Education - TusMundo

EHCP: ‘My autistic daughter has not been in school for 10 months’

January 7, 2024 Education 0

Sarah and her mum Louise Image caption, Sarah, aged 10, has been out of school since February By Munaza Rafiq & Nikki Fox Disability affairs producer & correspondent Record numbers of parents who feel they lack proper support for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are using legal tribunals to challenge councils' decisions. In nearly all cases, the parents are successful. The BBC spoke to two families about their experiences. For school-aged children, the weeks leading up to Christmas are usually filled with trips to the pantomime, Christmas plays and exchanging cards with friends. But not for 10-year-old Sarah. She spends most of her time in her bedroom and has not been to school since February. Sarah has ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and is autistic. She has struggled in mainstream education and her mother, Louise, says Sarah needs to be in a school that will cater for her needs. Louise adds that the situation is affecting the mental health of her daughter, who told her she would be "better off not here". Louise has been battling to get Sarah a place at an appropriate school for the past 10 months, and the pressure on the family is taking its toll. Boy with autism left without school for 18 months Parents call for more special needs school places New special educational needs schools 'years away' Parents of children with SEND have described the process that should deliver the support they need as "overwhelming" and "demoralising". A record number of families have registered a tribunal appeal to get an Education and Health Care plan (EHCP) for their children. The process to get an EHCP, which is a legal document outlining the support a child needs, is often lengthy, and can lead to costly tribunals between parents and local authorities. 'The system needs to work better' New figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show 13,658 families registered an appeal compared to 11,052 the previous year - an increase of 24%. This is nearly four times higher than in 2014, when EHCPs were introduced. Of the 7,968 decisions that made it all the way through to tribunal, 7,829 were ruled in favour of those making the appeal. A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: "The vast majority of education, health and care needs assessments and plans are concluded without the need to resort to tribunal hearings." They added the DfE knows "the system needs to work better for parents". More than 1.5 million pupils in England have SEND, and the latest DfE figures show 517,000 children were given an EHCP this year - the highest on record. However, the majority of appeals, 3,813, were about a local authority decision not to assess a child for an EHCP. The number of initial requests for a plan rose 23% from 2021 to 114,000. 'Terrified of everyone' Sarah's life is dominated by her diagnosis, her mum says, and she is often withdrawn, has low self-esteem and no confidence. Sarah has been issued an EHCP, but her mum does not feel it is "a true reflection of her need" and is contesting some of its contents. Based on an assessment by an educational psychologist, the plan states Sarah can attend a mainstream school, but Louise argues that is not the right place for her daughter and wants the council to name a specialist school in the plan. Sarah IMAGE SOURCE,BBC NEWS / JOHN BOON Image caption, Sarah has struggled with her mental health since being out of school Data shows this is the part of EHCPs that families contest most. Sarah's family has spent £2,500 to get her assessed by a private educational psychologist and occupational therapist, who both suggest she should be in a specialist school. Louise says the prolonged process has put a lot of "strain on her own mental health as well as her and her husband's relationship". She is due to go to tribunal in January, joining the thousands already in the system. 'Broken system' Chrissy Meleady runs Equality and Human Rights UK, and has been helping Louise and other families like her. She is currently looking after 500 cases - all of them families appealing their EHCP and due to go to tribunal. Data from the MoJ shows 98% of local authority decisions were overturned in favour of families last year. Chrissy says the "system is broken" and many families she deals with are having "nervous breakdowns". She says it is not uncommon for families to take out loans to pay for private assessments for their children. Underfunding from central government for local SEND provision, coupled with the growing number of children diagnosed with SEND, means councils are facing backlogs just to get children assessed. 'Smiles every day' Once EHCPs are in place, children and families say they can be life-changing. Josef, 11, has been attending a specialist school since September. His mother, Hannah, says she sees the difference in her son every day when he comes home smiling - something she says never happened when he was in mainstream school. Josef was diagnosed with ADHD and autism when he was seven. Hannah says before he had an EHCP he was "surviving not thriving" in a mainstream primary school. Josef IMAGE SOURCE,FAMILY HANDOUT Image caption, Josef's mum says he has been happy since moving to a specialist school She describes trips to A&E after he had tried to hurt himself and said he would tell her it was a way of "punishing himself". Hannah is a special educational needs solicitor who specialises in SEND cases, and says navigating the system, even for her, was "overwhelming". She says parents she speaks to are often at the verge of giving up before they have even started. Hannah's case did not end up going to a tribunal. The DfE says this is the case with most EHCP assessments and it plans to strengthen mediation between parents and councils to avoid them. The government said "high-needs funding" for those with complex needs is rising to £10.5bn in 2024-25 - an increase of more than 60% since 2019-20. However, the Local Government Association (LGA) says councils still face "significant financial challenges" when it comes to funding Send, and further "urgent" action from the government is needed. Louise Gittins, a councillor and chairwoman of the LGA's children and young people board, told the BBC some councils would be forced to declare themselves bankrupt, because of their high spending on Send provisions. She said councils have asked her "how are we going to fix Send because it's going to tip us over the edge?".

