Buying near a preferred SEN school before an EHCP placement decision

[Madreamigajefa2]

My child has an EHCP but with the recent white paper and bankrupt local authorities, it seems that this year we'll be trying for a higher level and next year we'll be trying for a special school. I'd expected we would be going for a special school this sep but have been advised it's just highly unlikely. I'm renting and looking to buy and the Special school I desire fory child is independently run, making it more costly than other SEN schools which in my opinion don't meet her needs. I've been told that agreeing to cover transport if given this school makes it more likely we'll get the school we want so am looking to buy in that school's local area. Has anyone had a similar dilemma? If you bought close to your preferred sen school, did you get a place? Or do I just lump renting for another year in case we don't get in?

I'd expected we would be going for a special school this sep but have been advised it's just highly unlikely.

Who has told you this?

Is the school wholly independent or a s41 independent?

I would be very careful about agreeing to transport wherever you live. You do not know what the future holds. Costs aren’t the deciding factor when comparing one school that can meet needs and another that can’t.

The current mainstream school head/SENDCO says we wont get into a specialist for this coming year now and should aim for 2027 (annual review is next month, they had promised an earlier one but delayed as they believe the LA is pushing back more this year). I don't know what s41 means, but essentially this school we want isn't run by the LA but all spaces are fully paid for by the LAs, they just don't like doing it because the cost is about £20k more per year. What the EHCP coordinator told me last year was we'd be more likely to get it if we agree that we'll provide transport if we get that school. It's up to age 19 so if I can buy a house walking distance from the school (I work remotely) and we get the sch choice, we're set. If we never get the school, and we get pushed to stay in mainstream permanently, it's not where I would choose to live.

The EHCP is unlikely or be amended by September, but an in-year move is possible. If your preference is SS, I would start the process now with the upcoming AR.

You need to know what type of school it is. Just because it isn’t a maintained school doesn’t mean it is a wholly independent school. You can check what type of school it is here. What does it say next to ‘school type’? A section 41 independent is an independent school that isn’t wholly independent.

Fees £20k higher doesn’t automatically mean it is inefficient use of resources/unreasonable public expenditure. Agreeing to provide transport does lower the costs. However, you should be careful. You don’t know what the future holds. What if you become unwell and cannot transport DS?

Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as ‘we’re set’. Phase transfer years are still phase transfer years even in all-through schools. For example, a child being in Y6 at an all-through school is still in a phase transfer year and it is not a given that the LA will continue to name it.

Well that's why I want to live close to the school instead of having to drive there. I have 2 children anyway so regardless I'd have to get 2 children to school, one in mainstream and there is a nearby mainstream that would be suitable for my other child. The special school is listed as an "other independent special school" with no section 41, but I know of others who have met the threshold. I wasn't actually aware that I could in theory pay for her to attend myself because the website says all children require an EHCP (it would cost more than I earn though, so in reality I couldn't). I understood from the government's latest white paper that if my child is in that school by 2028, they guarantee she can stay until she has finished her education? I'm currently in a neighbouring Local Authority so again, moving to the correct Local Authority sounds like a good move. The current mainstream allows children from both my current location to attend and from the area where the special school I desire is, so moving would not stop my child from attending the most suitable mainstream until we receive a special school place. Interestingly neither the current school not any of the EHCP coordinators have mentioned the non- section 41 issue and I was just told to name the school I desire.

Living close to the school doesn’t prevent getting there becoming an issue in the future.

If it is a wholly independent special school that is not on the section 41 approved list, you need to show the LA’s proposed school(s) can’t meet needs &/or it isn’t unreasonable public expenditure. For wholly independent special schools, it is more likely to be the former you need to prove.

Some independent SS allow self funders. Others don’t. Even when they do, most are so expensive the majority of the population wouldn’t be able to afford it.

The White Paper is just that. No-one knows what will eventually be passed. There are often differences between White Papers and what eventually becomes law.

Being in a different LA doesn’t change the rules for naming the independent school. Moving LAs with an EHCP can be risky. When you move LAs with an EHCP the new LA becomes responsible for the EHCP and placement within it. The new LA will hold a review and that may lead to the LA amending the EHCP or even proposing to cease to maintain. You would be able to appeal but it is a risk you need to be aware of. There is also the chance the new LA would undertake a reassessment of needs.

