Will the LEA still pay funding if a child goes to a private independent school?

[sammythemummy]

If I chose to send my child to a private school, will the LEA still pay the money agreed on the statement?

Sorry I meant Private/independent

my son goes to an indie asd school and the LA pay the fees but they dragged me to tribunal and the tribunal ordered he be placed there. it will come down to whether the school you want is the most economical use of resources - if there is a state school that can do it cheaper then they would expect them to go there - so its not impossible but can be a bit of a battle

Independent/Non-maintained Specialist schools do get funded, if the LA has no suitable provision, but it's usually a battle to get and not every child who needs it gets it.

Independent/Private mainstream, you're usually on your own, except in the rare cases when they do have extensive SEN provision (which may or may not actually be any good) or the school can be demonstrated to provide a suitable environment which couldn't be provided in the state sector

I meant a mainstream private school that you pay annual fees yourself.

So there's no way they'll continue paying towards a TA then?

Right now they are paying some of her funding directly to me to pay for her tutor whilst we're still looking for a suitable school.

My son attended a mainstream independent school from reception and we finally got the statement at the end of year 1. The LEA paid 20 of the 30 hours until the end of Year 2. This is because at the time the first 10 hours of a statement were paid for by the (state) schools sen budget. We continued to pay the fees. However he was at the school when we got the statement so slightly different scenario.

You will probably only get the funding if the LA agree that this is the only suitable school - but in that case they should fund everything. If the LA do not agree then you may need to fight them at tribunal for it. I am assuming your DD has a statement of special educational need? You have a right to appeal any changes or lack of changes at specific points (annual review, revised statement issued etc), so you may need to force the LA to finalise a statement for her if this is still pending and then place an appeal for what you want.

How old is your child and has the school offered a place? Is it secondary and if so have they passed Common Entrance and the school's own entrance exams?

In my limited experience of the two mainstream independent schools my dd went to, there were no TA's in school. Learning Support at Secondary school was 30 mins per week per pupil that needed it. (and extra on the bill !) As part of admissions, any Statements and Assessments had to be supplied and the school then advised if their curriculum was suitable for the pupil. It's not so much you choosing to send your child to an independent school, it's more the school deciding if they will accept your child.

I see.

My dd is only 4 and the school I was thinking of sending her to is an independent faith school.

But I guess you're right, it depends on whether they want to take her in.

All you can do is approach the school and ask. Every Independent school is different and has different criteria for admissions, every child's needs are different.

Look on their website and see what their ethos and policies are, plus their Admissions procedure. Visit and see what you think and most importantly be honest about your dd's needs and ask if they can be met/accommodated. Some are more flexible than others, you need to look at a few for comparison if you can.

You can sometimes do a deal with the LA whereby you pay the fees and they pay for the TA and/or therapies. For them it saves a bit of money as they're not paying the basic funding for the school place that they pay for all pupils in maintained schools.