FTS/HEC/AR/23/0027

 

 

 

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

FTS/HEC/AR/23/0027

 

List of witnesses    For the appellant:     The appellant The Appellant Head of Service at School A (Witness A)     For the respondent:   Head Teacher School B (Witness B)   Social Worker(Witness C)   Educational Psychologist (Witness D)

 

Reference

 

1. This is a reference in relation to a placing request lodged with the Tribunal in March 2023. It is made under Section 18(3)(d)(a)(ii) of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (The 2004 Act).

 

2. The appellant made a placing request for the child to attend (school A), an independent special school. A formal letter refusing the placing request was issued by the respondent on or around February 2023.

 

3. The respondent relied upon ground 3(1)(f) of Schedule 2 of the 2004 Act in refusing the placing request.

 

Decision

 

4. The tribunal confirms the decision of the education authority.

5. We are satisfied that a ground for refusal of the placing request exists in terms of Section 19(4)(A)(i) of the 2004 Act.  We are further satisfied that, in all the circumstances, it is appropriate to confirm the respondent’s decision (2004 Act Section 19(4)(A)(ii)).

 

 

Process

 

 

6. The tribunal hearing took place in September 2023 by hybrid hearing.

 

7. Case management calls took place in June 2023 and July 2023. The respondent was granted permission to call an additional witness, witness C, as we considered it relevant to hear her evidence.

8. The witnesses provided written statements which they adopted as part of their evidence as follows:

   1. The appellant at A080 to A098

   2. Witness A at A075 to A079.

   3. Witness B at R155 to R158.

   4. Witness C at R159 to R161.

   5. Witness D at R175 to R182, incorporating an options appraisal at R162 to R174.

 

 

9. A joint minute of agreed facts was lodged at T055.

 

10. The parties submitted written submissions in advance and had the opportunity to address the tribunal at the close of evidence.  The appellant provided additional submissions at that time and supplemented those submissions orally. The respondent made no further submission.

 

 

Findings in Fact

The child

11. The child was born in January 2010 and was aged 13 at the date of the hearing. He lives with his mother and her partner.

 

12. The child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He experiences significant sensory processing difficulties and high levels of anxiety.  He finds following instructions, concentrating and social interactions challenging.  He has struggled with his emotional wellbeing, including self-harming behaviour.  He has disrupted sleep.  He is not prescribed any medication.  The child and his family receive support from CAHMS and from social work.

 

13. The child’s education has been interrupted and he has made limited progress in his academic learning and in the development of independence skills.

 

14. The child is currently enrolled at (school B).  He started S2 in August 2023. School B is a large mainstream school with an Enhanced Provision base and an Additional Support for Learning base.  It is situated within walking distance of the child’s home. He has a group of friends who attend the school.

 

15. The child had an enhanced transition from primary school starting in the academic year 2020 to 2021.  However, enhanced transition arrangements were disrupted by Covid 19 restrictions.

 

16. Arrangements for individual transport for the child had been made for him to attend the induction days in June 2022.  The appellant and the child did not engage with those transport arrangements and therefore they were not put in place for his start at school B in August 2022.

 

17. The child attended all 3 days of the induction process in June 2022 but did not adhere to the arrangements which had been made for his entry, exit and support whilst at school B.  Those arrangements had been made to achieve a quiet and smooth start and end to the day for the child as well as “timeout” at breaks and lunch times should he require that.  The appellant and the child had agreed to these arrangements in advance.  The child did not keep to these arrangements as he wanted to be with his friends.

 

18. During the period of transition to school B in 2022, the child was involved in antisocial activities in the local community.

 

19. The child joined school B on a full-time basis in August 2022.  He did not participate effectively in the classroom setting.  He displayed risk taking behaviours, predominantly at break and lunch times.  He chose to ignore staff or do the opposite of what was asked of him.  Often, this resulted in the child moving himself from the setting or members of staff removing him from the classroom.  The child was unwilling to work with pupil support assistants or other support mechanisms in the classroom.  His lack of engagement with his classroom teachers and support mechanisms made it difficult to put in place strategies to address these issues.

