bjkmummy

they have struck through every single one of our amendments - all were taken from professional reports and they have agreed exactly none of it. we changed some should to will which they had agreed in their response to tribunal for them to change them back to should. the whole thing is completely now unquantified and unspecified and we still have our private ed psych and SALT report to go in yet - thye are just going to agree to absolutely not a single amendment - the statement will read exactly the same way as when we started except that they have put some OT provision into part 6 whereas they clearly state in part 2 he needs it for his academic needs. i just feel drained and what a horrible horrible card to play when they know i have 2 SEN children. I just hope that karma comes back to them with bells on

My problem is that I am still awaiting my ed psych report to come in. Also although the NHS OT matches ours she was to,d in no uncertain terms she could not discuss placement but the conclusions re therapy are exactly the same and she talks about underlying issues not being addressed which is clearly a nod towards his placement. I am also sitting on a salt report the LA are unaware that I have which recommends therapy etc. the LA have not commissioned a salt report and their response states a decision at the original statementing process was that it was needed. No idea who made that decision but am slowly digging at that one.

just an update - my choice of school isnt sending someone yet but i can speak to them closer to the time - the issue is that it is in the school holdiays and the head has booked a holiday. he will provide me with as much written info that i need which is good. i got a phone call from one of the vice principals from our schools sister secondary - she has taken over the role of senco whilst my current head on maternity leave. the vice principal has asked me to name her for the tribunal to give evidence so i am going to have the current school on my side - the school state again they cannot meet his needs and want him to move on so now i have a vice principal from the current school, private OT and private ed psych. they have NHS OT and their ed psych. My ed psych commented when she came last week that she cannot understand why the LA are calling the NHS OT when she is against them so that just leaves their ed psych. Part of me want to ask the tribunal to throw the LA out on the basis that their reponse does not give clear reasons why they are objecting = just that they need more time to consider a report that they have now had for 2 months but i dont know how sucessful i would be or to just leave it and let the tribunal draw their own conclusions. in their response they state they got the OT report on 24/9 however in their response to my MP they state on 1/10 they are yet to receive it so somewhere they are lying - either to the MP or the tribunal

i would go and view the school and take it from there. moving children at any point can be difficult and as parents we worry that we are doing the right thing. i also say the school visits are a bit like looking at houses - within a few minutes you usually get a feel whether a school is right or not. all schools are different and there are some fantastic schools out there. i have had my fingers burnt in the past when i chose a school more for convience ie close to home when i knew it probably wasnt right. since then i have always listened to my inner voice and chose school that were right for my children even if it meant a bit more disruption on my part. i have 3 children - 2 are now settled and very happy - just the 3rd one to go and if i finally get his school place sorted i will have 3 children aged 11 and under in 3 different schools in 3 different counties!!!! 2 of them special schools

i dont understand why the inclusion officer wont attend - my guess is that they know they will be asked some very uncomfortable questions such as they have put it in writing that the current school cannot meet his needs and another school placement needs to be sought and yet are making us go to tribunal to get the school place. they also put in writing joe would get everything that he needs and to date have again done nothing except to send outreach in to say he is fine and needs no help yet their Ot report which was done the very next day completely contradicts it. The NHS OT report is a mirror image of ours although she would not comment on school placement as the LA told her not to as they feel that an OT cannot make the recommendations and yet off the record the NHS OT told the head she could compltely understand why Joe needs specialist provision. The LA also know they have no other suitabe school. at various points i have asked for schools to be considered -t hey have ignored my requests. they finally look at my school choice mainly due to pressure from my Mp - they wrote a letter to him stating that they were actively considering a place at the school for him, they then visited and have refused to speak to me so i have no idea if they even liked the school. they are now hiding behind the tribunal saying that they have to follow procedures which is laughable as to date they have basically done nothing. they are not calling anyone to dispute that the school cannot meet his needs so they seem to be accepting that - hopefully when the paperwork comes in the next hour it may become clearer

