Private school, year 13. EHCP won't name current school, what now?

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My dd is is year 13 as it has taken 3 years to get an EHCP which was applied for when she had ebsa. For background she was late diagnosed ASD/ADHD . The private school which we put her in for 6th form has a very blunt SENCO who told me that in all likelihood the LA will not fund and the EHCP might as well go in the bin!

Fast forward from last term (she got BBB in her mocks), my daughter has struggles with attendance even though she has some reasonable adjustments in place like reduced timetable, extra time, quiet room and laptop. So I know that there are not many other adjustments to be had, apart from a mentor outside of school to help with organising her studies. She no longer wants to go to university, as she goes not think she would cope. Im on the fence about uni.

The LA say they are unlikely to name this school, which is understandable, and have asked me to suggest other schools. I cant think of any because I chose this school because its tiny, and changing schools in yr13 seems crazy.

What should I say to the LA?

Name it anyway? Or ask them to name it with the proviso that you pay the fees? I think I’d be doing whatever I could to keep her there given the journey she’s had.

good luck… it’s so so difficult

The independent school can be your preferred placement even if the LA has tried to put you off. I would try to make a strong case for this and ignore the LA, For a wholly independent school, you will need to show the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure. When you do this, reference your evidence. In order for the school to be named, you will also need the school to agree to being named.

What does DD plan to do after Y13?

The LA will almost always name the nearest mainstream. You can appeal but as appeal is taking well over a year you'll likely have finished Year 13 by then so I would prepare that you'll be paying the fees yourself.
The EHCP can continue for future years though if your child stays in education.

It sounds like most schools would be able to accommodate the reasonable adjustments. You can still send her there, you'll just need to pay yourself, otherwise maybe have a look around the local state options and see which you think could work?

If you agree to pay the fees then it can be done. It sounds like she would be on the lowest banding of funding. The only other possibility is an EOTAS package and that will likely be more expensive or same for them so if you agree you do fees then you will swing it. Am a SENCO at a private school and we have had EHCP on this basis.

The legal test for EOTAS/EOTIS/C is that it is inappropriate for the provision to be made in a school or college. She would need strong evidence of that, and many have to appeal for a proper package.

Where the LA doesn’t agree to name the school outright in section I, not all LAs will come to an agreement whereby parents pay the fees and the LA funds the SEP. Such arrangements are less common than they once were. Sometimes LAs will say the parents are making suitable alternative arrangements thereby relieving them of their duty.

This is just it. The LA has not proposed any schools. This is what I will be putting back to them.

I am happy (well, not happy iyswim) to pay the school fees, but there are plenty of SEN which can addressed and paid for by the LA. I suspect they'll say she's doing well academically, so no need for the extra support in the EHCP.

I cannot see how moving her in yr13 to a state school would make any sense at all.

Yeah, we're not interested in EOTAS.

It sounds like you haven’t had the finalised EHCP yet and have only got to the draft stage so the LA won’t propose a school yet. The type of placement and placement must be blank on the draft. You will be able to have a good guess at the placements the LA propose or may propose and you can still ensure your case stands up to showing those placements can’t meet needs and reference your evidence.

LAs can’t just say a CYP with an EHCP doesn’t need the provision in F just because they are doing well academically. EHCPs don’t work like that.

The LA will probably mess you around and won’t name the school regardless of what you say. Then you have the beautiful tribunal which will prob take a year plus. However then you are paying out for the evidence and also advocate unless you know the laws etc (~ £10k plus) and stress of dealing with 💩 LA. However, if it’s only for 2 years she will proabably be out of the school anyways so I’d question if it’s worth it. Ebsa online school? Tutor and take external exams If she burns out. Even if you get the EHCP and she need therapy etc then the providers LA use can be pretty dire so you wouldn’t even want them. Stress to you working with incompetent LA / caseworkers costs money and time and try and put a value on that too.

If it’s a indi mainstream I’d be wondering what happens if she burns out again as the work load increases. As they could off roll if they don’t want to be flexible as it’s all about exam grades which they will publish.

It is perfectly possible to successfully appeal without spending £10k+. The majority of parents do not pay for representation. If independent assessments are needed but can’t be afforded, there are ways of securing further evidence without paying for it.

A good EHCP would have wording tight enough that the LA can’t just use whatever provider they want, even if they are dire and can’t meet needs. If there is already a relationship with existing professionals, you can even have wording such as “Priority must always be given to those professionals with whom X has an existing trusting relationship…”

As an aside, in law, there is no such thing as an independent mainstream. Section 83 of the Children and Families Act 2014 defines a mainstream school as a maintained school or an academy that is not a special school. Independent schools can’t be mainstream schools, in law. The definition doesn’t cover what are often called independent mainstream - which are technically registered as ‘other independent school’ (as opposed to ‘other independent special school’ for independent special schools). I wouldn’t usually mention it because in everyday language independent mainstream is used as shorthand for an independent school that isn’t an independent special school, but since OP’s preference is the independent school, it is important she knows.

Thanks for the comments. I think we've reached the end of the road with the ehcp. I dont have the fight in me, dd has 2 and 1/2 terms left, and wants to take a gap year before finding an apprenticeship . The school says she needs a specialist asd teacher, which is not true/written in the plan and quoted me something crazy like £80,000 for the school year. No thanks. We'll plod on with low attendance, and as long as she gets passes we get out and move on.