Refused funding for specialist secondary school

dorothy1958

My granddaughter is coming up to secondary school age. She is registered as blind and the school we are looking at is outside our borough and is a specialist school. Previously she has been in mainstream. Our local council have refused funding . who can I contact to help with appeals

Pippa_Scope

Hi @dorothy1958, thanks for sharing this with us and I'm so sorry to hear you're having trouble with funding. 

I wonder if @melaniethorley or @Scope_rosie can offer any suggestions here? 

dorothy1958

Any advice would be gratefully accepted, thanks

[Deleted User]

Hey @dorothy1958

Yes, the local SENDIASS team would be a good starting point.  If you can tell us which local authority your granddaughter resides in we can look up contact details for you.

It would also be worth thinking about the basis of the appeal.  LA's generally like to place in the cheapest suitable option, so you'll need to demonstrate why the mainstream is not suitable - cannot meet her needs.

Does your granddaughter have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)?  
EHCPs are the new version of SEN statements (in England) and detail the needs and support a child will need to succeed across education, health and social care.  it's a legal document; what's in the EHCP must be provided, and there is a section of the document that details the named school that the child will attend.  

Different rules apply in Wales though, so let us know if that's where she is!

Best,

-Rosie

endo64

HI Under the SEN Policies and procedures it states that every child has a right to choice. If the child has the capacity to make a choice. I used this when my sons funding for a specialist residential blind school. I was also the first ever parent invited into a closed funding meeting but only after I emailed the educational Minister stating my child's case and local government transparency policies. 

hope this helps