Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many local authorities are denying funding to parents of children with special educational needs who seek places at independent schools with appropriate provision for them.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to assess whether children and young people have complex special educational needs requiring an education, health and care (EHC) plan. When drawing up an EHC plan, the child’s parents or (from age 16) the young person has a statutory right to request that a particular institution be named on the EHC plan. If the institution is one of those specified in Section 38(3) of the act, the local authority is under a qualified duty to name the institution, and the institution must admit the child or young person.

Independent special schools may choose to bring themselves in scope of this duty by asking to join the Secretary of State’s approved list (under Section 41 of the act). 155 independent special schools have chosen to do so.

A parent or young person may request a placement in an independent school that is not on the Section 41 list. The local authority is not under the same conditional duty to name the provider, but must have regard to the general principle in Section 9 of the Education Act 1996 that children should be educated in accordance with their parents’ wishes, so long as this is compatible with the provision of efficient instruction and training and does not mean unreasonable public expenditure. The local authority should be satisfied that the institution would admit the child or young person before naming it in a plan, since these providers are not subject to the duty to admit a child or young person even if named in an EHC plan. If a local authority names an independent school, independent special school or special post-16 institution in an EHC plan, then they must secure a place and fund any fees, including any boarding and lodging where relevant.