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?

You will be better posting in the specialist boards as the people there will have much more empathy for the challenges facing working parents of children with SEN.

And TBH unless you are a very high earner your taxes are probably worth a lot less than the cost of after school care for children with complex SEN and your DH may be a key worker but is unlikely to be irreplaceable. An SEN school placement is already costing the LA a lot out of budgets that are just getting smaller there is no way it works be cost effective to run wrap around care as well. I am not saying that is right by the way but just reflecting the reality of the situation.

I can’t make head nor tail of this. I really think you should ask to have this moved to a specialist board? @mnhq ?

@ImaginaryCat

You will be better posting in the specialist boards as the people there will have much more empathy for the challenges facing working parents of children with SEN.

I'm interested in a) actually getting some replies and b) finding out the legal or policy position on this, rather than sympathy. I post on SEN Chat a lot. If you don't know the answer, fair enough.

@Toomuchspinning

I can’t make head nor tail of this. I really think you should ask to have this moved to a specialist board? *@mnhq* ?

Which would be the right board to find out the legal and policy position without it sinking without trace?

Op, special schools have no more obligation to provide wrap around care than standard schools. Is there an option to look at a standard school with good SEN support that's closer?

Alternatively, you need to find a child minder who lives near DSs school and collect him from there

@drspouse I would think the right place for the legal and policy would be either your local
Authority website, one of the SEN charities and support networks, or your MP.

www.ipsea.org.uk/sen-and-disability-statute-law-regulations-and-guidance

Google suggested this as a place to start.

You have been told the legal position. In terms of your LA policy about taxis not dropping at childcare that is potentially something you could challenge as that is LA policy but unless you want him dropped at the same place every day (rather than a mix of childcare and home depending on the day) you may not get very far

@SleepingStandingUp

Op, special schools have no more obligation to provide wrap around care than standard schools. Is there an option to look at a standard school with good SEN support that's closer?

Alternatively, you need to find a child minder who lives near DSs school and collect him from there

Is there no government policy at all on this?

The mainstream schools have all refused to take him, the specialist school is in a tiny village 45 minutes away but we could look for a CM there.

@Seeline

Why does he have to be brought home by taxi? If he stays for after school care can you not pick him up yourself?

There is no after school care.

@Toomuchspinning

www.ipsea.org.uk/sen-and-disability-statute-law-regulations-and-guidance

Google suggested this as a place to start.

That's the law on educational provision.

Hi OP another working family with a disabled child here, I have had a lot of support from Army welfare services and they are shit hot on this kind of thing and what I’ve learned is that the EHCP is a legal document which the LA is required by law to fulfil, (it’s why they are so so hard to obtain in the first place) so you need to look through the EHCP and see if there is anything in his EHCP targets which requires the need for attendance at after school activities? For additional learning or social activities?

Also, speak to the school staff and get their input.

Op I don't really understand why you think school should provide you with child care. It has to provide your child with an education. Because if the distance they're also providing transport.

You can claim some money back for child care through various schemes but like all other parents that's on you to provide

No @drspouse that’s a website with links to all the published governement guidance on health, social and educational policy for children and adults with additional needs. Just reading it now myself, suggests any policy for after school care would be within the local authority local offer document.

You have been told the legal position
No, the closest I've got is "you don't have the right to after school care".
In fact, on working out a more specific Google search I saw that if my DS was in a free school, academy or maintained school I'd have the right to request. They have to have a good reason to say no.

But as he's been offered a place in an independent specialist school I don't have that right.

Since he's only been told to go there because he has SEN, this does seem like discrimination.

These are 2 groups on Facebook that might be able to help.

like all other parents that's on you to provide
Would you also say this to the parents of a new reception child whose DC had been allocated a place in a school 5 miles away with no wrap around care and whose flexible working request had been refused.

I don't know the legalities but as far as I am aware - no school sen or mainstream is required to provide wrap around care or afterschool activities. They are to provide an education not childcare

As I said above, Govt policy is that schools should point parents towards extended services, but there is no requirement to offer it themselves, and the old requirement for schools to ensure access to wrap around care has been diluted since the Conservatives came to power, and essentially have become just a "right to request", with no obligation to provide.

So basically no, there is no right to the supply of after school care.

A taxi contract is also very likely to stipulate that the child can only be collected from and delivered to certain points. You can try talking to the LA about this, as a PP mentioned, but again there is no obligation on them to vary this.

Schools are under no obligation to provide any form of childcare, whether your child has SEN or not.

The schools' job is to provide your son with an education. They provide taxis because you live outside of the normal 3-mile radius.

If the school has no after-school club, then you need to find a childminder or nanny who is willing to collect him directly from school. If that's not possible, then either DH or yourself needs to change your working pattern to collect him yourselves.

Special schools transport is a nightmare to arrange, and its rarely 1 child/1 cab. They may well be carrying two or 3 children and drop off en-route.

Because of this, its becomes untennable for special needs schools/provision to run after normal school hours, and you'd need more taxi's on various days and not other, never mind rearranging the drop off routes. Its simply isnt workable.

@drspouse

like all other parents that's on you to provide Would you also say this to the parents of a new reception child whose DC had been allocated a place in a school 5 miles away with no wrap around care and whose flexible working request had been refused.

Yes.

The schools' job is to provide an education. They are not childcare.

What about a child minder

The right to ‘request’ as another poster has pointed out there are many ways schools can respond to that request without providing after school care on site.

By all means go to tribunal and get it written into his EHCP and the chances are you may find that the current school being offered is no longer able ‘meet needs’ and you will be back to square one. What would your solution be? If it’s for transport to drop him at the childcare you have identified the I would work with the LA on making that happen as that will be quicker and easier than getting into a big argument about what you are ‘entitled’ to. As the parent of a child with SEN you will be well aware that just being entitled to something is s along way from actually receiving that thing!