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Is it a reasonable adjustment for a sen pupil to discontinue or reduce studying foreign languages
Interested both at KS3 level but more GCSE - I have heard that parents can refer to a legal clause that should allow all pupils with sen to be given the choice to avoid studying Modern Foreign language at GCSE. I am a senco in an independent school in London where we are investigating more optionality. Like many schools, to date it has been mandatory to study at least one MFL at GCSE, and several more lower down the school.
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Is it possible to convince a University to agree a remedy for lack of disability support which is outside their standard published remedies?
Appeal has been upheld but their only suggested remedy is to resit the modules (from the last academic year - 2nd year) in the next academic year. The modules were passed but not at sufficient level to continue on integrated masters course so has dropped down to Bachelors (by a few percent). They will only re-instate to Masters if she passes the 2nd year modules at sufficient academic grade, but student is currently in final year of Bachelors and due to graduate before the exams take place! We are arguing that the failure to meet threshold is due to lack of disability support and provision and that if she passes 3rd year modules at sufficient level, this should indicate ability to continue.
Not sure how to argue this when response is "computer says no". Currently awaiting investigation of formal complaint. -
Correct route of redress.
Section E - Outcome and Provision used to prevent full-time attendance. "Child will return to full time education by the end of Key stage one" Section F discusses slow transition but isn;t actually provision. The EHCP is under appeal with a hearing date of 13+ months now down to 12 months. The school named in Section I has placed the child on a reduced timetable. Parents disagree with this. A meeting was held, and the HT would not respond other than to state, "I am just going to repeat: we are following the EHCP". The following day, the child was suspended for 2 days. The following week, for a day. The child is in Key Stage One. We have submitted a request for change - An expedited hearing date. This is a friend I am trying to help. The EHCP is being used to prevent his legal entitlement to a full-time education. My question is, Is a PAP letter to the LA something that could work in this situation?
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Can my son's school mark his private speech and language therapy sessions as "unauthorised" absence?
1) My son was diagnosed postnatally with a rare neurological condition that affects fewer than one in a million children born in the UK each year. He is currently under the care of the Neurology department at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), where he will continue to have regular check-ups and MRI scans every six months throughout his childhood.
2) In 2022, his condition deteriorated, and after a series of urgent and invasive interventions at GOSH, his clinical team referred him for Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) in January 2023.
3) We later discovered that the school (an Academy) had opted out of the NHS-provided SaLT services. Additionally, the school's SaLT, who was employed through a third-party provider, went on maternity leave, leaving the school without any SaLT cover.
4) By July 2023, we, as his parents, felt it was crucial to privately commission SaLT services to ensure our son received the necessary support. Given the complexity of his rare condition and significant developmental delays, we decided to continue weekly private SaLT sessions alongside the therapy he receives(only started in January 2024) through his Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) at school.
5) Since 2023, when my son began attending private SaLT sessions, his school attendance for these appointments have been marked as "authorised," as they were recognised as medical appointments.
6) However, as of this morning, we have been informed that moving forward, his attendance for these sessions will be marked as "unauthorised" and this will be reflected in his annual report.
The school's policy defines authorised absence as:
• When a child is absent, because of illness, and an acceptable explanation has been received
• Religious Observance (as defined in the exemptions list)
• Where a child has had a fixed term exclusion from school
• Medical/dental appointments. As above, appointments should be made outside of school hours.
wherever possible and the minimum amount of time should be taken.
• Exceptional circumstances (unavoidable absence)
• Any prolonged absence may trigger an unannounced home visit by the attendance/safeguarding team
7) Our son enjoys his private SaLT sessions. We have previously inquired about alternative time slots outside of school hours, but none were available.
The school is effectively forcing us to discontinue his private therapy, despite being the very reason we had to seek it in the first place.
8) As I understand, in Bromley v Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (1999), it was determined that where speech and language therapy is necessary for the child to access and benefit from education, it should be treated as an educational provision, even if the therapy is delivered by health professionals.
At the same time under the Children and Families Act 2014, SLT is recognised as both a medical provision and an educational provision.
Gordon M.
20 Sep 2024
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Can I take legal action against a private (independent) mainstream school that has refused my 3 year old daughter (sibling) a place due to her SEN needs in speech and language?
