Wtf do we do? Forced to private educate DS (4)

If you are in Kent then the situation is a disaster as currently KCC are rejecting requests to assess for EHCP so it takes months to go via tribunal. This buys them upto a year of time! They then get forced to assess and then fail to issue an EHCP on the grounds that your interventions are solving the issues! So then you got to tribunal again - at least another 12 months!!
This is fact as with my son at a specialist independent school I speak to families in the same situation all the time.
Even if you win a tribunal KCC try to wipe out support st the earliest opportunity! In our case they tried to wipe out all support 2 months after an ehcp was issued just beacuase of a phase transfer!!. My child won't lose his neurodiversity and his needs won't change in 2 months - that was a 2k financial hit to argue that one!! On top of the 4pk we had already paid out in support , assessments and legal guidance.
We now face another review in hr 7 and are fighting to keep support.
Even if you win the worry doesn't go ! I am an experienced secondary teacher and even I am stunned by the views of KCC
Good luck to anyone fighting for their child - stand your ground and don't ever give up

This might give you hope to know what we have here and with that knowledge you might be able to access a private school place where you are.

We have a large independent international school. The school takes from 9 months to 18 years. We have 4 locations, the school is huge! The maximum classes in R-Y2 is 16. The maximum class size for Y3+ is 22.

Firstly every child gets 15 hours funding until the the term after they turn 5 (So, if born before Christmas funding for the first term, before Easter funding for 2 terms and before 31st August funding all 3 terms). But, if they join Reception at state school, parents can only use that funding for afterschool clubs and childminders/nannies. It really helps for pre-prep schools because it is discounted from the bill. My eldest got full year funding discount off the Reception bill because she was born in July. My son got funding for 1 term (November), my second daughter got funding for 2 terms (February).

Now, the school my eldest daughter went to is very much prominent in our town and in fact, the county. They open up their facilities for swimming, sports, science clubs at the weekend etc etc to both local schools and the community.
The reason is that they want to expand the school and it's facilities so they have opened up what they have at a discount so the community can use what they have. This allows the council to approve their planning applications. It's a sensible strategy.

The one thing that is universal though, although not openly publicised is that private schools must make available places for children not usually able to access private education. That could be accepting diversity, providing bursaries and equal scholarships.

What I would do if I was you is approach the school you think is best suited to manage your son's needs and look at class sizes and ask them what a 1-2-1 would cost. For our largest school that was £1000 per month back in 2014, so that might have changed a bit since then. I would then ask about a fees bursary which for our school is 40%, plus for his first year you also get the under 5 funding for however many terms (do plan ahead for the next 2 years as the bill will go up a bit). There are other schemes that the school can signpost you to, speak to the finance department.

The big difference is that state schools are very restricted in their offerings, whereas private schools can do whatever they want. At state schools, it is very much stand in line and do as you are told so we can cope with 30 energetic children. At independent schools, if a child is a bit hyperactive or is having a difficult time coping with a task, they can change it or take them outside to let off some steam on a whim, it's their choice.
It is worth noting though, that not all independent schools are the same, some won't budge and some will move mountains, you just have to go in and have a feel for the schools individually. Get a plan in writing and it will help if you can write a plan in a risk assessment style yourself as you know your son and what works or doesn't work.

Risk - Has a short attention span and is likely to be overactive
Effect - Disruption to other students and teaching style
Solution - Fidget toys, sports orientated curriculum, break-out space

*Notes - X is interested in tractors and loves doing tasks surrounding gardening.

Once the school has accepted your son and a coping plan, you can then go to the LA and fight for the funding. If they say no, bat it back to them and ask them if they can evidence a better provision. They won't be able to and you can force them to fund him at your chosen school.

We have 3 good private schools in our county town and no fewer than 9 - yes 9!! Private schools in our county. It is not just because we are a affluent county, it's because the state schools (especially the secondary schools) are not great. I hate that we pay twice for education, we shouldn't have to, state schools should be able to choose how they use their funding and allow more openness to their teaching methods.

Speak to IPsea about your choices and what your local authority has said

The council have to meet his needs. It is the law and, in reality, they should work with you on this.

social care provision that 'trains or educates' falls under special education provision in an EHCP, so it absolutely does affect educational placement.

Simply not true. If a child has social care needs which may be met in whole or in part at an independent school (particularly if it offers boarding provision) then that will certainly affect the choice of school because of the saving to the public purse that this will bring about.

