Private school fees - act now for SEND!

Unfortunately we absolutely can not afford every kid who doesn’t have their needs met in the state system having a bespoke private education. We need to make the state system work better.

So do share what private schools offer that state schools can’t as regards children with ASC and adhd. I have a child with both and an EHCP.

@DarkM3l0n It depends what you mean by “needs met”. If you mean watched sufficiently carefully by a 1 to 1 that everyone is physically safe maybe. If you mean, happy and thriving at school and achieving their potential, not so much. The average mainstream state school just isn’t designed to meet the needs of children with ASD or ADHD so whatever support is bolted onto that model may never be sufficient. So what you get is a lot of (but still not enough) resources thrown at trying to shoehorn children into a model which they find inherently stressful and difficult to cope with. Some children might thrive in mainstream with support but many won’t.

If the private sector can meet the needs of those children better in specific and fairly rare cases, that should be what happens. A general fondness for big state is just a political view which has nothing to do with the practicalities of making sure every child gets an education which is appropriate for them.

It is not only a ‘few’ whose needs cannot be met in the state mainstream sector. Even if they had all the support in the world.

The LA on the other hand would like everyone to think all DC can have their needs met in state MS whether they actually can be or not.

A few can’t have their needs met int the state sector and need special schools but the vast majority can with the right support.

By you can meet needs in MS.

Not for all pupils you can’t.

State schools, or any schools for that matter, will never be able to cater to all. That’s why EOTAS/EOTIS exists.

State mainstream schools, or even any mainstream schools, will never be suitable for all, even with all the support in the world.

By you can meet needs in MS. Very few children can’t have their needs met with the right support in MS.

Because the environment of a large state MS is vastly different to some small, nurturing independent MS.

Sometimes in state MS a child’s ‘bucket’ is constantly overflowing, leading to them needing full time 1:1. If a child’s needs are better met in an independent MS because it meets their needs, their ‘bucket’ no longer overflows and they are no longer overwhelmed by things they previously were, thus sometimes they no longer need 1:1.

As I posted, just because you don’t understand doesn’t mean it is never the case. It is sometimes the case.

We can’t provide a bespoke model for all. Money shouldn’t be diverted into private but into making the state generic model cater for all and differentiate better.

How does it?

Why would a state school, which is set up on a specific model to offer a standardised curriculum designed to cater to the average child, be best placed to meet the needs of children with specific needs or difficulties which fall outside that norm? There’s no inherent reason that the private sector, which is mostly not for profit, shouldn’t provide an education which is better tailored to those children cost effectively. It opens up options for children who need something different to the average.

It simply isn’t true that the state sector currently caters well to all children with SEN (or certainly not across the board). 1 to 1 support is helpful to a lot of children with SEN but not necessarily a magic bullet to a state school being able to meet their needs. For example, I know a boy with ASD who had a breakdown and stopped attending mainstream school after years of struggling with it. He’s very bright but can’t tolerate the noise level and rules in mainstream - lots of episodes of him hurting other children or himself etc despite having an EHCP and 1 to 1 support. State special schools aren’t really suitable. He’s now attending an independent forest school- not necessarily ideal or what his parents would have chosen but it’s the only school it’s actually possible to get him to attend right now without incident and he is learning something there, It’s not particularly expensive, certainly nothing like the cost of a special school place.

Yes, my dd is in a class of 12 in private vs 33 for her age in state. Of course it means much more attention, less noise, fewer children to navigate interactions with. Added to that there's more structure and more feedback on where she needs support.

It does make sense in some situations. Just because you can’t understand that doesn’t mean it is never the case.

So a child needing a full time strict 121 with no fluidity in state even when in small groups of 5 or less in separate intervention rooms doesn’t need that in the private sector even though that often just differs by having classes of 15 as opposed to 30.

Doesn’t make sense.

What would cause the govt to trigger an education crisis? There is a crisis, in diagnosis, in support, in young adults going on disability registers and we are slumbering through it.

Watch the council level funding - many verging on bankrupt councils being offered bail outs if they can reduce spending on SEN.

Because guess what, SEN is hugely expensive whoever pays, and yes, we should all campaign on it.

The SEN budget stands at £10 billion a year, it will take much more than a further 15% of that bill to fix it if the problems are as extensive as to cause a crisis

this isn’t common.

It is more common than you think.

It’s more usual that independence is valued and a more fluid approach with a 121 is recommended.

This is what LAs and some schools would like parents to believe. It is more about money and less about what pupils actually reasonably require. A sufficiently trained 1:1 deployed correctly does not lead to dependence. Quite the opposite, it promotes independence.

Any child that needed a full time 121 to themselves at all times even in small groups would need that in a private setting too so it’s a moot point

It is not moot at all because you are completely incorrect in thinking a pupil requiring full time 1:1 would necessarily need that in a private school. Sometimes the whole environment means a child’s needs can be met in an independent MS where they can’t in state MS.

This.

Theres nothing stopping anyone on here from writing up their MP about anything they see fit. Or starting a thread to rally support for that matter. If you’re concerned about provision for SEN children, your time would be far better spent doing that than completing about the op doing what she can to support her dc.

Obviously but this isn’t common. It’s more usual that independence is valued and a more fluid approach with a 121 is recommended. Any child that needed a full time 121 to themselves at all times even in small groups would need that in a private setting too so it’s a moot point .

What is a full support IEP costing £15000?

If full time 1:1 is detailed, specified and quantified in F that is what must be provided. That includes providing 1:1 when the pupil is working in groups. Any school using the 1:1 to run groups, and therefore not providing 1:1 during that time, would be acting unlawfully and leaving themselves and the LA open to legal action. Any parent in this situation can and should enforce the EHCP.

Yes so working alongside other children will benefit a child. The 121 will often run groups so it benefits others in the state system as well as the recipient.

A 1/1 can help other kids if it benefits their named child

This depends entirely on the wording in F. If full time 1:1 is detailed, specified and quantified in F that is what must be provided and it can be enforced if it isn’t.

Many EHCPs are poor, yes. That is more about LAs than pupils' needs. But some do state full time 1:1 even when working within/alongside others in groups and it isn’t rare, especially where parents have appealed for a detailed, specified and quantified EHCP.

See my post above. By paying a private school fees for my son rather than capitation plus full support plus transport, the local authority saves about £8000.

Honestly if a child can manage with no sen support whatsoever in a private school I would be stunned if they would ever qualify for 1 to 1 via a echp. So the cheaper outcome fot the local authority is not a private school. It is mainstream with a more modest, affordable level of sen support than you believe is optimal for your child. Lots of children would thrive being taught one to one or in smaller groups, most in fact, but it is not affordable.