Panel Hearing Farce - then Not Allowed?!

[Parly]

Sorry if this is already covered somewhere else and I’ve missed it.

 

OK, here’s the drill.

 

My ten year old son is due to start secondary this September. He is in the process of being assessed for ASD, ADHD / ADD. Assessments have already taken place with the Consultant Paediatrician, Occupational Therapist, CAMHS Psychologist and we’re still awaiting assessments with Speech & Language therapy. Once they’re all completed, he’ll be discussed at the Social Communication Disorder panel.

 

The Clinical Psychologist is continuing to work with my son because of his severe issues with anxiety, low confidence and self esteem, night terrors and Trichotillomania (pulling out his eyelashes, eyebrows and hair) The poor lad has been bullied, isolated and made to feel acutely aware of how “different” he is since day one so his confidence is just shot at beyond belief.

 

The LEA refused our request for a place at our preferred school and instead, allocated him one at the secondary my thirteen year old daughter attends. The preferred one has just 700 pupils and has an excellent reputation for knowing its pupils extremely well and working hard to build confidence and develop good relationships etc.

 

The other one – the one they’ve allocated him is a vast school with over 1,400 pupils and in short – it’s a bit pants really. My daughter is rolling on there but she’s very bright, sociable and has none of the problems her brother has. Another reason I don’t want my son there is because his big sis adores him and mothers him like nobody’s business when I’m not there.

 

It’ll affect her schooling if her younger brother is there because she’ll spend every day watching his back, fighting his battles and generally worrying herself stupid over him.

 

My son’s current Yr 6 wrote a letter in support of the appeal and stated how detrimental it would be for him to attend the ridiculously sized school and the OT report made reference to the difficulties he’ll endure at secondary and how these can be remedied etc.

 

The tribunal hearing was last Tuesday and it was an absolute farce. The panel had no idea about ASD’s or how they affect the daily lives of children with them. They assumed my son took medication and seemed baffled as to how he could be treated without.

 

They asked whether I had any other children (my daughter his mentioned throughout) and when I explained about my daughter, they asked “Is she OK?”

 

One gem of a panel member even suggested I should be satisfied with the allocated school because I “have to drive past it to get to the other one anyway – it’s going further out of your way”, as though that’s my main worry!!

 

I left the hearing feeling as though they didn’t have the faintest idea what my concerns were, what enormous difficulties my son has already – let alone what he’ll have to contend with wherever he goes and generally felt deflated and not at all hopeful.

 

As I’d half expected, a letter arrived on Friday morning saying the appeal is “not allowed” and that’s that.

 

I’ve since discovered that I can complain to the local ombudsman and hope for a fresh hearing with a fresh panel but what I want to ask is whether they should have included someone with at least some knowledge of ASD?

 

I felt as though I had to somehow give them a crash course in the whole ins and outs, in what was already an incredibly difficult situation – in about fifteen minutes.

[BusyLizzie100]

Hi Parly,

 

Just to clarify - was this an appeal to the SEND tribunal, or a panel meeting held by the Local Authbority?

 

Thanks,

Lizzie x

[Parly]

Sorry - forgot to say it was a panel meeting held by the Local Authority.

[Kazzen161]

These might help.

 

http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/do-it-online/get-involved/volunteering/volunteering-children-and-education/do_it_online-school-appeal-panels.htm

 

http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/Legal+Advice/Education+law/Schooladmissions/

[JsMum]

The Clinical Psychologist is continuing to work with my son because of his severe issues with anxiety, low confidence and self esteem, night terrors and Trichotillomania (pulling out his eyelashes, eyebrows and hair) The poor lad has been bullied, isolated and made to feel acutely aware of how “different” he is since day one so his confidence is just shot at beyond belief.and he is still attending mainstream primary. crums, Your lad is doing amazing to still put himself to school, so I understand your concerns over a large secondary school, did the clinical psychologist do any further medical report to support you, you need to prove that the larger secondary school WILL NOT MEET YOUR SONS NEEDS.

 

I am in a way relieved to read this was a LEA Panel and not the SEND Panelxxx

 

Does your son have a statement?School Action Plus?

 

I would continue with the assessments and in the mean time apply for a statement if your son has not got a statement because even just the descrition you described abiut his anxiety and been bulllied is enough to be effecting his learning.

 

I would defo get more support with this, a local parent group, parent partnership, NAS, Contact a Family.

 

Good Luck

 

JsMumx

[BusyLizzie100]

The Clinical Psychologist is continuing to work with my son because of his severe issues with anxiety, low confidence and self esteem, night terrors and Trichotillomania (pulling out his eyelashes, eyebrows and hair) The poor lad has been bullied, isolated and made to feel acutely aware of how “different” he is since day one so his confidence is just shot at beyond belief.and he is still attending mainstream primary. crums, Your lad is doing amazing to still put himself to school, so I understand your concerns over a large secondary school, did the clinical psychologist do any further medical report to support you, you need to prove that the larger secondary school WILL NOT MEET YOUR SONS NEEDS.

 

I am in a way relieved to read this was a LEA Panel and not the SEND Panelxxx

 

Does your son have a statement?School Action Plus?

