Alternative Provision - who pays? School or LA?

[Opihr]

Does anyone know the circumstances in which the school is liable for AP costs, and when the LA would be?

Same for AP transport costs (taxis etc). When would school pay, when should it be the LA?

Thanks in advance

It depends on the circumstances e.g. is it because the child can’t attend school because of health needs or their SEN, is it part of the school directing a pupil off site, is it part of an EHCP, is it part of school level SEN support, is it following an exclusion…

For anyone to give an accurate answer you will need to post more about the situation.

We have some access to AP provision when a child is at risk of permanent exclusion due to behavioural issues. It is a 4 month placement to give the child the opportunity to reset and gain an understanding of how to regulate. The school pays £1800 towards transport costs but the actual placement is paid for by the LA.

Thank you @spanieleyes and @JustKeepBuilding

It's not a specific situation as I'm fairly new to a role in a MAT who have quite a few students accessing AP for various reasons. Some schools have more luck than others getting LA support as it's cripplingly expensive though undoubtedly helpful for the student.

The school I work in has successfully negotiated funding from the LA on a number of occasions to support pupils who are struggling for various reasons to access the full curriculum. It's usually decided during an annual review of their EHCP.

@TattyDevine thanks, we're managed that through EHCP and also got CLA funding through virtual school.

It's the students who don't have an EHCP and aren't CLA that I'm a bit stumped by. The LA seem less keen to support them unless we're threatening permanent exclusion.

EHCPs can be fully funded so for the pupils who have an EHCP it should be in section F and funded.

Under s.19 of the Education Act 1996 the LA have a statutory duty to ensure those unable to attend school full time receive a suitable, full time education, so for any pupils who can’t attend school full the AP can be funded via the LA. The school &/or parents will have to push for this, but don’t give up.

If it is the school directing pupils off site it will be up to the school to fund, but you should consider whether applying for an EHCNA for any of these pupils is appropriate. Again, the school &/or parents are likely to need to fight for this. You could also look at high needs top up funding, but again you will have to push for it.