To think that if "school is not childcare" then HMRC and the DWP have missed the memory?

[CatONineTails]

I'm a lone parent with a 7yo who has as yet undiagnosed SN (presumed ASD and possible ADHD). I have worked since he was small, running my own business as a sole trader which is pretty successful and earns me a modest living which is topped up by WTC and Housing Benefit.

DS has always struggled at school but since moving up to the junior school this year things have got worse and worse. We reached a point recently where he was having daily meltdowns, often with accompanying aggressive or violent lashing out at staff and other children, and he has now been put on a pastoral support plan with a 50% reduced timetable until the school can get full EHCP in place with funding for a 1-1 etc.

So my earnings have plummeted because I'm now only able to work 2.5 hours a day (that's on a good day - at least once a week there's a meeting I need to attend about DS that takes up most of the time he's in school). DS can't go to any sort of childcare, there is none that meets his needs locally. I have no family support local enough to help. No friends that feel able to look after him. School breakfast club won't take him so I can't even start work early.

So off I trot to the local one stop shop where they do benefits advice etc. But I'm not entitled to fuck all extra, and in fact if I don't carry on working 16 hours a week I may lose my WTC. I've applied for DLA and carers allowance but with no diagnosis it's not a given that I'll get it and so far have heard nothing back. I usually work extra hours in the run up to the summer holidays so I can reduce my hours while DS is off school but that's not going to happen this year. I honestly don't know how we will manage.

I wept in the SENCOs office today at a meeting and explained the financial pressure that I'm now under, only to be told by someone from the local authority that "school isn't childcare" and that DS needs must come first. Well as it happens DS needs a fucking roof over his head which means I have to work to pay for it! Of course in an ideal world I'd be at home ready and able to drop everything to meet his every need but I'm not, I can't be, there's only one of me and Im really struggling with getting so little break from DS plus trying to work the necessary hours so I don't lose all my clients and my tax credits to boot.

Some one really should tell HMRC and the rest that "school isn't childcare" so they stop insisting that all parents with a school aged child are free to work within school hours If the DLA application is turned down then I will be expected to work and earn as though there is no difference in my circumstances despite the fact that it is literally not possible for me anymore. I know IAprobablyBU but the utter inflexibility is so frustrating.

FFS I mean missed the memo in the title. Sigh.

Well thats a bit fucking stupid of the local authority isnt it?

Being as they will have to help to rehouse you if you lose your home.

is the diagnosis pending? can any of the HCP help with getting a quicker diagnosis?

at least then it should aid getting things in place to help.

If the DLA application is turned down, post on the special needs boards and get some help with an appeal. At one stage something like 90% of first applications were being rejected.

Have you sent in seperate evidence of your DS extra needs with your application i.e. appointment records, written reports etc?

You should have received a we are reviewing your claim letter with case reference number on it. If the 50% timetable and EHCP submission is post your application you can evidence these and request they are considered as part of strengthening your claim.

I think yr 3 is a tough one, class work often becomes more formal with less downtime. My DS1 got his Autism diagnosis in yr 3. We also got our DLA then carers then top up benefits and it made such a difference.

It's such a bloomin difficult situation.

A diagnosis will make no difference at all to your DLA claim.

Its based completely on care needs, a diagnosis doesn’t affect it at all....

Was your claim after the reduced timetable was started? And the reduced timetable used as evidence?

I have no advice, only sympathy. It sounds incredibly tough and exactly the sort of way that people fall through the cracks - because the assumption is that all school aged children can be in school full time

Being as they will have to help to rehouse you if you lose your home.

I'm no expert, but I think if you don't pay your rent you can be deemed intentionally homeless and so the LA doesn't then have to rehouse you... I'm hoping there are exceptions in cases like this, but I suspect the council will exploit any loopholes it can.

Yes the DLA application had 76 pages of supporting evidence including reports/IEPs/School Action Plus/risk assessment paperwork from 2 schools, Ed Psych report, GP letters, and SENCO filled out the bit for someone who knows the child. I'm cautiously hopeful but don't dare rely on it because I know even if we get DLA it could be taken away in a flash if the criteria tighten or whatever. It's so worrying and scary tbh.

I have a child with asd , i know of some parents who have been struggling to access benefits and an ehcp due to no diagnosis that have paid a private pediatrician to make a diagnosis (schools and the lea do frown on this a bit but who cares and like they say the childs needs must come first) you will then be able to access full time education quicker once the ehcp is in place , good luck and these so called experts often have no idea about what its like to raise a child with additional needs

Dla is on the symptoms not the diagnosis. I was granted dla before my son was diagnosed. You will also be able to claim carers if he's awarded middle or higher rate. Did anyone help you fill out the form. There are specific things they are looking for to grant a claim. If they reject you, seek advice then appeal. His SN are such he can't attend school so you should be getting middle ratebat least. Higher rate is if he needs care during the night as well.

If your self employed, can you not just declare you have worked more hours? I known its not ideal but if it stopped you getting wtc stopped.

The situation is really shit I'm sorry your going through this. The whole benefit system is flawed because they refuse to take a individual human approach, if your circumstances don't fit their box's its 'computer says no'.

Sorry cross posts. Claim was sent in post 50% timetable (that's what it took for me to realise how far from "normal" our lives have become!) So the pastoral support plan paperwork was in the evidence. As was letters explaining that full EHCP is being requested but as it hasn't yet happened I don't know how much that counts?

