Considering a school choice - but what if these

[workingmum]

Hello all

 

Consideration been given to a alternative school choice due to these below

 

- lack of organisation of the school in terms of provision stated in the statement

 

- lack of structure with school work - child expected to organised themsleves - despite aspergers conditions does not make this easy - hence falls behind or marked low in subjects,

 

- all necessary provisions as stated on statement are in place but it's managed in such a way that it does not seem to work

 

- child does not want the support - dont want to be seen as different from peers despite difficulties

 

- turnover of student and teachers high - so seems like not a stable environment

 

- if current school cost much more than intended school - school & provisions council funded, will this help in proposed move. both school can provide all provsions but in different ways - either in-house or bought

 

1. if all the above is happening - how easy is it to change from more expensive but less efficient school to another that will provide the same but will cost the council considerable less. A huge less - both are independent school.

 

2. How can this be made to work - input from parents and if school is wlling to co-operate

[Sally44]

Can you give an example of how the provision in the Statement is delivered in such a way that it does not work?

[Kazzen161]

Some questions:

What steps have you taken to make school 1 improve their provision? Have you told the LA of your concerns about school 1?

Does school 2 have an available place for your child?

Does school 2 have other children funded by your LA?

How can you be certain that school 2 CAN do the things that school 1 does not (I presume you thought school 1 could do these things originally)?

Are the transport costs for school 2 the same or less than for school 1?

How is "child does not want the support - dont want to be seen as different from peers despite difficulties" going to be better at school 2?

[workingmum]

For example - child needs curriculum to be broken down and so task - pre prepared - fine motor skills/organisation issues, sch senco said recently he does not have these - he is able and can do blah, blah blah and is not pushing self to achieve. OT does not agree, we have been in school loads of time - to work with them and suggest ways of doing things. diff tutors work diff with DC - some allow to touch type other dont etc - hence confusing to monitor or implement anything. always DC fault if goals not acheive - its frustrating. Onus on the child to organise self etc and its not working for DC at the moment.

 

re- school 2 - dont know loads - will visit in sept and also will discuss with their senco/ head teacher - however will need to pass entrance exams anyway, initial discussion says provisions can be met.

 

Transport - no diff - not funded at present by council and much less travelling time - more local for school 2

 

Re - child attitude - i dont know really because that cant be changed - will need support one way or another - but very academically able and socially slightly less

 

I have said nothing to the council - is that a good move - not sure what to do on this - will it be better to discuss with council now or when i have all the information from school 2 - i wanted to wait till then.

[Sally44]

If it is in the Statement you need to write to the school detailing what they are not doing, and copy the local authority into that letter. The Statement is a legal document and must be complied with. Give them a timescale of 14 days to reply to your concerns and to fulfill the Statement.

 

If that does not happen you can use Judicial Review which would Order the LA/School to fulfill the Statement. It intially costs around £300 for a SEN solicitor to lodge a Judicial Review, and usually that alone gets the LA moving. Any further costs incurred will not be charged to you as the solicitor is working for your child [a minor] and not for you.

 

The ONLY time that provision should be amended is at an Annual Review, and as this school may say then that they no longer feel he needs x, y and z that you ensure that the OT does include in their report for the Annual Review, that he still requires all these supports to be in place.

 

Get the OT to clarify things in writing. And again this should be added to the Statement at the next AR, ie. a consistent use of x, y and z during lessons.

 

Also make sure that difficulties with organising himself, sequencing [?], and planning are also included in part 2, with ways that this will be supported in school in lessons documented in part 3.

 

It sounds to me like the Statement is not specific enough, and that what is specific is not being fulfilled. But that can be remedied as above.

 

By all means visit the other school to see what you think about it, but I would try the above first.

[SensitiveSoul]

Some questions:

Does school 2 have an available place for your child?

Does school 2 have other children funded by your LA?

How can you be certain that school 2 CAN do the things that school 1 does not (I presume you thought school 1 could do these things originally)?

 

I agree with Kazzen161 that you defintely need to think about these questions she asked. I would have said you need to do all your research on school 2 first before speaking to the LEA. Get all your facts together so you have a clear comparison of both schools in order to make an informed decision. Once you have all the information you'll be better placed to make a decision about which school you feel is right for your child.

 

If you feel school 2 is right, then approach your LEA to express your concerns about school 1, and why you think chool 2 might be better for your child. Also when you do speak to them you should ask how it might affect statement/provisions etc if you did move you child.

 

I wouldn't have thought it wouldn't help going to the LEA without having the facts, and without having a pretty good idea as to which school you want to choose, because if you keep your child in school 1 then it's wasting the LEAs time. If, after visiting school 2 and getting all your facts, you decide to move your child to school 2, the LEA may want to know why you want to move your child to school 2 etc. If it's going to cost them less I don't see them having much of an issue with it. it's usually when you want to move your child to a specialist school, or one a lot further from your home, that will cost more that they want a lot of justification, but you just never know.

