AIBU Questioning School

[ButterfliesnWaterfalls]

Hi all,

I lurk on here daily but haven't posted for years.

My 9 year old DS has ASD and an EHCP - The sendco is really lovely and has been checking up on us since Lock down 1.0 and 3.0.

We had our annual review last week - and I asked questions regarding the provision and I'm not sure if I'm just being a "difficult parent" or if I'm within my rights to ask.

So I asked - since DS is 3WT and 3EX in most areas, if I could get him to redo Year 4, and the answer was a No.

I again asked if School would be able to provide 1:1 help for only Literacy and Maths even if it's 20 mins each subject, and the answer was again No.

So I asked how much funding the LA provides for my child and then I got a blunt answer in the email. The figure is around £2000 per year.

So my AIBU is - Should I ask how that money is being spent (since we are in lock down for majority of last year and this year) or AIBU and I shouldn't ask and let the school get on with it?

For further clarification - DS does live classes from home and doesn't attend school atm.

Thanks in advance :)

I'm not sure if this a universal thing, but where we are, the school finds the first £6k of EHCP requirements and the LA anything above that. If that's the case then you are trying to work out where £8k is being spent on your DS, not £2k.

@cansu I think the amount is less too.

But the reason the Sendco gave for no 1:1 support back in school, was that they want him to learn independently so he doesn't end up relying on an adult being with him when he's completing the work.

@Justajot Yes in the email she mentioned the 'top up funding is £2624'. I felt guilty for even questioning so replied with a Thanks.

Do you mean that schools get £6k for each child with EHCP? Or did I misunderstand that?

@Yokey

I'd encourage you to ask all the questions you have. As a teacher (secondary though) I'm more than happy to have such discussions with an interested and concerned parent. I think how you ask is important. Teachers can be defensive if they get a whiff of "you're not doing enough and letting my child down" (which is only natural given they're largely maligned by the general public, suspiciously scrutinised by the system, thoroughly overworked, and chronically underfunded).

You seem perfectly reasonable though, OP, and entitled to answers. Good luck.

Thank you.

I tried asking in a polite way via email. I used the smiley emojis in case she thought I was being "blunt" or "accusatory".

And I write "many thanks for your support" in almost all my emails to the teachers/Sendco so they don't feel like I'm being too demanding and to thank them.

But of course it is very difficult communicating online by email as messages and tone can be misunderstood.

All children with SEND, whether an EHCP or not, are assumed to have a notional allocation of £6000 applied to them. this means that the school has to provide the first £6000 of support and those with EHCPs MAY be allocated additional on top ( although how much this is can vary-my authority won't allocate anything less than an additional £ 6000|) But the £6000 per child isnt ring fenced and can be used for anything and hasn't been increased in goodness knows how long. It usually funds the class TAs as the money has to come from somewhere!

I don't think that's the case for the £6k. An EHCP says what support is required and the school is obliged to provide that.

@spanieleyes I had no idea. So each child with EHCP or Send is supposed to have around £6000 and then the local authority provides an additional £2624.

I am wondering whether to ask the Sendco how that money is used for him.

We went through the Annual Review, but I need to go through it again to see what will actually be implemented.

My DS had a 1:1 lesson each day when he was self isolating (he has an EHCP).

This is one authority's explanation of notional funding
LAs must, through the Schools Forum, identify the formula by which schools receive funding to provide support for pupils with SEND. This is called a 'Notional SEN Budget'. It is called 'notional' because no-one tells schools exactly how they should spend this money - they can spend it in the way they think is best. But schools have a duty to identify, assess and make special educational provision for all children with SEND; and the LA has a duty to set out what schools are expected to provide from their delegated budget and to publish this information in the Local Offer.
School Funding arrangements require that the notional SEND budget comes from the Schools Block, made up of funding from the basic per-pupil entitlement, deprivation and prior attainment factors. It is from this notional budget that mainstream schools are expected to:
Meet the needs of pupils with low cost, frequently occurring SEND (e.g. learning and cognition)
Contribute, up to at least the first £6,000 of the costs of provision for pupils with additional needs (most pupils with SEND will not require this full amount of funding).
From this, schools must make provision for all pupils to enable them to access the school’s teaching and learning offer.

SO it's not based on the actual number of children with SEND. If a child with special needs ( but not an EHCP) moves schools, the funding received doesn' t change. It isn't assigned to specific children but becomes part of the general funding pot for schools. Schools are then expected to use the money to support any additional needs requirements for ALL children. it is only EHCP money that is attached to a specific child.

www.sendcosolutions.co.uk/sen-funding/

is probably one of the clearest explanations I've seen of what is a complicated business!