 

20. The child had weekly meetings with the principal teacher of additional support for learning in the enhanced provision within school B to discuss his progress and to adapt his timetable as required.  He quickly disengaged from these sessions and refused to attend.  He would be found elsewhere within the school.

 

21. In September 2022, the social work department received a request from the appellant for respite care.  In September, the child was found in an unsafe location at 4am and was unable to attend school.  Support had been requested by the appellant from CAMHS crisis team.

 

22. In September 2022, the appellant advised school B that the child was to receive therapeutic input from CAMHS that would continue weekly, with medical assessments at 3- and 5-week intervals and that he was not to attend school at that time as he required a period of reduced stimulus to desensitize him from his current mental state.

 

23. In October 2022, a multi-agency child action plan meeting (CAPM) took place.  It was agreed by all professionals present that the child would not benefit from being offered a reduced or bespoke timetable at school B at that time.  A series of CAPM meetings took place between March 2023 and May 2023 where a program of therapeutic experiences was put in place to support the child as opposed to a return into the school environment.  This was met with a level of success and was maintained until the end of the summer term in 2023 with the child spending some time each week on the school premises in an additional support for learning setting. The child had one to one teaching with a science teacher, but he struggled to engage with this, apart from one session.  In June 2023, a new bespoke timetable to commence in August 2023 was put in place (R183).  This timetable includes activities run by external providers, individual and small group activities at school B based on the S2 curriculum and personalised learning goals for the child.

24. School B’s school term commenced in August 2023. The child’s start was delayed as one of the external providers had gone out of business during the school summer holidays.  The child attended a session in school in accordance with his personalised timetable in August 2023 and engaged well.  An additional support for learning teacher (ASL) was employed to work with the child on a one-to-one basis. Support provided by external providers enables the child to spend time outwith school on outdoor activities.  The aim of this mixture of learning activities is to support the child’s emotional regulation through enjoyable outdoor education experiences, while reintegrating him at an appropriate pace into the school environment to access the school curriculum.

 

25. The child benefits from having designated spaces for breaks and lunchtimes allowing him to engage with his peers and friends in a smaller managed environment than that of the whole school. The child benefits from consistent and predicable routines within school and engagement of familiar staff.

 

26. The child’s friendships are very important to him. He spends time before, during and after school with his group of friends, most of whom are female.  He can travel independently to and from school but at times accepts transport from his allocated social worker or the appellant.

 

27. The child needs to develop emotional intelligence and resilience to enable him to engage in education and to make positive choices regarding school or daily interactions.  Since returning to school in August 2023, the child has begun to engage in one-to-one learning with his additional support for learning teacher.

 

28. [This paragraph has been removed by the Chamber President to maintain privacy under rule 55(3)((b) of the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland Health and Education Chamber Rules of Procedure 2018 (schedule to SSI 2017/366)]

 

29.  In late May 2023, a worker from the crisis team within the social work department was allocated to provide additional support to the child and the appellant, with the purpose of supporting the appellant to establish better routines at home.  Crisis worker  has met the child weekly since this time and has built a positive relationship with him.

 

30. A self-directed support package is not currently in place for the child as he has not shown interest in accessing social groups.  The child has a large network of friends in the local area and likes to spend time with them.

 

31. When interested and motivated the child can follow instructions well, be directed back onto tasks with prompting and he has shown an ability to multitask.  He can read and follow written instructions if they pertain to a clear, practical task such as baking.  He has been able to establish positive relationships with witness C and with the crisis worker.  He is polite and well mannered.  He pushes boundaries in common with most young people of his age but can take guidance and, with encouragement, come up with his own solutions.  He is bright and inquisitive about the world around him. He retains information about matters discussed at meetings with professionals and shows kindness and empathy to others.

 

 

32. The child was out of formal education between September 2022 and August 2023. He has disrupted sleep, and on some days he is unable to manage to go to school due to this.  For successful learning, the child needs to feel included and to belong in the school community.  The child is intelligent, caring to others and can develop positive relationships.

