If I my children attend a school out of area, who pays?

[CaptainVonTrapp]

So for example if they go to the closer school (but its in a different council) does the council we live in pay or the council in the area in which they attend the school?

Thanks.

[Talkinpeace]

why do you ask?

[Timetoask]

My son with special needs goes to a special school in a different borough to the one we live in, our borough pays for his place, I imagine it's the same for mainstream schools?

[TwuntingCrow]

My son went out of area for secondary school - the area we live in paid

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

If you are allocated a school further away than three miles (I believe it's three miles) the Loaval authority pay. If you chose the school you pay.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

Typo sorry . Local

[Talkinpeace]

?
do you mean travel to school or the actual cost of the state school?

all of the money comes from whitehall through general taxation anyway

[FlouncingMintyy]

Pay for what?

[Ilelo]

A girl I know goes to school in another borough, her parents don't pay.

However, she has SEN which requires a professional to visit her in school, the borough she lives in won't pay because she is in a school outside the borough. And the borough she goes to school in won't pay either as she doesn't live in the borough.

Her parents are changing school as they can't afford it privately.

[LIZS]

Surely each school is funded by its LA depending on number on the roll. Those children can be within LA or outside it, makes no matter if the spaces would be filled anyway.

[Talkinpeace]

my kids go to school in a different LEA than the one I live in.
Makes not a blind bit of difference to anything.

[CarlingBlackMabel]

What WheresMyCaffiene says is about travel expenses. There is absolutely no retsriction on travelling to any other borough for state education in England. You can take up a place at any school that offers you one. But if it is your decision and the council could have accommodated you in a closer school you will not get free travel.

In London U16s get free bus travel anyway.

[Talkinpeace]

Outside London they most certainly do not.
Public bus for my kids is £2.30 per day - each
School 'out of catchment bus' is £4.50 per day - each

[CaptainVonTrapp]

I mean the actual cost of the school.

I presume its the same for primary then twuntingcrow thanks.

That was my question really LIZS except that the places wouldn't be filled necessarily.

TalkinPeace I have put an out of area school as my number one choice (closest, its just the way the border is). Then I felt pressured to change the choice to one in area. Which made me wonder why anyone is bothered.

[Talkinpeace]

Captainvontrapp
Who pressured you?

Both my kids went to Primary and are at Secondary in another county. I drive past their catchment school every morning.

[prh47bridge]

Twuntingcrow is wrong. The government pays.

Each council receives a grant from the government based on the number of pupils attending schools in their area. So the government funding for your child goes to the council where your child is a pupil regardless of where you live.

No-one should be pressuring you to change your choices. Who pressured you and what form did this pressure take?

[seeker]

I thought that if you were allocated (rather than choosing) a school more than 3 miles from your home the LEA pays travel costs. Certainly that's what happens here in Kent.

[CaptainVonTrapp]

Admissions: if u go to a school out of area it Will allow a child to come to a school here from out of area and we don't want that.

Im ignoring them. I just wondered what their motivation was to say that. Perhaps they don't properly understand themselves.

Thanks all for the info.

[prh47bridge]

seeker - The OP is talking about the education costs, not travel costs. You are correct about travel costs. That applies nationally.

CaptainVonTrapp - There is no justification whatsoever for your admissions team to say that. I would be tempted to complain. Whoever said that clearly doesn't understand the rules. Whether or not your child goes out of area has no bearing on whether or not out of area children come to schools in your council's area. That is decided entirely by the admission criteria for each school. If someone out of area comes high enough up the admission criteria they get admitted.

[CaptainVonTrapp]

I don't understand why they even care if funding comes from the gov per child anyway. Like u say i don't think they understand.

[Talkinpeace]

Ignore them. They are talking bilge.

[nancy75]

I thought for primary it was just decided on distance, so if your nearest school happens to be just over the border of the borough it is still your local school, I believe parents in Greenwich went to court to get their children in to bromley school, it is called the Greenwich ruling? ( that is off top of my head so could be wrong!)

[prh47bridge]

It isn't always decided on distance. But an LA cannot simply refuse to accept children from outside the LA. If a school does not have a formal catchment area and uses distance as a tie-breaker a child who lives, say, 500 yards from the school but outside the LA's area will have priority over a child who lives inside the LA's area but is 600 yards from the school.

[CaptainVonTrapp]

Why would they even want to refuse to accept children from outside the LA? From what you've said it doesn't make a jot of difference. Perhaps someone has to fill out an extra form somewhere and they can't be bothered...