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peaches

Is an appeal to SENDIST worth it?

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R (diagnosed High Functioning Autism, ADHD) now aged 9 has been excluded from school for biting another child. Its a fixed exclusion and was for yesterday afternoon and today. He goes back after half term. Its the third such incident in a fortnight. I know its wrong and he shouldnt have done it, but I feel it occurs because of his diagnosis and he cannot cope in the playground. I have asked repeatedly for him to be more closely supervised in the yard. I pointed this out in a letter today to the head. The head said she had given additional supervision and gradually withdrawn it to give him more freedom. She also pointed out that there are times when even an adult was close by incidents could occur. Yesterday he had tried to find an adult but they were dealing with someone else so he took the matter into his own hands. Myself and R would actually prefer it if he didnt go out into the yard because he doesnt actually like it.

 

Having looked over the exclusion letter I notice I have a right to appeal to SENDIST. Im not fussed about the exclusion being revoked or anything, I would just like him to be excused from going into the yard or having one to one supervision in the yard. I am actually tired of asking for them to supervise him more closely. I do it each time he has a run in in the yard. Its obviously not working.

 

Shall I write to SENDIST? Is it worth it?

 

Shall I write to the governing body?

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I personally would not complain to SEND about the exclusion. But I would include information about those exclusions as evidence that he needs a Statement and needs support during unstructured times such as breaktimes and dinnertimes.

 

I would advise you to have a look at www.ace-ed.org.uk because they have alot of information about children with SEN and especially about exclusions.

 

I presume he is in a mainstream primary school.

 

What stage of the SEN process is he at ie. School Action, School Action Plus.

 

Does he have IEPs?

 

The ONLY way you are going to get him support which has to be provided by the school/LA is if he has a Statement of special educational needs. Usually that is the next stage after School Action Plus.

 

He will not learn social interaction and communication skills by being turned out into the playground. His difficulties are part of his diagnosis. He needs to be taught 1:1 and then in small groups how to deal with some of these situations.

 

You can also download the SEN Code of Practice from the Education Publications link at the top of this forum page. That will give you all the information about the various stages of SEN.

 

I especially think you need to think about asking for an Statutory Assessment for a Statement because he is 9 and soon you have to think about which secondary school is going to be able to meet his needs. A Statement takes 26 weeks from start to finish, and if the finalised Statement is not worded correctly so that it is legally binding, or if all the child's needs are not in part 2 and provision is not quantified and specified in part 3, you may have to lodge an Appeal to SEND about the Statement; and that will take a further 6 months before the Tribunal date. So you really need to get your skates on.

 

You don't need any professional to agree that he needs a Statement before you request the LA to assess him for one. But usually you need at least two IEPs and for the child to be on SA+. But you don't HAVE to wait for that.

Edited by Sally44

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Having looked over the exclusion letter I notice I have a right to appeal to SENDIST. Im not fussed about the exclusion being revoked or anything, I would just like him to be excused from going into the yard or having one to one supervision in the yard. I am actually tired of asking for them to supervise him more closely. I do it each time he has a run in in the yard. Its obviously not working.

 

Shall I write to SENDIST? Is it worth it?

 

Shall I write to the governing body?

 

Hi peaches

 

Short fixed term exclusions cannot be overturned anyway, but you do have the right to put your views to the governing body, in writing and to ask for a meeting. So you can make the point strongly that you feel the exclusions have happened because of R's SEN not being appropriately met and you would like to discuss with the school, and any other relevant professionals, what further support can be given, or adjustments made, to avoid future incidents.

 

For this kind of exclusion, the only appeal you can make to SENDIST is regarding disability discrimination. It's up to you. AS it will take 4-5 months for a claim to be heard, could well put the school on the defensive, and you will get at the most an apology an possibly a review of the school's policy and procedures if they are found to be at fault, it may not be worth the effort. Possibly better o focus your energies on trying to work with the school to change what they are doing. As Sally has said, this could be a good time to push for a move to the next stage of SEN support, depending on what R is on now.

 

K x

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He has had a statement for at least 3 years now. He has IEPs. I take your point about what it will achieve. I have made an appointment with the Autism Communication Team (again). We havent seen them for a while. They used to be present at his reviews when he was first in school but they arent. I feel as if at first the school was doing a lot, but now they are just sitting back.

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If he has a Statement, what is that providing. You should be able to see in part 2 each and every need and part 3 should detail how each and every need will be met in terms of hours of support, hours of staffing, hours of professional input and hours of therapy.

 

If he is still ending up with exclusions that is because either the placement isn't right or the Statement is not meeting his needs or both.

 

If, as you say, he is not coping with the social communication side of things and these incidents are happening during unstructured times such as breaktimes and dinnertimes the school should seek advice from the SALT and EP for their advice and that advice should be incorporated into the Statement.

 

You can phone the SALT and EP yourself and speak to them and say that his needs are not being met.

 

If he has a Statement you can wait until the Annual Review and ask for these additional needs to be included in part 2 and 3; or you can ask for a total re-assessment, or an emergency review.

 

If the Statement is re-written there is a possibility that current provision maybe removed by the LA, which they do do eventhough no professional has said that provision can be reduced or removed. But if you appeal to SEND the LA will have to explain their actions and have documented evidence that that reduction was recommended by the professional involved.

 

Look on the www.ace-ed.org.uk website and follow the SEN links to "getting the Statement right".

 

A Statement is a legal document. It should be absolutely clear who is supposed to be doing what, for how long and for how often.

 

Whoever is involved with your son should attend the Annual Review. My son's Statement states that. If yours doesn't that is why no-one is turning up - because they are not legally obliged to do so.

 

I cannot over emphasise how important the WORDING of the Statement is. If it isn't in the Statement it won't happen or be provided.

 

Although it is often said that the Statement is a legally binding document. It is not the Statement, but the wording it contains, that makes it legally binding. A badly worded Statement is not worth the paper it is written on.

Edited by Sally44

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If he cant cope with going out in the yard he shud be provided with a safe place in school, and if he is statemented this could be included as part of that , if 1 to 1 is written in, they can "withdraw it to give him more freedom" without u agreeing, appealing to sendist will take time and p[robably not get you anywhere , concentrate on sorting the problema he has in the yard to make life easier for him x

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I've just noticed the phrase you first posted

 

"The head said she had given additional supervision and gradually withdrawn it to give him more freedom."

 

If his current Statement says that he is to have additional supervision during breaktimes, then that is what he MUST have. If it states 1:1 that is even better. The Head cannot reduce or remove this support without a professional saying that he no longer needs it, and that would have to happen at the Annual Review and if it did happen at the Annual Review you can appeal to SEND that you do not agree with this amendment.

 

So what does the Statement say about supervision during breaks and dinnertime? If it is specific, then you can write to the Head and include what the Statement says, and say that by removing this support the school is failing to provide the provision and support that is detailed in the Statement and that it must be reinstated. Ask her to contact you about this.

 

But please post about whether the Statement is specific about this support or not.

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Hi Again just noticed in my post above i put they can withdraw the 1 to 1 but i meant to say if it is in the statement they CAN'T withdraw it without your consent at least , if its in the statemwnt theya r elegally bound to do it, x

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