Summarised version
I need some advice on what options I can explore regarding an independent mainstream school refusing my 3yr old a place in the school her older sister goes to. Are there any legal options that can be explored please? They are capable of meeting her needs (speech and language delay) as they have done and are doing this for other SEN children with more complex needs. They claim that they are at SEN capacity due to all the other SEN children they are supporting. They are also claiming they don’t have the physical space for an additional teacher to support her. Do I have any legal grounds to explore at all? The school was oversubscribed and I suspect that is the true reason they’ve refused my daughter a spot despite her being a sibling. According to the nursery she attends which is linked to the school, her needs are not extensive enough for an EHCP. I’d appreciate any guidance on this please.
All I want is for her to be offered a place in the school, the teachers are truly lovely, it's the head teacher that is a bit cold.
Detailed Version
I have two daughters, a 3yo and a 7yo. My 3yo is on the ASD pathway with a 3yr waiting list. She has speech and language delays - receptive and expressive. No other significant concerns or differences, she’s social, gets on well with people, toilet trained etc. She was 5 months old when her father died, I have no idea what impact that might have had. She didn’t recognise her name until well after she turned 2. She’s now 3y 6mo and has the communication age of a 2 year old. She goes to a nursery that is joined to an independent school - they have the same name, proprietor and head teacher/director running both institutions.
At the nursery, my daughter is on a personalised plan and receives recommendation from an independent speech therapist. Regarding milestones, she is delayed in all things related to language and communication - her speaking, listening & understanding are all delayed. Her nursery does not think her situation is serious enough for an EHCP. I’m applying for one on my own but they aren’t being optimistic at all.
My older daughter goes to the independent mainstream primary school linked to the nursery. She’s settled there for over 2 years now. We had to relocate back to the UK after my husband died while we were abroad. It was extremely tough for all of us. This school has been her constant in the last two years. The school have SEN children with some having joined the school with their ASD diagnosis confirmed, some have more complex needs and require 121 support, some have speech and language needs and a whole host of well managed support exists in the school. On average about 1 child per class has additional needs. The additional support has all been paid for by the parents, in addition to the school fees.
When my younger daughter went for her assessment visit in Oct 2023, the school was well aware of her communication gaps - from the nursery report. The head teacher mentioned she could not offer her a space without knowing what her needs were. She said she would reserve a spot for her and wait till July 2024 to assess and work out what additional support she would need.
In June 2024, my daughter was called in for her second assessment and before the end of the assessment, the teacher was already preparing me for a rejection. The head teacher walked in later and without any consultation with the teacher, also started preparing me for a rejection. Almost like the decision was made before seeing her. The head teacher was explaining how she would get better support in a state school and that the school was not equipped to manage her needs. I then let her know I was aware of people in the school with more complex needs that were being managed extremely well. She then changed her tune to say the school is a small school and they wouldn’t have the physical space to accommodate another teacher to support my daughter's needs. That the rest of the children in the class were so far ahead of her and it just wouldn’t work out.
I firmly believe the reason my daughter has been denied a space is because of her disability and the fact that the school was over subscribed. They would rather deal with an easy neurotypical child. My daughter is a sibling of a current student, should she not have been considered fairly first? The school is very capable of meeting my daughters needs. They simply would rather not deal with the hassle because they have neurotypical children they’d rather give the spot to. Even though they have no previous ties to the school.
Is this discrimination? Can I fight this? Do I have a legal grounds? I tried to appeal the decision directly with the head teacher but she is not budging. What would you advise please?
Thank you. -
Is it discrimination under Equality Act 2010? and is this considered a safeguarding issue?
Son is a full time wheelchair user (unable to stand or crawl) year 3 at mainstream village school. There were adaptions needed to access the top playground (keystage 2) and a ramp was put in last year.
On the 17th May, he suddenly said children were allowed to play on the grass bank alongside the playground (this is quite steep and the kids often roll down it). My son described how he felt sad and lonely as all he could do was sit and watch his friends. We explained this to the headteacher who at first defensively said:
1) No children are allowed on the bank, shortly after 2) The children are only allowed on the bank when i'm there 3) Then 10 minutes later, advised there were no rules about the bank. When further talks were had she advised she cant stop the kids going on as its the 'shaded area'.
