How to get son with statement into a private school

[Chewmebush]

My son is due to go to mainstream comp in September. They are doing little to put appropriate measures in place for him. Where would I stand in getting funding for a private school? He is bright. The top of his class expecting level 5's across the board in SATs. I appreciate any advice. Thank you.

What sort of support does he need?

He has outburst relating to sensory issues.

I can understand your concerns then re mainstream. How are the school saying they will exactly meet his statement needs?

Head at primary says he needs access to a bolthole, a place to run to. Also he needs to have access to a person to hear him out when he needs to get things off his chest. His transition groups at secondary school are very low ability so don't meet his academic needs. His statement details that he should be having weekly full days at the secondary school which they are not implementing.

Chew do you mean how would you get the LEA to pay for the place? Private schools will accept children with statements, more so if they are academically bright. However, if you are asking for his place to be funded by his statement, you may have a fight on your hands. the school itself will not be worried who pays the bills, but the LEA may be reluctant to pass that cash over to an independent unless you can prove categorically it's the right place for your ds. Have you seen/visited any private school you like that are able to cater for his needs?

Madam- yes I would be looking at attempting to get the lea to fund. At the moment he is leaving a small primary, with small classes to go to a large secondary. The only other smaller secondary (but with still big classes) have told me they cannot meet his needs. His statement does say in a positive light that he has improved this year in a small class and I thought that I could use this in trying to get independent funding.

There are a couple of independents which I think may be suitable near to where we live.

I think you may be too late for September entry . There are later exam sittings for independents around us but usually Easter is a cut off. Also they may not have resources to support him. At dc school classes are not always below 20. As to getting LA funding that in itself could prove a battle .

Chew yes, def too late for entry at privates for this September unless they have places and willing to take your ds etc etc. Also, that school would prob need to be named in his statement?? You need to get out there and ask the questions really. I will be in the same boat for senior school ....

Many private schools offer a bursary scheme, you would have to contact the school direct, is he bright enough for a scholorship? I think you would be hard pushed to get lea to pay, since they only have to provide "adequate" education not "the best". Good luck tho x

ds2 is at a private school but has a mainstream comp named on his statement. The LEA send someone to his annual reviews but don't pick up the tab because its not named in Part IV. To get it named (and therefore get the fees paid by the LEA) you would need to be able to show that it is the only place where his needs as set out in part 2 and 3, can be met and therefore you would also be stating why the comp he is due to go to can't meet his needs. In our case, the comp could meet ds's basic needs, but the private school suited him much better - the law would not be on my side if I challenged the LEA to get part IV changed

If you had the money you could go private and then appeal once there but you'd have to bear in mind what would happen if you lost at tribunal, could you afford to keep your ds there

I would start by finding a school you would be happy for him to go to and then ask them if they would be willing to support your case for going to tribunal to ask for funding through the statement

Hi
I managed to get my daughter into an independent school in east sussex recently after taking the authority to Tribunal. They conceded and now fund nearly 20 thousand per year.I had no legal representation and it was stressful but it can be done. My daughter did not get statemnet until year 6 when she was diagnosed with severe speech,language disorder . I had a lot to learn but googled everything i could. The main thing appears to be proving lack of progress in mainstream , also I found it useful to ask for data protection documents as emails they sent between themselves gave away their true thoughts.

Just wanted to add that private schools are notorious for not wanting dc with any behavioural issues. If you are going to prove that mainstream can't meet your dc needs then you are going to need to be clear on all his problems and needs you may then find private school unless it is a specialist school will run a mile.

Cansu ... not always the case. We have a few NT private schools in our area with specialist learning centres for kids with SEN .. ADHD, ASD etc ... you just need to suss them out