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Georges Mum

De Registered LEA pushing for mainsteam...advice please

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Hi Folks

i'm mum to 2 boys aged 19 and 7 both with Autism and 2 girls 20 and 13

Lil Man was in a Mainstream primary

i de registered him under section 7 a few weeks ago

briefly this primary school has recently 'lost' several ASD children from its care i e found wandering the street without school even aware they were missing, and a mother called because her child had had a 'serious' accident only to be told 'sorry, wrong child, now wait 40 mins for your son'

this complain is being pursued via ofsted etc

food is a huge issue for George, hes only been off Fortini for a year, only has 20 foods he will eat at all, his class TA had sat with him every lunch time then was suddenly allocated to another child, i have a constantly constipated lil boy again :(

within his main stream class each week there were a mix of 3 teachers and 5 TAs

i found him the perfect school, run by an autistic charity with autism trained teachers and they have a place...guess what...the LEA have stated in their opinion mainstream is best for him

the implication was that because i have de registered George and so am home schooling, the LEA feels no need to really assist

i am not at all new to Autism but i am new to this battle so any advice will be appriciated

 

 

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Hello. :)

 

Does your son have a statement of SEN?

 

I'm sure some one will be along to advise you as I think it is a lot more difficult to get funded placements if you deregister your child. I was told not to do that by IPSEA. My son has been on roll of a mainstream school for 19 months but he has school refused for that time and has had no education. They have just issued a statement but that states the school he has not attended.

 

At least you have time to 'battle' for a placement for your son. People are very helpful on this forum and have kept me sane when the Authorities would have me believe otherwise.

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hi cathcart3303 thanks for your reply :)

 

He was statemented at 4 years old, with a sibling history of the same Autism, in Warwickshire, much to Nottinghamshires angst lol

the LEA is suggesting a school he has attended for 2 years is the best place for him despite their recent (new head teacher) shocking disregard for safety, 14 escapes (some getting as far as home i e more than a mile or 30 plus minutes unmissed) from the premises by statemented children since september.

an average week brough him any one of 3 class teachers and 5 TAs with no idea or warning on who he might have on Monday ;s

i spoke to the SEN team at the council after i posted this, they stated they have just one main stream primary in the city with an ASD unit the other side of the city, and suggest he 'Will' go there, then add they are fully intergrated into the main school and its more a unit by name than actual provision.

i agree i am lucky, i have home schooled for 4 years with another of my children, funding is not a big issue, and i refuse to put him back into a mainstream class...en garde lol

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What does the Statement say about placement?

 

I'm not sure what the procedure is when you have de-registered. The best people to speak to are www.ipsea.org.uk.

 

But by law the LA must go with the parental choice of school unless they can prove that they have a cheaper alternative that can meet the Statement.

 

If the Statement is out of date, and this is a new LA to you, you may need to ask for a re-assessment - or do you have an Annual Review coming up? Again, i'm not sure what the procedure for an AR is when you are home schooling - so again see what IPSEA say.

 

Regarding placement, you need the Statement to detail all his needs in part 2 and provision to quantify and specify in terms of hours of support, staffing arrangements, therapy and professional input in part 3.

 

So, for example, if it says that "xxxx must be taught in small groups of no more than 8 peers", that means he cannot be put mainstream because class sizes are much bigger than that. The same applies for an Autism Unit if they feed children across to mainstream - they wont' be able to keep to the small class sizes.

 

Also what kind of therapy does he need such as SALT or OT - mainstream schools don't have them employed on site, and so if you have evidence that that is what he needs, and that under a previous regime of maybe termly reviews he did not make progress, then your child needs more therapy, not less and it has to be detailed in reports/correspondence and go into the Statement.

 

Regarding safety, do you have each and every incident logged? This is a very important issue, and maybe a reason again why mainstream is not appropriate, and maybe an argument that he needs a secure environment, or a 1:1 with him at all times.