 

Working out the best school for your child is hard. My advice is defintely to make sure you've done everything you can to sort things out at his current school, do all your homework on school 2 and get all your facts together. The grass is not always greener on the other side. It can be, but it's not always.

Edited August 1, 2012 by SensitiveSoul

[Sally44]

You would also need to ensure that school 2 could provide all the support and therapy detailed in the Statement from within their standard package. Otherwise school 2 will have to get costings of any additional support or therapy detailed in the Statement, and those would have to be added onto their fees.

[Kazzen161]

_{I would not mention school 2 to the LA until you have seen it and are sure it would be better for your child. I would start in Sept trying to ensure school1 does follow the statement and keep evidence of meetings and of what it does or does not do, whilst also visiting school 2. I would also suggest visiting some more AS specific schools, so you get an idea of what a good school can do (even if you do not decide to push for one of them).}

 

_{Although your child's attitude might not be changed, good schools will know how to work with it.}

[SensitiveSoul]

A child not wanting support is a difficult thing to combat, and how you address it really depeneds on what support the child gets. I've worked with more than one child who didn't want the TA support, but had to have it either to go in class at all, or to access the work in class. In the case of issues with having the TA in the room you can agree to not sit next to the child constantly and give them space to be with their friends. We have generally found that if the support isn't forced on the child, they will see others in the class asking for help from the TA, and realise it'snot such a big deal and will gradually ask for help of their own accord. A classic example of this is a child I worked with who has ADHD. His behaviour was so bad he wasn't allowed into class without TA support. The first time I was supposed to go with him he kicked off and said he didn't want me with him. My boss talked to him calmly and stated that he couldnot go into class without me, but that I could jut be a gneral help in the class and not sit next to him. Gradually, after a few lessons, he seemed to see that nobody was bothered if I was in the class or not, and he started to ask for my help of his own accord, andeventually he asked why I wasn't sitting next to him, and when I responded with what we agreed, he said he didn't mind. So depending on the child and their ability, and depending on what the support is which is put in place there are things you can do to help, to get round their feeling of not wanting to be different.

[workingmum]

Thanks all for your guidance, we will visit these other school - make sure they can provide all resources - seem to say yes they can. Presently DC attends an independent school twice as expensive compared with the other schools. Sch A was last minute choice at the time for us - long story. But I always believe that instinct do tell you otherwise, we are willing to go either way.

Will do the open days and see how it goes.

 

Another issue was the high turnover of staff and children in sch A, at first didn't seem like a problem but its becoming one as DC has to begin relationships like every term with someone new - teacher or kids - no feeling of belonging - social skills aspects - kind of worried and not a lot of continuity in relationships etc. each time have to work on social aspects of people going and coming - constant changing environment - building relationships most especially with teacher becomes difficult.

[workingmum]

An update now that we have visited 3 schools - all can provide provisions in the statement , however Dc has to sit exams, thats ok. Now when and how do i tell the LA that we are considering a change of school , before the exams in January 2013 or after DC has been offered a place at the chosen school,.

We have annual review in March 2013 anyway,wondered - do we wait till then , but will have to pay guarantee the placein the school if all exams passed before March 2013 and in one school in particular, DC dont have to wait till next school year - they take in year anyway.

we have arguments for and against current school and the intended one but our concerns are the timescale to notify LA - can we use an emergency annual review or contact LA via case worker directly.

Edited October 26, 2012 by workingmum

[Sally44]

First you must be certain of the school you want. Any uncertainty will be bought up by the LA at Tribunal.

Your son must have had a trial period there [usually 3 days], and the school must have offered him a place in writing.

 

Have you done anything to ensure that the current school does fulfill the Statement? Have you had a meeting in school. Have you informed the LA that the Statement is not being fulfilled?

 

You don't have to wait for the Annual Review. You can ask for an emergency review - what grounds would you be asking for this?

 

How old is your child and what year are they in.

[workingmum]

We are certain of all 3 schools, bt not offered a place yet till after the exams in January 2013. above all these 3 schools are considerably less in cost than the current school, we hope that will be a considering factor - we are talking over 20k less. Dont see why if in any case the LA wont consider it in this economic times we live in.

 

Will we have to go down the tribunal route again ? - wondered if it cant be much more straight forward.

 

Dc intends to go in for Year 8/9 entry.

 

Dont know what grounds if for emergency, is just that if any of the schools gives us an offer for current year entry - cant DC be moved do we have to wait till a new school year.

[puffin]

Are these special schools or competitative entry independent schools that offer ASD support ?

[workingmum]

they are competitive entry independent school offering ASD support