SEN funding isn't a bottomless money pit

[Sogfree]

I'll preface this by saying I really enjoy my job working in a SEN school. I care deeply for the children and families I work with.

I've had 4 different conversations this week with parents where they expect an excessive amount of additional resource to be allocated to their child. They expect this as, in their opinion, it's needed. I disagree with 3 of the 4 parents that this is needed.

All 4 of the parents are going to fight the decisions county have made. Their decision to fight will mean county spend more money arguing the challenge.

Services are already broken with the increase in need. Recruitment fails, as there aren't enough speech therapists/OTs/CAMHS practitioners etc to employ.

One parent demanding extra from one of these services means another child gets less.

One parent demanding a child goes to school X at £100k per year when a place at school Y at £30k is going to meet their needs means the child who needs the place at school X doesn't get it, and extra £70k per year is wasted. And the parent keeps their child out of school for 12-18 months whilst they fight for the place at school X.

That's the reality.

Every parent wants the world for their child. I understand that. But taxpayers can't afford to give every child the world.

AIBU - parents know their child best and we should fund what the parents say the child needs

YANBU - there's only so much money to go around and parents need to accept hard decisions have to be made without challenging them

There are many things causing the MH crisis in kids today which impacts all sections of society- phones which are nigh on impossible to escape, an awful school system with huge pressures, broken MH provision for adults and children( zero support when needed causes massive problems which impact all the family), family pressures, global warming , war, a very bleak future, cost of living crisis, COVID fall out when they were left high and dry, poorSEN provision, coping with ND in a very difficult world …..

The list is endless

You are confusing strength and stability, and automatic vs intentional muscle activation.

Sit ups strengthen the larger external abdominal muscles. Things like horse riding/wobble cushion/therapy ball activate the smaller core muscles and is much more functional. They are also much more engaging

Hard to know where to begin "enlightening" you when all of your beliefs are ignorant judgements and very obviously not rooted in facts or any kind of quality research. Always very baffling when people develop such strong feelings about something they clearly have zero knowledge of.

Why can’t parents pay for some of these things from their DLA as that’s what the money is there for. I don’t claim DLA because my SEN child doesn’t cost me anymore than my other children. It should be more rigorously assessed.

But they could do daily group physio sessions run by a trained TA which many kids have(my dc included who has severe core issues ).

My guess would be because parents are paying for stuff at home that is extra due to the disability?

Absolutely every word of this.

We fought for our dd's EHCP needs assessment because she was flying under the radar at school, her needs unseen and unheard among a class of 30. What do you do about a child who is academically able, not disrupting the class but who is a coke bottle who, once at home, explodes, hurting all those around her. A girl who broke her car seat in two escaping from her seatbelt. A girl who, unless the child lock was on the car, who open the car door whilst in transit to do anything to avoid school? A girl who eventually missed a half term of school, and at which point the school finally understood that she wasnt, in fact, "fine at school".

The single biggest factor in her improvement (aside from us finally understanding that unmet needs as a result of neurodovergence was driving her behaviour)? An assessment by an Educational Psychologist that discovered a myriad of unseen challenges that were actually really easily dealt with via some light touch adjustments that inconvenience nobody. A well trained and communicative class teacher who understands that no two children are the same and takes the time to get to know them all. Another class teacher who has herself got neurodovergent children of her own, who just 'gets it' and knows what works.

Our daughter is thriving in mainstream. It is offensive that some believe she doesn't belong in a mainstream school, where she is well supported at no detriment to her classmates. All it has taken is an understanding of her, and some small adjustments, to help her to thrive. Oh, and parents who believed in and supported her at every step of the way, at great cost to their own mental health and relationship along the way.

The only reason we were forced to apply for the EHCP was because nobody believed us. Having it has changed our lives for the better.

Most schools have therapy balls. wobble cushions and experienced TAs. I’m staggered the system lets money be wasted on horse riding sessions for individual children particularly when you look at how other children with quite severe problems have the cheaper option. It’s things like this which need an overhaul.

I do. My son has physio and hydrotherapy as part of his EHCP and I pay for private physio outside of school using some of his DLA. Of course, parents of disabled children can't win because on a thread about DLA, I was told it wasn't fair that my child can access private therapy.