I know how the EHCP system works, thanks. I've been through more than one successful tribunal. Social care needs in D and H absolutely can affect educational.

I attach the email the LA's barrister sent ours, asking for more time to get the LA to agree to what we wanted for section F (educational provision) in light of section D (social care needs). There was no dispute at all on either D or H, I may add. The barrister solely referred to the impact D might have on the LA's case for F.

Both barristers were, and are, SEN specialists who feature in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners guides.

And nobody ever said that social care can determine an independent school - they can, however, comment on needs in a way that strengthens the parental case. They did, for us.

@perfectstorm Can’t assist with getting an independent school placement at all

@perfectstorm Social care can’t NOT assist with education AT ALL. They can do a carers assessment and care assessment of child do that respite is provided but do not assist with education provision or getting a child a funded independent school. The EHCP sections you refer too are social care provision.

Yep. 3 EHCP Tribunal appeals lodged in 3 years, and just about to lodge a 4th (in fairness, we have two kids with EHCPs). Because every year at AR they slice away at provision (unless a judgement has relatively recently come out, because blessedly, that would be contempt of court, so for a few months you are safe...) so you have to appeal again every two years, just to force them back in their box, and retain support worth a damn. The innocence when I first appealed, and believed that it was won and done! If only.

I always joke that appealing is my hobby. Some people do crochet; I fill in SEND 35 forms.

I have to joke, or I'd sob.

All good advice here, Persistence is the key. You seem to have done your research. One suggestion, if you live near a county boundary, do have a look over the border.

Do be aware that, even if you win the entry battle for a mainstream school and funding for your 1:1, sadly this is not the end of the battle. I see children simply lose their support or sometimes sharing support because the funding goes into their general SEN pot, or council withdraws when you are not looking.

even if they do have the funding, you may need to spend time at the beginning of term briefing the new teacher and potentially the new support worker.

Should add that I agree that it doesn't solve the education issue, but IME it is well, well worth seeking a social care assessment (sections D and H1/H2) of an EHCP appeal, because our social care evidence supported our case for B and F and secured us some respite.

I think in the current climate you need to go belt and braces.

That's not my experience at all. I attach excepts from the social care report from the assessment done during our EHCP Tribunal. They very much comment on the educational provision and needs - and the reports were for an EHCP Tribunal case.

We have funded payments to spend on respite provision, now, also resulting from this process.

We have found social care to be really kind and helpful, once we proved we were over the threshold to access that support, which was a battle in itself.

@Cass1234 a social worker can only assess the social care needs of a child NOT their education needs. A social workers assessment is absolutely no good for education purposes only organising a carers assessment or care needs of the child. That’s it.

There is some excellent advice here:

https://www.thesendsolicitor.co.uk/

So sorry that you're in this position.

The Op.shouldn't have to get a bursary
The child has an EHCP, if the private school.is the only school.that can meet the child's need ,s than the LEA would be obliged to fund it

A lot of private schools have really good SEN support and you may be able to get a full bursary. You want to try sooner rather than later, coz a lot of those places may disappear if schools lose charity status and have to start paying VAT.

That's the law
If there is no available LEA school.suitable to meet be child's needs the LEA are obliged to fund one that can
However this is often a daunting process as many LEA,s are reluctant to fund such schools as they cost
£££,s

Thanks, that's such a useful list. Bookmarking it!

That's not how it works. I know it's meant to be, but it's not.

The law is just paper, at this point.

I speak as someone who did get a social worker, by including the Social Care side in the EHCP Tribunal appeal. A judge had to order them to send a DCYPS one, because at first instance they sent Safeguarding - when the parent had requested the assessment via a Tribunal! It was fine; best performance review I've ever had in my life (I think baseline competent parenting looks amazing to safeguarding social workers, due to their point of comparison by this stage in the political cycle) and when we had a proper DCYPS one I did get tailored SEN support. I love our social worker - she has been so, so kind and helpful. But it took a Tribunal.

I'd asked for social care assessment when I was in cancer care and could barely walk, with 2 disabled kids. Was told no. Totally unlawful, but social care are, like education, buckling under the strain. No money equals no services.

You are not forced to pay for private school. Your DS has an absolute right to educational provision, in common with all children. The LA must fund independent placement if they can't place in a state mainstream or specialist school - and they are also lying about that, because they can force a mainstream to take him, even if that mainstream is full. If a school is named on the child's EHCP then that school has a duty to admit.

