special needs education for 19 year olds

[kfpm]

Our 19 year old daughter has Rett Syndrome and she goes to a brilliant school where she is very happy and beginning to make sense of the world. The school, called The School for Profound Education (used to be St Margaret's, at Tadworth, part of the Children's Trust) would be pleased to keep her with them until she is 25 but the local authority wont pay (they want her to go somewhere 'local' even though it is only 15 mins away but in another LA). The school has an internationally recognised unique and personalised curriculum but it is not recognised by the YPLA (Young Persons Learning Authority) so education will not contribute or have anything to do with it. We are now stuck because our daughter will be taken away from something that really works for her. Any ideas?

hi kfpm, you can't be too far away from me! We're at the other end of schooling as dd3 is only 5 so I have no experience of post 19, only the battle we've just had to get an out of borough placement for her, you certianly have my sympathies on that one, they seem to be trying to get all the kids back locally, even when it's really not justified. Will social services not consider paying or health? Have you tried any of the charities for advice and support? There's ace, ipsea and sossen if you haven't tried them already.

thanks for replying: part of the problem is that she is now classed as an adult so children's education services no longer apply. It is as if all her needs have miraculously evaporated!

I thought funding was now held by LA's for continuing education. Is there a college within your LA area that can meet her needs. As far as I'm aware your job is to prove that your local colleges cannot meet her needs and that the one she is at is the only one that can. Then they will have to consider funding. My nephew has just got funding for 3 year residetial placement at college out of area on that basis although it was a long hard battle.

there is a local college which we say cannot meet our daughter's needs (eg only 0.25 hour salt per week, at most 16 hydrotherapy sessions per year, apparently no music therapy, very short terms with a half term). At her present school the salt is addressed at every single therapy; hydro every week, horse riding every week etc: she needs these therapies just to stay mobile never mind them being good opportunities to develop her motor, communication, sensory and cognitive skills. The beauty of the present school is that all these skills are addressed at all occasions and not just for 15 mins a week. Unfortunately the local college says it can meet her needs (even though they have wrongly assessed her for eg mobility and have not shown how they would meet her needs and admit they cannot give her the same level of therapies she has at the moment). Her social worker agrees that they cannot meet all her needs but he seems to think that does not matter and her needs can be 'sourced from elsewhere' and he is still pushing for the local provision. If the social worker does not seem to act on her best interests....!

Is there a Connexions advisor involved at all. My DD is 16 and we have a Connexions advisors involved in transition even though DD will probably stay at her special school until 19 and hopefully then go to a different college but all within same LA. However it was my nephew's Connexions advisor who seemed to be instrumental in ensuring that the out of county college was proved to be the most suitable and that local colleges could not meet DN's needs.

connexions are not interested in my daughter's current provision because it is not recognised by the YPLA (even though it has an internationally recognised and innovative curriculum, unique for SEN and in demand from many other pmld schools). I've had no reply about the local provision not meeting her needs. I simply want to know why she cannot stay where she is since it works for her.

what a terrible situation to be in shes happy as larry its working well but get to a certain age they wash their hands with it and want to push you into adult services grrr i can only imagine how hard im dreading it and my DS is only 11 yet god only knows what will be left by then if the present government have there way bugger all i expect there has got to be some advisors to get you through this see if Parent partnership can point you in the right direction some charity or other surley would want to help good luck i expect this will be long and drawn out as it always is bless

i just realised you say its funded by the childrens trust have they got any advice of where to go from here

have you looked at redwood house that goes from 19/25 unfair when shes so happy atm i know but its worth a look