Help with school funding for SEN child - please help!

[Higgledypiggledy1234]

We have a meeting with school coming up to discuss funding of a couple of things to help DD6. She is currently hating school and has even started refusing some mornings. She is dysregulated much of the time and we're still very much learning. Under referral for ASD and we/others think potentially ADHD/demand avoidance & auditory/sensory processing disorders.

We've found a forest school setting for her to attend on a Monday with the potential to do an extra day if she enjoys it. She has also started play therapy with the schools play therapist. We are paying for this privately due to school saying they had space for her, then saying that other children with EHCPs were being put forward before DD.

School initially said they would potentially be able to fund forest school, and have now said they can't in case others expect the same.

When I've raised the possibility of getting an EHCP for DD I've been told by the SENCO that she wouldn't get one and we'd have to demonstrate that the school are spending £6000 a year on her.

From doing some reading I think I'm right in thinking that school receive an additional £6000 per SEN student but this is adjusted based on poverty factors and other indices meaning it's not as cut and dry as there being £6000 there for her. Again, I think I'm right in saying that if we were to get an EHCP then school would have to pay for the first £6000 towards these extra activities before the LA would provide top up funding. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

At the moment his teachers have been fab in agreeing to any adjustments I've thought up, doing their own and we have a good relationship with them. The higher ups have also been supportive of Flexi-Schooling so far as allowing it and agreeing it'd be good for her.

My problem is that our finances are going to be completely wrecked if we have to fund all this. We're not low earners, but our finances just aren't flush enough to spare £600 a month. I appreciate schools are struggling too, but I can't help but feel if others are getting the help, why not my daughter?

Has anyone any words of wisdom for how to broach this with school? Anything we can do to get this stuff funded? Play therapist and other professionals have suggested an EHCP would be very useful for her. Do we go ahead and apply for one and risk school being difficult/ruining the good relationship with them? I'm worried without schools backing we wouldn't get one anyway.

It very much varies based on your location in terms of the EHCP application process and what it would grant. Some places an EHCP gives funding and others, funding is obtained separately, and often needed to obtain an EHCP.

I think it's great the school are offering the support with the option of you finding it yourself. It's not something I've known to happen where I'm from. It's also really good that they are so open to offering the support.

Yes, children with SEND are meant to get an additional £6000, but this often goes towards things like additional adult support, interventions that are run and staff that cover them. It's not usually as simple as each children with SEND has an additional £6000 for them.

I think speak to them about how their funding works. Do they have top up funding they can apply for, or would this need to be obtained through an EHCP? For example, here, you have to apply for additional funding separately at specific points in the year. It can only be applied for when children are in set year groups, or are classed as a emergency if out of year group (a significant decline in behaviour). Frustratingly, it can be quite subjective too and it works different in different councils.

The fact that there is so much support being put in place would definitely support an EHCNA (application for an EHCP). I think it would be worth a discussion with the school around wanting to work towards doing one. They can then think about the best way of evidencing the need of one ready for the application.

It sounds like you're doing an amazing job to support your DD so far though. I think there's so much out there that people don't know about ASD and SEND generally that you suddenly have to discover when something like this happens. It can be terrifying and feel very lonely sometimes too!

I have replied on your other thread, but the law around EHCPs is the same regardless of what LA you live in. Where you live does not change the EHCNA process or what can be included in EHCPs - even in those LAs who think the law doesn’t apply to them. Everyone will get the right of appeal to SENDIST so ultimately it isn’t the LA making the decisions. Also, as I posted on your other thread, ultimately it is the LA who is responsible for ensuring provision in EHCPs is received and EHCPs can be fully funded.