 

33.  In Primary 7 the child was assessed through Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) (A100 to 101).  His results suggest that he has the potential to achieve at an average level in reading and maths. His results for writing were slightly below average.

 

34. The child requires consistency and a multi-agency approach to address the barriers to his engagement in education.

 

School B

 

35. A personalised timetable has been in place for the child at school B since August 2023 (R152 to 153 and R183).

 

36. The child is educated by additional support for learning staff and external providers through a learning pathway plus package.  He is engaging to build positive relationships to help him feel included and to participate in education. A program of education and different experiences has been designed to develop his emotional ability to support his learning.

 

37. In week 1 of the child’s attendance from August 2023, the child attended 38% of the package.  In week 2, the child attended 60% of his allocated timetable. He engaged positively with Programme B.  He had 2 full days in school and started to build up a relationship with his additional support for learning teacher.  The third week of his attendance at school was interrupted by the appellant’s requirement to attend the tribunal.  He attended Monday to Wednesday at school.  His participation included the first session of Sensationals which was positive.  He had a meeting with crisis worker his allocated social worker and an on-site session with Agency A.  He managed to stay in school after the Agency A session for the remainder of the day.  He had the option to meet with Agency A staff initially at home but requested that the meeting take place at school.

 

38. It is anticipated that the personalised learner timetable in place will continue until  October 2023 when the school breaks for a fortnight mid-term holiday.  Thereafter external activities will continue but other aspects of the timetable will be reviewed in relation to progress and assessment.  To the date of the hearing, the child had provided positive feedback to staff in relation to his engagement with his personalised timetable.

39. At a child’s planning meeting in September 2023, attended by all agencies involved with the child, psychotherapist at CAMHS advised that contrary to previous communications, the child had not been closed to CAMHS support.  He intends to be in direct contact with the appellant and to work with the family around family dynamics and current concerns for the child.

 

40. Since returning to school, the child has worked well with ASL on a numeracy assessment, stating that ‘maths is fun when you know what you’re doing’.  On another activity, he took on a leadership role to rearrange the sensory room to be fit for purpose for him and others to use.  He has engaged well in bringing aspects of outdoor learning back into his learning space and translating it into curriculum learning, particularly in science.

 

41. School B intends to continue to build relationships with the child so that he can engage positively with his learning and feel relaxed in his learning environment.  He has started to engage effectively and is showing levels of enjoyment.  If he feels unable to engage in an activity or lesson, alternatives are explored.

 

42. The child has yet to engage with Programme A which remains part of his timetable and is a therapeutic forest school programme.  He has enjoyed similar activities previously and is familiar with the concepts.  Engagement would allow him to develop leadership and communication skills. If he does not wish to engage in this programme an alternative will be sourced.

 

43. The appellant has requested a coordinated support plan (CSP) for the child.  In July 2023, school B wrote to the appellant explaining that information was being gathered from the various agencies involved with the child 'to enable a decision to be made on whether or not to consider if a CSP is required' (A099).  This information would go to the CSP advisory group who would decide 'whether or not the CSP process is to be initiated'.  Given that there is recent re-engagement from CAHMS, school B now need to request information from CAHMS.  When this information is received by the school it will be submitted to the CSP advisory group for consideration.

 

44. There is an individualised education plan for the child dating from his time in primary

7.  It was due to be reviewed in September 2022, but the review did not take place. The child’s needs are discussed regularly at multi-agency meetings, the next of which is due to take place in October.

 

45. All secondary schools which fall within the responsibility of the respondent have enhanced provision.  The child is not a part of that at school B but is educated in the additional support for learning base where he receives one-to-one teaching from ASL teacher who has qualifications as a geography, English and modern studies teacher. She was previously a youth worker and community development worker and has qualifications in outdoor education, including crafts and cooking.  She has extensive experience of working in education with pupils with autism.

