-
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. -
I have become aware of potential discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 following a subject access review about failure to make reasonable ...
... adjustments. Some of the activity is beyond 6 months but I have only become aware of the activity recently as a result of the subject access review (under 6 months). If I were to make a claim under the Equality Act would these activities be admissible since I only was made aware of them recently and, more importantly, now have sufficient evidence? I do have a recent example within six months that I can use. Is my understanding correct that I can bring in older evidence to show a pattern? Any potential claim would be made in the context for a child with an EHCP to the SEND Tribunal. Thank you.
Whitehaven Parent
05 Oct 2022
-
Can a claim of discrimination be made against an LA for failing to make reasonable adjustments when it does not want to pay for something? My autistic ...
... son has an EHCP where a provision was approved by the LA Complex Needs Panel. The LA did not follow the advice of its own panel and did not inform the parents or school of the increased provision. The LA also did not issue a new EHCP which prohibited the family from appealing to the SEND tribunal. In another example, the LA consulted with a new school but refused to pay for his provision after the school accepted my son. My understanding is that if an LA mandated x amount of hours for speech and language therapy in an EHCP and the school did not implement it this would be discrimination. Can the same be true for The LA? Can the LA be held to account for failure to support a child with SEN where the provision is considered reasonable?
Whitehaven Parent
12 Oct 2022