I'm afraid state specialists are thousands of places short across the country, now. Some are many kids over their intended legal limit, because more and more are placed there via Tribunals. It's a crying scandal and the harm it's doing everyone (because kids who need to be there are being placed in mainstreams: if the class teacher and TA are being diverted to manage extremely high needs, how are they going to focus properly on the other kids?) is likely, I suspect, to be the subject of a public inquiry in a few years from now. And that's not even considering the kids who, like yours, are told there is no space and oh dear, that's a shame. I know - me, personally - dozens of families whose kids have been out of school for a long time, some of them years. When the Covid lockdowns happened, and all the parents squawked about OMG the lost months in education, my eyes rolled so hard I felt like I was in the Exorcist. Lack of provision is close to normal, for kids like ours, at this point.

We are now in a situation where no parent of a disabled child should, or can, rely on their LA to do the right thing. You need to upskill and learn about their rights, and the law, and become their best advocate, or they will be left in the dust. So, so many kids are at home with nothing.

The only school that can block a disabled child being placed with them is an independent school - and not all independent schools, either, as charities with 'non-maintained special school' status, or special schools on a list known as Section 41, can't block a child either. The status of the school determines what the legal rights are. It goes:

Maintained school (whether Academy or Free School or not): LA can name it on an EHCP and the school must admit
Maintained special school (whether Academy or Free School or not): LA can name it on an EHCP and the school must admit
Section 41 special school: an independent special school that has applied to be on a preferred list. These schools must admit in the same way as a state one.
Non-maintained special school (usually managed under a charitable trust of some kind) and they must admit, just like the others above.
Independent school (whether mainstream or specialist) the LA CANNOT name it, and placement can only be with their agreement.

The status of the school is set out on their entry on the gov't schools info page. You can run a search for all schools, of all types, within a sensible distance of your home (for a small child this should be around a 40 min drive, and an hour for an older one - the LA will have to fund school transport if it is unreasonable to expect a child of that age and with those needs to walk it, though be warned most LAs ignore that being the law for disabled kids and apply the standard 2 miles below 8, 3 miles above it criteria before free school transport is awarded). You can also see the school status - type of school - on the entry, and if it is section 41.

The LA have the power to name any school other than one that is genuinely independent, and so does a Tribunal judge.

The legal routes to make the LA do something are Tribunals, or, in very specific and fairly limited circumstances, via pre-action letter for Judicial Review (parents have to pay for the letter, but if the LA do not concede and the case is strong enough, it can then be continued in the name of the child, who will get legal aid - hence the need for the case to be strong enough as it is scrutinised for merit before the funding is granted). Refusal to name any school at all, on the part of the LA, would likely meet that criteria.

IPSEA and SOSSEN offer good free legal advice.

There is no such thing as cheap legal advice once you are in the realms of its being paid for, but there are also some excellent solicitors and direct access barristers out there who do amazing work securing disabled children their rights. Happy to pass along names if you need that, and want to PM me.

You have also done brilliantly to get a child this small a strong EHCP. But the point of that EHCP is to protect his rights - which the LA are failing to do, because making you pay for private school is so much cheaper for them.

We are in a national SEN crisis right now and the only kids getting anything worth having seem to be those with parents who won't accept less. Good luck, and I am so sorry you're in the trenches with the rest of us here.

Hi, this sounds like a very stressful situation. A lot of good advice from people, I hope it helps you.
Just wondering, can't the nursery your DS is attending keep him on for a while longer? He seems settled there, you could ask the staff if its possible and maybe sort out a payment plan? If it works out financially cheaper of course

You need to get the child a social worker. You then need to ask for a formal assessment of both your child's needs and also your own needs. Insist on this and also insists on having a copy of both. Whatever they say your council is legally obliged I believe to provide. Go to your mp if they don't. Hope this helps

I know you're unwell and tired, probably b---- tired but I'm sending this encouragement to keep fighting for what you know is right.

And tell everyone, everyone you know, everyone you meet especially in education and healthcare and listen to advice they give you even if it's only keep going.

Doing the right thing is often not the easiest, do what you have to. Sending love, hope and encouragement.

We had major issues after my son was excluded in 1st year primary. He is NDD. We moved to a different council with a school that could meet his needs and was a better process and got a house in that area. Was massively stressful and not convenient but so pleased we did it, happy to PM