refusing a school placement

[loulou]

Hi everyone (major rant coming up!),

 

As you may know, Kai (age 6 ASD/ADHD) has been given a place at a special school and is due to start next week.

 

The school is EBD, which i'm not entirely happy about, as i've heard many people voicing concerns about the suitability of EBD schools for children with ASD.

 

Kai has been out of school for 15 months now, following a very awful experience in a main stream school. Anyway, the school are expecting Kai to start FULL TIME from day one. I was under the impression that he would be gradually reintegrated back into school.

 

I've called the school 3 times about this now, but they don't seem to be budging. They said that in their experience, part time schooling "prolongs the agony for the child". I can see this may be the case for some children, but not for Kai. He has had hardly any social interaction with anyone for the last 15 months, so just expecting him to spend 6 hours per day in a new school will be too much for him.

 

I've told them all of my concerns, and today i spoke to them again. They said they would still want to stick to Kai starting full-time! Now they have postponed his start date and are arranging a meeting with me.

 

No-one at the LEA will back me up on this. The SEN officer told me i should trust the school. The Ed-psych said she could see their point, but wouldn't give her opinion (she is the one who said Kai should be slowly reintegrated back to school in the first place!)

 

The only person i have on my side is Kai's Paediatrician, who said she would write to the school. I told the school the Paed supported me and they just said that different professionals will have different views

 

I'm seriously considering refusing this placement for Kai. Where would i stand if i did? I'm looking at a few ASD schools, how would i go about fighting for a place there if the LEA have already offered him a place elsewhere?

 

Arrrgggghhhhh!

 

Loulou x

[nellie]

Loulou,

 

I'm sorry you are having this struggle. If you think this school can't meet Kai's needs then you can refuse it. You will have to state why you think this and give any evidence as proof.

 

You have evidence from the paediatrician. I believe the school social worker has said that she thought it was the wrong school for Kai. Document what happened on his previous visit, I think that showed quite clearly that they had little understanding of Kai. The head teacher's remark about 'breaking in a horse' is a typical example.

 

It would help if you can find a school that you think will meet his needs and ask for that to be named in his statement. It might help if you have a word with the NAS.

 

You can go to tribunal if they refuse to name the school of your choice on the statement.

 

Good luck with your meeting on Friday.

 

Nellie <'>

[Kazzen161]

>> If you think this school can't meet Kai's needs then you can refuse it

>> You can go to tribunal if they refuse to name the school of your choice on the statement.

 

I am not sure that you can refuse a school once you have agreed to it being named on the final statement. I don't think you can go to Tribunal if the time limit has passed.

You should get advice from ipsea or other advice line.

 

If things went badly, you could call for an early review and then ask for a different school, but obviously you don't want things to go badly.

 

Karen

[bid]

Loulou,

 

Please, please follow your instincts on this one.

 

If you have any doubts that this school is right for Kai then don't accept it.

 

You truly do know what is best for your son...have confidence in yourself, and don't be bullied!

 

Bid <'>

[Kathryn]

Loulou

 

I agree with Bid. I would question whether the school has your son's best interests at heart, if they are determined to stick to this "one size fits all" policy.

 

I sympathise with yur dilemma though, and can only echo the advice to call Ipsea or the NAS.

 

K

[nellie]

Loulou,

 

Sorry, I thought your statement hadn't been finalised yet, if it hasn't, then you can still negotiate the name of the school, but they can still finalise the statement naming the EBD school. I would definitely seek the advice of IPSEA or the NAS.

 

Take care and keep us posted Loulou.

 

Nellie xx

[loulou]

Hi Nellie,

 

They are in the process of finalising the statement, but i think i will get a modified draught first as his dx of ASD has still to be put on it. They are well over the time limit, but their answer to that is that they were awaiting his CDC assessment.

 

I think i have 3 options;

 

1) accept the place at the EBD school, but on MY terms. If it works then that's fine, but if it doesn't i will pull him out QUICK. This gives me time to look at other schools and also if it doesn't work, the LEA will then have no option but to find him a more suitable place.

 

2) fefuse the EBD place and fight for an alternative. I know i will have a huge fight on my hands, and also with the holidays coming up, time is not on my side.

 

3) home education

 

I'm waiting for the school to phone with a time for a meeting. I'm secretly hoping they will say they can't offer him a place as they don't think it will work .

 

Loulou x

[oracle]

Loulou in my opinion, and it is only my opinion, if you let him go to the EBD school and it does not work out then I wonder if you will ever get him to attend another school? When things have already gone pear shaped once for our kids it is really important that the next choice we make for our kids is the right one. I was told this about David when he had been out for two years following his breakdown. I allowed him to go to a PRU because it was the only thing on offer. It's a decision that I now regret.

 

Carole

[nellie]

Thanks Loulou,

 

I do sympathise with you, it must be very difficult. These are my thoughts on the points you made. Listen to all the advice you can get and make up your own mind, it has to be your decision.

 

1) accept the place at the EBD school, but on MY terms. If it works then that's fine, but if it doesn't i will pull him out QUICK. .

 

I think if you decide to accept this school you may have difficulty making things happen on your terms.

 

This gives me time to look at other schools and also if it doesn't work, the LEA will then have no option but to find him a more suitable place

 

If you think the school can't meet Kia's needs, you may be taking a risk of causing emotional damage to Kai by placing him there.

 

refuse the EBD place and fight for an alternative. I know i will have a huge fight on my hands, and also with the holidays coming up, time is not on my side.

 

You may have a fight, but you would not be fighting alone, if you contacted the NAS or IPSEA.

 

home education

 

Again this decision must be yours. You have had Kia home for some time, so have a rough idea of how you would both cope.

 

I'm waiting for the school to phone with a time for a meeting. I'm secretly hoping they will say they can't offer him a place as they don't think it will work�

 

It appears that you don't think this school is the right one.

 

I'm sorry Loulou, I wish I had the answers. Maybe someone else will come up with some advice. I can only urge you to contact the NAS or IPSEA for advice and support.

 

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

Nellie <'> <'>

[admum]

Im not an expert, but I think it may be best to let them finalise statement omitting asd and then you can appeal. Provided you have given them evidence of the diagnosis it will help in the appeal. Its an importnat fact to be taken into consideration and im sure that a tribunal will not be impressed by the lEa failing to include in part 2 and presumably also explain its impact on your child. Needs identified in part 2 must be met in part 3 and so you will also be presumably appealing part 3 and part 4 (named school). Once they finalise you have to act quickly. Dont accept second best now as the others have said it may be detrimental. If hes been out of school so long a few more months wont matter but a bad school could cause untold damage. A head taecher who thinks they can break a child is clearly inappropriate. You need advice from ipase and the nas advice line. Look at asd schools. You may need to consider boarding. Good luck.