They aren't calling the NHS salt because he has not been seen since he was 5 - he's now 9. No salt report was done for the statement - they seem to be going along the path if 'done see it, don't have to provide it' I have a salt report which recommends 45 mins therapy per week by a salt experienced with autism plus 45 mins social skills group per week. He has social communication disorder and a moderate delay in his expressive language. Re the OT - she herself is only qualified to level 1 - she has recommended therapy which needs to be done by someone level 2/3 when she knows there is no one in county with that qualification. Their OT is lovely - its hard she is against us as she is also my elder sons OT. She has never been to tribunal before. My OT coming back to do a follow up report. I'm still shocked that they are not bringing someone from the LA

If I supena the sen officer does that count as one of my witnesses ie one of my 3? I've not had the full response yet, it's coming tomorrow special delivery. I was going to call OT, the head of my school choice and someone from current school. However now they are calling ed psych will have to call mine as well. The LA ed psych saw him in may for the emergency review. Report really wishy washy but made a few recommendations which the LA completely rejected so they don't even listen to him. The NHS OT report highlighted more difficulties than ours plus she's only qualified to level 1. It just seems odd they are using someone from another LA to do the paperwork but then at the hearing having someone who will be hired for the day. I would love to call the LA officer as it will be very uncomfortable for them. Deadline for LA response to tribunal is 5 pm tomorrow. On Monday I got an email asking for to me agree for the statementing officer to see joe to get his views. She is the worst possible person to send to see an anxious kid plus she is the one who has made us go down this path. I said that I wanted someone independent of the LA to see him plus any questions need to be visual and also I wanted to see the questions beforehand. They have not responded back yet!

had the form through earlier and the LA are calling the ed psych and the OT. what has confused me is that as LA representative is names a solicitor but nowhere on teh form does it state which LA officer is attending - is this normal? do they usually have to be down as a witness? or is it like us as parents that its assumed we will be there so not listed seperately on the form? they have a legal person working on the case who has sent this paperwork through - she says she is an education lawyer but then goes on to ask my permission to sit in on the tribunal as an observer as she wants to gain experience of tribunal which seems odd is shes an education solicitor but then it names another lawyer as the one attending the tribunal. i want to refuse her permission to sit in - its hard enough especailly when we are going to be unrepresented and have no support there except our witnesses - i dont want the hearing to be a goldfish bowl and i am being totally honest when i say it will make me feel very intimidated!

its tough sometimes isnt it? i know what you mean - having to face a send tribunal and the work/effort involved - hopefully it will start at one night and then you can at a later stage maybe get it increased. i think the most positive part is that they accept that he does need the overnight albeit for only one night a week

feels like they have offered you one night in the hope you will say okay then - may be worth you trying to argue for more as i bet they will then up it to 2

so far ive sent about 250 pages but then there is the NHS OT report to come - i ma get my own OT to go back in and do a further report nearer the time. I have also booked the ed psych and SALT. Joe has not seen a SALT since he was 5 - he is 9 now so i will be very interested to see what that report brings. Everyone seems to think that this is going to be sorted but ive got a bad feeling - its just how the lea are now acting. Autism outreach went into see him on weds - i had been told next tues - i just feeling like the lea are gathering more evidence to say that he will be okay in the mainstream. I have asked for the case to be expedieted so will wait and see what the tribunal come back with. my next big milestone will be when the NHS OT phones me on monday to discuss what happened at school yesterday and what her report is going to say. she has already told us that she cannot make any comment about school placement whereas mine has said special school. my Ot is qualified to level 3 in sensory intregration - lea OT isnt even qualified to level 1 although is very experienced. she has never attended a tribunal either - probably cos they know the tribunal will not be pleased to hear that she is writing reports etc when she isnt actually qualified to do so. my other headache is my head - she is going on maternity leave in 4 weeks - the baby is due at the end of nov. if the hearing is expedieted then doubt she could attend - if its left to february then she could, joe has a new teacher, joe is only in school in the mornings so his curretn teacher barely knows him - my plan would be if i cannot call the head then to call last years class teacher- she was in most of the meetings with the lea so she knows what is going on and she really understands him. joe said that when the OT saw him yesterday he was screaming and shouting at play time as the other children were playing tig and they kept touching him so he got angry. also i need to now start thinking about asking for the school file and data protection request of the lea which i cant wait to read to see what they have said. the statementing officer at the meetings made very detailed notes so this will be interesting to see.

