School appeal refusal for disabled parent

Georgianlaban

Hi

We made an appeal for the only school in our area that is accessible for myself to take my son to school and we were refused! Now my son won't be able to go to school. Has anyone else been through anything like this? Please find attached our appeal letter.

surfygoose

I’m sorry I’m not commenting with anything useful to contribute because I don’t know about this but I’m sorry you are going through it and I hope someone can give you good advice and that you can get your child in to a school that is right for you all.

What are the good things this particular school has in place that is better for access than the other schools? Sorry if that’s a silly question, I couldn’t see what you were requesting from the other schools and what this one has. Maybe that will be helpful to know to help people give more advice.

Georgianlaban

@surfygoose that's ok! The school we need has accessible parking for myself and is in our town a manageable driving distance from our house. The school we were offered isn't in our town and has no accessible parking. The 2 other schools that are in our town either don't have accessible parking on school grounds or I would have to be locked in the carpark for an hour whilst the children come into school.

surfygoose

That does seem very unfair on you and also you are asking to get your child in to a local school so it should be your catchment area anyway. If they refuse you again on the grounds that they feel the school really can’t take on extra children safely then do you think it’s worth talking to the local authority about funding transport for your child to the school that is further that they are being forced to attend? I know that doesn’t sort out the part about parent’s evenings and school plays etc but just wondering if it’s at least something to consider if you find you have to accept a less accessible place. I know when I was being funded for a taxi to my dayservice, that same company used to do the school run taxi journeys as well, and my brother had a taxi when he was in senior school.

Georgianlaban

My son is only 4 and would not get into a car with a stranger, it would be traumatising for him. I really can't believe that they refused the appeal because if his needs had been considered they would of accepted it.

surfygoose

That’s tricky. I guess it’s something else good to point out to them though that you have thought through all alternatives like alternative transport and that your son would be unable to cope with anything different put in place.
I think the small children around here, or older ones that may have difficulties, the local authority sends a paid escort in the vehicle with them to sit with them. Then the escort walks them in to school and comes in to the school to collect them as well at the end of the day and so they get to know them really well just like they would know the teacher or teaching assistants in the classroom.
I used to have an escort for my daycentre but I was lucky they always sent the same taxi driver or one other, both I got to know very well, so they stopped having to send an escort because I got very happy with my taxi drivers and they were really sweet and always walked me all the way inside and got me settled in. They were even better at getting me out of the door in the morning than my parents if I was having a bad day and refused. They used to come in and convince me,
That wouldn’t be fair if it would traumatise your son though. Maybe they would let you be his escort so you weren’t tired doing the driving and .
Anyway none of that is really the point. You know what school would be best for your son and for both of your needs. What’s the situation after a failed appeal? Is there somewhere higher you can go to? What happens if he is forced to accept the place and you then are simply unable to get him to school? You’ve already stated to them this would be very likely the case. I hope it doesn’t come to that because he will be missing out on education time but if it comes to it they will surely have to act in some way if he doesn’t turn up to school. In which case make sure you have copies of everything you’ve told them so that you can prove very clearly that you told them about your disability and that it isn’t a case of purposely keeping him out of school.
What a headache for you. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been able to come up with anything like a solution.

surfygoose

I know travelling with a stranger is an issue for you son so none of this may be any help at all, but just to explore all possibilities in case of the worst or if he was confident to access transport if needed when he was a little older. Not sure how far the school is but children under 8 automatically qualify for free school transport if the school is more than 2 miles away. Also even if the school is closer than 2 miles they qualify if they can’t walk there due to special needs, disability or mobility issue. I would imagine this may also apply to a parent’s disability if the child is too young to walk unaccompanied.

“Children of compulsory school age qualify for free school transport if they go to their nearest suitable school and any of the following apply:

• the school is more than 2 miles away and the child is under 8
• the school is more than 3 miles away and the child is 8 or over
• there’s no safe walking route between their home and school
• they cannot walk there because of their special educational needs or disabilities or a mobility problem

If your child does not qualify for free school transport for these reasons, they may still qualify if you have a low family income.”

https://www.gov.uk/free-school-transport