Will LA fund independent school place for ASD child?

[Ricecakesaremyjam]

Son is 5, diagnosis of autism and ADHD. Has an EHCP, in mainstream reception, on a heavily reduced timetable of 2hrs a day with a 1:1, school have said they can’t meet needs and are plainly desperate to get rid of him.
School that is my preference and would meet his needs and is very local is an independent.
How likely is my LA to fund this? If his needs are not being met and he is literally not in school?

I am absolutely broken on my knees with this shit 😫

The majority of LAs are financially on their knees as a result of SEND and social care spending. Independent special school fees typically start at £85k per year and many are much higher. I work in a state special and while our pupils are on different bandings, the most high need and expensive cost the LA £40k a year - and the majority are about £20k. Many of our children travel over an hour to school each day, on funded transport. It’s not about proximity, it’s about value for money. If they can give two or three children places which can meet need but are further away, for the cost of one which is closer, then their duty is to do that really.

Ive just seen this, an hour is not seen as particularly troublesome in terms of journeys for children at SEN schools.

Sorry, was that a question to me? The provider we used assesses for ADHD from Age 5. We went down the Right to Choose route (private provider but funded by the NHS). The system is about to change again though ?1st April I think) so if you are considering going down that route, you'd have to be quick! If you join a Right to Choose Facebook group, there's loads of info on there about different ADHD assessment providers, and their current waiting times. So many autistic children also have ADHD (and vice versa) so yes, good to yet assessed for both if you can.

Postcode lottery.
Mine did for 2 children - no tribunal or court. LA could not identify another placement to meet need, I suggested X school and they said yes.

If the school is wholly independent, you would need to prove the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure.

You will have the right of appeal following the review so you can appeal if you disagree.

There is a right to a mainstream education unless a mainstream placement would be incompatible with the efficient education of others and no reasonable steps could be taken to avoid this.

More generally, a school being named in an EHCP doesn’t automatically register DS there. You can decide not to register DS at the school and EHE.

Although some travel further, for primary, the maximum recommended travel time is 45 mins.

I assumed you meant specialist independent. My costings to the LA reflect that.

Specialist independent you’ve got a decent chance

random mainstream small prep that you believe will meet need because it’s small…. Not likely

this is my in area though. In areas with no specialist schools you might be better off getting independent mainstream
also remember because a small mainstream prep says it’s good with SEND and has a number of SEND kids there doesn’t make it a specialist school

His current mainstream primary are saying they can’t meet needs due to him being disruptive to others education (meltdowns) so that would mean LA would be looking for specialist I’m guessing?

So you want an independent special school and this school is actually closer than local authority special schools ?

for example what is your nearest ‘bog standard’ specialist primary provision - most large towns have one or two? Do you believe this school wont meet need ?

They may suggest mainstream with a ‘resourced hub’ ASD provision this is quite ‘trendy’ atm

Sorry also he has a 1:1 and still school say they are unable to meet needs so this would definitely mean specialist wouldn’t it? 😢 (I know it’s the best thing for him but it still feels surreal that all this is happening)

Meltdowns are very common in children with your dc's profile. Is he aggressive towards other children? If he has a 1:1 what strategies/ supports are school putting in place? If he's only in reception then it's still early days. You need to request an emergency annual review and ask if your SEND caseworker can attend.

@KindLemur Hi, yes this school is literally a 10min drive away whereas all other specialist provision whether it’s full specialist, high coin, anything else is a good hour away. The two high coin units I have looked at have both said they couldn’t accept due to him needing too much supervision but the PMLD I looked at wouldn’t accept as he is too high functioning. So I’m very stuck.

This is the mess the system has been left in over the last 10 years, the overspend and impact on LA budgets.
https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/special-educational-needs-system-is-financially-unsustainable/

Not necessarily. A good 1:1 is a world apart from a poor one. It would depend on what evidence they have of the strategies they are using, and what his response to them are, then what they do to adjust their approach, etc.