posted my tribunal papers yesterday special delivery - checked earlier and they have been delivered. we are appealing parts 2 3 and 4. seems like the lea have now upped their game as though they know what is happening. we havent spoken to them since the end of july. i had someone from the council a few days ago to see if i was okay and asked me outright if i was going to tribunal but i didnt answer the question. head told me autism outreach was coming in to observe him next week. we have been asking for 18 months for her to see him and so far she wouldnt - found out via my daughters 9 year old friend that outreach was in yesterday. emailed head today and she confirmed autism outreach had changed the date to yesterday and joe was observed. head has no idea when outreach will be beack again. outreach person has never spoken to me. the LEA Ot saw him today - we had a private OT report done so this one is for'balance' LEA OT came to see me last week at home and she seems to be agreeing with my private report . she is phoning me on monday to discuss her findings LEA are telling my head that they hope to move Joe tomy school choice by mid october but thsi has not been said to me personally so i have lodged the papers regardless as i can wait no longer. parent partnership has disappeared - she went on leave at the beginning of july and there has been no sign of her since. in fact everyone seems to have disappeared over the summer holiday!!! my head who has been very helpful is off on maternity leave in 4 weeks. im not looking forward to calling her to the tribunal whilst she is on maternity leave but dont think i will have a choice. really hoping lea see the light and do the right thing before my experts start doing their reports. this tribunal business is expensive! not told dh the true cost yet.... and im doing it all myself with a lot of hand holding from people on here as i cant afford a solicitor plus the reports

not too bad - my elder son has started his special secondary school and he has fitted in straight away and is really really happy - so glad i fought so hard for him to go there. transporting him there and back is not so good but is a small price to play to get him the best placement for him you know the story re Joe - hes doing okay but thats mainly due to him only doing mornings - the school have now asked me to go to the gp to get a sick note for the afternoons he isnt in school as the EWO is starting to sniff around - cant geta doctors appointment until 17th sept so she will have to wait. if she contacts me directly i will pass her over to the sen team and ask her to discuss it with them! he has a huge meltdown yesterday when we were collecting his sister - some of the children why we were waiting were calling him names and he lost the plot - was screaming that he wanted to leave the school and go to the new school we want asap. i suppose a week into school now joe is yet again coming out of the honeymoon period part and his stress levels are rising. his twin sister is lovinh her new class so all in all i think things are pretty good !

independent reports you would have to pay for yourself - anything through the nhs sadly doesnt seem to be as thorough.

hi, i am also considering dawn house school - alderwasley too far away for my son as its 90 mins away each way. i have had an offer of a place at an asd free school but my lea so far refusing to name it so we are heading to tribunal to get the OT in plus the statement very very wishy washy as well.

the typed up case statement - did you lodge that with your tribunal papers or later? i do get direct payment via social services - interestingly dont think i have had a 'core' assessment done but an initial assessment - i have 2 boys with asd but joe is seen as the most challenging boy and his direct payments are higher than my other son as his needs are seen as greater. in the next 10 mins got someone from the council coming to do a CAF for my daughter - j twin as she is struggled at school due to the impact of joe on her at school. Joe does not have CAF but early support meetings - at the last one lea were there and the minutes (not done by me!) very critical of the lea and the delay and lack of action so i may well submit those as well.