Additional funding varies lot from area to area but in many cases additional funding from the LA could only be allocated after the notional £6000 has been proven to be spent. It could be that there has been a lot more money spent than you might realise. Adult time is often the most expensive thing that this £6000 is swallowed up by - group interventions for example or TA support. This doesn't have to be 1:1 which is very expensive and is often listed by number of hours on the EHCP if it is required.

Definitely no harm in asking the senco for more details of what will be implemented next and what can be implemented either in or out of school at the moment - I was just trying to explain the funding a bit

Has anyone looked through your sons EHCP to make sure it actually meets his needs, there are some charities which do this or you can pay a solicitor. When the EHCPs are fluffy it’s difficult to pin down the school to provide the help the children actually need.

Don't get bogged down worrying about the funding. Regardless of how much funding is attached to DS' EHCP if section F is detailed, specific and quantified then that is what must be provided. If it isn't you can force the LA provide it via Judicial Review. However, if the wording is vague and woolly you can't.

It sounds like the provision in the EHCP needs amending.

I managed to find this:

Overview of Intervention:

Use of guided partner practice with CT to eventually encourage independent partner practice.

Fluency of reading to be improved using the EBEN priority reading daily 1:1 for 10-15 minutes. Questions about simple stories.

Handwriting practice - every Mondays 10 minutes.

Social skills group with 2 other children. 15 minutes twice a week.

Usage of traffic light timer.

@DollyP23 I think you are right. It does become quite costly with all these interventions.

I have to reiterate though, the school is very good, I asked Sendco for some social activities since DS is an only child, and the next week she asked a teacher to set up Zoom live sessions for DS and other kids to talk and tell each other jokes and play games virtually. Which he really enjoys. And they last around 50 minutes.

@10brokengreenbottles I've pasted what is written in his Plan above. Do you think that is reasonable provision?

There is a difference between what TAs do when school is normally open and the extra support they are giving to vulnerable children in schools at present though so it might be an avenue worth pursuing.

It sounds really woolly and I'm also wondering why they needed an EHCP as it all sounds like the kind of thing my DD who is just on an IEP gets. Some of them don't say how often. Some don't say for how long. They don't say who delivers them and what their training should be. And 10 minutes handwriting per week? Why bother?

If that is the sole content of section F it is, quite frankly, rubbish.

@drspouse

It sounds really woolly and I'm also wondering why they needed an EHCP as it all sounds like the kind of thing my DD who is just on an IEP gets. Some of them don't say how often. Some don't say for how long. They don't say who delivers them and what their training should be. And 10 minutes handwriting per week? Why bother?

I think that 10 minutes handwriting might be 1:1.

I found this on the Individual Pupil Plan, the Sendco hasn't sent me updated EHCP. So I haven't seen section F. I will probably have to go through the letters to see if I can find the previous Plan and check the section F on there.

@10brokengreenbottles

If that is the sole content of section F it is, quite frankly, rubbish.

I will look for the previous section F and paste it on here if possible.

Thanks everyone for your input. I just wanted to check if I should probe this further or not.

@SeasonFinale

There is a difference between what TAs do when school is normally open and the extra support they are giving to vulnerable children in schools at present though so it might be an avenue worth pursuing.

Yes, thanks. I will ask and find out. It might be worth sending him in to school. (Although I have told him he will be back in March so he will probably get agitated if he goes back earlier).

Look to have your EHCP amended in order to ensure that his needs are accurately outlined and then the provision matches his needs. If this includes 1:1, SLT or anything with cost sometimes LEAs can be quite resistant to agree changes and expert evidence can help (sometimes this is within the LEA but mostly private from my experience depending on the LEA itself). You can also use freedom of information to find out more info on your LEA and for example you what 1:1 provisions have been funded without tribunal etc. Hope this helps and good luck x

@Lovemylittlebear

Look to have your EHCP amended in order to ensure that his needs are accurately outlined and then the provision matches his needs. If this includes 1:1, SLT or anything with cost sometimes LEAs can be quite resistant to agree changes and expert evidence can help (sometimes this is within the LEA but mostly private from my experience depending on the LEA itself). You can also use freedom of information to find out more info on your LEA and for example you what 1:1 provisions have been funded without tribunal etc. Hope this helps and good luck x

Thanks for the info. I will definitely research this more and book a meeting with the Sendco and raise any concerns I have.

I think that 10 minutes handwriting might be 1:1.
It doesn't say it is but even if it is quite frankly why bother?
As it is written, they could give in a piece of paper on a Monday morning before registration and say "practice your Rs" and that would be it.