for ASD and during this it has also been pointed out that he most likely also has dyspraxia.

 

He is and always has been in a mainstream school, however the junior school has by their own admission 'failed him' and continue to do so. I am pushing for a statement of special needs, something due to local funding issues we have been told is virtually impossible in my area, and also he is awaiting further referrals to come through for him to be seen about the issues already mentioned.

 

At school he is bullied, aggressive, isolated, demotivated and generally starting to fail. He is quite a bright child but as his other issues worsen, it has started to have an adverse effect on his willingness to learn and concentrate in class.

 

I would love to hear from anyone who can help with advice as to how I might be able to get him into a specialised school - do I need a full concrete diagnosis for this? Do I need a statement? How hard is it to do (there are a few in my area) and how would I go about trying to get him transport etc if this was possible? I do not drive and work full time and my husband works also.

 

Any help that anyone from any area could give me would be hugely appreciated. I am getting my local MP involved to try and help me, and currently am going through an appeal process to try and stop him being sent to the officially 'worst secondary school in England' (I wish that were a joke but look up xxxx Southampton) where I fear for his safety as well as his chance at an education.

 

Thanks

Edited March 27, 2011 by Kathryn
To remove name of school in line with forum rules

[dm2010]

Primary school is probably a lost cause. So best to concentrate efforts on the next stage.

 

"I am getting my local MP involved to try and help me, and currently am going through an appeal process to try and stop him being sent to the officially 'worst secondary school in England' "

 

You have to prevent the above using (as the UN Secretary General would say) "all necessary means".

This school would probably ruin any child's education. But for an Aspie it would be definitely so.

 

Private education a possibility ? Even if for a temporary year while appeals etc go through.

[bid]

For a place at a special school you will need that Statement. I would concentrate on achieving this first. Have you contacted IPSEA and/or ACE for help? The contact numbers should be pinned at the top of the Education section here.

 

To get the Statement you will have to show that the school have gone through all the procedures and still not been able to meet his needs (School Action, School Action Plus, etc). Make sure you have everything documented, including any incidents, examples of work, etc, etc.

 

Good luck!

 

Bid

 

ETA: down in your part of the world there are quite a few independent schools for AS/HFA, although you would still need a Statement for these.

Edited March 27, 2011 by bid

[Kathryn]

Hi and welcome,

 

Good luck with your admission appeal. Try to focus on the positives about the school you want rather than the negatives of "the school from hell" - the wife of a panel member may teach there. (I've removed the school name by the way - don't want the governors coming after us with pitchforks! )

 

Remember if your preferred school is popular lots of parents will be appealing and saying much the same thing about it being a "good" school, so think how to make your son stand out as a special case - why does he particularly have to go there? What does it offer him that no other school can - and think specifics: any specialism? Particular GCSE options? How do these fit with his abilities and interests?

 

As Bid has said, you'd need a Statement for a special school so keep on moving forward and block your ears to all the negatives - many will tell you it can't be done but they're usually in the business of deterring parents. The law (unless and until Gove mucks around with it ) still says that if a child needs help over and above that which an ordinary mainstream school can provide from its own resources, the LEA has the duty to assess a child's SEN and arrange provision. You can still go to appeal if they refuse to assess or issue a statement (sorry - don't know what stage you're at). Your task is to show that the school have tried and tried but it's not enough. A diagnosis helps as clear evidence that their is a recognised difficulty but it's not enough it itself. Neither is absence of a diagnosis a barrier to getting a statement, although you would have to have convincing evidence of educational difficulties over a period of time - and the more professionals you have supporting you the better.

 

When you have a statement, that's only half the battle, you then have to show that a special school can meet his needs. Easier to go for a LEA maintained special school, but if you want a more expensive independent school you'll also have to show that it's the only one that can meet his needs or that there's not much difference in cost between that and the LEA choice of school, which would likely be the cheapest option.

 

There are laws governing schgool transport - it's free for eligible children i.e. those outside statutory walking distance (3 miles) to their nearest suitable school, or those who couldn't walk to school because of a disability. The LEA are only obliged to provide transport to the nearest suitable school - if you wanted transport to a school further away, the LEA would not be not obliged to pay for it if they decided there was a closer suitable school. Your job would be to show that their choice was unsuitable.

 

That's a very brief summary of a complex area - and some LEA's extend transport provision to other "non eligible" pupilss, sometimes pupils can share existing transport for free. That's something to worry about once you've decided on a school you'd like your son to go to.

 

Have a look at the ACE website (links pinned in the ADVICE thread at the top of this board) for useful information on SEN, admission appeals and school transport.

 

Hope that's helpful

 

K x

[bid]

Just a quick point...to get a LA special school place, you have to show that no other LA mainstream school can meet your son's needs as set out in his Statement. To get a an independent special school place you have to show that no other LA special school can meet his needs as set out in his Statement. Unfortunately it's not about showing how good the special school would be for him, it's about showing that nowhere else can meet his needs, if that makes sense!

 

HTH

 

Bid

Edited March 28, 2011 by bid

[SSFelton]

Thanks people, lovely to get helpful responses

 

I will keep you updated as to how it goes, hoping that we will get somewhere soon

[Kathryn]

Just a quick point...to get a LA special school place, you have to show that no other LA mainstream school can meet your son's needs as set out in his Statement. To get a an independent special school place you have to show that no other LA special school can meet his needs as set out in his Statement. Unfortunately it's not about showing how good the special school would be for him, it's about showing that nowhere else can meet his needs, if that makes sense!

 

Sorry to be nit picky but there's an important distinction here. You're right about an independent school of course, but if the parents' preference is an LEA maintained special school, the parent doesn't have to prove that no other mainstream meets the child's needs, the onus is on the LEA to show that the special school is unsuitable.

 

A parent has the right to choose a maintained special school over a mainstream and the LEA must agree, unless they can demonstrate that that particular school is unsuitable to the child's needs, his/her attendance would be incompatible with the education of others or it's an efficient use of resources.

 

There would, of course have to be evidence that the special school could meet a child's needs as set out in the Statement. Even if the evidence was clear, if the maintained special school was full, the LEA might legitimately cite incompatibility as the reason to refuse to name it. If that place was more expensive than another option, or far away, requiring a long and expensive taxi ride plus escort, they might cite "inefficient use of resources". So in these cases, yes, it would be essential for the parent to demonstrate why any cheaper mainstream option isn't suitable, in order to rule it out.

 

But if two schools are evenly balanced and none of the above conditions apply to the parents' preference, the LEA would have to go with the parents' preference - even if that is a special school.

 

Just to add, sometimes special school places are pre - funded before they are filled which means nil extra cost to the LEA if they place a child there. So if a special school is suitable and has vacancies and the parents want this, the LEA may well decide that it's actually more cost effective to place a child there than to keep him/her in mainstream with all the costly extra support that may entail.

 

Does that make sense? It's just that parental rights and burden of proof is different according to the type of special school, maintained vs independent, parents are expressing a preference for.

 

Good luck SSF - let us know how everything goes.

 

K x

Edited March 28, 2011 by Kathryn

[bid]

Thanks for clarifying that distinction between LA special schools and independent special schools, Kathryn

 

Bid

[SSFelton]

Yes very helpful, getting the statement itself seems to be what poses the biggest obstacle to us, however there are special schools in the area and it gives me some hope now that I am better informed of my rights and what I can control within the whole process.