Getting EHCP after Child passed Grammar school exam

[wonderingcat]

Hi. I'm very stressed about the situation I'm in at the moment with an EHCP being finalized after my son passed his 11+ exam last September at the Latymer school. Now, the draft plan has been checked by us, they are going to consult with the school and the local authority in their borough. We live in a different borough but within the school catchment area. My question is, would their local authority consider to fund for my son's EHCP, although we live in a different borough? Or would they reject it? I really hope not. My son has a good chance to be offered a place as his rank is high but if their local authority does not agree with the plan, would the school take him off from the admission? Or Would I be asked if we want to go for the Latymer without the EHCP?

I spoke to someone from the school, and the person who's dealing with my son's EHCP but they were not able to give me clear answers for that. All they can say is it's up to the local authority..

My son worked very hard to prepare for the exam, so I really do not want the bad to happen.

If anyone has a similar experience or knows someone has the experience, please give me advise for what I should expect.

Thanks.

If your child qualifies for a place, the school cannot refuse to offer it just because of a dispute about his EHCP. That would be a clear breach of the Admissions Code.

How likely is the EHCP to be successful? Our LA has so many applications they are hardly approving any.

It's stressful because if my son did not get an offer, it will affect him mentally as he worked really hard to prepared for the exam and he will loose his confidence. He has ASD and Tourette's. I know the EHCP will help him, especially when he is moving to secondary school but I can not stop feeling stressed about it.

Your Local Authority would fund his EHCP.

Thanks for your comment. If my local authority fund his EHCP, how about the other local authority of the borough where the school is? I thought they would have to fund if they agree with his EHCP.

When you get the draft, they will name a type of school,
I see you have the draft and LA are consulting with Latimer? So if they agreed they could meet his needs then he would be offered a place there.
the issue will be is it mainstream and is it a fee paying school?

LA will want school to be mainstream with no costs to them.
they will offer closest mainstream to you.
if mainstream is not suitable you could argue latymer is most suitable, but you may have to go to tribunal. Unless you are paying the fees yrself?

if LA are consulting with them its a good sign.

your LA is responsible for funding the placement not the LA where the school is.

Thanks for the explanation, it's good to know that my LA is responsible to the fund. The person who's dealing with my son's EHCP said they are going to consult the school and their LA as well. To me, it's very confusing. The Latymer is a slective grammar school but not paying school. It's not closest to our home though ..

Honestly, I think you should pay the school fees yourself and this is what they should decide at panel/tribunal.

I don't see how Latymer can meet his needs any better than any other high school as he can clearly cope academically at any mainstream if he passed the entrance exam.

TBH it just sounds like you are trying to get private school fees paid. This isn't what EHCPs are for. I think the LA will see it this way too.

You want to put the Latimer as your preferred choice. The LA has to consult with parental preference as well as local mainstream schools. If Latimer offer a place than the LA should use parental preference. If it is a state funded school you should have no issues. However if there are additional charges then the la may refuse as it is more cost efficient of tax payers money to send your child to their local mainstream school (if they say they can meet need too).

They may also refuse transport as you could have sent your child to local school but you are choosing a school further away so they may agree to name Latimer but that you will not be entitled to transport.

You need to make it clear that the Latimer is your parental preference.

I don't think this school is private school, just a selective state funded school so if that is correct then the parents do have a right to request this school assuming the school feel they can' meet his needs

The funding comes from your LA, to the LA where the school is. In addition to passing the 11+, the school will be consulted to make sure they can meet need (depends what is written in the plan, which is individual to the child), if they can't, they probably wont be named. If named, the school have to take, however, if there is a school closer that can meet need, there isn't transport provided - so if they can't travel by public transport/walk, they won't pay for a taxi. You can choose the school you want, if it can meet need and is one of the type specified as must and Latymer would be one that must be named if need can be met.

