To wonder if the head teacher is allowed to say no?

[extremepie]

Admittedly it has not happened yet but I'm trying to prepare a preemptive strike for when I meet with the head teacher at DC's school!

I am applying to uni and looking at the days/times I will need to be at lessons and factoring in travel times it looks like I will need to be out from 9am until about 5pm. This will fit in with the school times as long as I can use the breakfast club for the kids in the mornings and after school clubs for them in the afternoons.

However.

Ds2 has autism and a 1:1, currently he does not do a full day at school but we have a plan in place to gradually increase his school hours so he is full time by the end of the summer term. My concern is that if I want him to attend after school club and breakfast club in the morning the HT will say he can't because the 1:1 is not funded outside 'school hours' and there will be no on to do 1:1 for him.

DC's used to attend breakfast club and I was told I had to sit with him until the start of the school day because his 1:1 didn't start till then - obviously in this situation I won't be able to do this as I will need to leave to get to uni on time!

Aibu in wondering if he is actually allowed to refuse to let ds attend after school/breakfast clubs? What can I say if he does say no?

I really don't have any other options for childcare as I am a single parent and have no family or friends in the area who could do the childcare for me if the school does say no!

He could, of course, be fine with the whole thing but given my experiences so far and all the aggro I've had just trying to get them to take ds for a full school day I am expecting some resistance on his part :/

[Four4me]

My ds1 has/needs 1:1 at school, for his two after school clubs I used to use the 'Short Breaks funding' to pay his TA the extra hour on two days.
I was not at work, but at home with littlies so wouldn't have been able to support him in his club with them with me. So technically I got a longer day at home with two pre-schooler (not really a 'break'!!!) and he got to access the clubs he loved with the support he needed. It is now a one off payment of £500 that you apply for via the Inclusional Officer.

[Hobnobissupersweet]

Will the course lead directly to a career, with jobs available in your area?
do check that carefully first, agree with the suggestion of an OU course - would save money on travelling for you as well.

[NoodleOodle]

Have you asked the university if they will help fund childcare? Or whether you'd be eligible for any other funding from the university that you could put towards it?

[therenter]

I have to say that I agree with Luggagecarousel on this one. Despite all the logistics of trying to get your child into breakfast clubs/after school clubs (it really does sound like he would unsafe without a 1:1, and who would be too blame if something happened to him?), you have already said that he cannot cope with a full school day. I think it would be very selfish of you to put him through this at the moment. He needs time to build up to it.
Parenting is about making sacrifices, I didn't work for 11 years as I was home with my young children before they started school.
If I were in your shoes I would be looking for another course that didn't negatively impact my vulnerable child or look into some volunteering options. But I think you would be very wrong to be putting your desires infront of the needs of your child at the moment.

[MammaTJ]

I think even if they accepted him with no 1:1, you would then be on dodgy ground and they could start saying he doesn't need it after all while during school hours.

[OneInEight]

Have you had a look to see if the Open University does the course you are interested in. Much more flexible in terms of when you do your study. Just suggesting in case the after school care does not work out.

[DratAndBotheration]

Does your son have any time at school without 1:1?

It's quite reasonable to expect the school to allow your son access to anything they offer that can be adjusted. By this funding 1:1 is reasonable, an example of not being able to adjust has a bar along the lines of a non-mobile child having alternative provision instead of a pot-holeing trip, ie impossible to provide, not just more expensive. Asc are quite a money spinner for schools btw! P

[Luggagecarousel]

maybe you will just have to wait until your children are older before doing this. SEN or not, most mothers have to delay career plans for this part of their lives.

[Diamondsareagirls]

OP does your ds get his 1:1 as a result of a statement? Under the new SEN all statemented children get funding based on their needs and parents are allowed to have a say in how this is spent. Not all schools will make this clear for obvious reasons! It is not ideal for you to choose to spend his funding on this as you may feel there are far more beneficial things for him to receive but you should look into this to make an informed decision.

[amistillsexy]

You need to ask if your local authority do D-Catch funding. It's a pot of money for cases such as this, where the parent needs Out of School Care, and the child will need extra provision to be in place there. In our LA, the D Catch money pays for OOS club to employ an extra person for the sessions where the child with SEN attends, and they can use that person as they see fit (so, not 'glued' to the child as it where, giving the child space to play and make friends).

You do not, and should not need to use your DS's DLA or Direct Payments money to fund extra staff. These monies are for other, important uses.

