Change from mainstream education to additional support.

Hi all,

Change of type refused despite clear evidence that mainstream has failed.

We have a 14 year old son who owas diagnosed with ASD aged 8 and has had an EHCP since age 10. We battled the system throughout with the support of Umbrella and Sunshine SUpport.

Mainstream school has failed to meet need and we have made an application for change of type to an additional needs unit.

He has not been in education since February 2024 due to the issues caused by his school.

The Local Authority (LA) case worker completed her work and the report from mainstream schools all stated that they could not meet his needs.

The request for change of type was refused by panel on the grounds that his current setting can meet needs despite the report having statements from them that they cannot.

We are not facing a wait of over a year for a tribunal, by which time we will have missed most of the GCSE education.

SENDIAS and the other agencies have not been helpful.

I am currenty asking the LA cabinet member resposible for this area to get invlved.

The mediation service have stated that the case has clearly not been looked at properly.

The process is broken and not worth following.

What alternative approaches (legal, political, press) could you recommend to address the situation that the LA has created?

Thanks and enjoy the good days,

Nigel