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1:1 support for primary school wraparound care, who funds it? (Lambeth)

mumtoone

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.

Parents

  • This all gets a bit complicated. 1:1s generally aren't funded outside of the school day, that is definitely true. Schools have an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to ensure send kids can access things like wrap around care. Providing a 1:1 would be an example of a reasonable adjustment. However, you can't charge a parent for a reasonable adjustment - I do not think that is lawful. It does create a difficult situation for the school - they probably have limited funding and TAs don't usually work hours outside of the normal school day so someone does need to pay the 1:1. But I don't think they are allowed to charge you more to access something that other kids can just attend. Obviously the priority has to be the safety of your child and others.

    Your difficulty would be telling them you won't pay may might them say well it isn't safe for your child to attend, a 1:1 would be unreasonable. However, they need evidence in order to make this call and from what you've written, your child hasn't actually started yet? This begs the question... What is their evidence? Would you agree that your child would definitely need a 1:1 in order to attend? Obviously the priority has to be the safety of your child and others.

    I don't have any personal experience with this situation and I'll be honest, I've never heard of this happening. I would reach out to SENDIASS and IPSEA as suggested below. They can both give free advice and will be far more knowledgeable about the law etc.

    I can understand this is a difficult situation as I'm sure you don't want to be fighting with the school before he has even started. I assume this is a mainstream school? I would question, if they can't facilitate him attending a club, are they the right setting for him? I would question with the school what is going to happen if for example, your child's 1:1 is absent that day. I don't want to add to your worries but it would be of concern to me that they are already making rulings like that before he has even attended.

Reply

  • This all gets a bit complicated. 1:1s generally aren't funded outside of the school day, that is definitely true. Schools have an obligation to make reasonable adjustments to ensure send kids can access things like wrap around care. Providing a 1:1 would be an example of a reasonable adjustment. However, you can't charge a parent for a reasonable adjustment - I do not think that is lawful. It does create a difficult situation for the school - they probably have limited funding and TAs don't usually work hours outside of the normal school day so someone does need to pay the 1:1. But I don't think they are allowed to charge you more to access something that other kids can just attend. Obviously the priority has to be the safety of your child and others.

    Your difficulty would be telling them you won't pay may might them say well it isn't safe for your child to attend, a 1:1 would be unreasonable. However, they need evidence in order to make this call and from what you've written, your child hasn't actually started yet? This begs the question... What is their evidence? Would you agree that your child would definitely need a 1:1 in order to attend? Obviously the priority has to be the safety of your child and others.

    I don't have any personal experience with this situation and I'll be honest, I've never heard of this happening. I would reach out to SENDIASS and IPSEA as suggested below. They can both give free advice and will be far more knowledgeable about the law etc.

    I can understand this is a difficult situation as I'm sure you don't want to be fighting with the school before he has even started. I assume this is a mainstream school? I would question, if they can't facilitate him attending a club, are they the right setting for him? I would question with the school what is going to happen if for example, your child's 1:1 is absent that day. I don't want to add to your worries but it would be of concern to me that they are already making rulings like that before he has even attended.

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