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?

If you can change your work hours (or combination of both changing work hours) I believe you can request mileage instead of taking up the LA transport. That may suit you better if the long journey is a problem?

A local school so he can make friends that he can actually see after school

Obviously I do not know your child's specific needs. Their MLD school were correct that by 3.30pm most of the children were too tired to do anything else, including meeting friends after school. However, I know that my two gained SO much once they began at a MLD school, gained in every possible way. It could meet their needs as individuals in a way that was not possible at mainstream. It was not just educationally, but socially and emotionally too. They learnt to do the things most other children take for granted, and an individual timetable that benefitted them in more ways than I could imagine. Helping them with activities that they would need in adult life was such a blessing. Every member of staff who knew them, friends they could identify with and a taxi to bring them home, it was all good. A long journey home for them and having to change around our lives to fit in with that was a very small price to pay. Once they became adults - THAT was the hard part as so many organisations tend to believe that a young person's special needs evaporate on their 18th birthday and they/you no longer have the support they deserve.

From your opening post "I work 0.6 and a colleague just asked to go to 0.5 and was refused. "

Have you actually asked? I'm sorry if that has been asked and you have answered, I have read the full thread but might have missed your answer. It may be that even though your colleague was refused, you may be allowed given your specific circumstances. Perhaps your colleague didn't have such a compelling reason. It seems daft not to at least put your case forward and be stressing about other options before you have had a definite answer from your work.

If your child was in mainstream and you say a right to childcare and he has MLD rather than SLD then why not use a good local school with a TA support 1:1 full time. You then have a good school and childcare and son doesn't have a long taxi ride morning and after school.

Or if you earn more at only 0.6 then perhaps OP moves to ft and husband looks for p/t work and then that might work.

Or find childcare near the school and pick up from there.

Or (since you don't like the school he is in find another) with wrap around care and a TA and ECHP.

I get you OP. I have two DS with SEN - one at a special school 15 minutes away and one at an enhanced resource mainstream school 30 minutes away. Neither school has any kind of after school option.

So both me and my DH have had to go part time - I work 2.5 days a week and he works four days but spread over 5 so we share the drop offs and pick ups. The DLA has made up for a slight drop in salary but not to this extent! We have just got a social care package for the holidays so hoping to use the carers for after school a but once they are older but it's not feasible at the moment.

AliceLivesHere
Even in a mainstream, the OP doesn't have a right to childcare. It's been a while since I went through the government document, but it's about a right to request, not an entitlement to have childcare provided.
There is a right for parents to request it and then the school can assess whether there is enough interest for a financially viable wraparound provision for them, they can make their facilities available for external providers to run a wraparound childcare business, or they can signpost elsewhere.

I gave up on reading the whole thread so apologies if this has been suggested before.

When I used to get a taxi to school for disability reasons, one of the girls I shared it with used to get picked up from/taken to respite care the days she was there. I’ve also known of carers (of adults) having care provided in their work hours because work is helpful to them (chance to be you, not carer) I wonder if there’s some argument for your needs as carer around the taxi taking to a CM.

I think that @korawick12345 has got it.
A short term placement may well be indicative of an exclusion which may account for some of the OP's problems.
If it is a permanent exclusion then other schools in the area are approached for a place. Many may not be able to accommodate the pupil's needs.

Irrespective, wrap around care is not a right.

I meant find a school with childcare @LolaSmiles and ask for a TA supported place there (assuming they have room).

Just one of the possibilities. To be fair many, many schools don't offer wraparound care. None of mine do. With SEN and a longer ride home from school then time with parents would be nice for the child. Hence the perhaps one works more (since earns more) and one works less to cover looking after their son who must be tired after a long day at school and then a taxi home.

Or taxi brings home and childcare worker meets at OP home and then takes to hers if they cannot have child around their home due to the dad working there.

I meant find a school with childcare @LolaSmiles and ask for a TA supported place there (assuming they have room).

Your unlikely to get funded childcare for after school club. Ds has a 1-1 in mainstream achool but all the hours he is funded for are used during the school day (the whole day)

Sorry I misunderstood you AliceLivesHere.