 

Here is a link to a website that has information on getting the Statement right. http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/GettingTheStatementRight%20Mar2011.pdf

 

Although you have de-registered him, there will be a process by which your son can attend school again. IPSEA should be able to give you advice on what process to follow. Once on that process - whether that is via AR or re-assessment, there will be a timescale for that process and to appeal the outcome of it.

 

Many LAs are trying to keep ASD children mainstream. For some it works, but for others they are not mainstream material.

Edited by Sally44

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Get some advice from IPSEA. Has the statement been updated or reviewed recently. I think you need to get it updated so that you can then appeal it.

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the review was may this year, when i expressed some concerns, the SENCO basicly belittled anything i said

some temperary inprovements were made

since the may half term the school 'lost' several ASD children from its care i e found wandering the street without school even aware they were missing, and a mother was called because her child had had a 'serious' accident only to be told 'sorry, wrong child, now wait 40 mins for your son.

i am going to be outside the appeal time because of the summer holidays

George went from coping to melt downs 10 times a day, i decided he would not be going up to juniors in sept hence re registering him, none of the other primarys within walking distance has spaces even if they were suitable.

i have no issue with him attending school just refuse to return him to a school that has such regard for safety, and it will take a lot of convincing for me to agree to any mainstream placement.

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I think there is a two month deadline to lodge an appeal.

 

Phone SEND and ask them what the deadline would be from your Annual Review date.

 

You need to lodge an appeal otherwise you have no way of fighting what the LA is saying/doing.

 

Even if you just lodge the appeal as basic as a letter/email to SEND saying that you wish to lodge an appeal of your sons statement on parts 2, 3 and 4. As long as you have lodged your appeal, you can then get together your paperwork and Case Statement and submit them within the deadline for submissions.

 

If he is not going to cope, and you have issues about his safety in school, you need to be getting all this evidence in writing. If you de-register him it means the LA no longer have any responsibility for him.

 

You don't need to agree to a mainstream placement. You ask for the placement that can meet his needs. Your evidence for that placement [whatever one you decide is the only one that can meet his needs], is going to include how his current school cannot keep him safe, and how he is not coping there.

 

So, as an example, regarding safety, I would write to the LA Inclusion Officer that issued the Statement, and send a copy to the school saying something like "XXXX is a vulnerable child with a diagnosis of x, y and z. I am very concerned for my son's safety due to the number of reported incidents of ASD children attending xxxxx school being found outside of the school grounds, wandering the streets. This is a safeguarding issue and you have a Duty of Care towards my son. Can you please detail to me in writing exactly how you will ensure that my son is kept within the school grounds. Please respond to this letter within 14 days. In the meantime I will be keeping my son at home until I am satisfied that he is safe at school."

 

Then wait for them to respond. By de-registering him you will make both the school and LA very happy, because that is one more child they don't have to worry about.

 

To get a different placement, and the Statement worded so that it is legally binding, and the therapy, provision and support he needs etc, you are certainly going to have to attend a tribunal. There is no other procedure that can force the LA other than the Decision of an Educational Tribunal.

 

What does the current Statement say in part 4 [school placement].?

Edited by Sally44

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You may still be in time to appeal the review. The deadline for the appeal is 2 months after receiving the notice from the LEA.

 

Following the appeal the head teacher should write to the LEA giving recommendations. After that the LEA should either issue you with an amended statement or a letter saying they are not going to amend. It is the receipt of that statement/letter than triggers the right to appeal, and that is when the clock starts ticking. Part of the paperwork you should have received from the LEA should explicitly state that you have the right to appeal - so find any documents you have had from LEA since the review and look for that information.

 

As your review was in May there is a good chance that you are still within the 2 month window from the decision.

 

I do think that de-registering is not the best idea - it lets both the LEA and the School off the hook. You will get virtually no help from the LEA if you voluntarily take him out of school and home educate. If the current placement is not working then you need to get a professional on your side (e.g. your GP) and then keep him away from school - but keep him on their books as that puts the onus on the LEA to do something about it.

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