DD1 (19) was excluded from two specialist colleges prior to going to her current one. She now has 1:1 support, and it's not all perfect, but they do seem to be coping with her.

@stanleypops66 He doesn’t hit etc but he shouts very angrily/will run off, school report other children are upset at his shouting and that he basically is too disruptive to be in the classroom.

As others have said, it’s unlikely. An hour away is nothing for lots of people in your situation and for the LA it is about value for money, getting as many children into the best places possible rather than getting any one child the absolute best outcome. The money simply isn’t there for the vast majority of LA’s

How and why are you approaching these schools? The approach is via SEN and no they wont necessarily only approach specialist they would see if any mainstream schools with units or specialist provisions within them, can meet need first.

Be careful there is some bad advice here. Tribunal doesn’t cost you a penny. It is a process. Parents win over 98% of cases that reach a hearing.

The LA have only 3 legal reasons to dislodge your parental preference. For an independent setting they will use ‘inefficient use of resources’ ie too high a cost to the public purse. They can only prove this at a hearing if there is an actual alternative placement on offer from another setting where there is a substantial cost difference.

with him being on a heavily reduced timetable despite having an ehcp it is clear that mainstream will not meet need. I imagine your LA maintained specialist settings are at capacity. I would suggest holding an annual review so you have a right of appeal and get that application in.

DS1 went to a specialist independent from Y6 until he completed Y13 last year. We eventually got it without tribunal, however we had a horrendous battle lasting months and months with our LA. This included them trying to place him in an enormous mainstream school with two 1:1s and the expectation that he’d arrive at each lesson five minutes late, leave five minutes early and learn through the classroom window. I’m afraid I’m not joking. Fortunately this suggestion was so ridiculous that they pulled out a month before the tribunal was due. Good luck - it’s so so hard and it just shouldn’t be. 💐

Too far away probably won’t hold unless we are talking like 45-50 miles I’ve worked in a provision where well over half the kids were coming from 25/30 miles away a day in heavy traffic in local authority funded transport with funded chaperones, some parents refused to let them travel alone and drove them themselves which basically took over their lives but they were so confident it was the right provision they did it willingly. We are talking 7/8 year olds so not that much older than your son. I think if the PMLD type school says it’s not a good fit and the others are saying they can’t meet need you have a good chance getting the specialist you want, interested to know why the ASD provisions say they can’t meet need though if it’s because he shouts/elopes then there are kids placed in mainstream with higher needs than that . Wonder if they’re being awkward!

The LA have only 3 legal reasons to dislodge your parental preference.

If you are thinking of:
-The setting is unsuitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs (“SEN”) of the child or young person; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for others; or
-The attendance of the child or young person would be incompatible with the efficient use of resources.
as set out in section 39(2) of the Children and Families Act 2014. That doesn’t apply to wholly independent placements. It only applies to those placements covered by section 38(3) of the Children and Families Act 2014.

For wholly independent schools, whilst the LA must take into account OP/DC’s views, wishes and feelings, the OP would need an offer of a place from a suitable setting and to prove the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure.

OP, LAs don’t always name SS even if the MS say they can’t meet needs.

You might be better off reposting in the sen forum. As i said before, DS' SS had about 15 kids per year up to 6th form and it was mostly council funded from R.

Separately have you thought about medicating for adhd? It really transformed DS. I also found he fared way better after y1 as he found the freeplay of reception too random.

Annoyingly the dm function is disabled atm as i tried to message you.

Have you researched mainstream primaries with ASD hubs. They are popping up a lot. I worked with a family who drove the I dd daily from Bury to Preston (ie. Very far) because they named a brand new built primary with a hub for ASD & SEMH on her EHCP and were successful

@KindLemur the high coin’s told me they don’t accept children who need 1:1 supervision as DS does. It’s documented throughout his EHCP that he is very impulsive/no danger awareness so needs very close supervision at all times. So although he is actually very bright in terms of being able to count etc he can’t transfer that intelligence to realising something is dangerous/socially very vulnerable etc