Mrs.Hapton Report post Posted July 15, 2006 We went before the panel to fight for the right secondary school for our AS son.I thought the panel would have read all the documentation I sent them.My husband asked them if they knew what AS is.They said they did.Afew minutes later the female panellist asked me "What sort of Aspergers Syndrome does your son have?"I told her there was only 1 type & she argued with me!Hmmm. Then there was mither over the hospital reports I quoted from- where had I got them from,why didn't the panel have them.2 weeks ago the Clerk to the panel told me they "Are not relevant to this case".I'd heard enough & had to leave my poor husband to sort it out.The top & bottom of it is the LEA say the allocated school is fine & we disagree.It's also 2 & a half miles away-no direct bus & I cant take him & he's incapable of walking there.Its too far for any 11yo never mind one with AS!! Son doesnt want to go anyway.Its quite obvious we havent won the appeal-they just didnt get what we were saying.Where do we go next? Please help,this is my sons future on the line & the LEA dont have a clue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss Report post Posted July 15, 2006 Hi, sounds as if you are having a tough time <'> I'm afraid we've never faced this situation, so can't offer any advice, just support, and I'm sure other forum members who have been thru this can offer you some wonderful advice. Take care <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs phasmid Report post Posted July 15, 2006 We went before the panel to fight for the right secondary school for our AS son.I thought the panel would have read all the documentation I sent them.My husband asked them if they knew what AS is.They said they did.Afew minutes later the female panellist asked me "What sort of Aspergers Syndrome does your son have?"I told her there was only 1 type & she argued with me!Hmmm. Then there was mither over the hospital reports I quoted from- where had I got them from,why didn't the panel have them.2 weeks ago the Clerk to the panel told me they "Are not relevant to this case".I'd heard enough & had to leave my poor husband to sort it out.The top & bottom of it is the LEA say the allocated school is fine & we disagree.It's also 2 & a half miles away-no direct bus & I cant take him & he's incapable of walking there.Its too far for any 11yo never mind one with AS!! Son doesnt want to go anyway.Its quite obvious we havent won the appeal-they just didnt get what we were saying.Where do we go next? Please help,this is my sons future on the line & the LEA dont have a clue. was this a sendist panel or a normal admission panel? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs.Hapton Report post Posted July 15, 2006 was this a sendist panel or a normal admission panel? Its for transfer to secondary school.Our 1st choice of school was rejected(pupil numbers)& LEA allocated 2nd choice & its not good enough.Panel of 3 lay members,headmaster,LEA rep,some other guy fron cheshire county council & minutes secretary.Dont know if it was sendist or normal Im afraid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted July 15, 2006 It does sound like a normal admission appeals panel. The thought was if he had a statement then the appeal should have gone to a SENDIST, and not LEA, panel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs.Hapton Report post Posted July 15, 2006 (edited) It does sound like a normal admission appeals panel. The thought was if he had a statement then the appeal should have gone to a SENDIST, and not LEA, panel. Hope this helps! Sept 05: applied for secondary school.Adam didnt want to go to catchment school so chose XXXXXXXXX.Cos its only 0.6 miles away we never expected to be turned down.XXXXXXX & XXX XXXXXX were only included because we thought we had to put them in-couldnt just leave a blank space.Stated on app form that Adam being investigated for an ASD. Dec 05:Aspergers diagnosis Feb 06:allocated XXXXXXX Mar 06:stated intention to appeal. June 06:Visits to XXXXXXXX with Adam.Meeting with XXXXX SENCo (no Adam).She stated that it wouldnt be the ideal school hor Adam.Told that XXXXXXX will definitely be moving to new,bigger site in sept 07. June 28: letter from Mrs XXXXXXX,Clerk to the Appeal Panel giving appeal date,would I ring to confirm I was attending & did I need anything clarifying? June 29: rang Mrs XXXXXXX .She was off sick.I asked if the reports from CAMHS & DATA should be submitted.He(didnt give his name) said no, they werent relevant to the case.Told to send my written statement of appeal to XXXXX XXXXXXX,Committee Services. July 3:posted my statement & letter from primary headmaster backing our choice Sorry Mrs. Hapton it is forum policy to not name individuals or school on the forum. I have therefore removed the names of people and schools. Phas Edited July 15, 2006 by phasmid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted July 15, 2006 Our LEA has a citeria for admissions that supercedes catchment criteria "where there is a particular medical/psychological reason why the child should go to this school, backed up by medical evidence". This can be used where the child has special needs but no statement. In such a case, the CAHMS evidence woudl have been relevant. I woudl guess that your best bet is to prove that correct procedures have not been followed (eg: telling you that the CAMHS info was not relevant). The school allocated does not have to be the best one, just adequate to his needs - you would have to present a strong case to overturn the decision. We have a school just down the road, but our catchment school is 1.5 miles away. Usually there is no problem getting into the closer school, but the Twins year was a very large year. Unless you were in catchment or there was sibling already at the school, you had no chance of getting in. However, 15 parents put it as their first choice, and did not get in. All appealed, but only one got in. Have you asked to be put on the waiting list for your preferred school? Do you know how long the list is? Karen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