 

I would continue with the assessments and in the mean time apply for a statement if your son has not got a statement because even just the descrition you described abiut his anxiety and been bulllied is enough to be effecting his learning.

 

I would defo get more support with this, a local parent group, parent partnership, NAS, Contact a Family.

 

Good Luck

 

JsMumx

 

I agree with JsMum. You can make an application for a statutory assessment yourself - if the LA agrees to do this then a thorough assessment of your son's needs will take place, which means the LA will seek advice from all those professionals involved with your son. The result would hopefully be a statement. If the LA turns down your application for Statutory Assessment, then you'll have the right to appeal to the SEND tribunal who really will listen to you and check all the evidence.

 

However, the whole application and assessment process takes several weeks, and your son is due to start secondary school this September, which makes your situation tricky. I'm not exactly sure what you can do at this stage - I'd recommend contacting the Ipsea helpline (phone number's on the website) to get some specific advice.

 

Hope that helps,

Lizzie x

[Sally44]

Does your son have a Statement?

So the LA have simply refused your parental choice of school.

The LA will know about ASDs. They will have many children with Statements with the diagnoses your child has/will have. They will have those children placed in mainstream or special school as well as independent schools. In my experience LAs tend to act dumb. They are not going to tell you what your child should or could have. You need to do what you can to make sure he gets it.

I'm not sure what you do about appealing a school placement if your child does not have a Statement. Others will give advice on that.

 

What you may need is a special or independent schools because it does sound like his needs are over and above what a typical mainstream school could provide?

 

Did your son visit your preferred school. Did they assess have and write a report/letter and offer your child a placement there in writing? Do they have a specialism for any of his diagnoses. Do any of their teachers have an additional qualification for any of his diagnosies (eg. ASD, SPLD etc). Do they have SALT or OT on site?

 

If you request an assessment for a Statement, when the Statement is finalised you may well have to appeal to the special educational needs tribunal (SEND). That Panel will have 3 people on who normally do know about these diagnoses because they are dealing with these cases day after day. But for my own appeal I have included a brief outline about each of my child's diagnoses for them to read about.

 

If you do go to a SEND Tribunal you can get your own independent reports and you can get your own independent expert witnesses (SALT/EP/OT etc). It costs money, but if you have a good chance of getting the placement it maybe worth doing if your son is and continues to deteriorate.

 

You can also ask any professional to come as a witness ie. NHS OT/SALT/CAHMS/Clinical Psychologist etc. If they refuse you can ask SEND to Supina them as being vital for the Tribunal. Ive issued a supina for the NHS SALT and CAHMS Psychiatrist. You have to weigh up whether they will be a help to your appeal or a hostile witness. Don't call anyone who you suspect would be hostile.

 

If you were in the Statementing process and the LA disagreed with what his needs were, or how to meet them, or what placement he needed, you could appeal to SEND. Outside of the Statementing process I am not sure what your options are. But am sure others will know and give advice.

 

Make sure you detail everything in a diary that you can use as a chronology of events. This will include what your son is saying, doing, coping etc. Also make sure you get everything in writing from the LA and anyone else dealing with your son.

[Kathryn]

OK, just to summarise what's going on: your son does not have a Statement. You applied via the normal secondary school admissions process and were refused a place by the admission authority at your preferred school. You appealed that decision via the usual admission appeals process, and lost.

 

Going back to your original question:

I’ve since discovered that I can complain to the local ombudsman and hope for a fresh hearing with a fresh panel but what I want to ask is whether they should have included someone with at least some knowledge of ASD?

 

No this is not a requirement. Appeal panels have to undergo the relevant training in the law and procedure, and should have experience in educational matters and some knowledge of the local situation, but it would not be possible to provide a panel member with specific knowledge about a condition. The same appeal panels would usually be hearing a large number of appeals close together (especially at secondary transfer time), with a wide variety of personal situations presented, so they cannot be expected to be experts on everything. Admission appeal panels are not to be confused with SEN tribunal panels which do have two lay members experienced in SEN as they are an expert Tribunal whose role is quite different. Have a look at the Admission Appeals Code which gives detailed information about who can and cannot be on an admission appeal panel and what their role is.

 

The appeal panel can only look at the information both sides present - on paper and in person on the day. It would be up to you as the appellants to provide all the relevant evidence to support your case. This may include background information on ASD and specific information on how your son is affected, as well as evidence to support your reasons for believing your preferred school is particularly suitable for your son. You can't assume the panel already have this knowledge - the onus is on you to spell it out in detail.

 

If the panel didn't have enough information from you about your son's ASD, you can't really blame them for their ignorance. If however they did have the information but did not consider it properly, or you had other reasons to believe they did not give you a fair hearing,or there was a clear error in procedure or the way they followed the law there may be grounds to complain to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can only look at the way the decision was reached, not whether the decision itself was right or wrong.

 

It could be that the panel did take your son's ASD into account in reaching their decision but still felt that his need for the school was not enough to outweigh the prejudice caused to the school by admitting an extra child. The clerk's notes would contain evidence of their deliberations after the hearing.

 

Hope this helps and please note I'm not making a judgement about how your hearing went, just pointing out the possible angles.

 

K x

Edited June 22, 2011 by Kathryn