 

46. School B hopes to prepare the child to move to a blended learning pathway, away from one-to-one teaching to small groups and in future to small groups in mainstream lessons.  This process needs to be done at the speed appropriate to the child to give him some control over his progress.

 

47. School B has a good working relationship with the appellant.

 

48. The costs of the child’s personalised timetable are reasonably estimated at £11,869 per term or £35,607 per annum.

School A

 

49. In December 2022, the appellant wrote to the respondent making a placing request that the child be placed at school A.

 

50. The managers of school A are willing to accept the child as a pupil, as set out in their offer letter dated November 2022.

 

51. On or around February 2023, the respondent advised the appellant that the placing request was refused. In refusing the request, the authority relied upon paragraph 3(1)(f) of schedule 2 of the 2004 Act.

 

52. School A is not a public school. It is an independent special school.

 

53. School A is experienced in supporting children with additional support needs. It has been assessed by Education Scotland as “good” for Learning, Teaching and Assessment and “very good” for Raising Attainment and Achievement.

 

54. The outcomes for children and young people placed at school A for education and care are consistently very good. Before beginning their placement at the school, most children and young people have long standing anxiety and mental health issues. The school supports learners very well to eradicate their anxieties and re-engage successfully with education.  This leads to learners making very good progress once they enter the senior phase. Overall, children and young people are attaining well, significantly improving their wellbeing and building skills for learning, life and work. Over the last 2 years, all school leavers have successfully transitioned to and sustained placements in higher and further education, modern apprenticeships or employment.

 

55. School A holds a current Autism Accreditation which is independently evaluated and awarded by the Nation Autistic Society, demonstrating that school A has a specialist knowledge and understanding of autism which continually informs the school, the resources and management of the school, the assessment and support plans for the pupils and all aspects of their practice.

 

56. The school fees for the child attending school A for a 38-week residential placement are approximately £88,500 with transport costs of £4,000 per annum.

 

57. The child has visited school A on 3 occasions.  On the first occasion he met with the head of service and on the remaining two occasions he met other staff, mainly in outdoor education.  These visits occurred in September 2022, May and June 2023. On each occasion the child looked around the school but did not sit in class.  He chatted to peers, explored the school grounds and saw the accommodation.

58. School A has a current roll of 30 pupils with an age range from 9 years to 18 years. Pupils are arranged in 6 classes aligned with their age.  Class sizes range between 3 and 6 pupils. 22 pupils are residential and 8 are day pupils only. All pupils are male.

 

59. If the child was to attend school A, he would be in a class of five other S2 pupils. In the child’s proposed class, there would be 5 residential pupils and 1 day pupil.  The profile of needs within the class is that all pupils have ASD with other conditions such as ADHD and FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder).  They have varied academic levels, for example, working at third level of Curriculum for Excellence in some subjects and at second level in other subjects.

 

60. School A delivers the full width of subjects except modern languages which can be done as an elective.  Lessons are delivered by subject specialist teachers.  As well as academic subjects, there are timetabled lessons focusing on communication skills, independence skills and outdoor learning.

 

61. Associated services available in school A include occupational therapy onsite Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week, and speech and language therapy onsite from Monday to Thursday.

 

62. Within school A, the dining room is the busiest area.  The intention of the school is to install sound panels to reduce noise.  At present the school operates staggered lunch times to reduce the number of pupils present at any one time. In general, a maximum of 16 people dine at one time.

 

63. The school speech and language therapist and occupational therapist divide their time between one-to-one work with young people and reflective observations with staff.

 

64. If CAMHS are involved with a pupil, school A works closely with their service. A clinical psychotherapist visits one day a week and works with the staff on reflective practice, on trauma informed practice and on one-to-one work with young persons, taking advice from CAMHS.  They do not become involved with a pupil without CAMHS supervision.

 

65. Arrangements for CAMHS to remain involved with a child once placed in school A vary on a case-to-case basis.  In general, CAMHS provide a service in Fife when the pupil is at school.  The pupil would require to be registered with a GP in Fife. There is a waiting list for CAMHS referrals which is lengthy.

