Residential sen school and benefits

[AzureRobin]

Posting here as there isn't much traffic on sen boards.

My teenager with severe disabilities and sen will be starting at a term time residential school later this year. He will not be considered a 'looked after child'.

I understand his care component of his high rate DLA will stop for the weeks he is in school. I'm trying to get accurate info on universal credit. I'm assuming this will stop for the periods he is in school but advice seems to vary as to whether I can claim this for the time he spends at home during school holidays and a couple of weekends a month. The two remaining weekends I will spend at the school with him looking after him in their setting.

Any advice would be really useful as I'm trying to work out the amount of extra money I need to earn once these benefits stop. Up to now I've worked 30 hours a week to fit in with school hours as a single mum.

My son went to residential college on a 38 week placement. The care component of pip stops, mobility is unaffected. Universal credit is not affected either. It did take a while for my son’s to be sorted out while they looked into the type of placement it was so for a few months both components were suspended. We did get it all back though. When your son home you can phone PIP and give them “boarder dates”. In the summer holidays it goes back to monthly payments. if you claim carers allowance you can claim that too when they are home.

My son lives in residential care now but I can still claim the care component of his pip for him when he’s home, at present there are 4 lots of home stays outstanding. They’re very slow to pay!

Thank you, that's really helpful. He's only 14 so hasn't switched to pip yet. I'll be able to keep the motability car to drive him around outside of school. The care element will be paid in arrears for times spent at home.

I read that my universal credit could be kept if his time away from home was less than six months. Then different advice talks about looked after status. I'm not sure if 38 weeks is considered more than six months as it works out as that on the calendar.

As it stands he will be in school term time with a couple of weekends spent visiting home and me spending the other two weekends in his school setting. Holidays will be at home.

If the child element goes off the universal credit, then my salary wipes out the adult component and leaves things very tight especially given the 150 mile round trip every weekend.

Hi, we're moving this thread to the SEN topic at the OP's request (and giving it a bump to get it back into active conversations)

Thank you for moving my thread, admin

UC can continue if DS will not have looked after status and will be home for holidays etc. See this booklet from Contact.

For the weekends DS comes home, have you looked transport, or mileage if you prefer?

He hasn't yet started, it will be in the autumn. I am currently in negotiations to see if a taxi will drive him or if I will drive and claim mileage.

Thank you for the booklet link. I had interpreted it as if all the nights he was away were added together and could be up to six months in a year but it looks as if it is six months in a continuous block. He will have all school holidays at home and probably a weekend a month at home, with me visiting him the other weekends. He definitely won't be a looked after child.

If I can keep my universal credit that will be a huge relief. I had to go to educational tribunal last month to get the school place and have a large bank loan used for reports /solicitors to pay back. My universal credit if I can keep it will probably be a couple of hundred a month after I increase my work hours but it makes all the difference in not having every pound accounted for and enables me to get financially straight again.

UC can definitely continue. Some parents have to be persistent though because not all UC staff are aware of the rules.

In case you aren’t aware, if you want a taxi rather than mileage, the LA can’t force you to accept mileage.

Ah sorry. I meant my son’s UC was not affected. I don’t claim UC. Still I hope others have put your mind at rest regarding that. 38 weeks is considered termly boarding.

That's good to know about the taxi. My son is very difficult travelling and I'm anxious about driving him when he will already be struggling with transitions. Would be safer if he can have a taxi and I can be the escort.

And yes I will he persistent with the universal credit. If I can keep some of it, it will allow me a few hours a week where I'm not either visiting his school or working. After being so burnt out with a year long tribunal process alongside working and caring for a teenager needing constant supervision whenever awake, I'm in need of a mental break.

Just so you are aware, you don’t have to be the escort. If an escort is required, that is the LA’s responsibility.

Helpful to know Perpetual. Thank you. An escort is definitely necessary.