Refused funding for specialist secondary school — Scope | Disability forum
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Refused funding for specialist secondary school

dorothy1958
dorothy1958 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
edited March 2018 in Education
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

Comments

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
    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
    dorothy1958 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    Any advice would be gratefully accepted, thanks
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 126 Listener
    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
    endo64 Community member Posts: 20 Pioneering
    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

Brightness