Special educational needs with statement but cannot find suitable school.

[ronaldmacdonald]

Hello all I just wondered whether anyone has any knowledge on applying to private special schools with a SEN. My child is 9 years old, reasonably high functioning To cut a very long story short, things have been so difficult for so long at his mainstream school that I'm now at the stage where I think enough's enough, it's time to give him some hope and get him out of there. He's learned virtually nothing in the last two years.

The few state special schools I've looked at in London do not cater for his needs and both schools said I would find it difficult to find him a state special needs school because he is not low functioning. I am now looking at a private school (phoned them by accident thinking they were state schools) and they say that a child with a full statement can be accepted in their private school as long as the school can meet his SEN and authority agree.... So I just wondered has anybody else heard of this, or does anybody know what the process is? I find it hard to believe that a private school which charges more than 25K per annum will allow a child to attend funded only by the local authority. I have yet to arrange a viewing with the school as I'm terrified i'll get there and they'll be talking money (as I have none :-)
Thanks if there's anyone that can help x

Mcds

Hardly anyone posts on this board.

Try the SN Children one as that has loads of posters who could help.

Yes it is possible! View the school, explain your situation, they can often help especially if they already have children placed by the LA already. Is the school located within your authority?

Hi ronaldmacdonald

If you find that you LA will provide this assistance then try..... www.portland-place.co.uk/Admissions/

and
www.academyschoolhampstead.com/testimonials

and this might be interesting: www.kingalfred.org.uk/king-alfred-school/king-alfred-philosophy/educational-aims.html

I was once terrified too. But in fact I found most of them very welcoming and kind. It's especially nice when you get to meet the pupils and they show you around the school. You can then ask additional questions and get a feel for the school even better.

Best of luck. Please do post if you get your LA to help as we may be moving in that direction of getting statements etc too.

My son was in a private school with a TA and statement. We paid the school fees and LA paid for the TA ( LA didn't like it though). Maybe you could get a bursary. The LA will probably only pay the actual school fees if you can show that the state schools available cannot meet his needs. Make sure you get a clear understanding of who is paying what and what has been agreed.....at one point our LA tried to say they had never agreed to pay the TA's salary if we were in a private school....which was stressful. He is now in the state school. The other issue we found is that in a private school you may be the only statemented person and only one with a TA, our son stuck out like a sore thumb.good luck finding a school.

If the school is the only one which can meet his needs then the cost of fees are irrelevant. Most state special schools deal with dc with moderate/severe LDs so if your child is high functioning then it may be that only a private special school is suitable. My dd has high functioning asd but with a complex presentation, so the nearest suitable school means boarding, costing our LA over £200k pa. Don't let the fees cloud the issue, just focus on your son's needs and look for a placement that meets them.

Sorry, just seen that you are focusing on a private special school so my last point won't apply. I would arrange a viewing and talk to them as it could help you clarify things. They will also help with process and may even help you with it. We looked at one private special school a few times (100k per annul day!!) but concluded it wasn't right anyway (luckily, as that would have been a battle with LA). Your parent partnership service may help, IPSEA and also your LA SEN key worker. Good luck sorting something.

My son goes to a private special needs school which the LA pays for. My case was that his needs didn't fit into the criteria of the surrounding state special schools and travelling further distance would be traumatic for him as he suffers from car sickness. I was ready to fight his case in every corner but thankfully they said yes straight away.