 

66. The school works closely with social workers allocated to any child and they provide weekly updates as required.

 

67. School A has a good academic profile, and staff encourage pupils to attain. All teachers are experienced in supporting young people with ADHD by the use of subtle nonverbal prompts to support pupils, chunking tasks, visual timetables and giving the individual a degree of choice.

 

68. At school A, a timetable will be prepared for the child which will include outdoor learning.

69. The child’s placement at school A would be residential. A large number of pupils within the school struggle to make friends.  The child would be provided with support through activities and opportunities to expand friendships in the community and at school.

 

70. School A aims to reduce the child’s anxiety by placing him in a supportive environment to increase his self-esteem, allowing his dysregulated states to become less frequent.

 

71. The school day at school A is from Monday 1.30pm to 4.15pm, Tuesday to Thursday 9am to 4.15pm, and Friday 9am to 12.40pm.  The child would be offered a breadth of academic opportunities, classes in social communication and outdoor learning, PE and electives.  He would have access to onsite OT and psychotherapy.

 

72. Most lessons at School A are 40 minutes long. Pupils move from class to class for different subjects.

 

73. To attend School A, the child would be collected by a member of staff on Monday morning and transported to school.  He would return home at weekends.

 

74. At the end of the school day, school A holds an assembly.  There is then structured activity as follows: from 4.15pm to 6.00pm tea followed by a period of down time. From 6pm until 8pm activities and clubs are on offer including external clubs, from 8pm to 10pm wash, supper and getting ready for bed.  The child would be paired with peers at a similar level and supported to enjoy activities in an independent way with an understanding of safety measures.

 

 

Views of the child

 

75. The child’s views are contained within T051, an advocacy report dated August 2023.

 

76. The child had expressed the view to his advocate that he likes being with his friends at school B.  He acknowledged he would find it awkward going back to the school and into the classes.  He doesn’t mind the school being busy.  He wasn’t sure about attending school A and would not like to stay there.  He found school A confusing and an old place. He went to the shop with some of the boys at school A and found the boys ok. He told the advocate that he liked school B because his friends were there, and he was familiar with the place.  There was nothing he did not like. If he had to choose between school A or school B he would choose school B.  In relation to school A, he advised that he did not know anyone there and would have to stay there, which he would not like to do.  He would go there if he was unable to attend school B. He was clear with the advocate he wanted to attend school B.

 

77. The views expressed by the child to the advocate were consistent with those he had expressed to other professionals including to social workers, witness B and other school B staff members.

 

78. We provided the opportunity for the child to attend the tribunal to provide his up-to- date views.  He agreed to do so remotely but without video. He spoke to us on the morning of September 2023.  He had been staying for the period of the tribunal and was going to “Go Ape”, to which he was very much looking forward.  He was speaking to us from a car and our discussion took place in the presence of the appellant’s partner, who interjected at times to prompt the child and to contradict what he said.  The child did, however, express his views.

 

79. The child told us that he was getting on better being back at school, better than he had before.  He had been at school for 3 weeks and was engaging in science.  He had a good teacher and was doing his classes in The Base (the additional support for learning base within the school) which was sometimes a quiet place to learn.  He told us that he had enjoyed Programme B, which he had missed on the first occasion, and he had gone biking in the woods.  He told us that his friends at school come to meet him at G8 at the end of the day and at breaks for lunch and they see him at the start of the day depending on who is free.  During breaks, they meet and spend time with him at the edge of G8.  He has one teacher who teaches him English, science, geography and ‘a lot of stuff’. He is not going into main classes yet but wants to although he is nervous.  He thinks he will maybe get there in the end.  He finds learning in G8 a bit boring, but it is better than staying at home all day. He thought he had visited school A 3 times.  He said the school was nice in terms of what was in it and what was around it.  He knew it was an all-boys school.  When asked if he would like to go there, he said he didn’t know as none of his friends were there.  It was suggested that he could make new friends and he said “probably, but I want to stick with the friends I have just now”.  He would miss his friends.  He acknowledged that he could see them at weekends but seemed unsure. If asked to choose which school to go to he said he really didn’t know but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

 

The relevant law

 

80.  The general duties imposed on the education authority in relation to children and young persons with additional support needs are contained in Section 4(1) of the 2004 Act.  In particular, the education authority must “in relation to each child and young person having additional support needs for whose education the authority are responsible, make adequate and efficient provision for such additional support as required by the child or young person.”

