Appeal high school place

[Unicorngirl01]

Hi, we’ve been told that our daughter hasn’t got a place in a Special Resourse Base for high school. Instead she is to attend our local high performing mainstream comprehensive school. Our daughter has had full time 121 support in school since the age of 5 for global developmental delay. Anyone have any advice on how we can appeal? Thanks

[Eeviee]

Hi. I presume your daughter is about 11? I presume also that she has an EHCP and that you wanted this resource named on the EHCP? There is an appeals process for EHCPs. Did you get any independent reports to support your request for the special resource ? Sorry for all the questions but how did you make a case for the special resource as opposed to the high school?

[Unicorngirl01 in reply to Eeviee]

Hi Eeviee, thank you for taking the time to reply. We are in Wales so daughter has a Statment of Special Education Needs doc. This was due to be updated with the SRB named on it at her year 6 review meeting. We did send in lots of evidence for her. The EP stated she wasn’t even on the first percentile for cognitive processing speed. So how they think a mainstream school is suitable is beyond me. Is there any other independent report we should get that you know of please? I thought we had made a good enough case, it’s just a really popular setting unfortunately :((

[Eeviee in reply to Unicorngirl01]

Hi there. There is a website called special needs jungle plus IPSEA which is a longer established organisation for help in this area. I am afraid I couldn’t cope with the battles that we parents have to have with the local authorities and engaged a legal firm to help. I had a solicitor who moved to a firm called Tayntons in Gloucester who has sadly passed away (Robert Love) who was amazing but on another occasion I used another firm called SEN Legal who I cannot recommend as they were a rip off. So be very careful on fees if you go down this route. Avoid hourly rates and go for a fixed cost if you can. I know it seems crazy but the LA know you mean business if you get a lawyer involved. We thought it was worth the sacrifice but SEN Legal must be avoided. The are unscrupulous in their charging. In both cases however I had an independent reports for the following educational psychologist , speech and language therapist , occupational therapist, psychiatrist. These were paid for separately. The legal firm drafted the EHCP and then it was certain sections that were key to getting the right decision. IC and E from memory but check it out as it might have changed. It might seem overwhelming and others out there may have battled away on their own and been successful. even though I had lawyers I still lobbied my local MP snd councillors in order to get what we believed was the right provision for our son. In both cases we did get what we wanted but it involved a lot of anxiety, research and letter writing work from us and the legal teams. Hopefully others will respond with their experiences which will be less costly and more straight forward than mine ! Good luck.

[Unicorngirl01 in reply to Eeviee]

Hi thank you, have had a busy day phoning and arranging! Can I ask what you said to your MP and Councillors? I’m doing all the other things but not sure what to put in this one 😃 thanks

[Eeviee in reply to Unicorngirl01]

Hi. These people were needed when I felt that despite all the evidence to the contrary that I was still being forced to put my son in a provision I didn’t want. Perhaps keep this in mind if things get tough.

[BenjiB in reply to Eeviee]

We used The same people. Totally agree. So much unnecessary work done. We spent nearly 30k!

Section B F and I are the key sections in an EHCP.

Section B should have needs, section F should have the provision to meet the needs in section B. Section I is for placement.

[Eeviee in reply to BenjiB]

Yes it’s a shame we parents are prey to such despicable people but there are some good people out there. It’s just finding them. Thanks for clarifying the important sections!

[Winnie555]

Hi. As Eeviee has said, I'm assuming that with this amount of 1:1 your daughter has an EHCP (though that isn't always the case, depending on where you live). If so, you have the right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal, but you may not need to go that far. You will need to prove that the school the Local Authority is proposing will not be able to meet your daughter's needs. That doesn't necessarily mean that she will get a place in the resource base you wanted. You might need to consider other schools which could also meet her needs. It's difficult to advise without knowing more, but you will find lots of advice, including template letters, on the website of IPSEA. The website of Douglas Silas (specialist SEND solicitors) also has lots of useful free resources. You could also look at the SEND Code of Practice: gov.uk/government/publicati... Your Local Authority should give you details about how to appeal and how to contact a mediation service. It's often possible to sort things out without going to the Tribunal, but act quickly because there are time limits on appealing if you do need to go down that route. Good luck!

[Unicorngirl01 in reply to Winnie555]

Hi Winnie555, thank you for taking the time to reply. We are in Wales so daughter has a Statment of Special Education Needs doc. This was due to be updated with the SRB named on it at her year 6 review meeting. We would consider another RB it’s just mainstream that we are completely dumbfounded as to how they’ve got to that decision. Thank you for all the links I will get on that today as we only found out last night. Many thanks

[Winnie555 in reply to Unicorngirl01]

Hi. Unfortunately those links won't be much use if you're in Wales. The same principles apply but there is different guidance. A search on SEN Code of Practice Wales will take you to what you need. I'd recommend looking on charities' websites, even if they are not specific to your daughter's additional learning needs. For example NDCS (National Deaf Children's Society) has some good resources which are specific to Wales and although the needs might be different, the basic advice is the same. Here's a link to one of their resources.

ndcs.org.uk/information-and...

If you haven't done so already you could also try

snapcymru.org/#:~:text=If%2....

All the best.

[fiddlers]

Hello, Have you heard of SNAP Cymru- they provide incredibly well informed support to families in respect of educational issues and can assist through appeals processes- they were invaluable to us- check out their website - there is also an organisation called Cardiff and the Vale Parents Association if you live in these areas- again- an invaluable resource. Things have changed since ourt son was in school but he also had a Statement of Special Educational Needs- there should have been a transitional Review prior to a move from Primary- SNAP will attend these reviews if it has not taken place. - Hope that helps

[Unicorngirl01]

Hi all, thank you to all of you that took the time to rely to my questions. It was such a stressful process and all the guidance and help I received was so helpful. I’m pleased to say we won the appeal and daughter is going to the school we want 😍

[Eeviee]

Great news. Well done 👏