funding calculations from LA - advice please.

[beautifulgirls]

We are off to tribunal and asking for an independent specialist school placement. When the LA have calculated costs for the school they want (mainstream where she currently is) they have done it as this: Basic cost of mainstream school £0 + costs of additional provision £X = total £X

Are they right to put the basic costs as £0 here or should this also be a part of their calculations?

As I understood it, this is what the new funding changes, which iirc come in in March are to stop.

There is a thread about it somewhere, hang on I'll see if I can find it for you:

My thread when I got totally confused by the funding changes.

The really useful and informative thread I should have searched for before I posted mine.

Agnes's post of Thu 13-Sep-12 14:19:06 explains it all far better than I ever could.

Thanks!
As I understand it from 1 April all SEN placements should include costs of
£4k base funding in mainstream (AWPU)
plus any SN funding.
The first £6k funding comes from the mainstream school's own SEN budget
If a child needs more than £6k SEN funding then the LA has to top it up.
A SS placement would be a minimum £10k per place budget.
Not all LAs are ready to start implementing the new formula.
If you look at your council's minutes for school forum or committee which covers education there should be a report on school funding changes

So from 1 April 2013 the LA should have put the cost at £4k + £X
Any child with a statement should be a minimum cost of £10k (because otherwise the school could fund all the provision from delegated funding without a statement).
So £10k would be the bottom price.

This is to allow a proper comparison with special schools and recognise mainstream is not a nil cost.

If you are looking to be in SEND before April then you should include the AWPU - Age weighted Pupil Unit plus and Dedicated SEN money through the SSEN plus school tpt costs. If they say it has been delegated and dopes not count then challenge that and ask for the actual money spent as the case law is that all monies remain the LAs until spent - not devolved.