Sorry, I miss read what you said. Successful, not stressful! I didn't think our application would be successful, especially when we didn't hear from them for months about the outcome. I guess people have different experiences depending on the area they live in.

I was thinking of a different latymer

If he passes the admission exams and if offered a place, surely he cannot be refused entry because of an EHCP. They really should be able to meet his needs.

Well that was embarrassing for you, don’t you know what a state grammar school is?

DoComeToMeKitty, but it is NOT a paying school, you don't need to pay. That's why it's competitive and not easy to pass the exam.

How rude. It is ok to make mistakes, moreso as I have realised this error and corrected.

However, sarcastic-aggressive comments are more of a reflection of yourself than of whatever I've written.

There is a private, fee paying school called Latymer in Hammersmith. Hence the confusion.

Thank you everyone for your time writing messages to my post, it''s helped me to feel less stressed and understand more about the process between LA and school,. And apologies for the confusion regarding 2 different Latymer schools. I'm just hoping that we will get a positive outcome:)

When you get the draft, they will name a type of school

Despite what LAs sometimes do, the draft must not name a placement or type of placement. Section I must be blank.

Because the school isn’t wholly independent, your LA must name the school unless the LA can prove:
-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.

That is a higher bar the many LAs admit. If your LA can’t prove one of these, they can and must name your preferred school even if the school and LA the school is in object. If they don’t, you can appeal when the EHCP is finalised.

Your LA remains responsible for the EHCP even if DS attends a school in another LA.

If the LA try to refuse transport, it can sometimes be possible to challenge the LA, even if it isn’t the closest school. See this SENTAS page.

@wonderingcat ive sent you a dm

Hi, my son goes to school in a different county to the one we reside in as it's nearer and smaller. The local authority where we reside funds his ECHP and the school uses the funds as set out in the ECHP, i.e. he has one to one support in most of his classes..

Your response to OP was very passive aggressive when she is clearly stressed and asking for help. It would have been inappropriate even if she was talking about a private school, so your mistake isn’t much of a justification.

Now you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end, hopefully you’ll think twice about your own posts in future.

Thanks for your message. I now understand my LA will have to fund for my son's EHCP even if his school is located in a different borough.

My son needs support for social skills and emotions that have a strong connection to his ADS and Tourette's. He is able to do follow instructions and catch up with learning like most of kids his age..

When I spoke to the person who wrote my son's EHCP, I made sure we want to name the particular school. She told me to call her back in 2 weeks time to find out the school response.

I will definitely appeal if the school does not accept his EHCP. Do you know how long it takes to get the result after you appeal? I hope this will not be the case but better prepared..

Even if the school objects, your LA can (and must unless the LA can prove one of the legal exceptions) still name them. If the LA names the school, you won’t have to appeal to SENDIST even if the school objects to having been named.

Phase transfer appeals are prioritised. If you have to appeal and appeal as soon as you can, it will hopefully be heard before September (sadly, the volume of cases means later appeals aren’t always heard before September these days). After the hearing, SENDIST aim to respond within 10 working days. Although sometimes it is a bit longer.

An EHCP is funded by the child's home local authority, not the LA that the school is in. Decisions about issuing plans are not linked to decisions about placement. The EHCP panel at the local authority will decide whether to issue the plan or not, and if it does go to issue, they will then consult with your chosen school. The school will receive a copy of the draft plan and will decide whether they can offer a place based upon the content of the plan, i.e are they able to offer the provision set out in the plan. If they give a positive consult, as in they do offer a place, they will then be the named setting in the plan.

Hopefully that is clear, but please do ask if not and I will get back to you!

Best of luck.

If they give a positive consult, as in they do offer a place, they will then be the named setting in the plan.

Not always. Just because a school doesn’t raise objections when consulted doesn’t mean they will definitely be named in the EHCP. It is common for LAs to send out multiple consultations, so sometimes multiple responses without objections will be received. And even if that isn’t the case, sometimes the LA still decides not to name a placement and name another.