Well, after 17 months of
uncertainty and anguish we have now had our tribunal hearing and we are pleased
to announce that William will be remaining at home!
We would like to thank you all again for your support and messages of encouragement. They have meant a lot to us and have helped us enormously at what has been a stressful time.
We would like to thank you all again for your support and messages of encouragement. They have meant a lot to us and have helped us enormously at what has been a stressful time.
We did not start the tribunal with high
hopes. Our barrister and solicitor had advised that the case was very unusual,
there was little in their experience to indicate the way that the court would
view the case.
The local authority confirmed
that William does not require a waking day curriculum, and therefore that there
was no educational reason why he would benefit from being in a residential
setting. It was agreed that his current school, which is designated as being
for profound and complex special needs including autism, should be able to
deliver William’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) though in practice it
was struggling.
The panel were not satisfied
that the school proposed by the local authority could be named as his placement
as it is too far from home. They proposed a provisional conclusion to the
hearing with the interested parties making agreement as below:
• The local authority will arrange for new suite of statutory
assessments for William and then engage in a fresh consultation to find a
suitable day school based on these assessments.
• His current school will remain as his placement unless and
until a suitable alternative is identified.
• We withdraw our appeal on the condition that a suitable day
placement will be found.
Not quite the end but at least
we can see light ahead.