It's a good idea on funding a school with childcare attached, but 1-1 support might be tricky as most hours of support are used up within the school day. The other big stumbling block is that a lot of wraparound care is provided by external providers, so they'd have to recruit someone just for the hours that the OP needs and then there's a question about where that money comes from. Childcare and school are 2 different provisions.

Failing that, a mainstream school that's a) nice and b) in a location where we can pick up after c) after school club a couple of times a week

Is there a suitable mainstream school nearer to you that could meet his needs? If so, and if you prefer that, the local council is required to meet your preference unless having your child there would be incompatible with efficient education of other children and there are no reasonable steps they can take to overcome any incompatibility. It's quite hard for a local authority/school to overcome the presumption in favour of mainstream school placements if that is what parents prefer.

The fact he has got a place in sen provision is brilliant and hopefully he thrives.

As it's a short term placement, unfortunately it doesn't sound as if it's likely to be the answer to a parent's prayer.

@Zzelda

The fact he has got a place in sen provision is brilliant and hopefully he thrives.

As it's a short term placement, unfortunately it doesn't sound as if it's likely to be the answer to a parent's prayer.

No he currently is in a short term placement but he has been offered a permanent place in a specialist independent school. That is what the OP is currently considering

sentas would be the best place to start if you need to challenge LA policy around taxis only dropping at home. It is our LA policy as well but I know that some children are dropped at grandparents or minders when parents have made enough of a fuss.

There are several mainstream schools we like but they have all refused to take him.

Both DH and I are needed all day on the days we work - I'm needed till 6 sometimes - I've already had complaints from childless colleagues that I'm not picking up the irregular 6-7 slot and why should I be exempt bla bla.

We are very lucky to have the CM we have and he goes to her for some holiday care too so fingers crossed that can continue. No others would take him.

He does not have any kind of learning disabilities, he is 9 and can cross the road, go into a shop and buy a snack, read a bus timetable, all the things that seem to be earmarked for LD schools. He needs to make local friends, get some exercise, learn to take turns (i.e. play board games), practice his fine motor skills (i.e. do random crafts) and his literacy (i.e. read his comic books). He can't do them on a minibus, he could do them at an after school club, even just an hour's chilling at school.

Childcare options for children with sen/disabilities is and always has been exceptionally limited. No Sen schools in our local area have any wrap around care whatsoever. Ds attends a independent special school (the nearest that could meet need) significantly out of borough and relies on a mini bus to bring him home. They will take him to childcare as long as it isn't further than bringing him home. I don't know if this is an option for you. Do you have a social worker who could help negotiate a work around with the la? The only other option would be to arrange for someone to collect him from your house. Unfortunately it's just one of the many things which make it so difficult being a parent to a child with additional needs. I have zero issue in paying for wrap around care (we pay £14 an hour for a suitable holiday club!) but it either isn't available or circumstances make it impossible to access.

@hiredandsqueak that's helpful.
We don't particularly want this school but we want even LESS him to start the school and fail on the transport front because of sickness or behaviour. A longer journey would mean one of those was much more likely to happen, sadly.

Are there any alternative schools near you? I'm thinking Forest School type provision but equally Montessori or Reggio?

If he cannot cope in a mainstream setting, these may be suitable?

We have looked at everything. There's a Steiner school but even leaving aside the issue of their ablist philosophy, they wouldn't cope with him,

I'm confused op. You say he has no learning disabilities so why are the schools refusing to take him? Do you think he'd cope ok in mainstream or is there something between the lines you're not mentioning?

@SleepingStandingUp

I'm confused op. You say he has no learning disabilities so why are the schools refusing to take him? Do you think he'd cope ok in mainstream or is there something between the lines you're not mentioning?

He will have significant challenging behaviour if he has no learning needs and the LA are prepared to fund a specialist independent school. As I said the fact he is in a SSS suggests there has been a history of challenging behaviour and exclusions

Why is that relevant

Sorry aimed at sleeping

"Learning disabilities" means a child has difficulty with, roughly, academic work.
Apart from hardly being able to read his handwriting, DS is working at or in the vague neighbourhood of the level of an average child of his age for academic work.