Mainstream Private School funded by LA?

[SENMummyto2]

My 8yo DD has ADHD and a very strong PDA profile (although apparently not autistic 🙄). She’s extremely bright, now medicated and doing very well academically. She has an EHCP, with her current mainstream school named, and is due her annual review this month.

Our biggest ongoing issue is school refusal. Despite lots of support/interventions, we can still have battles of up to 2 hours getting out of the house, followed by 15–60 minutes coaxing her into school. Once she’s in, she’s generally fine.
She says the work is boring, there are too many people and her questions don’t get answered because there are 30 children in the class. The school have tried, but they can’t seem to stretch her academically enough or give her the 1:1 attention she needs. She already receives the highest level of SEN funding.

I’m considering looking at local mainstream private schools with much smaller classes and wondering whether it’s feasible to argue for the LA to fund this via her EHCP.

Has anyone successfully done this? If so, what evidence/process helped? She doesn’t have friendship issues, is very good at sport and doesn’t need a specialist school — I’m simply wondering whether a smaller mainstream setting could meet her needs better.

Her current school would have to prove that they cannot meet her needs .. which might be tricky given that she's doing ok when she actually makes it in. Not stretching her enough that she finds it boring will not be enough unfortunately (unless you have an incredibly generous LEA!)
Is her behaviour being managed when she is in school, or are there frequent exclusions ? Really it boils down to whether she is managed well when she is there; for an LEA to consider a private placement you will need a massive amount of evidence that they simply cannot meet her needs , and I would suspect they would first consider another state placement with an autism base or similar first.
Sorry to sound so negative, but having worked in SEN education for over 20 years, I know it is very very difficult to get funding for private education!

You need to prove that an alternative placement is the only place that can provide the education she requires as stated in Sections B and F of her plan. Most schools are expected to provide a robust Universal offer, so it's the 'over and above ' that as school offers which would be your route in.
If she won't attend her current school, is she any more likely to attend a new one where she knows noone?

Have you spoken to any of your local private options to see if they would even be willing to offer her a place? I know this is generalising but mainstream privates can be selective and often aren’t massively SEN friendly. If the schools you’re considering are ISI inspected you can also look up their most recent inspection and at the end it will have SEN numbers: if there are no kids with EHCPs it might be a sign they aren’t going to be what she needs.

If she has the highest level of funding, she should have pretty much equivalent of 1:1 support? Does that person not answer her questions? I understand how unfunded children might feel as 1 of 30 in a class but she should be receiving considerably more support than that, even without a velcro TA.

So she has 1:1 funding and yet doesn’t feel heard?

What’s her 1:1 doing?

The other option is to look at costings. How much does her current placement cost the LA, nominal funding and Sen top up Vs cost or private school.

If you need to go to tribunal it’s very handy to have these figures. Sometimes a small private with no need for 1:1 support can be the same price as mainstream.

Is 1:1 detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP? Focus on the provision in F rather than the funding.

A not insignificant number have to appeal to secure independent placements.

In order for an independent mainstream to be named you will need an offer of a place. Have you approached any of the schools? Like a pp said, with PDA, many independent MS won’t offer a place.

You will need to show the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure. It is possible to do this even if the current school day the can meet needs, but you will need evidence. Think about how up to date and good your EP, OT and SALT evidence is.

It is possible but you will need up to date professional reports and a lot of evidence. I think if current school are saying they can meet needs it will be a lot harder. You may consider playing a longer game and pushing for independent mainstream for secondary school instead. I have seen quite a few parents achieve this but they gathered extensive reports through OT, SALT and Ed Psych.

Before looking at the next option you really need to get to the route of what it is about her current school that isn’t working. Just switching to private school won’t necessarily mean she is going to be happy going in depending on what it is that is she is struggling with.

I do know of a school where they had three pupils in a similar situation, and the LA paid 50% of fees and the school gave each pupil a 50% bursary to cover the rest of the costs. So it is worth trying but entirely up the school.

We consulted an education lawyer about our younger autistic son and whether we could ask for this kind of funding.

His answer was basically that the child has to try a mainstream school first, and be absolutely not coping at all in that class. So for example he would need to be a couple of years behind academically, or refusing to go to school at all and having missed months of school, or showing emotional problems like self-harming.

A child who is bored and needs a lot of support to get into school (but does ultimately go in and is ok there) is very unlikely to get funding for a private school just to get smaller class sizes and more academic stretching.

In our case we’ve managed to pay for private school ourselves and it’s been great for him, but appreciate that may not be possible.

There’s lots of things you can do at home to provide more academic stretching if that’s the big issue.

You need evidence, but it is possible to secure an independent placement without trying and failing in a state mainstream first.

It is doable but the burden of proof is on you to show that no state school can meet her needs. We had a look at several schools and I think we would have had a decent shot at it. You'd need to take it to tribunal.

However on looking round, we felt that every private school we saw had a high tacit expectation of compliance from the children, throughout the school day, which may not suit children already struggling with demands. (My son is actually not PDA, he just complied his heart out until he went into burnout.). One school that sold itself on being good with anxiety expected a big self-led project termly plus various homeworks which were always due in the very next day. We would have found that very difficult. Tacitly breeding this compliance is part of the "package" you buy with private school IMO so I don't blame them, but I do think it's not always a natural fit with demand avoidance. You should also be aware that private schools can just decide to stop taking your money if your child is too hard work.