My son told her how he felt and she said to him whilst I was sitting there "Its really fun going on the bank, that's why the children want to go on there, but they'll move onto something again soon."
We had asked if there could be rules applied that limited 2 houses (school are divided into 4 houses) on the bank at any one time. This would ensure that our son had some friends down on the playground with him at all times. No further communication from the head. We had also questioned why our sons 1-1 had not seen him alone and offered support, but this was not addressed.
On the 5th July, our son was upset again as he was made to feel this way again. When we questioned why this had not been addressed or rules put in place, we were told the Senco was meeting with the School Council (made up of children aged 8-10 years) the following week to decide the rules.
The rules they came back with is that each classroom/year group of 30 children are allowcated 2 x 30 minutes sessions at lunch on certain days.
We said that this per class (only one class per year at school) will make our son feel even more isolated from his peers.
We raised a complaint and have been told its not under the Equality Act 2010 as its a physical feature - but we are not asking them to flatten it, but just make reasonable adjustment to their rules/policies.
Also stated its not a safe guarding issue - surely if it is having an effect on our sons Mental Health and using the words that the head said to him, it is safeguarding.
We lodged a complaint to the governors whom have sent a really weak reply saying "the head never intended to cause any offence and regrets the vocabulary chosen.
They have looked at the timetables and confident our son receives 1-1 dedicated support. (That's as per his EHCP).
There has been a few things happen previously like everytime our son moves areas, new equipment has been put in the playgrounds from reception and key stage 1. Then when he moved up to this one, they got an accessible grant and the Head wanted to put in 'monkey bars' using the money, my son told us and we were able to speak with school and find something more appropriate but there seems little thought.
Just wanting for the head to take responsibility and show some care.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you.Lisa Bazin
16 Jul 2024
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where the Parents and the LA have been in Sendist Tribunal for nearly two years , the reports are outdated . The LA have had over 7 extensions of time , Can I appeal this with a JR ?
first tier tribunal but reports outdated by 2 years , no support from health or education during that time
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Can the LA refuse to make private provision part of Section F of my child's EHCP when I have evidenced the expertise does not exist locally and that it is required clinically?
My child is unable to eat or drink after suffering trauma at birth. A specialist OT intervention has been requested by his consultant but this is not available in our locality. I have exhausted all other options and found a private provider. The intervention must become an integrated part of my son's care to be successful. It must be carried out at school in the same way as at home so I need it to become part of Section F of the EHCP. The LA have agreed to include some of the advice as part of Section G. My child already has statements on his plan in Section F endorsing the need for consistency, routine and stability in all aspects of his learning. Can I use this as legal grounds to make the private intervention part of Section F?
Gill Golden
20 Apr 2024
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My son has a terrible EHCP in place (current review at draft stage), but he’s been rejected from a Sen school by LA, and mainstream nursery won’t have him as his EHCP doesn’t reflect his needs - what options do I have?
My son will be 3 in July. His current EHCP reflects very little needs, which is very inaccurate (his paediatrician has written that he needs 1:1 in mainstream, just for context). The LA rejected his school place request at early review quoting the child and families act, but didn’t actually give a reason why. The school we applied for takes from age 3. The LA have said they will consult with the school about looking into the school place April 2025. The mainstream nursery have said they can’t secure extra funding needed to support my son at nursery with his current EHCP as it is, so what options do I have?
I’m very confused if a school take from 3, why we would be rejected now but put forward for consideration next April instead as surely this is based on his current needs?Nicola Hood
17 Apr 2024
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Year 10 options
Hello,
My son is in year 9 at a mainstream secondary school, however is in a special unit there which they say is a school in between a special school and mainstream. My son is autistic and has speech and language delay. We have been told that for year 10 his options will be level 1 maths and English. I have looked at another school in the area that teaches autistic children and they are offered so much more such as lots of vocational programmes along side there maths and English. Do you think I would be best trying to move him to somewhere that could accommodate him to do that? Would I have a fight on my hands to get the local authority to agree to move him? I am just so worried that he is not being offered more options and the school system is failing him again. Has anyone any positive stories of what their child went on to do?
Thank you in advanceRuby Wright
21 Jan 2024