 

81. In terms of paragraph 2(1) of schedule 2 of the 2004 Act where the parent of a child having additional support needs makes a request to an education authority to place the child in the school specified in the request, being a school under their management, it is the duty of the authority, subject to paragraph 3 to place the child accordingly.

 

82. In terms of paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 2 of the 2004 Act, where the parent of a child having additional support needs makes a request to the education authority for the area to which the child belongs to place the child in the school specified in the request, not being a public school but being a special school, the managers of which are willing to admit the child,  it is the duty of the authority, subject to paragraph 3 to meet the fees and other necessary costs of the child’s attendance at the specified school.

83. That duty will not, however, apply if any of the conditions set out in paragraph 3 apply, the relevant circumstances in this case being set out in paragraph 3(1)(f) of the 2004 Act.

 

84. The onus of proof that a ground for refusal of the request exists in terms of paragraph 3 of the 2004 Act lies with the respondent.

 

85. The assessment point is the date of the hearing.

 

86. Even if a ground of refusal exists at the time of the hearing, we still have to consider whether it is appropriate in all of the circumstances to confirm the decision (Section 19(4A)(a)(ii) of the 2004 Act).

 

Reasons for the Decision

 

87. Parties are agreed that the child has additional support needs in terms of Section 1 of the 2004 Act.  We are satisfied that this is the case.

 

88. The respondent’s refusal to grant the placing request is based on the ground of refusal in schedule 2, paragraph 3(1)(f).  For this ground to be established, the respondent must satisfy us that all 4 of the conditions in Section 3(1)(f)(i) to (iv) apply to the facts of this case.

 

89. It was a matter of agreement between the parties, and is established by agreed facts, that the conditions in paragraphs 3(1)(f)(i) and (iv) apply.

3(1)(f)(i) if the specified school is not a public school

 

90. It is accepted that this condition applies.

3(1)(f)(ii) The authority are able to make provision for the additional support needs of the child in a school (whether or not a school under their management) other than the specified school.

 

91.  We are satisfied that the authority are able to make provision for the additional support needs of the child in school B. The barriers to education have been the child’s disengagement due to anxiety and sleep disruption. CAMHS were previously involved and advised disengagement from school for a period of time without timescales. They are now further involved and are providing advice and guidance to other professionals. In addition, support is provided by the social work department who provide daily crisis management support and ongoing support for the appellant and the child.

 

92. A bespoke timetable has been prepared for the child with which he is willing to engage. Although it is early days for the implementation of that timetable, he has engaged well and is providing positive feedback.

 

93. Staff in school B know the child well and witness B as headteacher was willing to adapt and adjust the child’s timetable as necessary in order to ensure that he is encouraged to engage in learning and has the opportunity of reaching his potential.

 

3(1)(f)(iii) it is not reasonable, having regard both to the respective suitability and to the respective cost (including necessary incidental expenses) of the provision for the additional support needs of the child in the specified school and in the school referred to in paragraph (ii) to place the child in the specified school.

 

94. This condition was satisfied.

 

95. The child wishes to remain at school B. He is used to spending time with his friends there both in and out of school. Being with his friends is very important to the child. Although we were advised of antisocial behaviour, this is common with many teenagers and has been addressed by social work support and police intervention at the appropriate times.

 

96. We formed the view from the evidence that it would be detrimental to the child to be placed in a residential school a distance from his home against his wishes. He is much more likely to engage in education positively if he consents to doing so.

 

97.  Removing the child from the health board area of his family home is likely to remove him from current CAMHS support as he would need to seek that support in Fife. He would go on a waiting list, which, as Witness A acknowledged, could be lengthy.

