S.41 Schools
If you name a s.41 school in an EHCP do they have to admit the child for a residential placement if that's what is specified in the plan or can they say that the power to direct only extends to a day placement?
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If you name a s.41 school in an EHCP do they have to admit the child for a residential placement if that's what is specified in the plan or can they say that the power to direct only extends to a day placement?
This is a good question and I'm not at all sure what the answer is. In practice it seems obviously best to get clarity and agreement through the consultation but I assume you are envisaging a situation where you and/or the parent want to admit for both and the school is only agreeing to admit for day placement and refusing to admit to residential. Residential schools are children's homes if they accommodate one or more children for more than 295 days per year so I can see that in those cases they could say that admission to the 'school' is only to the day placement because the residential provision is a children's home not a school. I can also see that if the residential placement is named on educational grounds the argument they have to admit for both is much stronger than if it is named on non-educational (e.g. social care/distance) grounds. If the tribunal is involved it is ultimately their problem to resolve, if you are not in tribunal then ultimately it would have to be resolved by the SoS or via judicial review.