Academy query

[coff33pot]

DS currently has a Statutory Assess going ahead. It suddenly occured to me that his school is hoping to convert to an academy.

I know little about them but the letter states that it means their funding is then received directly from government rather that through local council and it gives them greater freedom to chape the education provided to children.

It does say that they then wont have to follow the national curriculum just a broad and balanced one. That might help DS as they may then be more flexible in what he can cope with I suppose.

What I am starting to wonder is that it would be a governing body that buys staff and specialist services. Would that then make a difference to a statement? Would they still be tied to the LEA? or would we have to ask the school for specialist help, trained TAs etc

I'm the expert on this :)

An academy get's no funding or help from the LEA at all - except for statemented kids.

So it has no effect at all on your statement.

They still get the LEA EP, Transport etc. for statemented kids......

Thanks Indigo phew that is a relief! Would the school still get some hours funded? They did have 15 hours funded without a statement in place (but that funding ended as the hols started) and they were funding and extra 10 hours themselves.

Academy Funding

The following items do not become the responsibility of the academy and continue to rest with the LA. These are:

home to school transport (including SEN)

education psychology, SEN statementing and assessment

monitoring of SEN provision, parent partnerships, etc.

prosecution of parents for non-attendance

individually assigned SEN resources for pupils with rare conditions needing expensive tailored provision (this is usually a top-up to formula funding)

provision of pupil referral units or education otherwise for a pupil who is no longer registered at an academy.

Thanks

Hi Indigo

just wondered if you could clarify for me about the SEN funding bit? Do LAs still fund TA\LAS support to academies - looking at what you've said I interpret ' individually assigned...rare conditions...' to mean quite unusual and highly intensive SENs not necessarily ASD, MLD etc. or does the 'individually assined...' bit mean once they've got a statement? Sorry bit confused :o

I think the individually assigned ones is referring to ones paid for by a statement.

Whereas the class ones will be paid, as they currently are, by the school.

So there should be no change at all to the amount of TAs a school has.

When a school becomes an academy they get more money, and less things from the LEA. And the more money is meant to cover everything the LEA used to give them......

Yeah, I understand that their funding essentially by-passes the LA so any interventions at SA or SA plus will be totoally funded by the school.

However, I thought the ref to individual stuff was may be more severe or rare end of the statement range like severe ASD, MSI, severe sensory losses, complex medical or physical needs. I assumed that although the LA provide it (like EPs for example) the academy would have to buy it where maintained schools would retain a certain level of entitlement because a level of funding is retained for it.

I am interested because the precise roles and responsibilities/agreements are currently being worked out in my LA and it is as clear as mud at the moment!!!

Well.............DS school was looking to be an Academy by the 1st Sept. He is having an SA done now and I will hear 17th October the outcome. Will let you know what the school/LEA will be paying for then I expect

Blue - sorry. Were you asking who will fund the ASD team, VI team etc?

This I'm not clear about after having researched it :)

EPs will only be funded for SA I think. But schools will of course be able to pay for private EPs. Which will be kind of interesting because you normally need a LEA EP to recommend SA.

However I'm fairly sure all of the other specialist teams, besides BEST, will be still provided by the LEA.

I think this because our LEA have a list of services maintained or academy schools can buy ( even maintained schools have to buy everything from this LEA - they just charge academies more). And BEST was on this list but none of the other specialist teams. Nor were EPs.

Yeah, as far as I understand it LAs will still have central teams like ASD/VI/HI teachers and that schools will buy these in as they already do. What I wasn't sure about was whether there would still be specific funding with a statement for other (TA/LSA) support or whether by being an academy they have to fund it themselve.

Obviously maintained schools have some funding delegated (different levels in different areas) but can get tops ups for high support needs for statemented children. I would have thought if it was an academy they would have to fund any and all hours identified on a statement (except for this 'rare conditions' exception). Does that make sense? That's the bit I'm trying to figure out. :)

How I understand it funding for statemented hours would remain as they are now. ie if your statement is for 15 hours 1:1 and the LEA would have currently paid for that then they will still have to.

( Because you only get statements for rare (low incidence) conditions needing expensive tailored provision )

Right, that's where I'm getting mixed up. The 15 hours thing hasn't been the bench mark in my LA, all statement funding is retained centrally.

So if currently all of your 1:1 hours are paid for by the LEA, then according to that funding document I think they still should be.

But that's only my interpretation of it.

Are you involved in this as a parent or do you work in a school or for the LEA?

No, not involved as a parent as such just trying to get my head around the implications of academy status as a few schools round here are intending to go that way.

There is a lot of professional advice and information about academies on the teachers' forum at www.tes.co.uk/forums.aspx?navcode=14
There is also specifically a SEN board and you can run a search on academies, too.

Academies get independent central funding - but a lot more freedom to spend it, too. Academies don't have to have qualified teachers and recently a teacher has complained that on converting to an academy his school got rid of all the TAs.

Btw the EP Services are also under a national overhaul because their role is expected to changer/widen - which means their role in the SA process will probably change, too.

Here's the link again:
www.tes.co.uk/forums.aspx?navcode=14