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 😫

@Namechanger385u4p Hi! 👋🏻 Ive just reported the post and asked for mumsnet to share my email address with you or vice versa, so hopefully we will be able to chat soon!

When was that meeting? Has the LA informed you that they are planning to amend his EHCP?

The meeting was yesterday. No contact from the LA.
I just honestly don’t know what to do! If a maintained space for him is somehow found but I strongly feel it wouldn’t meet his needs/isn’t the right fit for him, what’s the deal then? Is he school-less?
I don’t want to hold out for a place at the independent school I desperately want him to go to, and him not ever get a place there and meanwhile have missed all that education/chance to make friends. Equally, I don’t want to begrudgingly accept a place at somewhere I know isn’t right for him but that I’m being told is all that’s on offer, and think maybe if I’d held out he would have had more of a chance at the independent school?
sorry for all the questions, just thinking (panicking) out loud. Thanks to all those that have replied I appreciate it ❤️

I maintain that you are not taking into account legal process or the professional expertise of others.

Seek professional advice from SENDIASS, who have the knowledge and experience to support you.

How will you know if a mainstream place isn’t going to support him? What evidence do the professionals share of his needs? Surely you will try the suggested maintained school rather than him be out of school.

I don’t know if you mean to, but you come across as thinking ‘don’t really want him anywhere else other than the private independent and if that’s what I fancy, that will be agreed’.

It really isn’t going to be that easy.

When the LA informs you they are going to maintain the EHCP as it is or when they finalise the amendments (or unlikely but possible, when they tell you they plan to cease to maintain), you will have the right of appeal.

I agree.

He really has not been in the system for long enough for you to have any idea of how he will be in different settings! He's halfway through his first year of formal education, and is barely old enough to have even been assessed in many places.

IT very much reads as though you have your heart set on a particular setting, a d only that will do. When you have no idea, or experience of any of the options available to a high functioning, verbal 5 year old.

Sorry - what I was trying to say was it’s not only the independent I want will do (although I’d give a kidney for him to get a place there) I’m worried that if literally everywhere is full and the only option that ends up being presented to me is somewhere I really do feel is unsuitable, I’m worried about taking the place in case he gets stuck there?

Your son has right to full time education from term before his 5th birthday. And if you end up forcing the LA’s hand via a judicial review the it’s your son who technically takes them to court so he gets legal aid as he has zero assets.
The big stumbling block is that your preferred school isn’t a section 41 one. But if his current school can’t meet his needs and he has no alternative then the LA have to do something. Look up ipsea, SoS Sen for their advice and the template letters.

In this situation you'd take the place that was named in section I but also launch an appeal for your preference setting.

Also how do you know they're going to suggest somewhere unsuitable before you've got there..

...and if no one is suggesting the content of the EHCP needs to be changed it is difficult to convince the LA a different type of placement is required - although being out of school / part time timetable is some evidence.

Ask your school to get an EP back in to re write his provision, clearly what's in the plan isn't appropriate otherwise he'd be able to attend.

It's also v unusual to have 1:1 in an EHCP written for specialist settings.

More commonly "a bespoke curriculum in a setting with small class sizes 1 staff member to 8 pupils" for example.

His school haven’t delivered any EHCP interventions. They say he has a PDA profile and they’re unable to 😑

Then they need to be pushed. They need pressure from above, and time to implement.

If you disagree with the outcome of the review, you will be able to appeal.

But you really need to read IPSEA and SOSSEN’s websites to start to understand the law surrounding EHCPs because, as explained, it isn’t as simple as ‘full’ meaning a pupil can’t be placed in the school.

If the provision detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP isn’t being provided, have you contacted the LA? It is the LA who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the provision is provided. Although, enforcement action is only possible if the provision is detailed, specified and quantified. If it isn’t, you should request an early review of the EHCP in order to tighten it up.

Your son has right to full time education from term before his 5th birthday.

OP’s DS is entitled to attend his school full time from the September following his fourth birthday. That is stated in 2.17 of the Admissions Code. However, the LA’s duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to ensure pupils unable to attend school still receive a suitable full-time education only applies to compulsory school aged (i.e. the term after the child’s fifth birthday) DC. Although the LA has the power to make arrangements for children not of compulsory school age, they do not have a duty to.

Ignore the bit about an early review, you have already had one. I should have said, following the review process, you can appeal if F isn’t watertight.

