School appeal

tashamullen

hi all

Back In February we got my daughters ehcp through that stated mainstream school( they said they cannot meet needs of my daughter), our preference was a specialist setting(who said they can meet needs), so we appealed have have been working with LA tribunal caseworker who after helping us get the plan to where it need to be sent it back to panel and to the mainstream high school, the school still state they cannot meet her needs but the la still feel that a specialist provision is not suitable but have come back with a small independent high school would be best,

My question is with it being summer what are the chances of a school placement being found before September as since yesterday my daughter no longer has a place at a high school sorry for the long winded paragraph

Rachel_Scope

Hi @tashamullen. Welcome to the community 😊

I'm sorry you're having to deal with getting a school placement over summer. Are you happy with their idea of the independent high school? Would they definitely be able to meet your daughter's needs?

I understand the difficulty in getting into a specialist school but if you feel that is the best choice for your daughter then I would say you should keep pushing it and eventually they'll (hopefully) listen. Parents know their children best!

I'm not sure about being offered a place over summer as when I've worked in schools the office team have always taken the whole summer off. I come from primary schools though so it may be different in high schools. Have you asked your caseworker?

tashamullen

Hi @Rachel_Scope, thank you :)

We are happy at looking into it as an option, its something we have never even considered but the school that the LA have in mind have a class of only 15 and a full 1:1 support would be provided if the school say they can meet her needs but we will need to meet up with the school to get a full feel of what they can offer for her, the LA have also stated that no local mainstream school would be able to meet her needs and if the independant school say the same they will be looking at placing her into a specialist provision as they will not have any other choice.

We asked her but she’s was unsure and said she will get back to us but not sure how long that will take either, my biggest concern right now is what typo tell my daughter as she need time to prepare herself,

Thankyou for replying to me :)

Rachel_Scope

Hi 😊

A small class with 1:1 support sounds great. But of course, a visit is essential so you can make sure it's right for her. I'm glad they will apply to specialist provision if the independent school isn't suitable.

I hope they get back to you soon, waiting is the worst part. Keep us updated.

How does your daughter feel about it? Is she aware of the situation? I'm hopeful that they'll put something in place over summer so you can visit and have a secure place. They should understand that your daughter has additional needs so will need more support for the transition.

tashamullen

@Rachel_Scope yes of course will keep posted :) waiting is definitely the worst.

My daughter has no idea that she’s no longer going to the school first stated but we have always told her that the placement may change but I don’t want to say anymore until we know where she’s going as she has quiet bad anxiety and I don’t want to made it Worse.

Rachel_Scope

Hi @tashamullen.

Have you tried to contact the school directly? There may be someone in the office you could speak to. If you email and call them they may have a summer auto-reply that could point you in the right direction.

I think that's a good idea to not mention anything until you know for sure, unless she brings it up herself. I've got my fingers crossed that you'll get some answers soon so you can all relax and enjoy your summer 😊

tashamullen

hi @Rachel_Scope

I’m not sure if I should get in contact atm especially as its a private school as if she’s accepted into the school the la will be paying for the fees we have emailed the case worker today so hopefully she will respond back to us soon, thankyou :)

Rachel_Scope

I hope she gets in touch soon 😊