It would be discrimination for the OOS club to refuse to take your DS due to his SEN- it is their responsibility to make 'reasonable adjustments', and to pay for them. You should nt have to pay more than anyone else for your child to access a service, the service should be accessible to all children.

However, the committees which run these places are very rarely aware of anti-discrimination law, and can be full of NIMBYs who would rather their wonderful little darlings didn't have to associate with the dreadful SEN kids.
This may tempt them to create all sorts of barriers and make up all sorts of spurious reasons why your DS cannot be included, but others can. It is then up to you whether you continue to fight, or give up and try and find another way.
When my son's OOS club was repeatedly 'full' for my DS, yet carried on taking other children, even after I'd put in writing that he could attend on ANY day that was available, I realised that even if I fought against their decision and they were forced to take him, they would not take the steps necessary to make his placement successful, and he would be the one who suffered the shame and sadness of the placement failing.
I made alternative (and much more difficult top manage) arrangements, but at least my DS is happy.

[Timeisawastin]

I claimed DLA for my ASD son and this amount allowed me to only to work part-time around his school hours as he didn't cope well within a childcare setting. Could you maybe try to claim this and put it towards paying for someone to support your boy?

[headlesslambrini]

I would say to get in touch with SW and ask for your direct payments to be increased to cover this. You should be entitled under the Carers Act for an increase as you will not be available during those times to provide care. Then ask his 1:1 support worker in school if they would be interested. If not then one of the other TAs might be interested.

[SadOldGit]

Have you asked the ASC if they have places even. Ours is always full with waiting lists - DD2 has been going since ?yr 2 - only has she got a place for Tues pms from September - she will be in yr 6 then (has had places other days )

[tisnotme]

yes, extremepie, it definitely would be. I have experience of this with a family member where the HT tried to say he couldn't attend after school activities as the school couldn't fund his 1:1 to stay on. We presented them with a copy of the guidance and they had to backtrack. In my experience schools actually don't know what their legal obligations are.

[extremepie]

I am currently about to start receiving direct payments although this is supposed to be for respite and is only for 8hrs a week but I suppose I am within my rights to use it for whatever I need to aren't I?

Hmm, interesting tisnotme, I was wondering if it would be classed as discrimination if he refused to let ds attend, obviously it isn't quite as simple as that but it may help :D

[Notso]

I used to be 1:1 for a little girl at a playgroup plus. Her Dad obtained the funding to pay me through a direct payment scheme, I was also her 1:1 at school but obviously paid through the council. I think it was all decided in a review meeting with SENCO and social worker.

[tisnotme]

After school clubs are considered to be 'associated services' and the guidance is very clear on the fact that it would be discrimination to not accept your child. Actual quote from the SEN Code of Practice:

Part 2 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 amends the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to prohibit all schools from discriminating against disabled children in their admissions arrangements, in the education and associated services provided by the school for its pupils

[LetsFaceTheMusicAndDance]

I used to claim Disability Living Allowance for DS2. Would that help you to fund it?

It's hard. I sympathise. I think my career would have been different if all my kids had been NT but they weren't and adjustments had to be made.

Having said that, things have moved on and I would advise you to do all you possibly can to hang onto a decent job/good prospects.

You may need to be able to drop everything at a moment's notice when things go wrong though.

I hope you are able to get what you need.

[extremepie]

Eruption, I would be quite happy to fund it myself I just need to school to agree to it! Thank you, some good ideas here :)

I do really want to go to uni to try and retrain in a different field as my current career (catering) is very un family friendly and at the moment I can't return to work :( Its affecting my mental health being at home all the time and obviously not working affects us financially too! I'm also very aware that I am totally reliant on various benefits for my income and want to do something about it now so that in the future I will be able to return to work and have a good career that I can work around the children.

[MadameDefarge]

Another route might be your local Volunteer service. Often people want to volunteer to gain experience in a specialist area while they train, or before they train. Also maybe investigating childcare courses at your local community college, you might find there are students there who would want to do this for the same reasons.

Obviously it would be best for your ds to have continuity of care, but these might be options.

[Purplepoodle]

Unless you can secure funding for extra care I say the school will refuse. They don't have the money or resources to provide 1:1 care (unless statmented) never mind in afterschool activities. It's a health and safety issue too for your son if there isn't 1:1 care. Friends are in the same position and they arnt allowed to use breakfast club or afterschools for their autistic son.