Ultimately we picked a state school with autism RP instead. We felt their better understanding of autism and overwhelm suited our DC better. But all children and schools are different. I don't regret casting a very wide net and considering all the options. It's the only way to know you are doing the best you can for your child.

ETA all this said, I do think demand avoidance is an overused buzzword, and it can be unhelpful to label a child demand avoidant. But you need to deal with what they can handle right now. People who haven't seen their child break down think we just need to try harder/have higher expectations but it is more complicated than that with some children.

Thanks all. So I’ve spoken to 2 local private schools & both say they would take her. One is a small private with exceptional pastoral care, the other is an “alternative” type school which is very student led and I feel could be a really good fit for her. She has banding E which I was told was the highest they award, but she doesn’t have a 1:1 TA & in all honesty I think she would hate it if she did. She would feel very singled out I think. Her behaviour at school is fine now she’s medicated, it’s the initial getting her in and the explosive meltdowns afterwards.

I know there is no guarantee that she would actually want to go in to these schools either, but I’m willing to try anything at this point and she’s so unhappy.

there is a private specialist school not too far away which is very academic & we could look at, but the cost is 4x as much as these small privates and is a good 30min drive away too, so didn’t really want to look at that. There are no other suitable specialist providers nearby.

ETA - looking back at her EHCP, I’m not actually sure how much of it is being delivered during the school day. The interventions around getting her in are being delivered, or at least trying to be, but I’m not so sure on the others (maybe as she seems to be coping without them), so may be something I need to delve deeper into before looking at another school?!

Work being viewed as boring, not enough stretch and not getting enough questions answered is a very common scenario for the brightest children in state primaries I’m afraid whether NT or ND. So I would suspect the LEA would fight hard against a private education in this basis, even though it is leading to some school refusal, and would seek to argue the school is meeting her needs.

Separately I would look very carefully at the finances of any small private school, many are finding it a strain post VAT with lower cohorts and some shutting on no or little notice. So whether you’re paying or the LEA is paying it could be a devastating outcome if you get her settled into school which then closed.

Being bright, have you approached the schools you like to see if there is any opportunity for a scholarship? My dc both have adhd and were bored in primary - they sat entrance and scholarship testing for a private school and received hefty discounts and a bursary. They both are thriving in the faster pace and small class sizes.

It's certainly worth asking OP.

Our LEA has just agreed to place some of their dyslexic pupils and those with certain types of ADHD with the independent school my ds attended.

The school is developing a specialist hub to provide appropriate education. The children will be taught separately, providing as much individual support as possible.

Yes I have from year 7-11.
Evidenced that state catchments couldn’t meet needs - this was key. They basically all said no on consultation. Evidenced that independent mainstream could and had offered a place in writing. I did involve a specialist solicitor. there are several children with EHCPs at the school.

I know that the secondary mainstream school my ds attends don't take on any SEN students unless they have been in school from the start (y1). Parents would not be happy with the disruption.

BTW It's not true that the highest band is the maximum funding a child can get, it just has to go to panel to get higher than that.

What are school actually doing with her funding if she doesn't have any 1:1 hours? Does anyone take her for movement breaks or does she have a quiet space she can go to or any small group interventions, a soft start, reward time, quieter lunch etc?

To get a mainstream independent school named on an EHCP in my experience it has to be proven to be the only school (or cheapest school) that can meet their needs. I believe sometimes if it's parental preference the LA may pay a contribution and parents pay the rest (e.g. you pay base fees). But I'm not sure all LAs agree to this in all circumstances. Are you in a position to part fund a place for your DD?

Definitely investigate if the provision in the EHCP is being fulfilled.

Just because the school say DD appears ‘fine’ once in school doesn’t mean she actually is. The difficulties getting into school and the coke bottle effect afterwards are telling you she isn’t. There are likely to be signs the school aren’t seeing or seeing but not recognising them for what they are. If school life was easier, including because the EHCP is actually being followed, before and after school are likely to improve.

Focus on the provision detailed, specified and quantified in F rather than the funding band.

When looking at costs be sure to consider all costs. Independent mainstream schools normally charge extra for SEN support, particularly at the level of support in EHCPs and particularly if there is any therapeutic provision, direct &/or indirect, in F (I hope there is!). So only looking at their base fees is likely to be misleading.

I believe sometimes if it's parental preference the LA may pay a contribution and parents pay the rest (e.g. you pay base fees). But I'm not sure all LAs agree to this in all circumstances.

You are right that not all LAs do. While some LAs sometimes will, where the threshold for naming the school outright in section I isn’t met (or where the LA claim it isn’t met and the parents haven’t appealed), sometimes LAs will say parents are making their own suitable alternative arrangements and thereby reliving them of their duty. Such arrangements are less likely than they once were.

No, basically my DD’s senco and mental health nurse tried and it was definitely no, we were instead offered alternative provision (probably more expensive!) but they had no track record of passing GCSEs. The brilliant senco managed to get space within her school for her to study independently, supported by class teachers and the lovely office ladies, it was them that gave her a reason to be in school, she drank a lot of tea with them! My dd did have an asd diagnosis though, diagnosed at 2.

What is her funding being spent on if she doesn’t have a 1 to 1? My autistic 9 year old has a 1 to 1 in mainstream, but we’re still told that he wouldn’t qualify for the LEA to pay for private fees.