Image caption, Sarah, aged 10, has been out of school since February By Munaza Rafiq & Nikki Fox Disability affairs producer & correspondent Record numbers of parents who feel they lack proper support for their children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are using legal tribunals to challenge councils’ …

Free childcare: When will the 15 hours for two-year-olds begin?

January 7, 2024 Education 0

baby By Lucy Gilder & Vanessa Clarke BBC News Working parents in England can start applying for 15 hours of funded childcare for their two-year-old from 2 January. The plans, first announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, are being introduced to help with the high costs of childcare. From April, working parents of two-year-olds will get 15 hours per week during term time, with children from nine months included from September. The expansion should have fully rolled out by September 2025. Who is eligible for 30 hours of free childcare, and how does it work? At the moment, working parents of three and four-year-olds in England are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week during term time. It is available for households where the parent or parents earn at least £8,670 a year, but less than £100,000. In the Spring Budget in March 2023, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said this scheme would be extended to cover younger children, on a phased basis: April 2024: eligible two-year-olds will be entitled to 15 hours of childcare per week during term time September 2024: eligible children from nine months will get 15 hours of childcare per week during term time September 2025: eligible pre-school children between nine months and school age will get 30 hours of childcare per week during term time Applications for the first phase have opened, but parents are advised to register between mid-January and the end of February. Extra free childcare helps higher earners - report Free childcare plan: 'Why do we have to wait?' Who is eligible for 15 hours of free childcare for two-year-olds? Some two-year-olds in England are already eligible for 15 hours per week of government-funded childcare during term time under certain circumstances, for example if the family receives universal credit. All three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of childcare which can be used in private nurseries, state-run pre-schools or childminders. The hours are available from the start of the term after the child reaches the relevant age. Child playing at nursery IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Not all private nurseries offer these hours, and some charge parents extra money on top, to cover additional items such as nappies or snacks. Will there be enough childcare places? BBC analysis estimates that demand for childcare places is likely to have risen by about 15% by the time the expansion is in place. This is equivalent to more than 100,000 additional children requiring full-time care. Childcare places in England fell by 1% in 2023, mainly because of childminders leaving the sector, but the government says the population of pre-school children is also decreasing. The government is offering a £600 incentive for people to become childminders (or £1,200 via an agency) and is planning a recruitment campaign in January. From April, it is also increasing the amount it pays providers to deliver childcare to an average of £11.22 per hour for under-twos, £8.28 for two-year-olds, and £5.88 for three and four-year-olds. Local authorities distribute the funding to nurseries and childminders so the exact amount they get depends on where they are based. But even the increased amount paid by government will not always cover the full cost. An Education Select Committee report in July 2023 concluded that underfunding had left the sector "straining to provide" enough places. The plans to expand funded childcare could allow 60,000 more parents of young children to enter the workforce, according to the government's independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). But Paul Johnson, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank, predicted that plans would only help "a few tens of thousands" of parents return to work. What other financial childcare help is available? Under the tax-free childcare scheme, the government pays £2 for every £8 families contribute, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 for disabled children). The money can be used for approved childcare including childminders, nurseries, nannies, and after-school clubs. It can be used as well as free childcare hours if parents qualify for both. Families claiming universal credit (UC) who aren't using the tax-free childcare scheme can get up to 85% of their childcare costs back. UC recipients can claim £951 each month for childcare for one child, and £1,630 for two or more. Parents moving into paid work or increasing their working hours receive the support upfront, instead of having to reclaim it, as was previously the case. Parents under 20 in England, who are at school or sixth form college, can also receive weekly payments under the Care to Learn scheme, worth £180 per child per week outside London, or £195 inside the capital. Why more parents face losing child benefit Are 15 and 30 free hours childcare available across the UK? At the moment all three and four-year-olds are entitled to some free childcare throughout the UK. Different schemes operate in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but wherever you live, care must be delivered by officially-registered providers. Scotland: Humza Yousaf announces plan to improve childcare What help is there with childcare costs in Wales? Northern Ireland: Pre-school education plans 'do not go far enough' How expensive is childcare across the UK and how does it compare to other countries? The average cost of full-time nursery (50 hours a week) for a child under two in Britain is nearly £15,000 a year, according to the charity Coram. Equivalent care from a childminder is nearly £13,000. The UK is the third most expensive country for childcare among members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), behind Switzerland and New Zealand. The OECD figures are based on a family with two children aged two and three who attend nursery for at least 40 hours a week, and take into account available state support. Chart showing childcare costs by OECD country How do childcare costs affect women? Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says about 1.3 million women don't work due to caring responsibilities. They are part of a wider group called the "economically inactive", who are neither employed nor actively seeking work. The Women's Budget Group network says 1.7m women in England would do more paid work if they had better childcare.

