Funding for a child with a statement

[jma3]

I've recently received a copy of a letter trying to explain how much our childs school will be allocated. He has 32.5 hours one to one and now the school are telling us that they are not being given enough money and are having to cover the shortfall. Does anyone else have problems on changes to funding?

[lopa]

Hi my child has DS and will start yr7 in a mainstream school in sept. She has a statement which allocates 25 hours/week of support on a 1:1 basis or in a small group which worked really well in Primary setting. Today the headteacher of the sec school called and said this level of support won't be enough and they will need funding for 1:1 special teacher support for 35 hours/week. Apparently the LA has refused to do so and if this is not in place my child won't be able to start in sept. The headteacher has advised us, parents, to contact LA for additional funding, which we would do. My questions are:

1. what are the chances of LA to agree to extra funding if parents contact them?
   

2.Does the school has a right to say NO to a statemented child?
3.Can the LA allocate the funding to the parents to ensure better utilisation for the child?

[Inclusionist]

lopa if the Secondary school have already offered the place they cannot then say they won't take your DS due to his SEN.

In my LA changes to funding arrangements have to be done through the annual review process so the school's only route would be to call an early annual review in September and outline/ argue the case for the need for additional funding themselves.

In response to others. Remember the on-costs of employing a TA represent about a 3rd of the total cost. So £6k only pays for about 2.5hrs of £8p/h TA time per day. Nowhere near full time.

[Inclusionist]

Again in my LA 35hrs on a statement would attract £6k + £4k from the school's delegated budget and £4k top up from the LA.

In terms of hiring an £8ph TA that is 6 hrs per day ie only 30hrs. More experienced TAs cost more than £8ph. There are also other costs to consider like buying in SALT/ OT/ Ed Psych time, buying equipment etc.

So, no, the money doesn't cover full time support.

[lopa]

Dear Inclusionist , thanks for your response and advice. I am an inclusionist by heart as well. I did some research in this matter. I have a feeling that the school is aiming for the High need SEN funding. The problem is that neither the school nor the LEA is being open and honest with us.