Is it normal school asking us to pay for additional support?

[OnlyOneBike]

Son is nearly 5 years old and in reception of an independent school. We've been told he has behaviour issues in school such as making silly noises in classes or pushing down other children's lego etc. He is probably sat out two / three times per week. We've observed him playing in groups (birthday parties, clubs, etc). He's definitely the less destructive type but can become overexcited quite easily and do silly things especially among children. He's behaving much better with grown ups. Teachers and we all agree his main problem is impulse control.

We regularly talk to his teachers to make sure we can reflect with him any incidents in school. Now is the confusing bit. One of his form teachers (they have two because of job sharing) who is also school SENCO thinks he needs additional support and has asked us many times to consider additional support from a named therapist at an additional cost. The other form teacher seems to be ok with the current situation and is always quiet when we talked about additional support.

We are not against having more support if that's needed but we feel very unsure. For one, the cost really puts us off. For two, we don't know anything about this named therapist and don't feel very comfortable for our son to have to meet them regularly without us.

We asked the school SENCO if our son needs a diagnosis or can we go through the standard council process and request someone whose qualification is more visible like doctor from NHS to help us (EHC or something I think it's called?). But they said it was nothing like that and he didn't need a diagnosis.

Please can experienced parents share their thoughts on this? Does this sound the right approach? Should we accept what the SENCO proposed? Should we talk to the headmaster? We are definitely willing to work with the school and support our child as needed. But we have zero experience. Nor do our family or freinds. Desperately need some independent opinions. Thanks in advance!

The EHCNA is governed by statutory timescales that are the same whether the child attends an independent school, a state school or none at all.

I think the wording was a bit sloppy - the ‘ehcp process’ doesn’t look different in state vs private, but the educational support ecosystem is very different if you are paying privately vs relying on the state. In private school there is a presumption you can afford private assessments / therapy so that is what they suggest - in most cases assuming correctly that a parent would happily pay for support rather than wait years while a child struggles. I have also found private much faster at identifying needs and putting support into place.

If you can afford it, why won’t you pay? Your child clearly needs that support. It’s like any other health issue - you don’t expect the school to pay for your child to see a private GP. Why should they pay for him to see a therapist?

This is an incredibly confusing article by people who are themselves confused but it is very relevant to our discussion.

The family tried to obtain OT and were sign posted to a service that operates in state schools and were turned down because their son is in private school.

I suspect that this is one of those cases where the school would get the parents to pay for it.

Boy, 8, turned away by NHS because he is a private school pupil mol.im/a/14790767 via https://dailym.ai/android

Even if parents paid for an autism assessment, an EHCNA would still involve seeking advice and information from professionals. It doesn’t mean it is quicker to get an EHCP for a child in the independent sector than it is to get an EHCP for a child in the state sector.

Even if parents had independent assessments from e.g. EP, SALT, OT, CP, physio, etc. (which you may have waited months for anyway because anyone with SENDIST experience, which you need if you are going down the EHCP route, will have a waiting list unless you are extremely lucky with a cancellation) and they were still up to date, Regulation 6 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 states new evidence should not be sought if there is existing evidence and the LA, parents and report writer agree it is sufficient for the EHCNA, but LAs often claim they aren’t sufficient and seek their own advice and information. Even if the LA does agree they are sufficient, it doesn’t mean it is quicker to get an EHCP for a child in the independent sector than it is to get an EHCP for a child in the state sector. LAs rarely issue sooner than they are legally obliged to by the statutory timescales.

Who funded the assessments at your private school? Parents in the state sector can also speed things up through getting their own assessments done privately. We did that as it happens. We saw a private Ed psych, OT and SALT. This isn't only possible in the private sector.

I never said it was only accessible in private schools. It can be much longer to identify the need, though, as state school teachers and sendco think in terms of what is available through the school and often feel uncomfortable suggesting private interventions. I’ve also heard of some schools making it difficult for private practitioners to access school when in school observations are an important part of an assessment.

I’ve also heard of some schools making it difficult for private practitioners to access school when in school observations are an important part of an assessment.

This happens in the independent sector too.

In any case, debating Ehcp timelines is pretty irrelevant in this situation as op is so far from that and there is no suggestion one would ever be required.

it is quite telling that from a discussion of minor extra support in school people so quickly jump to the ehcp process. Ehcp were meant to be rare and most send were expected to be supported with classroom accommodation. As state school budgets were cut and basic levels of support evaporated more parents feel like they need to seek an ehcp to get any support at all.

we’ve never considered getting an ehcp because we would rather spend the time and money on interventions that will make a difference today, and make sure dc has access to what they need when they need it. Fortunately we are in a very supportive private school that have always helped us identify needs and been quite proactive about recommending support or adjustment, most of which are delivered at no extra cost. I have friends in state that have to fight for every minor adjustment, and it sounds exhausting.

Most DC with SEN are still support at a school SEN Support level.

most Sen children are in mainstream, but that isn’t the same as receiving the support they need in mainstream

I wasn’t commenting on whether DC receive the support they need. That is a separate point. You posted “Ehcp were meant to be rare and most send were expected to be supported with classroom accommodation.” I was commenting on the fact this is still the case. Most DC with SEN do not have EHCPs. Most DC with SEN are still supported at a SEN Support level.

Those saying that EHCP is faster in private - is their experience from several years back? From my perception, several years ago (pre-pandemic) waiting times were quite a bit shorter and there was less demand on services (or were there more services available - not sure) so I believe assessments and EHCPs were quicker in general. I suspect they are equally hard now whichever sector you're applying from - though my experience of private schools is that they would rather try to manage the pupil out into the state sector than go to the effort of applying for an EHCP (I'm talking private mainstream, not specialist).

This has all got slightly away from the OP’s original post and seems to have turned into (yet another) thread about the relative merits of private and state.

OP, I think you are absolutely right to do some due diligence on this ‘partner practice’. It could be entirely legitimate and staffed by appropriately qualified and regulated people, or it might not be. If it looks legitimate and the people are appropriately regulated (and not personally connected to the school SENCO!) then I might give it a try as a time limited intervention (at first). But you don’t have to do something just because the school says so.

Every school differs in what it can provide. Many state schools have excellent sen provision and a child may not need an ehc there, but would need one in a tiny state school with limited sen provision.

My elder daughter got an ehc quite easily at her tiny primary school because they had next to no provision. A lot of kids got ehc plans as a result.

My younger daughter went to a huge community school with the most amazing sen provision. She would have got an ehc at the little school but didn't need one at the big school.

We applied for one for her for secondary and got our own evidence in the form of reports. She then went to an independent school.

I do think that sen support can be a bit of a minefield and it is hard for parents to know how to navigate the system. I always suggest that people get advice from the likes of SOS!SEN.

If you get therapy on the NHS, the needs will be quite severe, and you will wait a number of years to even be seen for ADHD or autism.

State schools put their own interventions into place as they know that it will take years to be seen, and intervention is needed now.

I guess at an independent school, they presume you have money and it is the teacher's job to teach and nothing else. That is maybe a large assumption on my part though. I have a friend who went from teaching in an independent to a state school and it was a culture shock.