My son cannot do sit ups because he lacks the muscle tone necessary. He also does not have the cognitive ability or receptive communication skills needed to follow the instruction to perform a sit up or indeed even to sit in one spot without running away. He doesn't have horse riding sessions, but he would be an ideal candidate for this. He benefits hugely from animal therapies and would almost certainly sit on a horse and engage enough to benefit from the exercise (under extremely close supervision).

People like you have no business being part of the conversation around SEND provision. It's a conversation for people who are knowledgeable and you evidently have not the slightest grasp of the breadth of issues that children with SEND can face.

"Silly sossij" is putting it very mildly.

There are people here who would be like this:

Child A in mainstream school struggling to cope because of sensory overload. -> Your child is too disruptive and is taking up too much of the teacher's time.

LA set up a smaller school with classes of 10 that child A can now cope with. -> Your child is getting preferential treatment of being in a class size of 10, I want that for my child.

Perhaps if some of you parents with non SEN children taught your kids not to ignore, ostracise or bully kids like mine but were actively nice to them and called out poor behaviour of others then they wouldn't end up so bad with their MH that they end up needing more resources from the schooling and medical systems.

The attitude on this thread of “my child doesn’t need this so yours doesn’t either” bewilders me.

Most schools have experienced TAs? Experienced with SEND?

Yep.

Group physio with a 'trained' TA? First of all, my son is the only one in his school who is physically disabled and needs physio so what group? and second of all, I think we'll stick with an actual physio doing his physio sessions with him.

Horse riding is good not just for physical benefits but mental ones too.

My DD did (private) horse assisted therapy during covid. The therapy helped, but just being with the horses helped too.

Clearly more funding needs to go into the TA workforce however this is exactly the point many are trying to make -direct and utilise money better. Spending far too much on expensive packages and private education for a few who can shout the loudest isn’t a fair distribution of funds and isn’t working.

I’m sure it would help many many children but we don’t have the money. My dc had group physio at the hospital and her school took over with a group programme alongside the things we did at home.

What of if I and every other parent demanded horse riding instead?

Many children I see are only 1 or a couple in a school with diagnosed physio needs. But there are often others who don't have a diagnosis, but have back pain, poor posture etc, so the TA's do a group with a few of them under physio guidance, as the child who has the identified needs finds it more enjoyable and less isolating to do their exercises with a few of their friends.

My youngest joins a similar group in her primary as her co-ordination is quite poor.

So groups can be really helpful both physically and psychologically for some children.

Only a physio does it with my son and alone. I think he'd find it too distracting with friends but I can see why that would help some children.

But they aren't.

And as has been said you don't get to 'demand' you get to argue that you believe it is beneficial and then someone else decides.

My DD would love a dog. It would possibly benefit her (but be detriment to me). I don't get to 'demand' one just because blind people get one or other people.

Different kids have different needs that are met in different ways. We have to work within the system we have. If the LA doesn't have schools similar to mainstream but with smaller quieter classes then parents have to request stuff that is available.

You don’t know what other children need. We’re talking about core muscles problems and many children have dyspraxia.

If only a highly trained physio will do then yes by all means we need to fund that but many children who have core muscle problems do not need exercises to be done individually with a professional physio or horse riding lessons. There are cheaper options. The system needs changing as it is open to the loudest jumping over the neediest.

But they are.

If you have the money and education you can “argue” anything. Children with parents who have no money, confidence or education themselves can’t argue.

The system needs changing and money needs to be used better.

You seem to know what other children don't need, especially if it happens to be expensive.

Fighting for your child doesn't mean you are just loud or that you demand things and magically get them. It means they consider it so if horse riding lessons or hydrotherapy sessions in my sons case are requested and then it is decided based on need, not demand.

No. You said "Most schools have therapy balls. wobble cushions and experienced TAs" which is a lie.

Most schools do not have TAs who are experienced in SEND. Most schools do not have adequate equipment and resources.

Therapies and resources are often hard won by parents who advocate for their children within the legal parameters of the SEND education system because they want their children to have the same opportunities as everyone else to meet their potential and be happy and healthy, not parents who "shout the loudest" - a choice of words which demonstrates your prejudice and is an attempt at painting parents as entitled and petulant.

Advocating for removing these therapies by wrongly claiming that there is provision in schools already for these children, as you did in your first comment, is disgraceful.

Do you have Riding for the Disabled? My friend volunteers with them. Horse owners are aware how expensive it is and want to help. You can search by postcode here:

rda.org.uk/rda-groups/