 

98.  It is also likely that the level of social work support provided to the child currently would not be replicated in School A.  He would be without the consistent and familiar support of crisis worker when home at weekends and the appellant would be reliant on crisis intervention staff, most likely unknown to the child, if difficulties arose.

 

99. We did not consider it reasonable that the child be removed from school and require to undergo a transition into a new environment on a residential basis against his wishes.  We considered on the basis of the evidence that leaving home and changing school were likely to increase the child’s anxiety.  There is also the possibility that the child would refuse to attend school A as he has been clear that he wishes to remain with his friends at school B.

 

100. It is extremely important to the child that he has control over his environment and that he is able to engage with his peers independently.  His friends are very important to him.  The suggestion made by witness A (A077) that an issue for the child was social isolation caused us to have some doubt over witness A’s understanding and knowledge of the child’s current circumstances and needs.

 

101. Witness D had carried out an assessment of the respective suitability of each provision and considered in her professional opinion that school B was more suitable for the child.  Although the appellant criticized her approach and her ability to come to that conclusion, her report contained information to which she was referred in evidence and which appeared to us to be considered and balanced in the circumstances.  She also took account of the child’s wish to remain at school B and the importance to him of remaining at home and with his friends.

102. Witness B provided evidence in relation to the respective costs of each provision and advised that suitability is the primary consideration. We agree.  The child is settling into a return to education at school B which appears to be progressing well. The cost of his bespoke timetable is met by the local authority and appears to meet his current needs.

 

103. The appellant submitted that School B had previously been unable to meet the child’s needs and that the current timetable may not be sustained.  We balanced that position against the evidence as at the date of the tribunal of progress made as the child transitioned back into attending school and we placed considerable weight on his reports of his progress, his wish to remain at School B and to live at home.

 

104. The evidence before us was that the child required consistency, predictability and routine.  With the current supports in place and personalised timetable, this can be achieved for the child at School B.

 

105. School B can provide education to meet the needs of the child. It is the most suitable school for the child.  It allows him to remain at home, see his friends and continue to receive the multi-agency support now in place.  We accepted the evidence from the respondent’s witnesses who knew the child and family well.  Witness B appeared very committed to being flexible in her approach and accessing external support and resources to encourage the child’s engagement with education.

 

106. We concluded on the evidence before us that it is not reasonable, having regard to both the respective suitability and to the respective cost of the provision for the child’s additional support needs in the specified school and in school B to place the child at school A.

 

 

3(1)(f)(iv) The authority has offered to place the child in the school referred to in paragraph (ii)

 

107. This condition applies as the respondent has offered to place the child in school B.

 

Conclusion on the ground of refusal 3(1)(f)

 

108. We are satisfied that all four constituent parts to the ground of refusal in section 3(1)(f) are met on the facts of this case.

 

Appropriateness

 

109. Having concluded that a ground of refusal exists, we require to consider whether, nonetheless, it is appropriate in all of the circumstances to confirm the decision to refuse the placing request, or whether we should overturn the decision and require the respondent to place the child in school A.

 

110. It follows from our comments regarding the child’s views and the weight we have attached to them, and the reasons outlined above, that we do not consider that it would nevertheless be appropriate to place the child within School A.  School B can meet his additional support needs and an appropriate package of care is in place both in school and outwith school to support his learning and development.  The continued involvement of CAMHS and social work professionals currently working to support the child is unlikely to continue if he attends school A.

 

111. It is clear to us that the child’s educational needs can be met at school B, and he wishes to remain there with his friends. He would need to establish new friendships at school A, where the pupils are all male.  Most of his friends now are girls and their friendship is very important to him.  He wishes to continue his education at school B. In view of his age and ability to express his views independently, we attached significant weight to those views.

 

112. Having considered all the evidence in the much wider context of appropriateness, and taking account of the views of the child, we have decided that it would not be appropriate to place the child in school A where the education provision and level of support is not as suited to the child as it is in school B.