was just working out when our tribunal likely to be - we cant count august so its looking like february next year which seems like ages away but sure it will come quickly. my OT report is thorough and is written by someone experienced with the tribunal system hence why it was quite expensive compared to some reports but we felt it would be money well spent in the long term and we were right. so i will spend august getting the paperwork ready for the tribunal - the photo copying itself is going to be time consuming. i take it you didnt have a solicitor? can i really do this without one? we can afford the private reports - was going to get an ed psych and an update to the OT report plus then there would be the cost of them attending - this is starting to feel expensive already but has to be done i know

thanks sally - you are completely right - i am over thinking it - i think i have struggled to understand how and why the lea think they can do this but the time has come now to leave that in the past and moved forward - i think we have a very good case - the lea evidence is weak and as it stands they have no evidence at this point! i will contact our OT again and see if she could see Joe in Sept for an update - her report was done in april so will be nearly 6 months old. i am going to try and get an ed psych sorted. i reckon my tribunal going to be around jan time - i run a fancy dress business from sept to dec so all the money from that will pay for the reports. we do have savings which helps. when i get my printer working i am going to print our all of my posts and go through all of your advice and make sure i do everything. autism outreach - the lea are lying when they say she is a qualified teacher - she is qualified to level 5 which is hnd - they made redundant the last person late last year as she was a qualified teacher so they could take on someone who wasnt a teacher and therefore save money so why they are saying she is qualified now is a mystery! in theory the nhs ot cannot do any of the assessments at the moment as 6 months moves us to mid oct. i completely hear you regarding not meeting them again - my husband has made it quite clear to me now to shut up and go quiet. your point re qualified OT doing the necessary modules is also very interesting as the LA are now talking about the school doing it!

thanks sally - well we had the meeting - it didnt go well. we asked if the lea would consider the free school. they have said they have requested the info and will go and view it themselves when it opens in sept . however, the lea maintain that his statement is a mainstream statement and so he should stay in the mainstream and they are going to give him time with autism outreach, we asked what evidence they would need to convince them he needed a special school and they stated the evienc ethey needed was this nhs ot report. they said they have arranged a meeting with the head and autism outreach and themselves at the beginning of term so sortout what help needs to be in place for him. they want outreach to study him and then work with him and then they will accept any report she writes. they cannot quanity how much access to autism outreach he will have as they do not know yet until she works with him and as i asked for the statement to be finalised that has stopped them from quantifying anything. my head hurts right now - i have the sen tribunal form but not sure what im appealing - is it failure to amend or is it parts 2 3 and 4 and how much do i have to now write about my reasons for appealing. i hear what you say about the free school and i think my gut reaction is that you are right and im a bit worried that i may have shot myself in the foot - i could move him to another school at 11 where my elder son goes but realistically dont want to keep moving him. no appointment has yet been made with the nhs OT so i think that is still some months away the LEA getting. we will get an ed psych report - i am concerned about what i can do to counter balance autism outreach as the lea seem to be putting a lot of emphasis on what she says - however since may 2011 noone has seen him - the lea said at the last meeting it was because i hadnt signed a consent form - i have asked the lea for this form and have still not had it yet they are talking so much about her input with her. they didnt mention anything about the minutes that i have amended so dont think they are disputing my version or realise that they can. also read that the sen tribunal dont count any day in august as a working day so that means i suppose that theres no real point rushing in august to get everything done but take my time.

Wise words Sally - am going to go to the meeting and listen to what they day. Deep down I think I may be better fighting for the independent school as we have nothing to lose. Dh feels that we should fight for the school we really want. Just re read the lea minutes from the last meeti g where they have said they will seek another school placement and yet have just increased the hours and think that will be okay. We need OT in the statement - that is non negotiable now

