statements - are some really unfunded??

[basildonbond]

if so, what's the point????

both ds1 and ds2 have got statements and we can see exactly how much money they bring to the school - several thousand pounds in each case

tbh I can't see that ds2 gets more than a fraction of the funding which goes with him actually targetted just for him, so his class as a whole benefit enormously

I didn't realise the process varied so widely - we're in a LA which isn't particularly known for being overly generous either ...

In some las the statement and funding are detached.

I thought it depended what provision is specified in the statement?

If the statement specified 1:1 X hours a week, then it would bring enough money to pay for a TA X hours a week.

If the statement was for a laptop, than that is what it would fund....

If it was to see a SALT X times a term, than I think there would be no funding because the SALT is already paid for by the LEA...

I could well be wrong (especially if it really is LEA dependent) - but that is my understanding.

The law on assessment and statementing has changed very little since 1981. Local authorities (LAs) should identify, assess and, where necessary, provide statements for pupils with the most severe learning difficulties.

The theory

Once a statement has been issued, the LA has a clear and non-delegable duty under the Education Act 1996 to arrange the provision in that statement ? even if the pupil's school fails to do so. Parents have a right to be involved in arrangement of provision, and LAs have the chief responsibility for dialogue with parents over the entitlement.

The reality

But many schools have seen LAs introduce extensions to their schemes for delegating SEN funding and responsibilities. These schemes:

* aim to delegate as much of the SEN budget to schools as possible to give schools more flexibility in making SEN provision
* result in fewer statements and less detail on provision in the statements that do exist
* shift responsibility for managing parental expectations to schools. In practice parents lose their rights to dialogue with LAs, and appeal to the special educational needs and disability tribunal (SENDIST)

There has also been a decrease in special school places, so that maintained schools admit more children with more severe SEN, and see fewer statements.

My authority has stopped LA funding of statements from levels 1-5, only 6 and 7 being externally funded. All other statements must be funded by individual schools. In theory the schools budget was increased to take account of this, in practice a small school such as ours saw a very small increase in SEN provision, certainly not enough to fund any additional TA support.

My LA funds statements (part from school budget /part additional depending on statement) at the moment but very few statements are issued compared to some other LAs. We use a totally different system to that described by spanieleyes A-C funded totally by school D-F part funded.

My previous LA would state in the statement '2.5 hours funded LA, 12.5 hours funded by school'. Current LA seems to be fully funded.

a kid was moved out of DS's school as they could not get funding for his statement, to another school in the next LEA that could