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SEN School Transfer to New Local Authority

NAS50712

It seems like I have quite a niche situation, just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar and might have any tips.

We moved from Birmingham to Wolverhampton over Christmas and put in a transfer request with the council on 14th December, well so far my son is still not in school! The council took forever to get the file to the school and now the school have another 15 days to decide whether they want to accept my son or not. It really feels like some kind of disability tax, because had he not had an EHCP it would have been an immediate transfer and start at a school.

The ed psych recommended he stay in a mainstream education setting, but he has an EHCP and it seems to be confusing everyone that he is supposed to be in maintream (his Birmingham school was a mainstream school). The school, who previously assured me they would be able to support additional needs within the classroom, have now gone suspiciously quiet.

I don't know what to do! If they take the full 15 days and then come back with a "no we can't take him" then it will go out to another school who will then have 15 days themselves to decide whether to take him. I could see this happening with every school in the area and him never getting in a school!

Has anyone got any tips for dealing with the school or the LA to help things along?

Has anyone got any good pointers to resources for home educating in the meantime?

Anyone else's kid been out of school for this long? 

Thanks!

  • in reply to NAS50712

    that's great news, congratulations! 

    haha i wouldn't worry about that, I think the thing to remember when dealing with people is to try and remain polite and professional as you do not get anywhere by shouting or being aggressive, but that said a little bit of sternness and relentlessness is never a bad thing especially when your son is going to be the benefactor of your efforts. In other words, the fight will always be worth it! 

    Regards

    Nick

  • in reply to Nick

    Thanks! I am finally going for a meeting to discuss his transition into his new school!

    Its a mainstream school with a resource base attached so hopefully he will get the best of both worlds. I have rung the council so often they all know my voice now and I'm sure the poor school secretary thinks I have it in for her!

    Getting used to having to fight for everything my boy needs, I feel for people who are in less fortunate position than me!

  • I am fairly sure the LA are obligated to obtain an educational placement for your son, due to the fact he's out of education currently then they surely are failing his basic human right to attain an education? 

    An EHCP is not specific to a special needs school, my son has had an ehcp since the age of 3 within mainstream settings (he is in special educational needs school now mind).

    my dealings with the LA was fairly negative at times, i found they said they would do something but then failed to follow through. I found it best to phone up on a daily basis, some may not agree with this approach but it got the job done.

    I would also request a meeting with the LA face to face and invite the school your waiting to hear from or request for the meeting to be held on their premises.

    Try and stay strong, all the fighting will pay off in the end.

    - Nick

  • My son was out of school from September to end of November last year. Not because of moving but because L.A. was dragging its feet to find him a school!

    You  some decisions to make.

    You can contact all suitable schools in your new area yourself (send them your sons EHCP) and ask if they can support him until you find one that will do.

    You can wait for L.A. to pull their finger out.

    You could wait 6 weeks (in which L.A. must tell you if they planning to make any changes to existing EHCP) and after that you can JR them.

    You should write to your new case worker explaining you want your son in closest suitable mainstream school ASAP.

    Give them a week then start complaining. 

    Also while they are looking for schools they have to arrange alternative education (after 15 days).

    I’m sure all legality will be on websites all ready posted here in previous post.

    And I absolutely agree it does feel like we are being disadvantaged and penalised for having children with EHCP.

  • Hi NAS50712,

    We have some pages here on the NAS site that it sounds like may be of some help to you. We have a page of resolving differences with your child's school - https://www.autism.org.uk/about/in-education/resolving-disagreements.aspx - which also links to the Education Rights Service - https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/education-rights.aspx - which can help you get advice on how to manage disputes with a school, explain your rights as a parent, the law as relates to your child's education, what the various processes are for lodging a formal complaint, and so on.

    If you're looking at home education in the meantime as you say, you may also want to have a look at our home education page - https://www.autism.org.uk/about/in-education/choosing-school/home-education.aspx - which has advice on curricula, exams, tutors, socialisation and more if you choose to go in that direction.

    Hope this is of some help,

    Best wishes,

    Ross - mod