Personal Budget for Home Ed.

[fleshmarketclose]

My dd 15 has ASD and is currently out of school due to anxiety. She has an EHCP that we are appealing at Tribunal come September. Her named school will state they cannot meet her needs. She receives out of school tuition currently that works really well.
It is difficult to envisage back at school again tbh although we are considering independent specialist. She isn't a good fit for the national curriculum tbh due to sensitivities and phobias and assessments spike her anxiety and as a girl with ASD any schools will be boy heavy in fact two that I have considered have no girls in her peer group.
Tutoring works really well so was pondering whether to seek EOTAS (education other than at school) and push for a personal budget to fund tutors and therapists etc.
Does anyone have any experience and if so what do the LA fund? Thank you

Hi OP, sorry I don't know the answers to your questions, but I have similar questions - not for one of my DCs, but for my DH who is a tutor, and is interested in getting into home ed market.

This might help though - www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

And this - edyourself.org/articles/funding.php

Elective home education is different from EOTAS.

'Elective' home ed' means the parent deregisters their child from school and becomes responsible for providing their education. I think the EHCP personal budget can be used to pay a tutor or for provisions, educational trips etc.

EOTAS is where the Local Authority remains responsible for providing the child's education (so they stay on roll) and should provide temporary education in a location other than at school where the child is absent for 15 days or more due to medical reasons, with a view to the child returning to school when they are deemed ready (if ever).

I was told that EOTAS should be paid for by the LA using the normal funding available to the school for that child, the EHCP is a top up to provide additional support due to the child's difficulties.

Hope that makes sense!

PS you're already getting EOTAS - ie its the ' out of school tuition' you mentioned.

I think what I mean by EOTAS is, rather than the LA provide the five hours tuition as they currently do, I receive a budget and secure my own tutors and OT/ other therapies provision.
I don't want to home ed myself although I think dd would be better catered for at home. I want the LA to fund the sort of programme that dd needs rather than funding an independent specialist school which, considering fees will be in excess of £50k pa, would be a less expensive option.

@fleshmarketclose how are you getting on now? Any progress with your council? It is possible in some areas to get some support to HE but is of course difficult as councils don't want to fund HE. Starting from a position of EOTAS might be stronger as you can maybe apply also for Direct Payments, and won't lose your free tutor? Councils like to try to cut families off completely once HE is chosen but some have successfully fought for payments to HE as it isn't really a choice, more of a forced decision or a school pushing the child out when the child has SEN.

If your dd has the tutoring budget that that is your funding, you won't get anything else. Have you considered interhigh?

Well LA have offered her a place at a special school, it's completely unsuitable, she wouldn't have a peer group (she would be with y7's with LD's and ASD), they can't meet her academic needs (most able leave with entry level qualifications) as dd is a high achiever predicted 7 to 9 at GCSE, there is no OT on site (their answer to significant sensory difficulties is big windows and workstations ) but I half expected it tbh.
The appeal is still on we will be looking for EOTAS with a personal budgetto fund tutors and therapies with the aim of entering independent specialist when she is better. I'm not going to HE unless I lose at Tribunal because I won't send dd to vegetate for the next four years in a school that can't meet her needs.