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

You can ask all the questions you want but it doesn’t change the law.

It isn’t about what is ‘better’ it is about what is legally reasonably required. So, no, not every parent could meet the legal threshold for evidencing (quantified) small class sizes are required as SEP within F of an EHCP.

Not meeting the needs of disabled DC will cost more in the longer term.

My child was in a setting with high adult ratios so didn't need 1-1. They then moved to mainstream which required full time 1-1.

Legally, reasonable. As I said I hope it is scrutinised better as with more and more wealthy people getting legal advice and support to argue their need for a private education the whole system and budget is going to buckle and the majority of children are going to be even worse off than they already are .

It’s defeatist and incorrect to say the state system can’t meet the needs of disabled children. It already does for many and we’d be better placed to look at how we can extend that instead of diverting cash into the private sector at a cost to the majority in the state.

No-one gets an independent MS named without meeting the legal threshold for it whether they have legal representation or not.

It is not defeatist and incorrect to say the state system can’t meet the needs of all disabled children. It can’t and it doesn’t. For some it never will. No matter how it is improved.

Not entirely sure why private smaller class sizes are so important as many MS state schools can and do provide good quality small group provision alongside a working environment that suits ND which doesn’t hinge on class size. You can have larger classes that meet ND need better than some smaller classes. Teaching style, atmosphere and provision across a whole setting will vary in all schools state or private.

If there was a local mainstream school that did this and was found to be able to meet needs, it would be named over an independent school. Independent schools are only named in EHCPs where there is no other suitable school or where placement at a mainstream school would cost a similar amount so it's not an inefficient use of resources to name the parental preference school (assuming that's the independent school here).

Plus not all CYP need small group provision for anything specific. Some need smaller, quieter, calmer environments across the school setting

And special school provision will meet that need.

It doesn’t always.

Not to mention some SS cost more than independent MS.

Legally, reasonable. As I said I hope it is scrutinised better as with more and more wealthy people getting legal advice and support to argue their need for a private education the whole system and budget is going to buckle and the majority of children are going to be even worse off than they already are

Most of these cases have been scrutinised by tribunal. A court. Legal representation does nothing if you dont have evidence and SENDIST is an inquisitive court process.

And special school provision will meet that need.

Not necessarily, one not every area has adequate specialist provision to meet the needs of all children (academic children with asd as one example round here).

Plus you do know there are independent soecialist schools, right? Tbh that's where most send CYP end up over bog standard private schools.

It's quite ironic how private school parents are criticised for 'only thinking about their own children', then example after example of parents 'fighting tooth and nail' for their own child's EHCP.

What's the difference?

@Collexifon the difference is that an EHCP is assessed by need/ medical evidence and not by how much your parents earn.

That’s not to say that it’s easy to get an EHCP and I’m not justifying the system which is on its last legs, but the theory behind it is sound. And having kids in classes with EHCPs with proper provision often benefits the rest of the class, because there are more teaching assistants etc. So if it’s done properly there’s no detriment to the other kids.

What type of SEN need cannot be met in state but only in private? I thought (purely from reading posts on MN - I have absolutely no real life knowledge) that private schools didn’t accept SEN children as they affect their results.
Are we basically taking about dyslexia?

Dyslexia absolutely can be and is met in the state sector.

Its interesting as I suspect those with the greatest need are catered for in the state sector as these kids will have parents struggling to cope let alone argue that a private education is needed above and beyond anything the state sector can offer.

@ThursdayTomorrow
My DC has ASD, high functioning so does very well academically. Cannot cope in the chaotic environment of our local primary.

This

The primary school I work in has several high functioning/ high need children with ASC who cope with good provision and support.

I don’t think it’s fair to describe primary schools
as chaotic.

My son has an EHCP and the LA pay fees at a local MAINSTREAM very small independent school for him because all the evidence provided said the child needs small classes but not a special school place. Was moved by the LA from a large mainstream state. Presume the LA will not be paying an uplift 20% on these fees?

Some primary schools are a chaotic experience for some children, yes. You can't characterise other people's experiences. My dc found their school environment chaotic, noisy and overwhelming.

I don't know what you look at but I follow Beth Morrison's campaign on X and if you think that SEN isn't desperately in need of reform for all levels of need in the state sector then you perhaps haven't looked around enough.

@ThursdayTomorrow so,e independent mainstream schools are poor with SEN, but some aren’t. Some (but not all, obviously) with ASD, SpLD, SEMH can have their needs met in an independent MS but not a state MS. Then there are independent SS too catering for the whole range of SEN needs,

Dyslexia absolutely can be and is met in the state sector.

For some it can. For others it can’t be. There are independent SpLD SS. There are also some with EOTAS/EOTIS.

@DarkM3l0n
I described my DC primary as chaotic, not all schools are the same obviously. Neither are all high functioning autistic children.

If it can be met in some state schools it can be met in all. What Dyslexia provision can’t be provided in some schools that can be provided in others?

So there will be other state schools
in your area. I doubt all are chaotic. Very few are in complete confusion and disorder.

I’ve done all of those things literally - and more. I don’t have an SEN child and am governor at a school with no connection to me and still do it voluntarily with a FT job.

You are conflating 2 things.