Private school fees - act now for SEND!

[BellesAndGraces]

The King’s Speech is scheduled for this Wednesday (17th July) and it will be followed by 4 days of debating Labour’s proposed legislation in Parliament, including the introduction of VAT on private school fees.

If you have a child with special educational needs or a disability and send them to a private school because your local state school was unable to meet their needs but do not have an EHCP I would strongly suggest that you write to your MP and tell them why you send your child to a private school and how the charging of VAT on private school fees will affect you. Ask your MP to stand up in Parliament and ask the government whether it is willing to expand the exception they have agreed to make for children with EHCPs to cover all children who attend private school in order to meet their SEND. If you share your story and circumstances with your MP you will be providing them with a case study they can refer to in Parliament about how charging VAT on private school fees will affect those of their constituents who are already dealing with the challenges that having a child with SEND can bring.

You can find out who your MP is and their email address here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Have you got any suggestions for those of us who couldn’t possibly afford private school fees if their kids have SEN, ECHP or not?

Maybe it might be better for people to petition their MPs about the system as a whole, such as better support for children in early years, better process for getting an EHCP assessment and then getting the support that the EHCP mandates and having adequate special schools for people who need them, as well as proper funding for teachers and LSAs in mainstream schools. You know, so that everyone can get a shot at a decent education.

Instead, petition for better SEND funding in state schools, more TAs, better pay for TAs etc. That will help a lot more children.
You are lucky you have that option to send your child to private school when state was not meeting their needs. However, a lot of children currently in the state system also are not having their needs met due to massive underfunding and a lack of teachers but not everyone can just pay for private instead.

I’ll do it

This. Some people are not alright Jack.

I think that having to go through the process of obtaining an EHCP is a good process to determine if the SEN issue is sufficiently significant.

For instance It’s the same issue for people who claim PIP they have to be vetted and produce huge amounts of evidence / medical reports showing pretty huh needs etc which have to be assessed even if that person already had a social worker assessment of need etc

Not paying VAT on fees is the equivalent of having about £3000 to £4000 benefits a year. You simply certainly won’t get that lightly. You will have to do through an assessment process which seems to be getting an EHCP.

There might be a case to say no VAT if the child qualifies for medium of high DLA S that also exclude marginal or more minor levels of SpLd.

However to think that producing a private Ed psych report will be enough —— I doubt it.

At all times the government will insist on their own assessment mechanisms.

@heronwatcher has it. Action for the 93%, not the minority.

I agree with the first two responders. You should be campaigning for better SEND provision as a whole, not just for what might be affecting you. You are lucky to be able to use a private school and self fund (presuming that you are doing this). Not all parents of children with SEND have that option and some of their children are out of education completely. The system is utterly shit and I'm sorry your child struggled.

Why was your child denied an EHCP if mainstream couldn't meet their needs and they need a special school? You are better off spending your money taking LA to a tribunal to get an EHCP surely?

There might be a case to say no VAT if the child qualifies for medium of high DLA S that also exclude marginal or more minor levels of SpLd.

@Noras while I agree with your sentiment completely this method of “vetting” wouldn’t work. I have a child with an ehcp for dyslexia but he wouldn’t qualify in anyway for DLA.

I’ve had 3 children in the education system, all of whom had ehcps for different reasons. Right now, there barely worth the paper they’re written on. The money simply isn’t there to fulfil them. The entire education system is massively underfunded and children with send are the ones losing out most of all.

edited to add: if vat relief is offered for children with sen but no ehcp the private schools will simply assist parents in claiming their child has sen. 🤷‍♀️

Can the posters on this thread please email the MP using the link the OP has kindly posted and also mention the dire state of SEND care for those of us who cant use private schools too or are fighting the system to get EHCP funding for private schools because there are no state school places. This affects everyone even kids without SEND as schools are struggling to cope with demand.

No. I will not be doing this and neither should anyone else.

Focus on why the schools aren’t meeting SEND children’s needs not worrying about the education of those who can afford private.

Privately educated children should not be superior to state.

Petition funding for state schools, but I doubt OP cares about those children.

I feel that I may unfortunately be in this position as the local schools are outright saying they do not have enough staff for SEN kids. I’ll take a look at this. If I could afford private and it was a more supportive environment, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Thanks for this, I will send my letter.

I am lucky enough to just about scrape together the fees with the large discount we get with my DH working there. The VAT will throw us back into the state sector. I know a lot of you would like that but believe me, it’s not a good outcome for my son or the children he would be in a class with. I’m sure the parents of the 30 other kids he shared a classroom with in state primary for 7 years would agree with me.

The £300 a month VAT the government want from me won’t even begin to cover the extra support he would require, let alone the general cost of sending a child to state school.

Not bitter. But not going to campaign for a system that excludes my child from benefitting. It's like the factory owners telling the workers how to vote! SEN provision should be for all children. This is specifically for well-off children without a designation.

What don't you understand?
Ther are a large number of children with SEN that slip through the net
But their parents would never be able to pay for private schools
Surely it's better to campaign for equality for all children not just for those whose parents can just about afford or.

If local authorities receive more funding for SEND but then also have more SEND students requiring services because their current private placements become unaffordable, then surely the position of the people who can't afford it hasn't actually changed.

It’s ridiculous to expect exemptions to be handed out largely on the parents say at all. Children without an EHCP but with needs so severe they cannot be accommodated in mainstream school will not be the norm at all.

If it were possible to get an EHCP without years of effort and knock backs, then some of these points would be more reasonable and Labour's policy would make more sense.

My child went to a private primary where her SEN needs were catered for well (her needs only became apparent when she was about 6). Because her needs were well catered for, the LA said she didn't need an EHCP...

Fortunately SENDIST disagreed and she now has an EHCP and (hopefully) her needs will continue to be met at the state secondary school she's going to.

I'm not about to judge parents who made different decisions.

In the long run we obviously need a better, fairer education system but in the short run it's extremely difficult to see how forcing a child out of a school where their needs are met will help them, the school they go to or the children already at that school.

We're not each other's enemies. Are we?

LOL. No.

My MP is a Tory and gives zero f’s about send so it would be pointless from past experience

I've already written to my MP to say I disagree with vat on private schools for any child but mentioned the issues for children with SEN in state school too.

@coupdetonnerre I imagine many people “did something” by voting for a Labour government who we now fully expect and hope will push this policy through!

I have no skin in this my Disabled child is very well supported in his fabulous special school
However i know there are many children that fall through the cracks and SEN needs to improve for all not just a few.