asked to pay more because my children are disabled

[frambly]

Good Morning
I have just been told by a member of childrens services of Wiltshire Council that they have come up with the answer for how I can have my two disabled children go safely to the local afterschool club.
The answer is fantastic she thought! - "I can pay a premium rate for my children!" This would be on a non-profit basis for the club, but would cover the extra staff, and an administration cost too! I got her to repeat herself and I reflected back to her what she had said to check that I had not misheard. I had my phone on speaker and a colleague heard it all too.
I had queried that when I went to collect my children from the club in the last holiday there was only one member of staff on the premises with loads of children, including my two with learning difficulties and epilepsy, and my grandaughter who is under 5. The call I had back from them did say that the club had been spoken to about this, but that they were struggling to fund extra staff. I had only been asking for what was the right level of staffing but I am absolutely shocked to hear that they think it is a good answer for me to pay extra for the same provision!

When she realised that i was not too happy she said that she would go and check that she had the information correct, but she had already confirmed that other childcare provision in Wiltshire are charging a premium rate to families with children with disabilities.

Surely this is not right? This is discrimination, it must surely be?

i feel so shocked i have gone cold!!!

It isn't right. I think that Aiming Higher (which is scrapped from March) allows those who receive High Rate Care to benefit from funding. The idea is that the family pay the same rate as any other child, and Aiming Higher funds the extra resources needed.

we got Aiming High in june last year to cover activities over the summer. It was not enough to pay extra for regular childcare and was designed as a short break alternative so we used it for the girls to have a peer mentor come to the house to do more age appropriate activities with them [they are 12 & 13 but function about 5] it also paid for someone to collect them from an afterschool club each week as once Aiming High was given, Wiltshire took away the funding for the late taxi for them to go to the dance club.
Aiming high money ran out before the october half term so we are funding both of those things now ourselves - and taking time off work for one of the girls to have an afterschool government funded 1:1 tuition session bexause that funding didn't again allow for a late taxi home.
they gave Aiming high and we used it wisely to make it last, but now it seems they expected miracles with it?!!??

sorry Lougle - i should have said Thanks for your reply!! how rude!! i do apologise!

That must be disability discrimination. As far as I know all groups are supposed to be inclusive of disabled children. Try contacting the disability rights commision.

really sorry to hear that... (we are in Swindon) so local to you but unitary authority, ds also get aming high funding, but as Lougle says runs out in March, and it appears Wilts have already run out ...

I am sure that the extra funding can't be down to us as parents... hmmm... thinks.

there was a recent thread where someone had posted about the relevant legislation which covered disabled children, with regard to funding cuts.

the link was to something like 'cemented to the floor' If you look back through last few pages it should be there... might be useful?

all irrelevant now really. we have both been made redundant. have more pressing issues than childcare discrimination now. like how to keep home and all in it going on thin air and no savings!!!
thanks for all replies anyhow

Both? That's terrible luck.
DH was amde redundant a good while ago; he managed to get a place at university which covers us for a bit (his industry moved away wholesale) and retrains him but it was a huge shock.

Have you got Carer's Allowance etc all ready to apply for?

yep same here sw seemed to think ds should not attend sn group so signed him up for ms .then within 2 minutes they was like im sorry we cant have him here without 1-1 and you need to provide/pay for that member and we dont think we can keep him safe as pd mean hes more likely to get hurt

so ds attends erm nothing only wher ei take him as seems he does not have peer group

It was a lot like that with ds1 when he was little; he's 11 now (how did that happen?) and now he goes to a mix: Sn rugby, but also accesses school council etc with a TA.

DS3 is mroe severe and can only really access SN stuff but we're trying to broaden that.

thanks all. carers allowance, income support and all in process. they think i am mad to be expecting thast a claim made on tuesday might be processed on friday! and to ask a question! well! they asked for an .employers letter' so i phoned to ask what one of those contained. and nobody knew!!!!! i even had an income support person phone me back - and she didn't know either. nobody had ever asked her that b4!!!!
i am filling in forms in my dreams. i refuse to remember my NI number as a matter of pride!!!
having been involuntarily unemployed only for 2 weeks since age 17 i am finding this a bit stressful. At 50 i should be a high earner not scratching about to pay the mortgage. x