Can you get funding for one to one support in private schools?

[Hyperhelpmum]

My ds5 has possible ADD and dyspraxia and attends private school as we get large staff discount. They say he needs almost constant 1:1 to access curriculum due to difficulties with attention and following instructions. Can we get finding for 1:1 or do they assume we are rich because he is in private school? I'm do down. School make out he is struggling to keep up and I feel they are hinting he can't stay there long term. :(

Apply for statement. Yes u can get funding.

It varies from autority to authority what their policy on private schools is, and the code of practice is very unhelpful. SEN case law says that if local authorities name a private school they are accepting it as appropriate provision and can therefore be made to pay all school fees, at any time, in my local authority they would have to go to tribunal to make a statement for a child at private school as a consequence. You would need to speak to your local authority as an 'in theory' case to find out from them how they approach things. I think some of the London authorities (in particular) have 'ad hoc' arrangements but these are not really valid in SEN case law.

If the school don't want him, though, I would be considering seriously whether they deserve him. Stating a child needs full time one to one, presumably without investigating any therapeutic input , assessment of his needs, reasonable adjustments etc is potential quite a lazy 'solve the teacher's problem' solution. Without assessments, how do they actually know what his issues are and what support or therapeutic input he might need?

In my experience, it depends if your child is already there in the indie mainstream school. Or if part 4 of your DC's Statement names that indie school (probably as the result of an Appeal/Tribunal). You have more of a chance if your DC isn't already in the indie school.

As other's have said, it also depends on your LA. And also their relationship with the indie school.

My son was in a mainstream indie and LA wouldn't consider it at all - in fact he was turned down for SA as a matter of principle. As time went by towards my appeal because of refusal to assess, it became very clear that my LA absolutely hated the indie school he went to. I still have no idea why they hated the school so much, but I have some very damming documents as to the LA's feelings towards this school - despite it being Ofsted outstanding for its SEN.

I ended up removing my child from the indie school, home ed'ing him for a year and then Tribunal named an expensive indie SS which now totally supports all his needs.

It would have been tens of thousands of pounds cheaper (yearly) for the LA if they had agreed to my original request - that they only pay for the extra support/therapy/provision needed to keep him at the original indie school. But then my LA has never been logical as far as my DS or his original indie school has been concerned.

OP I fear you will have an uphill battle to get this. Also I vaguely recall seeing some case law that it doesn't matter if you get a staff discount. If the cost of the provision has to be decided by a Tribunal, then the full fees have to be taken into account - not the discounted fees.

I would also question if the school is actually able to support your DS, even with 1:1 support. Some private schools simply are not geared up to provide this kind of support. My DS's old school certainly wasn't able to - despite their Ofsted outstanding. We lurched from term to term with them not knowing what to do and them chucking inappropriate provision at him. It got worse as he went through year 3. It ended up with him getting an anxiety disorder precisely because of their methods and me having to home ed him to stop him having a nervous breakdown at the age of 8. Also thrown into the mix was the fact that after I withdrew him from the indie school, my LA refused to name a state mainstream school he could go to whilst he was assessed for his Statement.

Good luck if you decide to go ahead with it. I hope your experience with the LA and the indie school isn't as appalling as mine was.

Is he reception or year 1?

Either way you can apply for statutory assessment, and the processes involved even in saying'no' can be quite a good way to figure out whether he 'really' needs 1-1, or if he is just thought to need it because the private school can't cope with dc who are a bit different.

Theoretically you can get it put on a statement. But from my experience so far having something on a statement does not necessarily mean anything. I got one to one support in a private nursery included in our statement. Only problem is however, that was seven months ago and they still have not coughed up a penny (I just carried on paying for it). (Same for the "intensive VB" programme that was included in our statement. I have just carried on paying for it and they have not given us a penny towards it).

In my opinion, I'm an SLT so do have experience with children like this outside of DS, he is really not that bad. A bit away with the fairies and disorganised but he is very bright and doing well with literacy and maths. He just can't do as MUCH as his peers ie one sentence to their four, due to his distractibility. I think they just want all the children to be the same. ilikemysleep I am questioning if they hint they can't manage a child like my DS what kind of school are they? Some of the kids I see are non verbal and off the wall in mainstream schools. I think they need to get a grip and deal with it. DIFFERENTIATE!!!! Thanks for all your advice people. Will look into it theoretically!

Hyper, in my past life I'd accumulated enough qualifications and work experience to be a one-woman health, education and social care plan Meant that I clocked ds1's issues early on, but also to spending way too long denying they were real.

Getting a good ed psych to see him in the current setting might pave the way for the 'right' differentiation & help later (whether in this school, or another). If he bounces from this into a state mainstream primary, it can take forever to establish his underlying needs.