Are school doing enough? changes and a very concerned mum (who may be overreacting??) any advice would welcome!

Hi sje1973

As a general rule of thumb, I would advise never to do as you are told, unless you are confident that what you are being told to do is in your sons’ best interests at all times.

In light of the painful transition he has already experienced, I understand how much moving schools would be a last resort. However, this in itself (his hard transition) is ringing alarm bells for me that his school may not know what they are doing. In this respect, moving schools may not be a bad thing. And your son may well benefit from a school with an ARP. However, the first question to ask yourself is: does your son want to move schools? If he doesn’t, that in itself is enough for you to do all you can to try to ensure he can stay where he is.

If your sons EHC Plan considers it appropriate for him to attend mainstream school (without an ARP,) then the mainstream school he is currently in has a duty of care to ensure that they are doing all they can to make sure that he can manage there. In other words, presumably your son’s current school was identified as being suitable to meet his educational needs on your sons very recent EHC Plan in April, so what, in the schools opinion, has now changed since his EHC Plan was created? What is now happening that makes your son’s SENCo believe his needs have changed since April? You see, usually, if a child needs an ARP, it will have been clearly identified as being required during the creation of his EHC Plan. Often, due to limited places, ARPs can’t accept a child without it being first specified as necessary by their LA (on their EHC Plan.)

The second critical question to therefore ask yourself is; do you believe it is a genuine case that your son can’t manage mainstream school without an ARP, or do you believe he could manage at his current school if better support and adjustment was put in place for him there?

If your son’s school is suggesting they now believe (since April) that he cannot manage mainstream school without an ARP, they really need to get together a decent report outlining why they believe this to be the case, what they have done, why or how it didn’t work, what other professionals they have sought advice from, and most critically, what support your child needs that they are not able to give him. So, another critical question to ask the school is; what exactly do school believe your son needs (and will get at an ARP) that they themselves are not able to provide? Getting a written report from school outlining these things will not only help you with any upcoming decision making, but will prove essential if you want future help with finding a different, more suitable school for your son. Rule of thumb 2: Always get everything in writing.

You are not really meant to be having to make these sorts of difficult decisions on your own. It is not enough for his school to simply place this ‘he needs more help than we can give him’ or ‘what we are doing isn’t working ‘problems in your lap for you to solve as a parent, alone. There are appropriate channels they need to go down as professionals. Asking for a ‘Team around the Child’ meeting to take place could be worth considering, wherein other professionals supporting your child will also be asked to attend (ask your LAs Disability Advisor to attend too as they tend to be excellent at knowing whether a school is really doing all they can) and discuss his needs with the school as a team, not just covert meetings taking place between you and the school.

School needs to provide robust evidence that they (or indeed ANY mainstream school without an ARP) can’t manage your son’s needs, not just pressurise you into believing they can’t so you quietly take it upon yourself to move your son, under the radar. And if school can produce this evidence that mainstream school is not suitable for your son, then his EHC Plan needs changing and the LA then has a duty of care to find him a suitable school place (with an ARP) that does meet his needs.

So, try your best not to feel pressurised by his school into believing that finding solutions to your son’s educational needs is your job, when really it is their job, and if they can’t find solutions, it is then the LAs job. Certainly don’t make such a big decision as changing schools on nothing but the verbal advice alone that one school SENCo is currently offering you, (and in only two meetings no less!) without satisfying yourself (and other professionals who also work with your child) that his school really have done all they possibly can to help him to stay with them.

Best of luck.

Wow!  Thank you so much for you in depth response!  It really does help and you're so right about how it shouldn't be lumped on our laps to sort.  I really do feel the school has an issue with OS as I had a phone call call Monday to say that "he had a really bad day, this behaviour is not acceptable" blah blah blah but, on OS report card (which HE likes to have as a way of knowing he's on the right tracks, he hasn't been 'put on report' by school), his report card shows every lesson a 3 (0 being bad and 3 is excellent).  Go figure!  

He's also funded for 25 hours of TA.  OS says that in most lessons she is shared amongst other students?

We really believe the Pastoral Manager can't be arsed with OS.  I don't think she has any understanding of ASD and although she may come across as all mumsy to the students, effective and practical help just isn't there.  We're not long off Y9 so I'm hoping that a new Pastoral Manager plus plenty of ammunition from us as parents (especially in light of your response) will enable him to get a more effective and different approach to what he is receiving now.

Thanks so much again for taking the time to respond so indepth.

xx

Hi sje1973,

I think you have already answered critical question number 2 from my earlier reply. In which case, stand firm and politely decline the offer of moving your son to a school with an ARP, unless school can kindly provide you with a written report which details exactly why this move is necessary and that school go about this process through the proper channels of seeking to consult with other professionals in order to first change his EHC Plan.

