School exclusion

chuchu

Hello all

y name is joy a mother and a carer of a 14 year old son living with autism and learning difficulties.

Iam searching for answers to our many challenges of school placement so I came across this online community and I joined .
thank you for welcoming me.

surfygoose

Welcome to the community. I have autism too but I’m 36. I hope you can get plenty of help here about school placements. You are not alone. There was another mum who posted on here and that was about school but it was residential placements for her son and I know a lot about being grown up and in care homes because my mum is always fighting getting my care home placements right.

Adrian_Scope

Good morning, @chuchu.

Welcome to the online community! It's great to have you here. I understand that you're a mother and a caregiver to your 14-year-old son who is living with autism and learning difficulties. I have both a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old and know from my own experience how difficult navigating the school system can be, but you've come to the right place for support and answers.

This community is filled with individuals who have diverse experiences and knowledge, and I'm confident that you'll find valuable insights and guidance here. Feel free to ask any questions you may have or share your concerns. We're here to lend a listening ear and offer support.

Once again, welcome to the community! We look forward to getting to know you.

chuchu

Thank you dear .I appreciate you.

chuchu

Good morning all .

Please can a child at 14 be offered an alternative education because schools have said they can’t meet needs ?

surfygoose

Yes if the school says they can’t meet their needs and everybody involved agrees then your child still has a right to education so they should look at alternative placements. They might look at putting more support in the current school if appropriate first.

chuchu

Thank you so much .
The current school already have a care plan in place since last year . The child is not learning with his peers but he is being taken out into the community. This plan ends in July and therefore Putting him out in sept . The plan in place is working well.can the local authority agree to fund the current plan in place ?

L_Volunteer

Good morning @chuchu, thank you for your posts. As @surfygoose said, a child at 14 – or any child of compulsory school age – can be offered an alternative education because schools have said they can’t meet needs. I would, however, point out this is not "exclusion" in its most common form but rather highlights they cannot have the child if unable to meet the child's needs.

Having said that, they will want to see why schools have said they can’t meet needs first. Some schools are more flexible and will be more able to meet needs than other schools (even within mainstream schools). Has this child tried special educational needs and disabilities schools yet?

Is the current plan an education, health and care plan or something else? If an EHCP, the local authority must fund the EHCP, it is a legally binding plan. If a different plan, such as an individual learning plan, the local authority does not have to fund this – it is more morally binding within the school rather than a legally transferable plan. The local authority would, however, have a duty to assess the child for an EHCP.

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any further questions or anything we can do to support you further. We are all here for you 

chuchu

Thank you so much @surfygoose for your comment ,I appreciate your support.
my child has an EHcp and is in a special school .