The teachers at my son’s school say he is behind with reading and writing. What happens next?
Schools are increasingly encouraged to take responsibility in working with parents to identify what are known as special educational needs. All schools maintained by the local education authority (LEA) must have a “special educational needs co-ordinator” on their staff, a teacher with particular knowledge and experience in these issues.
Make an appointment to see the SENCO in the first instance. Check whether the school is offering to put in place “School action” or “School action plus”, which are levels of extra help to assist children with the sorts of difficulties which often affect them in school. If the school is planning to offer help, then your child will have this recorded in the form of an IEP - an individual education plan. You should be invited by the school to contribute to the content of this plan, which is reviewed termly.
If you disagree with what is happening, you may need specialist advice, from the local Parent Partnership Scheme which operates in your area, or, if available, your local or regional advice agency such as MENCAP, SCOPE or similar charity.
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I think that my child should be getting some more help at school - his behaviour at home is really poor and he doesn’t seem to concentrate. What happens next?
It is important to know that, once a child has been “statemented”, that is provided with a “Statement of Special Educational Needs”, the LEA is under a duty in law to maintain the provision set out in the statement.
Initially, you should make arrangements to meet with the class teacher, headteacher and/or the “SENCO” (the Special Educational Needs Coordinator) in the school itself. If you find that your concerns are not particularly recognised, you should take advice from the Parent Partnership Scheme which operates in your area. Specialist legal advice may be necessary in order to advise you of the opportunities and pitfalls involved in requesting, under the terms of the 1996 Education Act, a “statutory assessment” of your child’s special educational needs. To find out more, e-mail us on info@ridleyhall.co.uk
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My child was excluded from school last week, for a period of ten days. I’m really unhappy about this. What can I do?
Only a headteacher may exclude a pupil, and even then can only do so a) in writing and b) if the exclusion is for more than 5 days, with the right of appeal to the School Discipline Committee.
If the exclusion is for lunch-times only, exclusions beyond 5 school days are unreasonable.
You should use all the formal channels of complaint available to you. This starts with the Discipline Committee, and proceeds to the Local Education Authority (LEA) Appeals Panel.
The LEA panel can be challenged, even though the circumstances in which this happens is relatively rare. If you really believe that an injustice has occurred, you can contact us on info@ridleyhall.co.uk for more information.
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How can I persuade my local education authority to place my disabled child at a specialist independent school?
If your child has special educational needs, you can challenge the LEA by appealing to the Special Educational Needs and Disabiltiy Tribunal (SENDIST), but only when you have grounds so to do. These grounds may be one of the following:
- you have a new or a newly-issued Final Statement and you disagree with the content of either Part 2, 3, or 4.
- You have asked the LEA to conduct a statutory re/assessment and they have refused.
- The LEA has held an annual review, amended the statement, but not to your satisfaction.
Please note that, where you seek a place at an independent school, you do not have the right of appeal where, having requested that your child attend your preferred school, the LEA refuses your request.
Appealing to the SENDIS Tribunal can be a daunting process. Specialist legal advice can be invaluable but please note that representation at a Tribunal Appeal does not attract free public funding.
If you would like to discuss the options you have e-mail us at info@ridleyhall.co.uk
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I want my child placed, despite her learning difficulties, at the local primary school. What can I do?
Many local education authorities (LEAs) are reviewing the way in which schools are structured and places allocated to statemented children. Whilst some children will in practice have enormous difficulty functioning in a mainstream setting, the expectation is that this is a goal to which all should aspire. To an extent, parental choice will apply.
There will, in our view, be some tensions between parents and LEA’s where a child with significant needs might be placed in a mainstream setting, especially where the school in question has a limited budget in order to provide for all children with special needs. If school admission is proving to be a major problem, you may wish to seek advice at an early stage; e-mail us on info@ridleyhall.co.uk
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