The National Autustic Society offers parents legal advice re their children’s educational rights, would that be of any help to you?

www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/education-rights/legal.aspx

Avocado that wouldnt surprise me either.

Sorry, they don’t actually offer help but they direct you to helplines who can.

I hope you get this sorted, it’s absolutely shitty.

Is it legal for the school to put him on a 50% timetable indefinately and the breakfast club to discriminate against him because of his special needs? The school has a responsibility to meet his need for education. The funding issue is their problem, not yours.

It sounds like you've done all you can on your DLA application, very thorough.

If it's awarded, which it really sounds like you've evidenced it should be, they give you a window it's awarded for i.e. 2 years, 5 years up until 16th birthday. Goodness knows what sets the criteria for that. I haven't heard of people losing DLA for a child within the award period but each renewal is subject to the criteria at that stage.

If its rejected, be on your toes - you only get 30 days from the date on the letter to request a mandatory reconsideration. Hopefully such a thorough application will get the consideration it deserves.

Yes it is legal as part of the pastoral support plan. I didn't have to agree to it but tbh I think it is helping DS hugely.

Breakfast club... well, they don't have the funding to have a properly trained 1-1 there with him. They just don't have the money. DS needs someone who has autism training and Team Teach (holding and restraining) training. It's not like just a anyone can do the job. So until the EHCP is written, at which point I can request that support to attend breakfast club is specified, then he can't go.

With no support network another option is to apply for a carers assessment at your local council. You may get allocated a family social worker or family support worker. They can help guide through some red tape with previous experience in your local area. They may also be able to arrange a care support package like supported activities for your DS so you get respite.

School is not childcare but your DS does have a right to a full time education.

If his needs aren't being met in school, the solution is to work out what support he needs an ensure it is in place.

Yes schools are struggling with under-funding but the solution is not to exclude the child part-time.

Apply for an EHC Needs assessment. There's a model letter on the IPSEA website if you need one.

Then ask the school to apply for whatever high needs funding they feel they may need to meet his needs while attending full time, as is his right. This should be applied for immediately and the support put in place to allow him to attend full-time while the EHC Needs assessment is under way.

When if the SENDCo tells you that he won't qualify for an EHC Plan, smile and say you're applying for an assessment anyway. If the application is refused, appeal. It is free and quite easy to do. Some LAs have a policy of refusing a large number of applications the first time and then giving in as soon as an appeal is lodged.

Don't allow the LA and the school to let your DS down with this part-time timetable. You doing their job for part of every day isn't a reasonable solution for them not having put the right support in place.

Can I ask how they approached you about the reduced timetable? As your child is over 5 they are legally entitled to education. I am a SENCO and we have had to provide tutors at home for children who cannot attend full time. This is rare however because the child should be in school full time. For the school to say they are waiting until they get EHCP funding to get a 1-1 seems strange. Do they not have TAs/LSAs in the school that they could redeploy on a temporary basis? I do this all the time. Just throwing it out there that there are options to keep your child in school if you haven't explored them already. Good luck with the DLA, sounds like you have plenty of evidence.

Jinx @Goldmandra!

@craftymum01

Great minds!

I don't know... I just assumed theye were telling me the truth about how it worked. Perhaps naive of me?

I just got called to a meeting with the SENCO and deputy head where they explained DS was at risk of exclusion as he is a danger to other children and to staff (this is undeniably true) and that their suggestion was a pastoral support plan with reduced hours until they could get full time 1-1 in place. Then when the Ed Psych came she agreed and also said that until DS will use the toilets at school (something he point blank wont do) she doesn't recommend full time attendance as his behaviour and agitation get a lot worse when he needs the toilet.

Then when the Ed Psych came she agreed and also said that until DS will use the toilets at school (something he point blank wont do) she doesn't recommend full time attendance as his behaviour and agitation get a lot worse when he needs the toilet.

What strategies and support did she recommend to help him get over his fear of using the toilet in school?

I was in exactly your position a while ago, except with an even further reduced timetable

Have school already made the EHCP application? If not, apply yourself immediately. IPSEA have template letters as I'm sure someone upthread has mentioned. I also second that DLA is not dependent on a diagnosis. Your tax credits will also go up if you're successful. The DLA Guide from Cerebra is extremely useful, and will help should you need to appeal.

It did take over a year before my DC was in full time education, but I would hope that things have been tightened up since then and your EHCP should take no more than 20 weeks from application to finalisation (though in practice that's still not always the case).

Look up EHCP Experiences England on Facebook too for very useful advice. Hope things improve for you soon!

if you don't pay your rent you can be deemed intentionally homeless and so the LA doesn't then have to rehouse you... I'm hoping there are exceptions

Generally speaking, losing your home through rent arrears will lead to an Intentionally Homeless decision. But the Council has to consider affordability. So if your income dropped through no fault of your own and there was no way you could have afforded the rent, they have to take that into consideration. You would have to provide supporting documentary evidence though.

If you're self employed, can you not just declare you have worked more hours?

HMRC won't just take your word for the number of hours worked though. They will look at the level of your income and will expect you to earn at least the equivalent of minimum wage for a 16 hour week. If you don't, they will deem that your employment is not financially viable and won't pay any WTC.

If you do get DLA (and I hope you do), make sure you tell the Tax Credits Office and the Housing Benefits Office. You may be entitled to more of both if you are in receipt of a disability benefit.