Wtf do we do? Forced to private educate DS (4)

[Thehonestbadger]

DS is quite significantly disabled (ASD/PICA) he’s very well documented with lots of expert evidence and a strong EHCP and has been at a private nursery for over a year doing well with a 1:1.

Due to go to school this September but not legal school age till Easter/25 as that’s when he turns 5. I absoloutley cannot cope with him at home, I’m chronically unwell myself and had an actual breakdown before we found his current nursery. He’s lovely, but extremely hard work and the physical care is a lot and I also have a 2yo DD to consider.

Essentially every mainstream school we’ve consulted has now turned us down citing they cannot meet his need. Council say no recourse aren’t willing to work with schools RE funding…etc
All the specialist schools we consulted said no, some lower level said he was too high needs, higher level said not high needs enough and there’s over 100 kids for each space as is. We’ve been told he’ll be handed to some specialist team who can dump him anywhere in the region and won’t take our opinions/input into consideration and if we don’t like it we have to fight them legally (could be several hours away, could not place him at all as there’s no spaces anywhere)

At the moment our only option who might admit him is the local private school (a lot comes down to spaces they can offer/layout/staff ratio…etc) which our council worker is very ‘pro’ (their suggestion actually) and tbh everyone I’ve mentioned it to is adamant we should do as it’s ‘clearly the best option’ but WE CANNOT AFFORD IT! Council will pay for his 1:1 but not toward fees! It would be very tight and I would feel awful about sending DS but not DD and logistically wouldn’t be able to get them to two separate schools. We wouldn’t have gone private if DS weren’t disabled but it feels like we have no other option.

Ive invested so much time and energy over the last 2 years and I just want to cry now.

Where I live if the only available option is a private one the Council pay for it. Maybe I was fortunate to have lots of levels of support at various schools as an option when choosing my named school and we didn't need to pick the private one.

I would be trying to have long conversations with the EHCP Team to try and find a resolution and doing lots of internet research. Do look over the county border for a solution as well.

I had a similar problem in that my child was born four hours too late to start school in September and we had a term when really they should have been in school.

Get SENDIASS involved. There are also a number of parent advocacy groups. Unfortunately you are now a parent of a child with additional needs within a system that is so badly underfunded and resourced that every step you take will feel like a massive battle. Please keep fighting. If the state sector cannot meet your son’s needs, then a private place will need to be funded. Your son is entitled to education as specified in his EHCP. You are not responsible for paying for this provision. If they think they can get away with it, they will offer you the minimum. I used to work within the specialist education sector and the parents who knew the system the best were the parents (and children) who got the most support. Don’t be afraid to challenge decisions using the legal system either - don’t forget that they will have to pay your costs when they lose.

Have you made application stating your preferences for particular LEA funded schools? Politicians make a big thing about ‘rights for a school of your choice’ but this is not correct: your right is to expresss a preference. It’s a while since I worked in a SEND Department for an LEA but for children with Statements of Special Educational Needs they have a statutory duty to provide a school placement where his needs will be met, either in a school catering specifically for SEND children, or with sufficient support for him in a mainstream school. I doubt though, that he would receive 1:1 support full time. Speak again to the LEA first and then if there are still problems, look for an advocacy service who will be able to advise. If all else fails, contact your local MP. It’s not a good idea to send him to a private school as an interim measure, because it will be an upheaval for him to get used to two new schools

Hey get in contact with www.littlemiraclescharity.org.uk an ask for Michelle they help lots of families in this situation xxx

There are several comments here about private schools not bring as good as state schools for children with SEN and EHCPs. I have to disagree. Having worked in services and in independent schools, if you find a good fit for your child in an independent school, the child benefits no end. The same applies to state schools though funding there is very tight and getting tighter.

Look at a site called Theraputic Parents for advice as those parents have been in your position and know who to contact to get the help your child needs!

With ASD and PICA I’d push for an sen school place. I think a mainstream classroom would be too dangerous, even with support, where the pica is concerned. I work in an sen school and we have a lot of kids with pica and we basically have to have classroom items you’d normally have out and available for kids locked away, anything that can fit in mouths needs locking away. Sensory resources that can be eaten/ingested are needed and these often cost more. Even just going outside when the Conner’s had been falling was a nightmare as some of the kids are really quite quick. But sen classes are less busy so easier to keep an eye out for these things.

