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Tribunal order- School now saying not appropriate provision for him citing - school structure, student cohorts, and his specific needs
Child is 13yrs old, attending special needs maintained school (yr9) diagnosis of severe learning disability.
I went to Tribunal earlier this year (April 2024) re appealing Sections B & F of the EHCP. LA professionals incl SLT, OT and Educational Physiologist reports were complied as part of the reassessment of his needs.
The EP report I felt was a fair representation of my son's needs, in particular (as example) citing his sensory needs related to the classroom environment, low arousal, to be in a classroom environment with peers with low sensory needs i.e ''no stimming'' as an example.
The LA SLT report recommended he needed 1:1 TA hours for core subjects, 15 hours, weekly for core subjects- English, Maths, Science, PSHE.
The Tribunal hearing was held in April 2024, with the Final EHCP issued by the LA in July 2024 (no amended Final draft EHCP issued, only Final).
An 'implementation' meeting was held with the school at the end of September, with a detailed plan given to me by the school of how they had started to implement the 1:1 hours TA hours weekly and an updated timetable was given to me. At the end of the meeting I checked whether the school had received the Final EHCP to which they responded they hadn't- they had only been working off the Tribunal order. At this meeting, there was no indication from the school that they wouldn't be able to meet my son's needs and the Tribunal order, it was a positive meeting.
On 14.10.24, I received an email from the school saying that after reviewing the Final EHCP, and discussions with the senior leadership team they felt that the
' School was not the most appropriate provision for Xxx. Given the structure of the School, and the nature of our student cohorts, many of the elements within our school are not compatible with the specific needs that have been identified in the updated EHCP''
School said they would be arranging an Emergency Annual Review meeting, I have yet to receive the date of this meeting.
My son is very happy and settled at school and a possible change in placement will have significant negative impact on him and us as a family (his Dad and I are separated).
Where do I stand legally and how do I best prepare for this meeting please, and also preparing for the worse case scenario? I am very worried. -
Process and EHCP Amendements post Emergency Annual Review meeting
Hi there,
I posted in the Tribunal section on 22.10.24 and the info and advice given was very helpful. My original question posted 22.10.24 is below - for context/history:
“Tribunal order- School now saying not appropriate provision for him citing - school structure, student cohorts, and his specific needs “
Fast forward, the Emergency Annual review meeting took place at school last week, with Headteacher, assistant Headteacher, SLT and Educational present.
It appears that there is a mis- match between my sons final EHCP document (finalised at Tribunal April 2024) versus how he presents at school, versus schools ability to implement section F of his plan and the Tribunal order ( dated April 2024).
What I would like to know is it appears the professionals i.e EP and SLT are backtracking from their original reports/recommendations as per submitted for Tribunal and which form large parts of his current final EHCP. The school have said that because the plan has become very specific they can’t implement large parts of it- citing school organisation, staff needs, the way the students are split into cohorts. I am worried individual strategies linked to my son will be amended to be less individual, can the school / LA / professionals legally do this as part of the AR process?
Extract of Section F EHCP provision below:
-Group Xx with children that are not prone to loud stimming or that have a need for constant movement in a lesson.
-4 times daily for 15 minutes each, provide a low arousal environment with soft lighting and minimal extraneous sounds e.g. library. In this session, teaches Xx academic concepts in a one-to-one ratio of adult to child.
I/ we eventually agreed in the meeting, that the school could meet needs but the EHCP would need to be amended as a result, in order for the school to implement. An example of the above two points (taken from EP report - under ''strategies''), were points school could not implement. The EP during the meeting said these were ''observations'' not recommendations..
I have chased the school for an update this week, and received the below reply:
''We are currently collating the reports from the other professionals and reviewing the EHCP within school. We are aiming to have a draft document that we can look through with you by the middle of next week''
Much of the Section F provision is linked to my sons OT needs, the school have said they have no dedicated OT on site, which is concerning. Support around Personal self care (dressing for example) and Teeth cleaning - very specific needs and targets which are in the plan.
I am keen to stay on good terms with the school and think the school can meet his needs- but at the same time ensure my sons needs are being met, his progress continues to be very slow but school do agree he needs extra support. He appears happy and settled at school.
Essentially, how can I ensure I work with the SLT / EP/ School /LA effectively to make the amendments to his plan, covering everything before it goes to panel?
Does updated advice from the EP / school speech therapists as part of Emergency AR meeting, supersede the info in his current plan (given it was only collated 6 months ago?)
School have said they will amend the AR document to show that the school provision is suitable, but instead say that changes need to be made to EHCP- how much weight will this hold with the LA?
I don’t want to miss anything, or take parts out of the EHCP which could be detrimental in future, I am worried how I should tackle this scenario.
What is the likelihood of the LA ''panel'' disagreeing with the school i.e about the placement? What if the panel say ''no amendments to EHCP'' i.e Maintain?
Where does it leave the original Tribunal order (April 2024)?
The process is very confusing, I do feel the school have been supportive but being a special school can only do so much. I don't think they are willing to make significant changes to school organisation / staffing etc to allow for the changes that my son needs, which leaves me in a difficult position.
Please note, my local SENDIASS was present at the meeting- but I don't feel they added much pre or post meeting unfortunately. I have tried to make contact with SEN SOS - but have been unsuccessful in getting through, so any help information or guidance would be very appreciated. Thank you very much.
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