My son' goes to a local school and we believe he is on the autism spectrum. Now my son isnt getting the support that he needs at is current school. We have been given evidence of this by a social worker. The social worker became involved as we were reported by school because if our sons general behaviour etc. An investigation had been opened and closed against us by the relevant social department. We have been cleared of any misguiding etc.. now back to the main reason... We have been given advice from the social worker whom has investigated the school and reprimanded the school teacher whom reported us. Whilst this was going through it has come to light and the school have confirmed to the social worker that they are not going to do anything for our son. Which is an absolute outrage as every child has the right to and education. As a result of this we have applied to another school and accepted a place. Now as yet we haven' been given a start date from his new school but we have secured the place. His old school are saying that he must attend his current school until the transfer goes through. So my question is. Am I legally allowed to keep my child out of his current school until we get the nod with a start date at his new school.. All this being said whilst we do have evidence of his current school failing him on most levels. Thanks in advance.
This isn't a slur on the contributors to this forum and there may be an expert or two out there, but if you are offered any sensible advice whatsoever, you are going to struggle to sift it from the well intentioned misinformation also offered. Do some research and get some professional advice, it's too important not to.
He needs to have some kind of education, but there is nothing stopping you from taking him out and home-schooling him until he starts his new school. If you take this route look online about it and you'll find a template letter of what you need to put and hand into school. You will need to provide an education - you just can't toss it off as if he's home schooled long enough you'll get a visit from someone in education who'll want to see what you've been doing with him and evidence of work etc. to make sure it's age specific. You don't need to stick to any curriculum either, and it doesn't all have to be indoor book type work. You can make everyday things a practical education.
you could try, you may already have, getting in touch with greenacre as they have people who are in the know about the whys and wherefores of the "system"
Hi Yorky, Your child's current school is correct that until the transfer goes through, your child is on their registers and as such must attend. Legally, you can not simply keep him at home whilst he is registered to the current school as you can receive fines of up to £2500 and up to 3 months in prison as it is an aggravated offence. You do have the option, however, to deregister him from the current school and provide him with 'a suitable alternative education' until he starts at the new one. Personally, I would not recommend doing this. People, and especially children, on the autistic spectrum benefit greatly from routines and familiarity. Therefore, even if his current school is not providing him with a suitable education, I think he would still benefit massively from attending a school and being in a formal classroom setting. Keeping him off school for an undetermined amount of time would be unsettling for your son and would make it much harder for him when he does begin at his new school. There is also a chance that he may mistakenly believe that if his next school doesn't work out that he could stay at home again and so work to sabotage it. You say he struggles with his general behaviour, and again, I would use this as a reason to leave him in school until he transfers. He may be having issues with his behaviour at school if they are not supporting him correctly, but I believe his behaviour would deteriorate further at his next school if he gets out of the routine of having classroom rules and interacting with peers etc. There is always a very noticeable change in behaviour when children come back after absenses, even with those who are generally well behaved but especially so with those who tend to struggle anyway. Best of luck with whatever you decide.
There are lots of autism groups, all with different agendas to some extent. I'd be tempted to talk to a few different ones about the issues & meet similar parents.
No. Not really. But it came from a social worker on her advice to get him new school. Turns out that it's a teacher that we complained to school about due to lack of information being shared. Sounds as though she' thrown the teddy out and washed her hands. Thing is this same teacher is also the specialist in his old school. But he starts his new school on Thursday that has a recognised programme in place and has fantastic reports.