It might also be worth joining your local parent carer forum as they might know more about what goes on in your area and which people to contact etc. they won’t be able to help or advocate on your behalf but they may have groups of parents they can put you in touch with who have experienced similar.

I have to correct @SaffaIrish - the LA is vanishingly unlikely to have to pay your legal costs if they lose at Tribunal. They’ll pay their own, and they must pay for whatever provision /placement is ordered in the EHCP. But it is exceedingly unlikely that they will pay your legal costs.

Is this a draft copy of ECHP or a finalised copy. If it's a draft and you have to fill in for your choice just write any with specialist provision in county unless they told you he needs mainstream. Let SEN deal with it. Unfortunately copy of not it's our job to copy hard or not. Might sound harsh Im in same boat but mines 10 now. I mean he's ok but seems it's me that suffers more than him. alot of parents and single parents have same trouble. You can speak to LA and ask for restbite care to give you a break.

We had major issues after my son was excluded in 1st year primary. He is NDD. We moved to a different council with a school that could meet his needs and was a better process and got a house in that area. Was massively stressful and not convenient but so pleased we did it, happy to PM

I know you're unwell and tired, probably b---- tired but I'm sending this encouragement to keep fighting for what you know is right.

And tell everyone, everyone you know, everyone you meet especially in education and healthcare and listen to advice they give you even if it's only keep going.

Doing the right thing is often not the easiest, do what you have to. Sending love, hope and encouragement.

You need to get the child a social worker. You then need to ask for a formal assessment of both your child's needs and also your own needs. Insist on this and also insists on having a copy of both. Whatever they say your council is legally obliged I believe to provide. Go to your mp if they don't. Hope this helps

Hi, this sounds like a very stressful situation. A lot of good advice from people, I hope it helps you.
Just wondering, can't the nursery your DS is attending keep him on for a while longer? He seems settled there, you could ask the staff if its possible and maybe sort out a payment plan? If it works out financially cheaper of course

You are not forced to pay for private school. Your DS has an absolute right to educational provision, in common with all children. The LA must fund independent placement if they can't place in a state mainstream or specialist school - and they are also lying about that, because they can force a mainstream to take him, even if that mainstream is full. If a school is named on the child's EHCP then that school has a duty to admit.

I'm afraid state specialists are thousands of places short across the country, now. Some are many kids over their intended legal limit, because more and more are placed there via Tribunals. It's a crying scandal and the harm it's doing everyone (because kids who need to be there are being placed in mainstreams: if the class teacher and TA are being diverted to manage extremely high needs, how are they going to focus properly on the other kids?) is likely, I suspect, to be the subject of a public inquiry in a few years from now. And that's not even considering the kids who, like yours, are told there is no space and oh dear, that's a shame. I know - me, personally - dozens of families whose kids have been out of school for a long time, some of them years. When the Covid lockdowns happened, and all the parents squawked about OMG the lost months in education, my eyes rolled so hard I felt like I was in the Exorcist. Lack of provision is close to normal, for kids like ours, at this point.

We are now in a situation where no parent of a disabled child should, or can, rely on their LA to do the right thing. You need to upskill and learn about their rights, and the law, and become their best advocate, or they will be left in the dust. So, so many kids are at home with nothing.

The only school that can block a disabled child being placed with them is an independent school - and not all independent schools, either, as charities with 'non-maintained special school' status, or special schools on a list known as Section 41, can't block a child either. The status of the school determines what the legal rights are. It goes:

Maintained school (whether Academy or Free School or not): LA can name it on an EHCP and the school must admit
Maintained special school (whether Academy or Free School or not): LA can name it on an EHCP and the school must admit
Section 41 special school: an independent special school that has applied to be on a preferred list. These schools must admit in the same way as a state one.
Non-maintained special school (usually managed under a charitable trust of some kind) and they must admit, just like the others above.
Independent school (whether mainstream or specialist) the LA CANNOT name it, and placement can only be with their agreement.

The status of the school is set out on their entry on the gov't schools info page. You can run a search for all schools, of all types, within a sensible distance of your home (for a small child this should be around a 40 min drive, and an hour for an older one - the LA will have to fund school transport if it is unreasonable to expect a child of that age and with those needs to walk it, though be warned most LAs ignore that being the law for disabled kids and apply the standard 2 miles below 8, 3 miles above it criteria before free school transport is awarded). You can also see the school status - type of school - on the entry, and if it is section 41.