Very similar situation here. Son is obviously is neurodivergent (awaiting diagnosis as waiting time in my area is years, we’ve been waiting 3+). My son is 5 and in reception, he’s only doing from start of school (8.45) until 12.45, it’s been upped an hour since September. They say they cannot meet his needs for full time. He has a ehcp that most of it includes that he needs a 1-1 to achieve his things. The school say they don’t have the budget for the full care as even though he got granted the full budget, it’s only like £8k or something which the senco keeps saying doesn’t pay someone’s full time wage and they still have to pay out for ‘supplies’ too.

I put on the ehcp that a special school is something I’ll consider in the future but it’s getting more and more that I’m considering it now as the school can’t meet his needs. My son is being excluded and cannot play outside with the other children because they haven’t got staff to look after him. They take him out of lessons so he’s sitting in a separate room every single day. I just think a special school would be treating him like a normal child and won’t exclude him. But again, by the look of this thread it’s impossible and by the time you fight it, they’d be out of primary school anyway.

im so sick of special needs children getting let down. I hope your child gets the help they deserve. Sending love mama, I know the battle x

Section F is quantified as in I made sure it was rewritten to say clearly what intervention was being delivered, how often and by who.
Never made any difference as he has never received any of it 😢

@thecherryfox if you want to pursue special school, you can request an early review. Even if you have to appeal, DS won’t be anywhere near finishing primary. Don’t let that put you off.

If the provision detailed, specified and quantified in F of the EHCP isn’t being provided, have you contacted the LA? It is the LA who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the provision is provided. Focus on the provision rather than the funding. The funding isn’t your problem. If the wording is vague and woolly rather than detailed, specified and quantified, it is not enforceable and you should look to tighten it up.

If you want DS to attend full time, he can unless the school is formally suspending DS. Even if they are formally suspending DS, they have to follow due process and you can challenge it.

When was DS 5?

If F is detailed, specified and quantified but it isn’t being provided, have you contacted the LA?

@StrivingForSleep He was 5 in Jan.

I have contacted the case worker to report that his EHCP isn’t being followed and he isn’t being allowed to go to school for
more than 2hrs a day.

Yet to hear back.

When did you contact the LA about the provision in F not being provided? If the LA ignored you, did you move on to a pre-action letter?

If DS was 5 in Jan, he isn’t yet compulsory school age, so the LA’s s19 duty doesn’t begin until next term.

Loads of people get an independent school via an ehc. Of course people will tell you there's no chance, but if the current school can't cope you do have a good chance.

It might be worth contacting SOS!SEN or a similar charity for help.

I got my daughter into a private sen school when everyone said I had no chance. She didn't even have an ehc at that point and her school wouldn't support me and apply for one. I had to do it all from scratch. But I got it.

I found SOS!SEN really helpful.

@Arran2024 Hi, do you mind sharing how you managed this? Thanks!

So no response to contacting SENDIASS for support, no comment about following legal process, reading up on all of this, no response to whether you have sent a pre-action letter, yet

I got my daughter into a private sen school when everyone said I had no chance. She didn't even have an ehc at that point and her school wouldn't support me and apply for one. I had to do it all from scratch. But I got it.

a super quick response to this… I rest my case.

It's possible but you will have a battle.
I think first stage is to get current schools support and to for them put in writing that it can't meets DCs needs, and also state everything it has tried to meet needs, "exhausted local offer" etc.
With such a reduced timetable it clearly isn't able to meet needs - a reduced timetable is meant to be temporary.
Check school you want can meet needs and has a place.
Call an emergency annual review as current school can't meet need.
And ask LA to consult school of your choice.
LA will try and find a LA funded school within their district. If they name another school visit it and see if it can meet your child's needs.
Would be helpful to have a private EP report to state things like small class sizes, etc.
New EHCP will be issued following AR and at this stage if it hasn't gone your way you can appeal to tribunal for school of your choice (wait for hearing date is about 12months)

The issue is by the time you have your hearing will independent school still have a place available? they are unlikely to reserve it during appeal process.
The tribunal can't make an independent school take a child so you will need an offer of a place.
SOS SEN and ipsea are excellent for advice.
Many people will say you will never get it but in my county the LA does fund private school places as their aren't enough LA school places to meet need.
However the LA may try and move your DC to a LA funded school if a place becomes available at the next AR.
Good luck

I'm not sure what point you are making about me.

I used to work in a sendiass team and that's the last place I would suggest someone in the OP's situation should go to for help. Sendiass is fine for smoothing out relationships with an unhelpful school, but that's about it.

In my case, my daughter was not causing problems at school because she had no behaviour issues. They were not interested in her at all. I needed a specialist school for secondary, having looked carefully at local mainstream schools. Her head teacher told me I didn't stand a chance of an ehc but the LA disagreed AND gave her the specialist place. I didn't even have to go to tribunal.

I would not rely on anyone remotely involved with the LA, and that includes sendiass.