To ask what's the law or policy on wrap around care?

[drspouse]

My DS is in a short stay school which is handily quite near our house and he goes to a CM twice a week but he can't stay there for ever, and we are only being offered far distant schools that involve a taxi ride and have no after school care or extracurricular activities "because of the taxis".
There is a local MLD school that has after school care but it's not suitable for him.
I work 0.6 and a colleague just asked to go to 0.5 and was refused. I'm the higher earner but DH is a KW who trains other KWs and he can't drop to school hours either because lots of his training is day long or has to cover a choice of hours (and he's likely to have a day a week in the office, an hour away).
Is there any legal obligation to provide after school care or consider this in placement?
Or does the government just not want my taxes and DH benefit to society?

Your only other possible avenue is to investigate his needs further. Does he have a diagnosis? Are you happy with this? If he has undiagnosed ASD then you might find an ASD school more suitable. I am really not unsympathetic. I know how hard it is to find the right provision. I do however think that trying to make mainstream be more specialist is unlikely to be successful.

We don't like any of the specialist schools because none of them seem to be different enough to his current setting in which he has deteriorated.

I don’t understand your comment about going with the same children as currently - surely they can’t all be heading for the same Indy school?

There are very few options locally so yes, some of the boys (it's all boys in his class) are going to the same place. They've almost all been there since before lockdown and they didn't want to move anyone this school year if possible, which is understandable.

It's a shame they don't have enhanced resource mainstream schools in your county. My 7 year old's is fantastic and they can tailor the amount of time in mainstream or 1-1 according to the child.

That's what we'd want ideally. The LEA's penny pinching is costing them loads in school fees, too.

We are in Derbyshire and they have them in both Derby and Derbyshire. Not sure where you are but I've been happy with the options available. My other DS is in a special school.

@drspouse

That's what we'd want ideally. The LEA's penny pinching is costing them loads in school fees, too.

But that doesn't exist where you currently live so it is completely irrelevant. You either need to move to an area that has the type of provision you would like available in the area or you stay where you are and work with the provisions that are available to you.

We can't move, believe me we've tried. Most recent feedback on an application was that my track record was good till a few years ago... Yeah, having two DCs, one with SEN, working part time and a pandemic will do that to you... We've been trying for ages because of DH commute!