School support, advise needed

Every maintained school has at least one "named governor" for SEND. If you have contacted the SENCo and Head Teacher and still have not had a satisfactory response you can ask the governor to get involved. The Head Teacher and governors are responsible for ensuring that staff are adequately trained.

One problem is that the SEND funding for the school is rarely enough - in some schools, you may have 20%+ of kids with some level of SEN, and maybe kids with English as their second (third, fourth) language. If there is a delay in getting an EHCP, the school has to fund support from its budget. In a small primary school, this can be a problem. The governors have a legal duty to balance individual needs with the "efficient education" of all pupils. Post-Covid many students are experiencing mental health needs. Many students have fallen behind because of lockdown and need additional tuition. Schools are expected to provide free school meals, breakfast clubs, after-school childcare etc. but new initiatives are rarely fully funded by the government.

Academies and trusts do not "make money" in the sense of making a profit - often the sponsors put in additional funds to top up government funding. Sometimes there is a problem when local authorities "top slice" school budgets to pay for authority-wide services  (such as early help and autism support) which academies have to pay for themselves because they have not paid into the LEA.

In most of our public services, demand outstrips the funding available. As citizens, we demand better services but refuse to vote for politicians who want to raise our taxes to pay for them. Whether it is smaller classes, more training or additional support staff, it all comes down to money. On a per-pupil basis, the total funding allocated to schools for 5-16-year-old pupils, in cash terms, in 2022-23 was £6,970. [DfE] A local independent school with autism accreditation has fees that start at just under £10k and can be significantly more (£25k plus) for students with significant SEN. 

I went through a similar situation with my son

The school as a an obligation to provide provision for your child.. And every child as the right to education full time. 

The problem is most teachers have no or little training on how to deal with autism. Not entirely their fault its the system that's not recognising the need. 

Headteachers nowadays are business people puppets for trusts and accadamies to make money they are so out of touch with children students in schools let alone a child with autism. 

You need to dig deep go to your education board and make sure you get hours allocated to your daughter to support her needs. Schools have funding for additional staff to be put in place. 

Just be strong be your child's voice and get what is right for her 

David 

It's the duty of the school to provide p

She struggles with taste but not with noise and smell. I will talk the school about it.

Sounds like she would benefit from having one. Aside from lunch times does your child struggle with noise, taste, smells?

She has not had a sensory assessment. Lunchtime seems to be the only time they claim they are having issues with.

Has your child had a sensory assessment if her difficulties all seem to be around lunch time? Maybe they are not

" Good discipline in schools is essential to ensure that all pupils can benefit from the
opportunities provided by education. The Government supports head teachers in using exclusion as a sanction where it is warranted. [...]
• Disruptive behaviour can be an indication of unmet needs. Where a school has concerns about a pupil’s behaviour, it should try to identify whether there are any causal factors and intervene early in order to reduce the need for a subsequent
exclusion. In this situation, schools should consider whether a multi-agency assessment that goes beyond the pupil’s educational needs is required."   [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf

I am an Independent Social Worker and former Education Welfare Officer, and also a school governor. I have some sympathy for schools, who are often not properly funded for SEN - but the law must still be obeyed. Many "adaptations" are to do with systems and attitudes and are relatively cheap to implement. Interventions that support neurodiverse students usually benefit neurotypicals too. A lot is about staff attitude, which in turn depends on the attitude of the governing body, headteacher and senior leadership team.

Thank you so much for this information. We were not notified formally. This decisions were made through verbal discussions. The school will be applying for EHCP, this spring term. I will speak to the head teacher about this, before now my discussions are always withe the SENCO. Thanks again.

If your child is sent home it is an EXCLUSION and you must be notified in writing of the reason. Sending a child home at lunchtime is legally the same as a half-day exclusion.  Informal exclusions are illegal. Insist on a meeting with the Head Teacher and if possible bring an advocate or friend with you. If the school cannot cope with your child's needs within their existing resources, have they applied for an EHCP? Remind them that they are not allowed to refuse your child an education pending an EHCP. Tell the Head Teacher that you will contact the Exclusions Officer at your local education authority and report each incident as an illegal exclusion. Remind the school of their duties under the Equalities Act. If the Head is not co-operative write to the Chair of Governors - the contact details must be on the school's web site. There are law firms that specialise in SEND cases - it would be courteous to allow the school a week or so to address your concerns, but a solicitor's letter will concentrate their minds and that of the local authority.

Hello NAS76556

I'm sorry to hear that you have experienced this with your daughter. 

You may find the following information useful. 

 You may want to contact our Education Rights Service who provides information, support and advice on educational provision and entitlements. Please see the following link for further information: 

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/education-advice-line 

If you need support with an appeal against a decision about a child or young person’s educational needs, you might want to contact our Educational Tribunal Support Helpline: 

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/tribunal-support-line 

All the best,

ChloeMod