Thank you. It feels like our lives are completely dependent on schooling. I moved and sold my home and gave up work to facilitate a more suitable mainstream, who've acknowledged my child would be better off in a special school but that until then, they are the right school. I started working again but the current mainstream is in an area so affluent, I definitely cannot afford to buy there and my rent is ridiculous. My priority is always my children but this housing insecurity is also incredibly stressful. We already experienced a landlady taking back the first rental before the law change and I'm having to consider the effects of yet another rental not really being put permanent home on my children.

Naming the school you desire does not mean the LA will agree to placement there. No one knows yet what the White Paper will look like in reality. I think you may need to do some more research so you’re fully aware of the types of school, the EHCP process in terms of moving schools and the SENDIST appeals process. IPSEA would be a good place to start.

I'm asking a specific question, did anyone who asked for an independent special school and move near to it get it or not? I'm going off of the very specific advice given to me by our own coordinator about how to push for this school. I'm not asking to be told I'm ignorant. I've contacted Sendiass and I've looked through IPSEA guidance before, I just simply didn't know what a section 41 was because it didn't come up when any of the professionals who I'd discussed this independent school with advised about it, they never raised it not being section 41 approved as a problem. Again, I'm not asking to be told "do your research", as I'm sure any SEN parent like myself spends most of their spare time researching just about everything to support their child. Insist wanted real feedback. I'm asking about actual outcomes for actual people.

The independent school being wholly independent rather than a s41 independent isn’t necessarily a problem. You just need to know because the rules for wholly independent schools are different to those for s41 independents.

Be careful taking advice from the LA. LAs are notorious for telling parents what they want the parent to know and their own, often unlawful, policies rather than the law. For a start, LAs are quite happy when families who are going to cost them a significant amount of money move OOA.

Also, be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good but too many repeat the LA’s policies.

Thank you. It's just so disheartening isn't it, that everything is a fight and we can't even trust the people who are allegedly there to support.

My child attends a wholly independent non-section 41 specialist secondary. We happen to live within two miles of the school but other kids come from at least 6 other local authorities. So proximity to an ISS is not necessarily relevant. I know people who live fairly close to the school who were not offered a place, and families farther away who were.

If the ISS you're interested in is non-section 41, you will need a placement offer from the school in order to request the LA to name them. If they don't make an offer, they cannot be forced to admit your child.

Echoing @scoopofmintchocchipicecream - I'd be careful about moving to a different LA with an EHCP. I know several families who have crossed borders recently and been told by the new LA that they were ceasing the EHCPs, or they amended them to the point that they essentially offered no more support.

I'm actually quite keen to move house but not willing to risk our SS placement, so am staying put for a few more years.

Thanks, I spoke to the headteacher of the independent school who said they aren't permitted to say whether they would accept the child until the LA asks them to consult, but has said they are willing to have a look at our existing EHCP and my expectations of any changes to provide a better idea. As with yours, this one does place across 4-5 local authorities so I asked about whether any are more likely to place. I've also been considering just moving to a cheaper area with a good reputation for SEN. I thought the law stated that the EHCP must follow the child, so then at least for the first year, they need to base provision on the existing EHCP, and by looking at feedback on the relevant LA I'm likely to know which will increase support Vs which will challenge it.

I thought the law stated that the EHCP must follow the child, so then at least for the first year, they need to base provision on the existing EHCP

No, not quite.

When you move LA with an EHCP, the new LA becomes responsible for the EHCP on transfer. The EHCP transfers on the day you move or within 15 working days of the LA becoming aware if that is later. This includes funding the placement in section I if attending is still practicable. If it isn’t practicable for DC to continue to attend the named placement, the LA must make other arrangements for education, including the provision in F. That is in Reg 15.

However, within 6 weeks of the date of the transfer, the LA must inform you when they will review the EHCP. This must be within 12 months of the previous AR or 3 months from the date of the transfer, whichever is later. So, no, you aren’t guaranteed the existing EHCP for at least a year. As I said, the LA may propose to amend or even propose to cease to maintain. You would have the right of appeal, but it is something you need to be aware of. Particularly with the waits for appeals. They may also undertake a reassessment of needs.

I spoke to the headteacher of the independent school who said they aren't permitted to say whether they would accept the child until the LA asks them to consult

Some independent schools won’t offer a place until formally consulted. But they can if they want to, so it isn’t quite true for the HT to say they aren’t permitted to.