It’s time for an update on our special needs school place journey… I blogged back in April about how Sam hadn’t been allocated a viable mainstream school place. It’s been a while though and plenty has happened. So read on for an update on Sam’s Special Needs School Place Journey. It’s been a bumpy ride so far.
Sam’s Special Needs School Place Journey So Far
We appealed the allocated mainstream school place decision and (as expected) we lost. The way the system allocates school places is crazy. Kids are only considered to have special educational needs if they have an EHCP. (Educational Health Care Plan) which says so. We were fully expecting to lose the appeal, so it wasn’t a huge shock when we did.
After some major soul searching, second guessing and lots of discussions… We decided to ask for a place in a special needs school for Sam, via his EHCP application. If you read my blog regularly, you probably recall that the only special needs school in Salford had 3 alleged cases of abuse towards non verbal kids with Autism recently… So I was unwilling to consider sending Sam there.
What Happens Now?
Last week, we finally received word that Sam’s EHCP had gone to panel, and they made a decision…. They have agreed to foot the bill for Sam attending a Special Needs School which can meet his needs outside of Salford!
This is a HUGE step forward in our quest for Sam starting school! We still have a fair amount of work ahead of us though… Now we need to contact our shortlisted schools to find out which (if any) have a place available for Sam. Then we need to go and view those schools before we make our decision. We can’t do any of this until September, though.
Once we make a decision, the paperwork needs to be completed and then Sam can begin his transition into the chosen school. Ideally, he will be in school by Christmas. I am being realistic though, and working on the basis he will be in by February half term.
So as it stands, Sam will still be doing 9.30am – 11.45am Monday to Friday in his private nursery. This will continue until he transitions into his school, and reception class. At least we are moving in the right direction, though! I’ll be back with another update on Sam’s special needs school place journey soon!
Finally, if anyone is in the process of completing their child’s EHCP and wants some advice or pointers regarding their own child’s Special Needs School Place, feel free to drop me a line. You can find me on Insta @TheTinaBailey.