You are already asking some other excellent questions here sje1973, questions which the school need to provide constructive answers to.

Take Monday as an example: his report card evidences that his behaviour was excellent all day, a cause for celebration, and yet you received a call stating otherwise- why is this inconsistency happening? This is deeply unfair on your son who likely relies on his card to reassure him that he has done well each day, then to have his important daily reassurance undermined by a phone call to you stating otherwise is not only confusing for him but also breaks yours sons trust in the school and in the intervention itself (the card.) I really do hope the card is in place to help him identify and be rewarded for good behaviour (and is not there to just highlight bad behaviours?). This situation in itself makes me wonder if the school are thinking enough about your sons’ feelings and needs in all this. Interventions need to be positively helpful to your son, not simply in place to repeatedly highlight his differences, difficulties or bad behaviours for the benefit of the school.

Most importantly: If by TA you mean he was awarded 25 hours paid one-to-one in his EHC Plan, why is she being shared between other students in his classes? She should be sat firmly beside him, working with only him for 25 hours every week. This is a service which the school is being paid (receiving additional funding) to exclusively provide for your son. Not his whole class. You have a very strong argument here to take to the school during your meeting with them on this one point alone if you were to point out to them that there is little an ARP could give your son that couldn’t be met by his one-to-one IF she was actually working exclusively with him for the 25 hours every week that she is supposed to be. Don’t forget that your sons EHC Plan is a legal document, if it states on his EHC Plan that he needs 25 hours one-to-one each week in order to manage mainstream school, why are the school not doing what his EHC Plan says he needs?

If he needs 25 hours one-to-one each week it is no wonder he is not managing school if he is not getting it!

Staff ignorance is no excuse; if they don’t have the expertise to put effective support and positive interventions in place to help your son, they need to seek further training, and seek out other professionals who can help them. Their job is to find and provide solutions to meet your son’s educational needs when he is in school, not simply whinge on about them to you.

The overarching priorities (of all professionals involved with your son) should always be to respect your son’s wishes and feelings, and to enable him happiness and success. And wonderful mum (and dad) warriors, such as yourself, are there to make sure that they do. So, I should give them the ‘big one’ (a polite kick up the backside) instead when you next meet with them.

Best of luck.

And wear really big boots.

Hi sje1973,

I think you have already answered critical question number 2 from my earlier reply. In which case, stand firm and politely decline the offer of moving your son to a school with an ARP, unless school can kindly provide you with a written report which details exactly why this move is necessary and that school go about this process through the proper channels of seeking to consult with other professionals in order to first change his EHC Plan.

You are already asking some other excellent questions here sje1973, questions which the school need to provide constructive answers to.

Take Monday as an example: his report card evidences that his behaviour was excellent all day, a cause for celebration, and yet you received a call stating otherwise- why is this inconsistency happening? This is deeply unfair on your son who likely relies on his card to reassure him that he has done well each day, then to have his important daily reassurance undermined by a phone call to you stating otherwise is not only confusing for him but also breaks yours sons trust in the school and in the intervention itself (the card.) I really do hope the card is in place to help him identify and be rewarded for good behaviour (and is not there to just highlight bad behaviours?). This situation in itself makes me wonder if the school are thinking enough about your sons’ feelings and needs in all this. Interventions need to be positively helpful to your son, not simply in place to repeatedly highlight his differences, difficulties or bad behaviours for the benefit of the school.

Most importantly: If by TA you mean he was awarded 25 hours paid one-to-one in his EHC Plan, why is she being shared between other students in his classes? She should be sat firmly beside him, working with only him for 25 hours every week. This is a service which the school is being paid (receiving additional funding) to exclusively provide for your son. Not his whole class. You have a very strong argument here to take to the school during your meeting with them on this one point alone if you were to point out to them that there is little an ARP could give your son that couldn’t be met by his one-to-one IF she was actually working exclusively with him for the 25 hours every week that she is supposed to be. Don’t forget that your sons EHC Plan is a legal document, if it states on his EHC Plan that he needs 25 hours one-to-one each week in order to manage mainstream school, why are the school not doing what his EHC Plan says he needs?

If he needs 25 hours one-to-one each week it is no wonder he is not managing school if he is not getting it!

Staff ignorance is no excuse; if they don’t have the expertise to put effective support and positive interventions in place to help your son, they need to seek further training, and seek out other professionals who can help them. Their job is to find and provide solutions to meet your son’s educational needs when he is in school, not simply whinge on about them to you.

The overarching priorities (of all professionals involved with your son) should always be to respect your son’s wishes and feelings, and to enable him happiness and success. And wonderful mum (and dad) warriors, such as yourself, are there to make sure that they do. So, I should give them the ‘big one’ (a polite kick up the backside) instead when you next meet with them.

Best of luck.

And wear really big boots.