openyoureyes Report post Posted July 15, 2006 Wow Mrs Hapton you certainly did not get much sleep did you?????????? as I said this is a great site and lots of other parents have gone through the same things so you can get advise on a more personal level. How are you feeling today, has the anger turned more into "lets fight the ######!!!" See you monday Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted July 15, 2006 Sept 05: applied for secondary school.Adam didnt want to go to catchment school so chose XXXXXXXXX.Cos its only 0.6 miles away we never expected to be turned down.XXXXXXX & XXX XXXXXX were only included because we thought we had to put them in-couldnt just leave a blank space.Stated on app form that Adam being investigated for an ASD. That's all fine. Dec 05:Aspergers diagnosis Feb 06:allocated XXXXXXX Mar 06:stated intention to appeal. Did you make the LEA aware of the change of circumstances, the dx, when it was made? That might help your case slightly. June 06:Visits to XXXXXXXX with Adam.Meeting with XXXXX SENCo (no Adam).She stated that it wouldnt be the ideal school hor Adam.Told that XXXXXXX will definitely be moving to new,bigger site in sept 07. Did you get anything in writing from the SENCo statng this? Would she still state the same now if you were to ask her? Did you tell the panel this? June 28: letter from Mrs XXXXXXX,Clerk to the Appeal Panel giving appeal date,would I ring to confirm I was attending & did I need anything clarifying? This letter will have been from the Education Legal Services Dept at the LEA, not the clerk. They are not employed by the council they are hired in from outside. If the clerk is found to be empolyed by the council they are not independent and are therefore not able to offer the panel the independent legal advice that they are supposed to be there to do. They are normaly barristers allocated from chambers. I would suggest you check the papers that were issued to you ahead of the appeal and see if the clerk named on them is the same person who was sending you the other correspondence beforehand. If they are 1 and the same let me know. June 29: rang Mrs XXXXXXX .She was off sick.I asked if the reports from CAMHS & DATA should be submitted.He(didnt give his name) said no, they werent relevant to the case.Told to send my written statement of appeal to XXXXX XXXXXXX,Committee Services. July 3:posted my statement & letter from primary headmaster backing our choice Did you send in the reports anyway? If so were they included or not? Anything you sent in should have been presented to the panel with the papers and it would be for the chair to decide if they were relevant or not , not the clerk (or whoever it was you spoke to). Did you get the chance to offer further evidence on the day? You should have done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 15, 2006 Hi Mrs Hapton , me again ...............glad your going to the meeting on Monday .Have your sons current school had any input from CASDAT for him??............this team helped me get the place I wanted for my son as they supported it and advised the LEA this was the most appropriate placement.I would try to get some input from them,...........also is your son statemented or is it going to appeal? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrs.Hapton Report post Posted July 18, 2006 We went before the panel to fight for the right secondary school for our AS son.I thought the panel would have read all the documentation I sent them.My husband asked them if they knew what AS is.They said they did.Afew minutes later the female panellist asked me "What sort of Aspergers Syndrome does your son have?"I told her there was only 1 type & she argued with me!Hmmm. Then there was mither over the hospital reports I quoted from- where had I got them from,why didn't the panel have them.2 weeks ago the Clerk to the panel told me they "Are not relevant to this case".I'd heard enough & had to leave my poor husband to sort it out.The top & bottom of it is the LEA say the allocated school is fine & we disagree.It's also 2 & a half miles away-no direct bus & I cant take him & he's incapable of walking there.Its too far for any 11yo never mind one with AS!! Son doesnt want to go anyway.Its quite obvious we havent won the appeal-they just didnt get what we were saying.Where do we go next? Please help,this is my sons future on the line & the LEA dont have a clue. Well,after a weekend to think about it all Im doing what Phasmid said "wait & see".Yesterday tho the class teacher called ds a bully infront of the class & shouted how he'd "bent over backwards to acommodate his stupidity". ds is neither a bully or stupid. I had a discussion with the teacher & the upshot is ds has decided he's never going back! He will miss the last 4 days -I dont think it will harm him & the best bit is its the first decision he's EVER made on his own. ds feels happier,I do,the family do.Thankyou to all who emailed me, you dont know how you helped.Read the comments from Jonathan about this forum- my feelings too! <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted July 18, 2006 .................don,t blame you.............I would,nt send him either <'> ..........hope you made the meeting last night, take care suzex. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted July 18, 2006 What the teacher did and said was out of order. I don't blame you for speaking to him at all. Well done to your ds for making that decision and to you to for letting him and, more importantly, backing him up on it. I'll keep my fingers crossed that when that letter comes it is what you want to hear. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
