chris54

Lifted from a news letter sent to me. Personal Independent Payment Presentation (PIP) Helping disabled people live full active and independent lives. Dave Winterton–From the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). There are still consultations ongoing about the PIP, this presentation is a work in progress and as such information supplied, whilst currently correct, is subject to change in the future during political changes to the final document. We have been asked to get what information we have to our members PIP will replace the Disability Living Allowance for people of working age from April 2013. DLA was unsustainable in the long term, complex and confusing with very little independent evidence & no systematic review. It will retain the key features of the DLA, not means tested, not taxable and payable when both in work or out of it. Criteria will change a bit, based on the individual circumstances of the person claiming, the impact of their disability / condition, and the extent to which they are able to live independently No changes are currently happening to attendance allowance or children's DLA. If you get DLA before you were 65, you don't get on to Attendance allowance, and you will continue to receive it. Motability still in consultation. It seems likely that it will carry on pretty much as is. Assessment for PIP will involve a health professional in a face to face consultation and will consider evidence from any professional who supports you on a regular basis. The health professional will provide advice to a benefit decision maker at the DWP. The decision maker will use all of this information to decide your entitlement to PIP. PIPs will be made for shorter periods and more objective about how a disability affects you on a day to day basis. Will reflect fluctuation conditions. There will be a daily living component and Mobility components, only 2 rates in each Standard and Enhanced rates. Many hand outs are available on the DWP website. Also a FAQ. The Department for Work and Pensions would like your feedback about the proposed changes. Further information and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the website at their consultation address www.dwp.gov.uk/pip until the end of June.

I saw a bit on the telly, cant remember what program it was but there's these two nutters who had some Flesh surgically removed from there rear. They then had it cooked and eat it.

Further to my earlier comments. When in discussion with people (face to face) I will often play devil's advocate. I soon learnt not to do that on here.

Assault is a criminal act no mater where it happens. But it is unusual for the polices to take any action when it happens at school unless there is serious injury, leaving it for the school to sort out. From the opening post this sound like a poor school, with very poor staff. I would also make a complaint to whoever it is in Scotland that inspects school. As it is a church school (Not knowing what faith,) I would also make a complaint to someone high up in the church hierarchy, not just local as they may be to close to what is going on to take action. And dont forget to complane to the LA.

There are one or two knowledgeable individuals on here who often have a constructive contribution to make. If you been around any time you will know that it goes in phases. Iv know it were if it were possible it has almost come to blows such was the disagreement. I often read the post at work but cannot contribute at that time, and often by the time I get around to it my point has been made. My post tend to be short as due to my dyslexia, It takes my some time to compose then edit and correct, before I post. If I could get my ideas down easy I would be a prolific poster. Anyone who knows me will tell you that once I get my teeth into a subject there is no stopping me. This forum is what its members make it.

It for people who like twittering on and on and on The word twitter was always used to describe someone going on about nothing in particular, or keep repeating the same old thing."They keep twittering on about it" Its was used to describe what birds do, they twitter.

For Local academy read local school as, apart from the grammar schools it is the only school and serves of 15mile radius. It works with the boys grammar school to offer a wider rang of A level subjects. The girl grammar school pulled out of this agreement. The boys grammar now also takes post 16 girls as well. (Both post 16 boys and Girls from the academy attend the boys grammar school.)

Going of at a tangent for a moment. As far as the law is concerned, historically, Queen Victoria could not perceive the idea of lesbianism which influenced the laws of that time. Being a male homosexual was illegal but the same was never true of lesbians. Some cultures have no problem with the different "Types" of sexuality.(If that the right way to put it). (Almost felt a Frankie Howerd moment coming on) I am what I am. As the song goes. And I cant perceive being any difference. I cannot realy understand what it is that make some people feel they are the wrong sex. But I try not to judge.

The the school my son goes to is an Academy. It policy at the present time is to offer ALL of its pupils a post 16 place tailoring a course to suite that child's ability/wishes. As we have grammar schools here which already filter of the top 25%, it is likely that a higher than average proportion of these courses will be non academic. If the value of these courses is down graded how will that stand when it comes to measuring the schools achievements. Will the school feel it cannot continue this inclusive policy, if so what will its children with SEN do then Post 16. Bering in mind that because we have selective education here (Grammar schools) it already has a higher proportion of SEN children than average at the school.

The way it generally works is that each school is allocated so much of the EP time and have to use it as best they can. So most urgent cases get seen first. EP time is a very scarce commodity.

Probably can't believe what they see so keep checking.

We are all educating our children all the time. Education does not stop at the school gate.

If your original letter was to the Director of Social Services, doesn't that give her a clue. it was probably filed under WB. ( Waste Bin.)

