Local authority funding school place, any success stories?

[Gimmesomemore]

My dsil, is hoping to get her youngest ds a place at a specialist school for a health condition that isn't being managed very well at present.

They are really excited that this school (approx 2 hours away) will really suit dn's needs, and that he'd be able to get the best shot at an education.

The only problem is the costs. Currently our local authority pay roughly £40,000 per school year for his current place, where this specialised school will cost over £80,000! As he will have to stay on weekly boarding.

I've told dsil that I'll help in any way, and she is prepared to have a fight on her hands.

I'm not sure how successful they'll be, so any advice would really be appreciated.

It does happen. Does the child have a Statement or EHC Plan, do you know? It seems very unlikely that he will get a place funded at a private special school without that (although I could be wrong).

I personally know of two parents in my borough who simply named a private school in the Statement and were given a place. Several others have had to go to tribunal and/or get solicitors involved, but have eventually been awarded the funding.

Can I suggest you re-post or ask thread to be moved to SN chat? Lots of knowledgable posters there.

Thanks zusuki, I'll get this moved.

Yes he has been statemented twice now, so I'll check with Dsil if the report specifically mentions this as an ideal school.

The school will be named in his EHC plan. If there's no nearer alternative then they will pay for it, I know lots of children that have to have funded places dues to their needs.
Agree that SN boards will be able to advise fully

I've asked for it to be moved.

We have a DS at an independent specialist school (residential), his fees are higher than the costs in the OP. All the pupils at the school have LA-funded places, so it does happen.

The costs are important. With such a huge difference in fees your sister will probably have to argue that her DS's needs can only be met in her chosen school, and have all of this backed up by objective evidence. We had to pay for independent experts, as all the LA/NHS professionals are instructed not to give specific recommendations. We got legal advice from a solicitor, although you can get advice from charities as well (e.g. Ipsea).

Even with lots of support and professionals involved, it took over a year to get an agreement in place and took a lot of time and admin from me to oversee everything. It's emotionally/financially/physically draining, but DS has been at his school for three years now and I know if he'd stayed at any alternative suggested by the LA he would have failed miserably. So very much worth the fight in our case.

The indie residential school depend on LAs to fund the cast majority of places,so of course it happens, but it can take quite a lot of expert evidence with indie experts going into the LA choice of school and the parent's choice of school.

If the present school have said that dc is struggling, or they, the school, are struggling then that is great evidence, as is any diary evidence of what is happening day to day.
If they are really not getting the medical stuff right then it may be easier to convert the LA for a better placement to avoid some action for damages.

Also the health professionals can be quite good at providing evidence about what risks schools are taking that they should not be.

Prepare for a job of gathering evidence to justify the extra expense, and with luck you will have the medics on your side to help get the school sooner than later

Thank you so much for the replies, so helpful.

Dn's current school are really struggling, and my dsil has to often collect him during the school day, as dn is currently very hyper.

So I think his school will be behind their decision to try and get him moved to a more suitable school. They already had one fight with the LA to get him moved to his current school.

They are feeling guilty at the prospect of sending him on a weekly boarding basis. But they feel that the school would be his best chance at getting the best education possible. Nothing is straight forward is it!

Tell your Dsis not to feel guilty about the weekly boarding. DS has settled well into his placement, we do miss him a lot but have no doubt that it was the right decision for him. I know families who refused to consider residential placements at all because they didn't want their dc to live away from home, and they are really struggling now their dc reach adolescence because they were recommended a waking day curriculum, and simply aren't managing to cope now the child is older. How old is your DN?

They need to get advice about your DN having to be collected during the school day. It counts as an illegal exclusion, she should not be asked to do this. If she insists on a formal exclusion, this will build up evidence that the placement is unsuitable, so it's in her interests to get it all done properly. Ask Ipsea for more help about this.

Thought of this a bit late in the day, but these days the cost of your dsil's chosen school has to be weighed the cost of the LA's preferred school, PLUS any savings to the public purse.

So if the medical issues will be taken care of by the residential school instead of the NHS then that has to be taken into account for the cost comparison.

Another thought is that some parents move to be closer to the chosen school. BUT if it involves a change in LA then do very careful research. Some of them are dreadful.

Yesholly, dn is nearly 9. My dsil has had a couple of incidents that have really upset her. One occasion the staff were short in numbers, and they had a school trip planned for that day. They rang to ask that she keep him at home (as he would have needed two staff members at all times) and they made her feel guilty that all the other class children would miss out on their trip!

Also, every time dn's medication gets changed he suffers with side effects, where he can become more agitated and concentration goes completely. So not one method the teachers and assistants adopt lasts for very long. They'll end up calling dsil to go and collect him instead.

This new school has his health requirements covered. They have on site nurses and consultants that visit, so this side will be addressed within the school environment.

I am outraged at those stories

dc is entitled to go on school trips so that is disability discrimination. There are agencies who will provide cover staff if eg two people fall ill at the same time, so they just couldn't be bothered or didn't think.

And dc is entitled to full time education, not full time education except when they want dsil to take over.

dsil could consider giving them notice that she will not be able to collect him any more so could they put a plan together as to how they will manage those situations.

The outcome could give useful evidence for her case for needing her preferred school