NHS refusing treatment to child who attends private school.

This!

I find it sad that even though their children are enjoying a privileged education some parents are arguing for the crumbs crumbling state schools bursting at the seams with far more SE N kids pay for on very limited resources!

If you want the same lobby your private school
for better priorities. Maybe they could slightly enlarge classes and use the cash to buy in the same way the state does.

Let's face it. It'll be one child in about 400 in a state school that is given that support. 99.9% of children who need it, don't get it.

The privately educated child isn't being picked on. They're getting the same shoddy treatment state school children get. Pay for private support if you want something that isn't available.

Who is responsible for the Advisory Teacher? Are they employed by the LA?

In our area, we have the Advisory Teaching Service. They are a department within the LA and come into state schools to provide advice for SEN children. In our area that includes all types of disabilities, including hearing impairments, but not exclusively so.

State schools have to "buy" services from the LA. They get a certain number of credits every year and if they exceed that, they have to buy more or else wait until they are given more credits. It's all part of the state funding package. State schools don't just get it for free.

Private schools don't get any credits so they would have to buy referrals in the same way.

It's the same principle.

The problem is that most private schools won't do this for their pupils. That's the issue here. Many - not all - private schools aren't really that interested in children with SEN or disabilities.

that's just silly. Of course they can refer you to the appropriate service to be seen on NHS premises or at home. how many more times?

No their school doesn’t buy into the service so they can access it via their GP.

No, that's not the case at all.

All of the same services are available, but through a different route.

If the private schools want access to the same services, they have to pay for them. State schools don't get them for free either.

If you want to be pissed off with someone, blame the private schools that aren't willing to pay for their pupils to access the services in their school.

But it isn't a punishment. You just can't cherry pick which parts you get to opt in or out of, you're either in or out.

Plenty of parents also work hard and would still never be able to afford private school for their children.

Spoke to DD who was an OT for schools and she confirmed it was up to the school or LA to purchase OT services.
It could be he children"s private used to pay for the OT service and no longer does, which is her older child was allowed to use OT and younger one no longer qualifies

So you're telling me someone can work hard and do what's best for their children and they are being punished by the government? Call me old fashioned but in my day we all looked out for each other.

When you enjoy your classes of les than 15 in the private sector you lose in other areas as different schools have different priorities. 🤷‍♀️

Yes, they can.

Which is exactly what the parents should do instead of expecting it to go through school and the local education authority which doesn't cover private schools to fund it.

State schools will be paying for that service which private schools are free to do too. Maybe lobby for better SEN provision instead of all the other things private schools are hugely better equipped with.

Of course not, because paediatric musculo-skeletal services aren't delivered by the NHS under contract with the LEA. They're an integral part of the NHS,

If private schools want the same service, they can negotiate with the NHS and commission it themselves, or find equivalent private provision.

When you opt out of the state system, you opt out of all of it. You can't just cherry pick the bits you like.

I have also really struggled with the idea that choosing a private school for my DC (and thereby relieving the state of providing for their education) is also deemed to be me opting out of certain ancillary health services.

I have a DC with permanent hearing loss. In a state school they would be entitled to twice yearly visits from an Advisory Teacher for the Deaf, who goes into the school, speaks to my DC and observes them in class and then advises DC’s teachers on accommodations needed to help them. Said person will also visit private schools, but only if we or the private school pay. I really don’t get this - it’s the same person, doing the same job? Why should it matter where the child goes to school?

In fairness, I should also make clear that we do get NHS support for the other things DC needs - regular hearing tests, updates to DC’s hearing aids etc - and that that has been consistently good.

They do, just not through their school.

And also worth mentioning that trying to get seen by services in a state school can be a real lottery anyway. Only a fraction of the kids who would benefit from an OT assessment (or any other specialist service) qualify for a referral.

I remember when my DD needed an assessment by an Educational Psychologist, the school had "used up" their credits for the year, so we had to wait for April until they were refreshed. They could have bought more credits from the LA but had no spare money.

The whole system is a bit of a nightmare. Imo, the worst thing they did was start to channel medical referrals through schools.

So if you go to the GP with joint pain and you are a child and you go to a private school, the GP can’t refer you to the relevant service?

Yep... My DC had a private OT sensory assessment done and the OT stated that she had "significant sensory modulation challenges".

To even see an OT on the NHS for that, I would need to:

1. Watch some videos online,
2. Document for three months what strategies have been tried and if not worked,
3. Give the above to the school and ask them (again, why them??) to make a referral,
4. If accepted, go on waiting list for a 30-minute call with an OT who would give you advice,
5. If advice has still not worked, go back to the school who will then re-refer,
6. If accepted, then go on another waiting list to see someone....

They do. They can go to their GP.

https://www.ipsea.org.uk/faqs/occupational-therapy

www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/occupational-therapy/

Because the local education authority funds it and access is almost always through school. OT, Physio, Speech etc from them do not go to private schools.

NHS service will be available to the child, just not through the local education authority because the parents opted out of it.

It's wild to me that an educational choice could have a health implication, no matter the mechanism for delivery. Why on earth would an NHS service only be available to particular schools? It's not an educational service.

FWIW school nurses go into private schools to deliver vaccinations.

Also, lots of people pay for private health care, but still access NHS services where necessary/appropriate. Imagine if we start saying that no one with private health insurance is allowed to phone 999, for example, because "well, you can afford to pay for the whole lot then, can't you".

Lots of posters still giving great detail about why, due to funding and labelling of the services, this is legal… doesn’t really answer the question of whether private school kids have equal access or if it’s fair though.

The aspects of OT practice that are provided in schools are related to education.

My DC are home educated now (previously in state schools - one in special school, the other mainstream).

Some services are a pain in the arse to navigate because the process is to go via the school.

For example, DD was officially diagnosed as autistic aged 10, but I think she's also ADHD. Her paediatrician only diagnoses autism, not ADHD (which is ridiculous anyway - but this is the NHS). The ADHD pathway is different and HAS to go through the school. Apparently the referral won't be accepted or opened until there's a report from the school and the child has to have an EHCP/My Plan+ or equivalent. As a home educated child, there's no school report and no EHCP etc (we had just started the EHCP application when she was in school but didn't pursue it).

I imagine there will be some kind of pathway but it usually takes a whole heap of arguing/persistence. In our experience, referrals are often rejected without the admin person actually looking at the reasons why.

In the battle between state and private schools, home educated kids are often forgotten.

GPs don't often want to help because they think it's up to the school. They get a bit pissed off when there is no school to facilitate referrals. Some things you can refer to directly - like speech and language therapy, and in some areas, OT. Other things need a GP referral, or you have to battle with the provider directly.

RTFT I alrerady answered this