Hi all, hoping someone has been through this and can share how it went.
Our son is autistic with complex needs, has an EHCP, and starts school in Lambeth in September. The school has told us he'll need his 1:1 to safely access breakfast and after-school club, which we need five days a week as we both work full time with no family nearby. The catch is they've said the cost of that 1:1 is down to us, roughly £20 to £50 an hour, on top of the club fees which we cant afford.
His EHCP coordinator says it can't be funded under Section F because it's outside school hours, and has pointed us to social care to be looked at under Section H. We've put in for a social care assessment but it won't be done before he starts, and im not sure if thats the solve?
A few things I'd love to hear from others on:
- Has anyone actually got the 1:1 for wraparound care funded, and which route worked, Section H/social care, the school as club provider under reasonable adjustments, direct payments, or something else?
- If the LA won't fund it and the school won't either, how did you break the deadlock?
- Did anyone get interim support in place while a social care assessment was still running?
- For context, we know another child at the same school already gets this support, so we know it's possible, we just can't work out who's meant to pay.
Any experiences, good or bad, would be really appreciated. Trying to get this sorted before September so he can actually start on the same footing as everyone else. Thank you.