The LA have the power to name any school other than one that is genuinely independent, and so does a Tribunal judge.

The legal routes to make the LA do something are Tribunals, or, in very specific and fairly limited circumstances, via pre-action letter for Judicial Review (parents have to pay for the letter, but if the LA do not concede and the case is strong enough, it can then be continued in the name of the child, who will get legal aid - hence the need for the case to be strong enough as it is scrutinised for merit before the funding is granted). Refusal to name any school at all, on the part of the LA, would likely meet that criteria.

IPSEA and SOSSEN offer good free legal advice.

There is no such thing as cheap legal advice once you are in the realms of its being paid for, but there are also some excellent solicitors and direct access barristers out there who do amazing work securing disabled children their rights. Happy to pass along names if you need that, and want to PM me.

You have also done brilliantly to get a child this small a strong EHCP. But the point of that EHCP is to protect his rights - which the LA are failing to do, because making you pay for private school is so much cheaper for them.

We are in a national SEN crisis right now and the only kids getting anything worth having seem to be those with parents who won't accept less. Good luck, and I am so sorry you're in the trenches with the rest of us here.

That's not how it works. I know it's meant to be, but it's not.

The law is just paper, at this point.

I speak as someone who did get a social worker, by including the Social Care side in the EHCP Tribunal appeal. A judge had to order them to send a DCYPS one, because at first instance they sent Safeguarding - when the parent had requested the assessment via a Tribunal! It was fine; best performance review I've ever had in my life (I think baseline competent parenting looks amazing to safeguarding social workers, due to their point of comparison by this stage in the political cycle) and when we had a proper DCYPS one I did get tailored SEN support. I love our social worker - she has been so, so kind and helpful. But it took a Tribunal.

I'd asked for social care assessment when I was in cancer care and could barely walk, with 2 disabled kids. Was told no. Totally unlawful, but social care are, like education, buckling under the strain. No money equals no services.

Thanks, that's such a useful list. Bookmarking it!

That's the law
If there is no available LEA school.suitable to meet be child's needs the LEA are obliged to fund one that can
However this is often a daunting process as many LEA,s are reluctant to fund such schools as they cost
£££,s

A lot of private schools have really good SEN support and you may be able to get a full bursary. You want to try sooner rather than later, coz a lot of those places may disappear if schools lose charity status and have to start paying VAT.

The Op.shouldn't have to get a bursary
The child has an EHCP, if the private school.is the only school.that can meet the child's need ,s than the LEA would be obliged to fund it

There is some excellent advice here:

https://www.thesendsolicitor.co.uk/

So sorry that you're in this position.

@Cass1234 a social worker can only assess the social care needs of a child NOT their education needs. A social workers assessment is absolutely no good for education purposes only organising a carers assessment or care needs of the child. That’s it.

That's not my experience at all. I attach excepts from the social care report from the assessment done during our EHCP Tribunal. They very much comment on the educational provision and needs - and the reports were for an EHCP Tribunal case.

We have funded payments to spend on respite provision, now, also resulting from this process.

We have found social care to be really kind and helpful, once we proved we were over the threshold to access that support, which was a battle in itself.

Should add that I agree that it doesn't solve the education issue, but IME it is well, well worth seeking a social care assessment (sections D and H1/H2) of an EHCP appeal, because our social care evidence supported our case for B and F and secured us some respite.

I think in the current climate you need to go belt and braces.

All good advice here, Persistence is the key. You seem to have done your research. One suggestion, if you live near a county boundary, do have a look over the border.

Do be aware that, even if you win the entry battle for a mainstream school and funding for your 1:1, sadly this is not the end of the battle. I see children simply lose their support or sometimes sharing support because the funding goes into their general SEN pot, or council withdraws when you are not looking.

even if they do have the funding, you may need to spend time at the beginning of term briefing the new teacher and potentially the new support worker.

Yep. 3 EHCP Tribunal appeals lodged in 3 years, and just about to lodge a 4th (in fairness, we have two kids with EHCPs). Because every year at AR they slice away at provision (unless a judgement has relatively recently come out, because blessedly, that would be contempt of court, so for a few months you are safe...) so you have to appeal again every two years, just to force them back in their box, and retain support worth a damn. The innocence when I first appealed, and believed that it was won and done! If only.

I always joke that appealing is my hobby. Some people do crochet; I fill in SEND 35 forms.

I have to joke, or I'd sob.