By Lucy Gilder & Vanessa Clarke BBC News Working parents in England can start applying for 15 hours of funded childcare for their two-year-old from 2 January. The plans, first announced in the 2023 Spring Budget, are being introduced to help with the high costs of childcare. From April, working …

Claudine Gay resigns as Harvard University president

January 7, 2024 Education 0

Congressman Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, posted on X, formerly Twitter, "two down, one to go" in a reference to the three college presidents who testified on Capitol Hill.

IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERSImage caption, Claudine Gay served as Harvard president for just six months By Max Matza BBC News Harvard University’s president has resigned after facing allegations of plagiarism and criticism over her comments about antisemitism on campus. Claudine Gay had faced mounting pressure to step down in recent weeks. In …

SEND diaries: Mothers record ‘typical day’ parenting their children

January 7, 2024 Education 0

Stanley Image caption, Olivia says she has "desperately" searched for a spot in a specialist school for her son Stanley By Clodagh Stenson BBC News Children out of education, careers cut short and crumbling mental health. These are some of the ways parents of children with special educational needs (SEND) say they are being impacted by a system struggling with demand. BBC South Investigations has spoken to three women to see how they cope with limited support. It comes after research by the BBC in 2023 found half of state-funded schools in England for SEND children were oversubscribed. Leeanne from Southampton, Alicia from Winchester and Olivia from Didcot in Oxfordshire have all recorded video diaries showing their 'typical day'. Presentational grey line 'I've had a black eye, split lip' Media caption, Southampton mother says it took two tribunals to secure SEND school Leeanne says on a "typical, normal day" her six-year-old son Albie is a "lovely, happy boy". But she has struggled for the last two years while he has been unable to attend a mainstream school. Albie has been out of school since 2022, as Leeane says he found it too overwhelming and could not complete a full day in class. The mother-of-five says he stopped attending on medical grounds but she has been fighting to find him a place in a specialist school. After two tribunals, she told the BBC that has happened but the process has taken its toll on her. Leeanne was diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety and is unable to work as she is a full-time carer for Albie. She says the stress of the situation led to the breakdown of her marriage, and 2023 had been "really hard". Presentational grey line 'I'm becoming a shell of my former self' Media caption, Winchester mother questions choice to send autistic son to school Leeanne's daughter Alicia is coping with a similar situation. Her four-year-old son Loui was diagnosed with autism after his first year of attending a mainstream school. The mother-of-two says she had to leave her career in telecommunications as the school would call her "at any moment" to go and collect Loui. She explains her son is overstimulated by the typical classroom setting, which has led to a pattern of school refusal and daily meltdowns. Alicia also says day-to-day activities, like grocery shopping, medical appointments and haircuts, have been abandoned, as she prioritises preventing situations that could overstimulate her son. Presentational grey line 'Quite often I'll end up getting into bed with him' Media caption, A mother from Didcot says her autistic son has had no school offers Olivia says she recently felt "really down, really low and lonely" after her five-year-old son Stanley lost out on a potential school placement. He has autism, a sensory processing disorder and a severe speech delay, and was preparing to make the transition from nursery to primary school in 2024. But Olivia says due to her son's special educational needs, no school has offered him a place. The mother-of-three explained Stanley's anxiety about going to school has now heightened and he is increasingly refusing to go out to nursery. Olivia says they have "desperately searched" for a school, but she is struggling with her self-worth as she is currently unable to work. Presentational grey line 'We work extremely hard' Local authorities say they "understand the worries" many families of children with special educational needs have, in terms of securing them places in specialist schools and securing appropriate support. Councillor Steve Forster, from Hampshire County Council, says: "We work extremely hard to provide the right levels of assistance to meet a child's individual needs but the significant increase in the number of children and young people requiring extra support, which has risen exponentially in recent years, is putting additional pressure on our services." He says the additional pressure on services in this area is "a national issue", which will require increased funding and legislative change. Loui Image caption, Alicia says she questions whether its is right to send her son to a mainstream school but places in specialist schools are hard to secure A spokesperson for the Department for Education says the government is increasing its funding by 60% for special and alternative provision places to £10.5bn in 2024. They add: "Every child deserves to have access to education that meets their needs. Councils are responsible for providing the right support for children in their areas, but we know there is more to do." County fails special needs children, report says SEND parents join rally to urge system reform Lessons in cupboards in crowded specialist schools In September an Ofsted inspection found "long-standing failings" in Oxfordshire's special educational needs and disabilities services, leading to a "tangible sense of helplessness" among families. Councillor Kate Gregory, from Oxfordshire County Council, says: "We recognise that we are only at the start of our improvement journey and that it will take time for real change to be felt by families." She says progress has been made but "much more is to come" and the authority is "determined to make a real difference".

Image caption, Olivia says she has “desperately” searched for a spot in a specialist school for her son Stanley By Clodagh Stenson BBC News Children out of education, careers cut short and crumbling mental health. These are some of the ways parents of children with special educational needs (SEND) say …

Primary school places: When do applications close?

January 7, 2024 Education 0

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES By Hazel Shearing & Julia Bryson Education correspondent Most parents of children due to start primary school in autumn 2024 need to apply for a place. Different rules and deadlines apply in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. When do I need to apply for a primary …