Dependent on who much your daughter understands, If it is just help she need, then there is nothing to stop you help her fill in the form. If she has no understanding and someone has to fill it in for her that someone could be you. There is nothing to say that she has to physical fill in the form, as long as you put down what she wants and then she signs it. My wife will often get me to help compose what she wants to say, when filling in forms. Any evidence would need to be up to date. There are some big changes in the pipeline for DLA.

"school leavers have no idea about the work environment" When employers say that what do they expect. They've just left school of course they have no idea about the work environment. If I work in a factory, or a shop, or on a building site, I don't need to know anything about, history, geography, maybe a bit about science, I only need to be able to do basic maths, to read and write. If it is the function of schools to teach students how to do a job why wast money teaching all these things that are of no use to them in work. No, education is much more than preparing children for work. It is about preparing them for life.

I has thought for a long time that we are being dishonest to our young people about education. Back when I was at school it was,"Do well in your GCE/CSE if you want a good job." Now it "Do well at university if you want a good job" If the target of 50% going to university is met then clearly only a small number of these graduating will find a job that reflect their Qualifications. My company advertise for up to graduate qualified staff, but pays little more than minimum wage. I am one of the most experienced of their workers, but I am the least qualified, (In that field of work). For the majority of people what they do at school and/or university should be seen as life enhancing and not the first step on a career ladder. For most it has no relevance to their final career path at all. I do not think of myself as of have a career, I have had a series of jobs. Ranging from digging holes on building sites to caring for new born babies, to looking after learning disabled. (What I do now) Apart from basic Maths and English, what I learnt at school, academically, has made little impact on my ability to do these jobs. How well or otherwise a child does at school can be used as measure of their ability to learn now skills. If that is the case it is important for a SEN child, like any other, to do as well as possible at school.

About targeted SEN resources. I have posted before about my time at a special school back in the 60s. Then, it was only children that it was thought after an intensive period of educational intervention would be able to return to mainstream that were included. If not you were just left in mainstream doing colouring at the back of the class room. If after a period of time if you were not making any progress at the special school you would be returned to mainstream. It was felt that the meager resources should be directed were they would do most good. There were other types of special schools but they did little more than babysit the children untill they were 16 and at the end of education. That was the past, will it be the future?

And by then we will have had a change in government and they will start all over again.

Another problem with the SEN system now is that it seems to be "all or nothing". So if say I choose to place my ASD son in a private school the LA will wash their hands of him and not contribute to the costs attributable to his SEN as they would have to in mainstream school. So even if we are willing and able to contribute to getting our son the best education that is very difficult to achieve with a SEN child. Its been explained to me that if you had a system that enabled Parents to "Top up" the education fund spent on their child (SEN or otherwise), it would open up the system that would enable people who would send the child to private school anyway (The better off), using it as a way of "Subsidising" the cost of a private education at tax payers expense.

It takes two to argue.

This highlights the point I was making. Here there is no NAS representation at all. There is one Asperger's group, but it is only a talking shop of a hand full of people and if you don't agree with the man who runs it you are not made welcome. There are no other fully appropriate groups at all, being mainly aimed at those with the more serious learning disabilities, or physical disabilities.

Well I don't know what Id put it down to but my son has never had any fear of animals, even big ones with sharp teeth.(at zoos etc) When he was smaller we always had to make sure he didn't try to get to friendly.

As I have said before, anyone can work (Stephen Harking has always earned a living) given enough support. But there come a limit as to how much support it is realistic to give. So people are taken off IB and join the ranks of the unemployed. So more and more people are chasing each job that come up, so employers can keep wages down. By loosing disabled status you may well loss out on other services so saving the exchequer even more. My wife has her medical assessment on Friday.

I seem to remember right back when there ideas were first being talked about, the doing away of statementing, that it was raised at a number of meeting I attended "To go to a special school you need a statement, if no statement are issued what happens then?" The previous government wanted more inclusion. This government said they don't. Could we end up with more special school places but no funding.

But who decide what "Appropriate Provison" is? I don't think you can say that anything a disabled child NEEDS should be provided by support groups. They have their place but as it is the luck of the drew whether there is one in you geographical area or your area of need, they cannot be relied on. Any help they give must be seen as a bonus. I agree that as a society we need an open discussion as to how much we, the tax payer is prepared to fund in all areas of health, care, education, welfare etc Politicians of all colors have there own party agendas, the extreme of which they try to hide from us while at the same time trying to pleasing their own supporters. Disabled are being told to go out and fine work, the old are being told to work longer, mothers are being told to go back to work, but we have rising unemployment. If we neglect the education of the most vulnerable, then we do ourselves no good. (By education I mean it in its broadest sense)