the school will take him through to 19 - the special school will be built next to a new secondary academy although will be seperate sites. the plan is that as he grows older, as many children have spiky profiles, that they will be able with support from the staff from the special school access some lessons in the academy - some children could access a lot or some would be taught fully within the special school. the local authority (not mine) are paying for the build for the school - the free school aspect means that the school is a non profit school. however i do share your concerns re the free school aspect and have been doing some research but they are such a new thing theres not much information out there about them. i did raise with the head the question about 'what if' i was unhappy and he looked genuinely upset that i felt the need to ask! however experience tells me that it is better to get these things out in the open. i feel this could be the right school for j as he is in the middle so this school would be the best school for his needs. his OT report does state that he has sensory modulation disorder so it needs to go in the statement but the lea are refusing as they say they need an NHS report for 'balance' i will see what they say tomorrow and if they do offer the school place we will go with it but then i will keep pushing re the OT. the special school is being purpose built and initally will have 50 primary age children - it will then slowly expand into secondary and will have then a total of 90 children. the criteria is quite specific and they have to be academically able to get a place at the school.

i had a phone call on thursday and i have been asked to as meeting with the lea tomorrow morning - the head of the school i want has also emailed me and said that my lea have contacted him for details of the school, i think that even if they agree to place him into the school, i will still have to go to tribunal as the statement is appallingly written and is not specified or quantified - i did try to get it tightend but they have refused to amend anything in it. my tribubal paperwork came yesterday. i think also i have come this far with the OT that i have nothing to lose now by trying to getting it into the statement - yes he may get some OT at the new school but i want to make sure that everything he needs is in the statement and it is a true reflection of his needs/difficulties. looks like the lea are not pursuing send him to the other school with a unit. i have no idea what the lea are up to - they have completely gone against everything they promised 2 weeks ago at the last meeting - i am so glad that i have redone the minutes of the last meeting as they were a complete whitewash of what was said by us i will email the head of the school i want for more specific details of OT/salt - he had a meeting last thursday where this was to be discussed. there would be 8 children in J class with 4 teaching staff within the class.

it is a free school sally so costs are very much like a maintained school. it does seem incredibly cheap i agree but i have checked the cost twice now - the transport costs also need to be factored in on top as well. the building etc are being funded by the local lea where the school is. i had a discussion with dh earlier as he was worried about the free school aspect until i reminded him that the current school our son is at is an academy now anyway so we have already crossed to the other side. they are buying in the OT and salt support - i do need to clarify exactly how much salt and OT input he will get and that may yet be an argument for a tribunal

justhad an email from the head of the school i want - my lea have been in contact and have requested information about the school - heres hoping thats a good sign x

well 8 weeks to the day after our emergency tribunal the LEA have finalised the statement. All amendments re private OT report rejected and even some amendments from their EP report rejected. They did add in the following - 'j should have access to autism outreach' they also upped his hours from 20 hours to 32.5 hours which is pretty pointless seeing as he is only attending part time due to anxiety! all the promised last week about how autism outreach would come in and work with him and yet they have not specified any kind of time etc at all. i saw a suitable school yesterday - fees are £8.5k a year - transport likely to be around 10K a year - i emailed and asked tehm to consider this school as they have aplace for j and he could start in sept - its a school for high functioning autism kids and takes them from 4 - 19 - OT and SALT come as part of the £8.5 k a year. the lea probably got my email after they finalised. Spoke to sen officer and told her now way was i accepting the statement. I asked her again to consider the school I had found and she was going tos peak to her boss today about it. Made it clear that I will appeal parts 2 3 and 4. They are saying now that it is not that they dont accept our OT report but they need the NHS one for balance but they have yet to arrange an appointment for the NHS OT to see him and i think now that they have finalised they are no in no rush to do so they will delay. I have returned my yellow form and listed some things that i am unhappy about and again asked them to name my school choice. I have also emailed them and asked for a meeting to see if we can come to some agreement . got a call at 4pm to ask me to meet them on monday morning. this is the last chance to try and mediate - if they do not want to name my school choice then it will be tribunal - i have phoned and requested the paperwork today. spoke to j current head and although she welcomed the 32.5 hours she felt that the school was still not the rightplace for Joe as they could not offer him OT or SALT. Looks like im in for a happy summer of paperwork - thank god i challenged the minutes from the last meeting and from now on end its all about evidence evidence evidence