Special needs..boarding???

[Sal4533]

Hi all!
This is my first post after lurking for ages!! Need some advice. What would you do?

To cut a long story, very short. DD age 9yrs has a statement of special needs for severe dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgrahia and ADD. Since nursery DD has attended a private school with her twin brother. Lovely school, small classes etc. DD has made no progress, dispite 1:1 specialist support, repeating a year. She is yr 3 DS is in Yr4. We got the statement last year and LEA said that they would fund 1 hour 1:1 a week.

I got a solicitor and opposed the lack of support. LEA agreed to fund DD at an
independant special school 15 mins away
I was over the moon until she went for a weeks trial and they said they couln't meet her needs due to the ADD. So back to original school. I have found the most perfect but expensive school for DD but it would mean boarding. We are now going to tribunal to ask LEA to fund that school( they have offered her a place and she has been down there and loved it- it can meet all her needs).
The LEA have said that they believe she should stay where she is & that they will pay fees + any extra tuition. My argument is that she has been there 5 yrs, small classes 1:1 support but assessments reveal no progress. The boarding school is a specialist school, which caters for her every need.

Sooooo.... would you send your child to boarding school if it was in her best educational interests?

It's absolutely horrific, but the LA want things as cheap as possible. If the current placement hangs on by a thread, they claim its working.

Many posters on this board home educate, which in some cases reduces the pressure and therefore the aggression. Might be another option?

JJWMummy - this is a good document describing the various forms of legal help available. There is some free advice out there - e.g. NAS and Ipsea can provide support, but you have less choice over who you get and might not get a rep. We used a legal firm on that list, all of the ones on the list are SEN specialists. It's quite a small area of work so yes, definitely use one from the list and not a general law firm if you are going to instruct someone.

We were quoted £7k+VAT for legal work, but eventually it went over that, as I got a rep as well, plus assessments/witnesses were extra.

Try the ISBI website for looking up SEN boarding schools. You can narrow your search down by type of SN/area.

Thankyou for all your help and advice Krystal and Purple, going to do some reading, calling and visiting now and see whether or not we can achieve something positive

Thanks again.